Read Online Sleeping in Eden by Nicole Baart - Free Book Online

there, but it was immediately trumped by the uneasy laughter he forced as he told the guys, “She’s all right.”
    Jess’s friends joined him in an anxious chuckle.
    â€œYou’re good, right, Meg? That was a totally righteous spill.”
    A totally righteous spill? Without even pausing to make sure that everything would work the way it was supposed to, Meg yanked away from Dylan’s supporting grip and rolled to her knees.
    â€œGet off me!” she yelled. And then she abused him with every obscenity she could remember, whether or not she knew what the ugly names meant.
    There was a stunned silence as she stumbled to her feet and raised a bloodied hand to her equally bloody cheek. Her jaw ached, and bits of cement nestled in the broken skin along her cheekbone. Meg picked at it carefully with dirty fingernails, leveling a look so deadly at the boys surrounding her that no one ventured to say a word. Then, using her tongue, she gently explored the swell of her bottom lip, and felt a rush of blood pool behind her teeth. Without an ounce of hesitation, she spat pink at Dylan’s feet.
    At that, the redhead exploded with laughter and his buddies followed suit. He looked for a moment like he was going to give Meg an appreciative punch on the arm, but apparently thinking better of it, he shook his head instead and said, “Girl, you are something.” He continued to mutter to himself as he walked away, but he did turn back long enough to tell Dylan, “She’s a wild one, all right. You’re a lucky man.”
    The guys laughed all the way to Jess’s house, throwing the occasional awed glance back at Meg as she stood like a warrior princess over her mangled BMX.
    She was so busy watching them go that she didn’t realize Dylan was beside her until he put his arm around her shoulders. Shrugging him off, she whirled on him.
    â€œHow could you?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Dylan countered, palms up in supplication.
    â€œYou knew I would fall and you let me do it! You let me do it.”
    Dylan took a step after her. “Are you kidding me? You’re a hero, Meg. Don’t you get it? You’ve earned more respect in thirty seconds than most guys accumulate in years of trying to impress.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest and tucked her aching hand beneath the familiar folds of her dad’s jacket. “You’re full of shit,” she said grudgingly.
    â€œNo, I’m not.” Dylan crossed the space between them and reached tentatively for her arms. When Meg didn’t move away, he caught her by the shoulders and gave her an excited shake.
    â€œI made a fool of myself,” she complained.
    â€œYou should have seen yourself. You went for it. It was . . . wow.”
    Meg cocked a disbelieving eyebrow.
    â€œYou were awesome,” Dylan told her. “Awesome.”
    â€œI fell on my face.”
    â€œYou’re not crying. Most girls would cry. Heck, most guys would cry. It only made you more cool in their eyes.”
    â€œI don’t care about them,” Meg blurted out. She instantly regretted it when Dylan’s eyes clouded in confusion.
    â€œThen why . . .” he began, but she didn’t give him a chance to finish his thought. Wrenching away from him, she went to salvage the twisted mess of her bike. But Dylan matched her step for step and put himself between her and the BMX.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Meg demanded.
    â€œYou can’t be mad at me.”
    â€œOh, yes I can.”
    â€œYou’re only set for life because of me. Eternal coolness,” he teased. “You can thank me now.”
    â€œI could have gotten killed.”
    Dylan sighed. “Don’t be melodramatic.” But then he pulled her hand from beneath the crease of her coat and examined it intently. The knuckles were scraped and bleeding, but the abrasions were shallow. “How’s your thumb?”