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THIEF
    Annie Reed
    Published by Thunder Valley Press at
Smashwords
    Copyright 2011 by Annie Reed
    Cover Art Copyright Esterio | Dreamstime.com
     
     
    Smashwords Edition, License Notes
     
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Thief
    Annie Reed
     
    The Frisbee missed the top of Abby Preston's
head by a mere inch, if that. She ducked, even though by the time
her head moved, the Frisbee was already skimming the green grass of
the quad behind where she sat trying to concentrate on her
Sociology 101 assignment.
    "Hey!" She looked up at Ryan in mock
annoyance. "Watch where you're throwing that thing."
    Ryan leaned down and kissed the top of Abby's
head. "That's not what you said last night," he murmured just loud
enough for her to hear.
    Abby felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She'd
only been dating Ryan for a month and sleeping with him for two
weeks, and she wasn't quite comfortable yet with the newness of
their relationship. College life was tough enough without
complicating it by throwing a boyfriend into the mix. Then, of
course, there was the whole "don't worry, dear, you'll find someone
to settle down with in college" thing from her mother. That, more
than anything else, was why she'd resisted Ryan Maxon's attempts to
flirt with her for as long as she had. The last thing Abby wanted
to do was fulfill her mother's expectations.
    "Are you going to make out with your
girlfriend or play Frisbee?"
    The question came from Jimmy Fisher, Ryan's
best friend. Abby's cheeks grew warmer. That was another thing.
Dating Ryan didn't mean just hanging out with Ryan. It meant
tagging along with Ryan and Jimmy while they did their ex-high
school jock thing. In their case, it meant watching them try to
beat each other in whatever sport happened to catch their fancy.
Today it was tossing a Frisbee around the University of Nevada -
Reno quad. The afternoon before, it had been killer tennis on the
university courts. The day before that, touch football with some
guys from one of the frats.
    "Both, of course," Ryan said. He kissed Abby
again, this time on the lips, then jogged over to pick up the
Frisbee. "See if you can catch this one," he said to Jimmy.
    Abby tried to refocus on her textbook. Her
Sociology text was thick and boring as hell, and she had sixty
pages to read by tomorrow. She should have stayed in her dorm room,
but the first warm snap of early spring had drawn her outside along
with what looked like half the student body. The quad was loaded
with students sprawled out on blankets or simply sprawled out on
the grass, backpacks overloaded with books by their sides, out
enjoying the bright northern Nevada sunshine. It was a wonder that
Ryan and Jimmy weren't tripping over people and books with every
throw of the Frisbee. Lucky for both of them, they had the kind of
natural charm that together with their competitive natures and
striking good looks equaled charisma out the wazoo. Why someone
like Ryan would be interested in someone like Abby was beyond her.
She knew she wasn't ugly, although like most of the women in her
dorm, she would have changed parts of her body in an instant if she
could. She'd just never dated anyone like Ryan before, and he
really seemed to like her. They had a spark, or a connection, or
whatever you wanted to call it, but it was something special. Abby
didn't want to mess whatever it was up before it got a real chance
to grow, so when Ryan suggested she take her studying outside, she
said yes.
    Only Sociology wasn't nearly as fun as
watching Ryan enjoying himself.
    Abby closed her book and crossed her