Read Online Face the Music by Andrea K. Robbins - Free Book Online

spiders.
    Lauren shuffled past me into the lab.  Her chestnut hair, which was styled in a short, pixie cut, seemed to bounce with each step.  “I don’t know.  The entomology lab must be locked up.”
    “W-w-would you get rid of them, pleas e?”  My pulse was racing along i n overdrive.
    “I can’t believe they bother you so much.”  She picked up the cage and pressed her nose to the glass.  “They’re kind of cute.”
    “They are not.  They’re the complete opposite of cute.  They’re monsters with hairy legs and creepy little faces.  I can’t stand them.”  My heart palpitated.
    Lauren put them in a cabinet under the sink.  I felt a little better since they weren’t in plain sight, but I was still uneasy knowing how close they were.
    She returned her attention back to the picture of me and Chris .  “Is he really this hot in person?”
    I had to laugh.  “No, not really.” 
    “That’s too bad.  They always look better on TV, don’t they?”
    I thought about him wearing that maroon sweater.  “ H e’s even hotter.”  
    She looked up at me.  “So you’re seeing him?  What happened to Jake?”
    Who knew what was going on with him?  He’d been acting so strange lately.  “Jake and I aren’t dating.  We hang out, but it’s completely platonic.  And it’s not like that with Chris.”
    “Not like what?”
    “Not like you’re insinuating.  There’s nothing going on.”
    She waved the picture .  “Looks like there could be.  When will you see him again?”
    I bent down to adjust the objective lens on one of the mi croscopes.  “Tonight, actually.  He’s meeting me and Molly at the park.”
    A corner of her mouth pulled up into a half-grin.  Her hazel eyes narrowed.  “The park, huh?”
    “Will you stop it?”
    “I’m just saying.  You’ve got this incredibly hot, talented guy following you around.  You should be a little more interested.  What’s the problem?”
    “He’s not following me around.”  I put a slide on the microscope and fumbled with the knobs until the image came into focus .  “And there’s no problem.”
    She waited for me to look up before asking, “Have you ever heard anything from Paul?”
    I glared at her.  “Nope.”
    “Do you want to?  Because it would be totally understandable if you did.   The way he ran out, y ou never got any closure. ”
    “No!”  I made another adjustment to the lens.  “Why would you even ask me that?”
    She shrugged.  “Just curious.  Trying to figure out why you’re so reluctant about Chris.  Is there someone else then, besides Jake or Chris ?”
    Because she was married, Lauren thought I needed to hurry up and find someone, too.  “I don’t have time for someone else.  You know how busy I am.” 
    She got up and walked to the door.  “All work and no play makes for a very boring Allie.”
    “But you still love me, right?”
    She paused and pretended to think about it.  “Yes.  I suppose I do.”
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
    “Hi sweetheart!” I said, setting down my things and pulling Molly into a hug.
    She craned her little neck and peer ed into the living room.  “Look , Allie!” she whispered.  “Sup-a-star Chris is here.”
    He an d Emily were on the couch, laughing .  When I walked in she gave me a look that seemed to ask, Why is he here?
    “I wa s just telling Chris about that confrontation you had, ” she said.
    “My what?”
    She laughed again.  “Remember when you told one of your student’s mothers that she needed to be a better role model for her son?”
    “Oh, yeah, h ow could I forget? ”  Her son had fallen asleep in my class.  When I questioned him about it, he said he was so tired because he had to pick his mom up from a bar at three in the morning.  “I was so mad!   How am I supposed to educate kids if their parents don’t even give a crap?  Some days it’s like I’m banging my head against a wall.”
    Chris pressed his lips