Read Online The Elementalist by Melissa J. Cunningham - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Melissa J. Cunningham
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before. This was real. He was walking out of her life… maybe forever.
“Wait,” she said again, getting to her feet. “I don’t want you to leave. Could you stay a little while longer?”
Hope blossomed in his eyes, stabbing Claire through the heart. She wasn’t ready for a relationship. She didn’t have time for one, but she didn’t want to lose him either, and she knew in her heart that he was done unless something more happened between them. She didn’t want to give him false hope, and knew it would be stringing him on, but she couldn’t bear to end it. Not yet.
They sat back down on her bed, smiling shyly at one another.
21
~First Kiss~
Alisa
I awoke with a start, startled I’d fallen asleep in the first place… in my creative writing class… except I wasn’t in my writing class anymore. I was lying on my bed… and a boy was lying next to me, sound asleep. A boy I didn’t know!
I got up carefully so as not to wake him, and then took a moment to study his face, because obviously, he was someone important to Claire. Did her mother know she slept—literally—with boys? My mom would freak.
The boy rolled over, and I saw him more clearly. It was the boy from the séance. The swimmer. I couldn’t remember his name. He was attractive, with rosy cheeks, sandy-blond hair, and perfectly curved lips. Totally cute, and if I weren’t completely devoted to Brecken, I could take an interest.
I wasn’t sure what to do now though. Pretend he wasn’t here? Wake him up and continue where Claire left off? I glanced at the clock, realizing it was almost eight-thirty in the evening. The curtains were drawn, so I pulled them back. It was still light outside. Barely. What was Claire doing with this guy? We both still had all our clothes on. Had they been studying? I didn’t see any schoolbooks lying around.
Not wanting to officially meet him for the first time in the privacy of Claire’s bedroom—because how awkward would that be—I tiptoed over to the door, determined to escape unseen, but the door creaked when I pulled it open. I glanced back at the bed and, sure enough, his eyes were open, watching me.
“Uh…” My mind drew a blank.
“You’re leaving?”
He sounded hurt and looked so rejected that I hurried back to the bed to sit beside him. “No, of course not. I was just going downstairs to get a drink. That’s all.” I placed my hand over his, forgetting it didn’t work to do that anymore. I wouldn’t be able to get a read on him just by touching him. At least, the way I intended to.
He smiled and sat up, swinging his legs off the bed. He was a few inches taller than Claire, maybe an inch or two taller than Brecken, with broad shoulders and a well-muscled chest. Why hadn’t he been over before now? It would have been nice to know that Claire had a boyfriend. I certainly didn’t want to ruin it for her, but I was also not going to… do whatever, with him.
Not knowing how to ask him his name or if he lived close by, I asked the safest thing I could. “You hungry?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, come on then, I’m sure Claire’s mom has something—um… I meant I’m sure my mom has something to eat in the fridge.”
He stood there staring at me with a strange expression, his eyebrows pulled down in confusion. But instead of following me into the hall, in a split-second response, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the room, closed the door, and held me close, cradling my face in his huge hands. And I mean huge. Wow. His long fingers cupped my cheeks as he stared into my eyes.
“I’m tired of waiting, Claire,” he said. “I’m tired of arguing, and I’m tired of hiding how I feel.” He leaned close and his lips pressed against mine, tentative, soft, and warm. I was almost lulled away by the romance of the moment, but just as I was about to push him away, I remembered it was Claire he thought he was kissing and it did feel wonderful.
Did I want to ruin this for
“Wait,” she said again, getting to her feet. “I don’t want you to leave. Could you stay a little while longer?”
Hope blossomed in his eyes, stabbing Claire through the heart. She wasn’t ready for a relationship. She didn’t have time for one, but she didn’t want to lose him either, and she knew in her heart that he was done unless something more happened between them. She didn’t want to give him false hope, and knew it would be stringing him on, but she couldn’t bear to end it. Not yet.
They sat back down on her bed, smiling shyly at one another.
21
~First Kiss~
Alisa
I awoke with a start, startled I’d fallen asleep in the first place… in my creative writing class… except I wasn’t in my writing class anymore. I was lying on my bed… and a boy was lying next to me, sound asleep. A boy I didn’t know!
I got up carefully so as not to wake him, and then took a moment to study his face, because obviously, he was someone important to Claire. Did her mother know she slept—literally—with boys? My mom would freak.
The boy rolled over, and I saw him more clearly. It was the boy from the séance. The swimmer. I couldn’t remember his name. He was attractive, with rosy cheeks, sandy-blond hair, and perfectly curved lips. Totally cute, and if I weren’t completely devoted to Brecken, I could take an interest.
I wasn’t sure what to do now though. Pretend he wasn’t here? Wake him up and continue where Claire left off? I glanced at the clock, realizing it was almost eight-thirty in the evening. The curtains were drawn, so I pulled them back. It was still light outside. Barely. What was Claire doing with this guy? We both still had all our clothes on. Had they been studying? I didn’t see any schoolbooks lying around.
Not wanting to officially meet him for the first time in the privacy of Claire’s bedroom—because how awkward would that be—I tiptoed over to the door, determined to escape unseen, but the door creaked when I pulled it open. I glanced back at the bed and, sure enough, his eyes were open, watching me.
“Uh…” My mind drew a blank.
“You’re leaving?”
He sounded hurt and looked so rejected that I hurried back to the bed to sit beside him. “No, of course not. I was just going downstairs to get a drink. That’s all.” I placed my hand over his, forgetting it didn’t work to do that anymore. I wouldn’t be able to get a read on him just by touching him. At least, the way I intended to.
He smiled and sat up, swinging his legs off the bed. He was a few inches taller than Claire, maybe an inch or two taller than Brecken, with broad shoulders and a well-muscled chest. Why hadn’t he been over before now? It would have been nice to know that Claire had a boyfriend. I certainly didn’t want to ruin it for her, but I was also not going to… do whatever, with him.
Not knowing how to ask him his name or if he lived close by, I asked the safest thing I could. “You hungry?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, come on then, I’m sure Claire’s mom has something—um… I meant I’m sure my mom has something to eat in the fridge.”
He stood there staring at me with a strange expression, his eyebrows pulled down in confusion. But instead of following me into the hall, in a split-second response, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the room, closed the door, and held me close, cradling my face in his huge hands. And I mean huge. Wow. His long fingers cupped my cheeks as he stared into my eyes.
“I’m tired of waiting, Claire,” he said. “I’m tired of arguing, and I’m tired of hiding how I feel.” He leaned close and his lips pressed against mine, tentative, soft, and warm. I was almost lulled away by the romance of the moment, but just as I was about to push him away, I remembered it was Claire he thought he was kissing and it did feel wonderful.
Did I want to ruin this for
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