Zarr, Sara - Sweethearts by Sweethearts Read Free Book Online Page A

and we can't have a cast until we hold auditions." "So, no?" "Right," he said, giving me a sideways glance that I ignored. I didn't see Cameron again until Steph, Katy, and I walked into the small cafeteria for lunch. Katy spotted him first, of course, standing near the back of the lunch line, holding a yellow plastic tray flat to his chest with his big hands. I couldn't get over how tall he was -- six two, at least. At the same time he looked exactly like himself, exactly like I'd expect him to. We watched him while waiting at our usual table for Ethan and Gil and everyone else. "... the nice thing about him is," Katy was saying as she twirled a thick strand of red hair around her fingers, "he's not too cute. I mean, he's gorgeous, but he's so quiet, right? He could stay under the radar. Which would be good. The radar is my enemy." Steph looked over at him. "No disputing his cuteness." "How do you know he's quiet?" I asked Katy. "Oh, he's quiet all right. Just look at him. He's brooding." "He's not brooding. He's standing in line." I thought the exact words I'd said to Gretchen back in fifth grade: You don't know anything about Cameron, so don't act like you do. "Go invite him to sit with us," Katy said, jabbing her finger into my arm. "Pretend you're walking by to get a drink or something and you just happen to notice him, and then you can be all, 'Oh! Cameron! I didn't see you there. Why don't you come meet my friends? '" "That sounds so natural, Katy." "Go ahead, J.V.," Steph said, watching me carefully. "Give little Katy here the first shot at the new boy. Anyway, no one should have to eat alone on his first day at Jones Hall. That's not what we're about." "And you keep your hands off," Katy said to Steph, only half kidding. "Save one for me for a change." I got up from the table, first, because I couldn't stand to hear Katy and Steph talk about him like he was the last piece of chicken in the bucket, and second, because I figured that if Cameron was going to be invited to our table, it would be better if I was the one to do it. "Okay." I tried to sound confident and casual, like talking to Cameron was no big deal at all. "But I'm not going to create an elaborate ruse just to ask someone to sit with us. Because unlike Katy, I am normal." Steph laughed. "If you say so." He saw me approaching. My steps slowed. Ethan and Gil had come in; I felt Ethan watching from the other side of the cafeteria. Cameron kept his big eyes on me. My stomach twisted. Keep walking, Jennifer don't stop. Then I was standing in front of him. His hair was dark as ever, darker. His eyebrows were thick. There was a little stubble on his chin. He was practically a man, but the person I saw was the boy, exactly as I remembered him. My knees gave way. Watch out, everyone, Fattifer is going to faint This time, Cameron was there to reach out a hand and catch me, keep me from dropping right to the floor. "It's okay," he said, voice deep. I nodded and swallowed hard. Now, my hand was on his forearm. He had on a long-sleeved shirt but I felt the warmth of him through it, the bones and muscle and blood and skin of a real, live person. The cafeteria line inched forward and I remembered where I was. I took my hand away, aware of Ethan and my friends watching. "You're not dead," I said. "Not that I know of." The girl in front of us had obviously stopped paying attention to her friends in order to eavesdrop. I lowered my voice. "When can we talk?" "I can be at your house at four today," he said. It wasn't soon enough for me. I wanted to hear him talk for hours, not just to hear an explanation but to hear the little things in his voice that would remind me, give me more pieces of the puzzle. "How did you know where I live?" "I'll explain." The girl tilted her head closer to listen in. Between that and imagining Ethan watching us, I began to talk louder, animated and friendly, so that I wouldn't look at all serious or meaningful. "You should sit with us. After you