Read Online Easy by Tammara Webber - Free Book Online Page A

in the middle of Starbucks—where he worked. He was cocky and
self-sure. Tattooed and too hot for words. He looked and acted like the Bad Boy
Erin and Maggie believed him to be.
    And now, his
number was programmed into my phone. It was as though he knew all about
Operation Bad Boy Phase, and he was as willing and eager to fill that role as
my friends believed he’d be.
    But I didn’t know
him. I didn’t know what he thought of me. If he thought of me. The girl talking
to him after class last week wanted him. In the club, girls had openly stared
as he passed, some of them turning around in his wake to assess him further. He
could have danced with any of them, probably gone home with most of them. Why
me?
     
    ***
    Landon,
    I’ve
attached an outline of my research paper. If you have a chance, could you make
sure it’s not too broad, or too focused? I’m not sure how many economies
outside the US to include. Also, the J-curve is a little confusing. I get that
we can see it after the fact, but isn’t economics based on prediction, like the
weather? I mean, who cares if we can only see what happened after the fact - if
the weather guy can’t predict what’s going to happen tomorrow, he’s probably going
to get fired, right?
    I did the worksheets, too. Sorry I’m sending you so much at once, and on a
Monday. I should have sent it earlier, but I went out with some friends
Saturday and didn’t get it done.
    JW
     
    Jacqueline,
    No problem. I’m either working, studying, or in class practically every waking
hour. I hardly notice what day it is. I hope you enjoyed your night out.
    I
know I initially said I didn’t need details of your breakup (if that was rude,
I didn’t mean it that way); it must have been bad to make you ditch class for
two weeks. I can tell skipping is atypical for you.
    I’ve
attached a WSJ article that explains the J-curve better than the text. You’re exactly
right, without the ability to predict, economics isn’t economics, it’s history.
And while history has its place in the predictable probabilities of both
economics and meteorology (clever analogy, btw), it’s hardly useful if you need
to know whether or not to invest in foreign currency or bring your umbrella to
school.
    LM
     
    I stared at the email,
trying and failing to compare Landon to Lucas. They seemed as opposite as night
and day, but I only knew half of each of them. I didn’t know much about Lucas
beyond his striking looks and his ability to beat the shit out of someone. During
art history, I’d found myself wondering what would have happened in that
interaction with Buck, if Lucas had been with me. I wondered if Buck would have
dared to look at me like that. To say what he’d said: Lookin’ good . The
thought of Buck’s cold eyes examining me made my stomach turn.
    Feeling shallow
for caring, I speculated again what Landon might look like, and how much impact
that might have on what I thought of him. His compliments made me stare at my
laptop and smile. He’d said my ex was a moron, and now he seemed to be
interested in our breakup. In me. That, or I was reading too much into it.
     
    Landon,
    We were together almost three years. I never saw it coming. I followed him here to
school, instead of trying for a performing arts school. My orchestra teacher
nearly had a stroke when I told him. He pleaded with me to audition at Oberlin
or Julliard, but I didn’t. I can’t blame anyone but myself. I trusted my future
to my HS boyfriend, like an idiot. Now I’m stuck somewhere I’m not supposed to
be. I don’t know if I just believed that much in him, or that little in myself.
Either way, pretty freaking stupid, huh? So there’s my weepy little story.
    Thank you for the article.
    JW
     
    Jacqueline,
    Not stupid. Overly trusting, maybe, but that reflects on his lack of
trustworthiness, not on your intelligence. As for being somewhere you’re not
supposed to be – maybe you’re here for a reason, or there is no reason. As