Read Online Easy by Tammara Webber - Free Book Online

my
drink order from a week ago.
    I nodded, and he flashed
a barely-there grin at my bemusement, ringing up the order and printing the cup
with a sharpie. Instead of passing it to a coworker, though, he made the drink
himself.
    He added a protective
sleeve and a lid and handed me the cup. I couldn’t read his trace of a smile. “Have
a nice day.” Looking over my shoulder, he said, “Next?”
    I joined Erin at
the pick-up counter, confused and sulking.
    “He made the drink
for you?” She retrieved her drink and followed me to the condiment counter.
    “Yeah.” I removed
the lid and added sugar and milk while she shook cinnamon over her latte. “But
he just handed it over like I was any other customer and took the next guy’s
order.” We watched him interact with customers. He didn’t once glance my way.
    “I could have
sworn he was so into you he couldn’t see straight,” she mused as we left,
rounding a corner to join the mass of people flowing through the student
center.
    “Hey, baby!”
Chaz’s voice pulled both of us from our thoughts. He snatched Erin out of the
flow of people and I followed, laughing at her delighted squeal until I noticed
the guy standing next to him.
    My face went hot,
blood pounding in my ears. As our friends kissed hello and began talking about
what time they each got off work tonight, Buck stared down at me, his mouth
turning up on one side. My breath came in pants and I fought to keep the rising
panic and nausea under control. I wanted to turn and run, but I was
immobilized.
    He couldn’t touch
me here. He couldn’t hurt me here.
    “Hey, Jackie.” His
piercing gaze roamed over me and my skin crawled. “Lookin’ good, as always.”
His words gushed flirtation, but all I felt was the threat underneath, intended
or not.
    The bruises had
faded from his face, but weren’t entirely gone. One yellowish streak ringed his
left eye, and another brushed along the right side of his nose like a pale
smear. Lucas had given him those, and only the three of us knew it. I stared
back, mute, the coffee clutched in my hand. I’d once thought this boy handsome
and charming—the all-American veneer he wore fooling me as thoroughly as it
fooled everyone else.
    I raised my chin, ignoring
my physical reaction to him, and the fear causing it. “It’s Jacqueline.”
    He cocked one
eyebrow, confused. “Huh?”
    Erin grabbed my
elbow. “Come on, hot stuff. Don’t you have art history in like five minutes?”
    I stumbled
slightly as I turned and followed her, and he issued a soft, taunting laugh as
I passed him. “See you around, Jacqueline ,” he teased.
    My name in his
mouth sent a tremor through me, and I trailed behind Erin into the sea of
students. Once I could move, I couldn’t get away from him fast enough.

 
    Chapter 6
     
     
    Erin:  Do you still have your coffee cup?
    Me:  Yes?
    Erin:  Take the sleeve off
    Me:  OMG
    Erin:  His phone number?
    Me:  How did you know???
    Erin:  I’m Erin. I know all. ;)
    Erin:  Actually, I just wondered why he wrote on your cup if he was going to make your drink.
     
    If Erin hadn’t texted me during class, that cup, and his number, would have been pitched into the hallway wastebasket.
    So… Lucas wasn’t writing an unnecessary drink order onto my cup, he was giving me his phone
number. I entered it into my phone, wondering what I was meant to do with it.
Call him? Text him?
    I thought about
what I knew of him: He’d come out of nowhere the night of the party. After
putting a stop to the attack, some further protective trait had obliged him to
see me safely back to the dorm. He’d somehow known my name that night—my
nickname—but I’d never noticed him before.
    He sat in the back
row in economics, sketching or staring at me instead of paying attention to the
lecture. Saturday night, the firm touch of his hands as we danced made my head
swim, before he disappeared without explanation. He’d undressed me with his
eyes, Erin said,