Read Online The Crushes by Pamela Wells - Free Book Online Page A

could it hurt? As long as she didn’t indulge in anything inedible, she was safe.
    “Fine,” she said. “But just for a little while.”
    Raven had expected to sit down at the table, eat, have light conversation, and then leave. What she got instead was a lot of insight into Blake’s life. It turned out, Mil-D was not, in fact, Blake’s uncle. He was Blake’s bodyguard.
    “Then why did you say he was your uncle?” Raven asked as she wiped her hands on a napkin. They were sitting in Mr. Kailing’s backyard on his deck. The sun was still bright behind her, warming her bare shoulders.
    “Because some people treat me differently if they find out I have a bodyguard.” Blake shrugged and tore apart another piece of barbecued chicken. “Besides, Mil-D’s been with me so long, he’s like family.”
    “Aww,” Mil-D said, “thank you, son.” He gave Blake a hearty pat on the back.
    Blake laughed, shaking his head.
    “So,” Raven said, looking between the two guys, “he’s your bodyguard because you’re actually a somewhat famous skater?”
    Blake gave a half-hearted shrug.
    “Yes he is,” Mil-D filled in. “You should see him when we go to New York. The boy’s like a mini TonyHawk or something. Little high school girls fawning all over him.”
    Blake slapped Mil-D on the arm. “Shut up, dude. They do not.”
    When Blake turned his back, Mil-D looked at Raven and nodded.
    Raven leaned into her cushioned patio chair, biting her lip. How had she managed to not notice there was a semifamous celebrity living across the street from her? And more importantly, how had Jordan missed it? She was usually on top of celebrity news.
    “You know what else?” Mil-D said. “My boy here, he’s sponsored by some pretty big names. Red Bull, Volcom, Etnies…kid’s sick.”
    Raven raised her brow. “Really?”
    Blake pulled the brim of his hat down even more as if to hide beneath its shadow. “Dude,” he muttered.
    “Sorry, son. I just like to brag about you. Can’t I be proud?”
    “Wow, that is cool,” Raven added reluctantly. She didn’t want Blake to get a big head, but still…what he did and how successful he was at it had Raven more than impressed.
    Maybe being around Blake wasn’t so bad after all.
    Alexia scraped spinach dip from a plastic dish and slopped it in the garbage. The stuff looked like mushy seaweed in a creamy dressing, but she had to admit, with bread, it tasted really good.
    She’d been at Cherry Creek Specialty Store for over a week now and she felt like she was finally getting the hang of it. Of course, there were still many things she didn’t know. Thank god for Jonah.
    He was always patient with her, no matter how many questions she asked. He’d been at the store the longest, which meant he knew everything. Even some of the employees who’d been there for months occasionally had to ask him questions.
    Bella came into the kitchen, her hair mussed at the top, wispy strands floating around her forehead. “You’re doing great,” she said to Alexia. “We sure had a rush today.”
    Alexia nodded and set the plastic dish in the large industrial sink. “Saturdays are always busy in here, huh?”
    “They are.” Bella turned the oven off, then grabbed a pan of cooling bread. She set it on the countertop to slice. “It dies down in the wintertime.”
    Jonah pushed through the swinging doors at the front of the kitchen. “Can I take my lunch, Bella?”
    “Sure. Why don’t you go, too,” she said to Alexia.
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah. We can handle it.”
    Jonah grabbed a sandwich from the refrigerator. “Alexia, you want one?”
    “Umm…sure. Turkey, please.”
    He grabbed her a turkey and brought it over to the sandwich counter.
    “Want to come with me outside?”
    “Sure.”
    They headed out the back door and to the small patch of grass on the store’s lot. There was a metal table there withfour bistro-style chairs. Alexia sat and Jonah picked the seat across from her.
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