Read Online Under the Moon's Shadow by T. L. Haddix - Free Book Online Page A

anticipatory murmur moved across the field. To Beth’s surprise, Ethan scooted closer to her and put his arm around her back, his hand resting on the ground next to her hip.
    “It doesn’t irk me, sharing a blanket with you.” His voice was low, and he’d put his mouth near her ear so as to not be overheard. Beth couldn’t prevent a shiver as his warm breath washed over her skin.
    Just like Saturday night, when they’d stood so close on the deck at the Lighthouse, she could feel the warmth radiating off his body, and just like that night, it pulled her in. She almost felt like she’d eaten one of the special brownies as she turned her face toward him in the darkness. She didn’t look away, not even when the first oohs and ahhhs starting going up from the crowd, and neither did Ethan. After a few seconds, though, he pulled back. She didn’t bother trying to hide her disappointment.
    “Principal’s on his way over,” Ethan said. “We’ll continue this discussion later.”
    Pulling herself together, Beth turned to greet Principal Dunfries. She was grateful she had her digital recorder, because she never would have remembered a word of what he’d said without it.
     
    ~ * * * ~
     
    Ethan watched Beth closely the rest of the evening. Her reactions to his comments about them being looked at as a couple had surprised him. He had thought she would have been more bothered by the gossip than by his dismissal of it.
    Watching her work the crowd after the initial awe from the meteor shower had worn off had been surprising, as well. Though he wouldn’t admit it to Beth, he had followed every word she’d written in the last few years. He knew she was an accomplished journalist, but he’d had no idea she had to work so hard at it. Several times during the evening, she had sat down next to shy teenagers and cajoled them into speaking with her about their impressions, exhibiting a patience Ethan would have been hard pressed to find.
    By one thirty, the strongest part of the shower was over, and the crowd was starting to disperse. Walking to his truck, Ethan felt the tension between them like another presence. When a particularly happy couple rushed by them, laughing and giggling, Beth stopped to watch them. He was surprised to see an envious expression cross her face.
    “Brings back memories, huh?”
    She shook her head. “No. Not memories. I don’t think I was ever that young. I didn’t even date in high school.”
    “You’re kidding me,” he said. “You never had a boyfriend in high school?”
    “Nope. Not kidding.” She got into the truck and looked back at him. “Why is that surprising?”
    At a complete loss for words, Ethan just gently closed the door and went around to the driver’s side. “What about prom?” he asked as he slid behind the wheel.
    “The one time I went, my senior year, I went with Annie. I did get asked one year, by your sister’s ex-boyfriend, no less,” she teased, “but he was just trying to make her jealous.”
    “So if you never dated in high school, what else didn’t you do?”
    Beth groaned. “Do we have to talk about this? It’s embarrassing.”
    “I guess we don’t,” he conceded.
    As they sat in his truck behind the other vehicles waiting to get out of the parking lot, the cab filled with silence and she sighed. “I never went to parties, and I never parked with a guy. Never got drunk, never got kissed. The first time I was kissed was in my first year at college. There, you can laugh now.”
    “I’m not going to laugh. I may cry, though.”
    She just rolled her eyes. “Okay. I’ll get the tissues ready.”
    Ethan shook his head. “Seriously, you just keep surprising me. You’re not what I expected.”
    “I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted. What did you expect?”
    He moved his shoulders restlessly. “I don’t know. I didn’t expect to see you put in sixteen, eighteen-hour days. I guess that’s an insult, but it’s more reflective of me