Read Online Happy Birthday to Me Again (Birthday Trilogy, Book 2) by Brian Rowe - Free Book Online Page B

Mrs. Gordon’s shocked
expression to me abandoning her without a proper good-bye. But I had graduated
from Caughlin Ranch High. I wasn’t her teenager to torment anymore.
    I ran down a
stairwell and past a few other stores until I arrived at the food court, which
was busier than ever. I stopped in my tracks, my heart racing, sweat dripping
off my forehead. I couldn’t believe how a simple jog like that could take so
much out of me, when two years ago I could’ve jogged five times that much and
not have even broken a sweat.
    I turned around,
not knowing if Hannah had decided to run after me the entire way. She did. She
was sweating, too.
    “Whoa. What was
that all about?”
    “What do you
mean?” I asked.
    “You know. The
running. That old woman calling you ‘Cameron.’”
    I shrugged and
turned my attention to the twenty different food joints. I realized in that
moment just how hungry I had become.
    “You want
something to eat?”
    “Starving,” she
said. “You?”
    “Same.”
    “Just tell me
something first,” she said, grasping my right arm unexpectedly. Even more
unexpectedly, I didn’t push her away.
    “What’s that?”
    “Do I call you
Cameron or Wesley?”
    I smiled and
started making my way toward the Chinese Express line.

 
    “I don’t know
what got into me,” I said, taking a juicy bite out of my lemon chicken.
“Sometimes I make up a name to people I never think I’m going to see again as
some kind of… I don’t know… defense mechanism? Plus, I’ve never really liked my
name.”
    “What’s wrong
with ‘Cameron’? It’s dignified and fun at the same time.”
    I took a sip of
my Sprite before digging into some fried rice. “I just wish I had a name that
was strictly for boys. I’ve met more Cameron girls in my life than Cameron boys.”
    “Well… would it
help you if I said I met a boy named Hannah once?”
    “No you didn’t.”
    She shook her
head and took a large bite out of her weird-looking veggie Chinese dish. “I
didn’t. But you can’t blame me for trying.”
    We both laughed,
and I surveyed the room, which was so crowded I couldn’t even see an empty
table. “This place is crazy busy. I mean, seriously. The food’s mediocre, the
prices are through the roof. Aren’t we in a recession?”
    “Why did you say
you never thought you’d see me again?” Hannah asked, changing the subject.
    “What?”
    “Just now. You
said you didn’t think you’d see me again. Why is that?”
    “I don’t know.
We didn’t exchange numbers or anything. Reno’s bigger than people think.”
    “Shouldwe have exchanged numbers?”
    I took a deep
breath and crossed my arms. I knew I had to put an end to this madness. You’re getting married, dummy. Your
bride-to-be has a birthday in a few days. End the conversation and get out of
there.
    “No,” I said.
    “Should we now?”
    “No. Hannah…” I
reached my hand out for hers. She seemed to be happy with the gesture. “I’m
involved with someone… it’s serious…”
    She smiled. “Of
course it is. Look at you. You’re the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
    I was used to
girls swooning over me in high school, but never had I met a girl as beautiful
as this, one a few years older than me, who let her attraction to me known in
such a blatant way.
    “Thank you.
That’s very kind of you. You’re very pretty, yourself.” Idiot.
    “You’re sweet.”
    I stood up,
nearly knocking my tray to the ground. “Sorry… anyway… I should be going.”
    “So soon?”
    “Yeah. My
girlfriend has a birthday coming up. I need to get her something nice.”
    She nodded. “I
see. Well don’t let me stop you.” She smiled again, and she took my hand in
hers, sensually stroking my palm with the tips of her fingers. “It was good
seeing you again, Cameron, not Wesley.”
      “You too,” I said with a smile. “I’ll see
you around.”
    I unhooked her
hand from mine, grabbed my tray, and took a few steps forward, when I