Read Online Show Me How by Molly McAdams - Free Book Online

Harlow wanted you here. We all want you here.”
    Charlie pulled Keith closer to her, and took a step toward the doors. Her head tilted slightly and her eyes narrowed like she was studying Graham. When she spoke again, her voice was soft, unsure. “No, it’s fine. We already have plans.”
    â€œAll right. See you tomorrow?”
    She nodded faintly in response to Graham’s question, but with each step she took away, her head was bowing down more and more—­already trying to be invisible.
    I took a step forward, and reached out toward her. “Char—­”
    She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes again.
    Acknowledgment. Agreement. Defeat. And a warning—­clear as day in those blue eyes—­not to say anything more.
    I dropped my hand as I choked back my next words. Whether they would have been an apology, or something else to hurt her more, I wasn’t sure. With a stiff nod, I turned back around, and tried to ignore the disappointment radiating from Graham.
    â€œGood effort.” Frustration leaked from his words.
    â€œWhatever, man.”
    Charlie
    June 3, 2016
    I CREPT OUT of the room I shared with Keith late that night, book in hand, and made my way to the living room for a little “me” time. Something that had already been a luxury since Keith was born, and something that had been nonexistent in the week and a half that I’d been working at Mama’s Café.
    But after everything since I’d moved home—­or, more accurately, all the crap with Deacon—­I needed this time.
    I didn’t care that I would be dead on my feet for my shift the next morning. Who needed sleep when there were other worlds to get lost in? Made-­up lives that you wished could be your own? Fictional men to swoon over—­ones that were in no way linked to Marvel Comics or a notebook almost a mile away in a locked-­up café?
    I moved things out of the way in the fridge until I found my secret stash, and grabbed a cold bar of chocolate before walking back toward the couches.
    I’d just gotten a lamp turned on and myself settled under a blanket when Grey plopped down next to me.
    I froze from tearing open the wrapper for a few seconds, then slowly resumed what I had been doing as I watched her watching me.
    â€œHi,” I said warily, and handed her a small chunk.
    â€œSo who are you reading about tonight?” she asked as she popped the chocolate into her mouth. “Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? Belle?”
    â€œNone of the above. I told you I don’t read fairy tales. Did I wake you?”
    She shook her head slowly as she chewed. “Aly just fell asleep a ­couple minutes before I heard you going through the fridge. He’s cute,” she said suddenly, and gestured to the guy gracing the cover of the book on my lap.
    My eyes narrowed in suspicion. Grey never wanted to talk about the books I read unless it was to make fun of them, and she was sitting and speaking stiffly. I knew her well enough to know she was wasting time before talking about something personal.
    â€œIf you’ve suddenly changed your mind and want to start reading romance, I’ll get you a good one to start with.” When her face twisted, I continued. “That’s what I thought. Why do I have a feeling you’re down here for a reason?”
    â€œWhat’s going on between you and Deacon?”
    Irrational, betraying heart.
    I didn’t want to feel anything for Deacon Carver other than the loathing he felt for me, and I hated that just hearing his name could cause this kind of chaos inside me.
    My eyebrows rose in surprise at her blunt, unapologetic question.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” I hoped my tone rang with naïveté rather than the unease I felt over having this conversation with her. I didn’t want to talk about Deacon with Deacon , let alone Grey.
    One of Grey’s eyebrows rose slowly, and I knew in the look