Read Online Torrential by Eva Morgan - Free Book Online Page A

be.” Sebastian knuckles his forehead. He looks so tired that a twinge of pity runs through my heart.
    I kneel beside him. “ Well, I’ve decided you’re going to be my friend, so I’m afraid you’re going to have to suck it up.”
    “From what I’ve been able to glean from you, a ‘friend’ is someone who annoys you and drags you around when you’re minding your own business. I’ll pass.”
    I knock him on the shoulder. “You don’t get a pass.”
    I’ve decided that Sebastian needs someone, no matter how prick ly he seems. Every time he brushes me off, I get a rush of insecurity—what if I’m doing the wrong thing, what if I’m wrong and he doesn’t need anyone after all—but I try my best to ignore it. All I know is that when I look at him, I see someone who’s barely holding on. People like that shouldn’t be left alone.
    A loud honking comes from outside the garden. I glance down the path and see Tanner’s car idling beside the sidew alk. “There he is! Let’s go.”
    Sebastian curls his lip, but he follows me when I run out to Tanner’s car. Tanner turns to me with an outraged expression, but I shoot him my best yell-at-me-later-please expression, and Tanner gives only a noisy sigh. “Opal couldn’t come. She had class.”
    “More for us,” I say, twisting around to give Sebastian a smile. He doesn’ t return it. I don’t think I’ve gotten one out of him yet, but I’m going to keep trying. I bet he has a nice smile.
    Tanner rolls down all four windows and drives off at top speed, probably so he can reach the café and get me alone to ask about Sebastian as soon as possible. I wrestle my hair into a ponytail holder before the wind whips it into a beehive, wishing I’d remembered my sunglasses. Tanner’s got his, looking impossible suave with his elbow on the windowsill. I suspect he’s trying to seem unperturbed by Sebastian’s presence.
    The café he takes us to is called Strawberry Hat, and it’s freakishly adorable. They put little cut strawberries atop all their pastries, ostensibly like hats. I make a mental note to apply here when I start looking for a part-time job. The aprons are strawberry-patterned and the walls are painted light pink.
    “See?” I ask Sebastian, smiling. “This is the last place anyone would think to look for you.”
    Sebastian grimaces. “There’s a reason for that.”
    “Go get us a table,” Tanner practically barks at Sebastian, pointing toward the glossy pink-patterned doors. “I need to talk to May.”
    “Subtle. Very subtle,” I tell him as Sebastian, with the look of someone who’s given up completely on life, walks inside the café and takes a seat at one of the heart-shaped tables. I’m surprised his expression doesn’t wilt the flowers in front of him, even though they’re fake. “Tanner, I’m really sorry for bringing him along without telling you—”
    He startles me by gripping both my shoulders, face full of intensity. “ May, please. I need you to tell me. Are you—are you and Sebastian…”
    “ No!” I burst out, turning as red as Strawberry Hat’s décor. “No, definitely not. Absolutely not. This is about Opal’s bet, remember? I need to get close to him because of that. There’s no way I’d ever…you know.”
    He studies me for a long second and then releases me, exhaling deeply. “So you’re not interested in that douchebag at all?”
    “Of course not!” I say, flustered. “I’m not going to fall in love, remember? No way do I want anything with him.”
    Why does that feel like a lie?
    I glance toward the window and realize Sebastian’s watching us.
    “Thank God. Because I don’t think I could…” Tanner shakes his head quickly and gives me one of his big grins. “If that’s the case, it’ll be fine. I’ll help you.”
    “Help me…?”
    “Befriend him, of course. I’ve got a reserve of natural charm that can be summoned forth even for people with egos the size of the Northern hemisphere.