Read Online Unconditional by Kelly Lawrence - Free Book Online Page A

of that, of his hand creeping up my ribcage and my own clumsy and curious fumbling, a warm melting feeling starts in my belly and spreads through my whole body. I’m on hyper alert lately, as if all my senses have been heightened. As much as it’s a kind of nice feeling – nice being a totally inadequate description, but I can’t seem to find anything that describes it – it’s also uncomfortable andtotally unfamiliar. Did I say that I love being in love? Well maybe now that I’m actually getting some hands-on experience I’m not so sure.
    The class ends with me having learned precisely nothing, and I’m so used to being a bit of a class nerd that I feel guilty and a bit disorientated, like the time I cut class with Dannii and Rianne and spent the whole two hours fretting about what I was missing. Well, it was exam year.
    I find my usual seat in the library and fire up my laptop, intending to do some research for that history essay which I still haven’t completed, and instead logging straight on to Facebook, wondering if Dannii has posted anything about last night. Seeing the icon flashing that shows I’ve got a friend request, I click on it and draw a sharp breath. Joe. It’s a grainy picture taken on a not very good phone by the look of it, but it’s unmistakably him, those piercing eyes and that lush mouth.
The mouth I’ve kissed
. The thought sends a tingle through me. I accept it and go straight to his page to have a look. There’s only the one picture of him; it looks as though he only joined a few hours ago. Instantly I look at his friends list and see only a few people; with a sigh of relief I see they’re mostly boys. The thought of Joe sitting on the computer talking to other girls makes me queasy. I wonder if his ex is on here. I send him a quick message to say hi and then log off before I can drive myself crazy. Jealousy isn’t something I’ve ever experienced over a guy before and I’m amazed at how it feels; a sick, crawly feeling but also angry, like I want to hit something. Insane.
    Insane or not, it bugs me all afternoon and I can’t concentrate on anything, it’s like I’m ill or something. As I’m walking home I debate with myself whether or not I should text him, then remember he will be at work, which raises the question of whose computer he was using. He didn’t seem at all interested in talking to me online when Imentioned it last week. Perhaps he’s met other girls he wants to talk to as well.
    In the end I ring Dannii, who answers the phone sounding sorry for herself.
    ‘Urgh, I feel rotten,’ she whimpers. ‘Dean didn’t go to work this morning either.’
    That doesn’t surprise me. Dean is a future candidate for a trashy talk show if ever I saw one.
    ‘Are you still at his house, then?’
    ‘No, I came home earlier. My brother’s here; his girlfriend kicked him out.’
    Dannii’s brother Michael is an older version of her; spoilt and a bit selfish yet everyone adores him. Totally gorgeous too, though I’ve never really been able to look at him like that. I can remember him at primary school trying to look up the girls’ skirts.
    ‘Joe’s on Facebook. I spoke to him earlier.’
    I feel another sharp pang of jealousy in my gut. He must have been on there talking to Dannii before I had even gone online.
    ‘Wasn’t he at work?’
    ‘Yeah, he said he was on the laptop in the office. It must have been quiet; I was talking to him for about twenty minutes.’
    Another pang, sharper this time.
    ‘Did he mention me?’
    She pauses.
    ‘Not much. He did say to tell you he’d phone you when he finishes.’
    My heart drops at her first words then leaps at the last.
    ‘Did he say what time?’ I ask in a rush, eager now, and Dannii just laughs.
    ‘You have got it bad haven’t you?’ she teases.
    ‘Shut up,’ I protest, but it makes me smile.
    We wrap up the conversation by agreeing to meet up later, although if I’m honest, if Joe wants to see me again tonight I