After Eden Read Online Free PDF Page A

one of them, a girl called Scarlett, made her way over to us.
    “Come and get a drink,” she said, linking arms with Ryan and steering him toward Matt and the cooler.
    I walked over to Connor and Megan and plunked myself on their blanket.
    “What’s going on?” Megan whispered. “How the hell did you end up coming to Amy’s party with Ryan Westland?”
    “I’m not sure myself,” I said. “Ryan gave me a lift home last night and I mentioned Amy’s party. He asked if he could come along.”
    “He gave you a lift home?” Megan asked. “Explain that?”
    I shrugged. “It would seem those rumors about him driving around town are true. He drove past me last night and he gave me a lift.”
    “Why would you, of all people, get in a car with an underage driver?” Connor asked, locking eyes with me.
    I met his gaze. “Because I was cold and alone and the road was dark.”
    “Why didn’t you get the bus?”
    “Because I had to wait thirty minutes for the bus.”
    He turned to Megan. “You left her alone at the bus stop?”
    Megan looked at me uncomfortably. “Eden said she was okay.”
    “I
was
okay,” I said. “Stop acting like you’re my dad, Connor.”
    Connor shrugged. “No worries. You want to get in a car with an underage driver from another country, you go ahead. It’s none of my business.”
    I looked at Megan and she rolled her eyes. “Connor was just telling me about astronomy club,” she said, clearly attempting to move the conversation onto safer ground.
    “Was it a good night?” I asked.
    Connor pushed his hair out of his eyes. “Different. Usually it’s just five of us and Mr. Chinn. Yesterday, Westland showed up and eight Year Eleven girls also decided to join. Quite the coincidence.”
    “So what did you do?” I asked.
    “We looked at Venus and Jupiter.”
    “That sounds good,” I said. “I’d love to do that.”
    Connor smirked. “Yeah, right.”
    “I would.”
    “That’s why you’ve always shown such an interest in the past.” Connor lay back on his elbows. “To be fair, Westland was mostly interested in the telescope and talking to Mr. Chinn. He more or less ignored his groupies. Chloe Mason was throwing herself at him all evening. He didn’t seem to notice. I think he paid more attention to me than any of the girls.”
    “Maybe he’s gay,” said Megan.
    Connor shook his head. “I don’t think he’s interested in boys or girls. He’s a science geek.”
    Megan snorted. “He doesn’t
look
like a science geek.”
    Connor pulled himself back up into a sitting position. “And what exactly does a science geek look like?”
    “It’s just that he’s pretty muscly,” she said. “He looks as though he belongs on the rugby team, not in the astronomy club.”
    “So you can’t be muscular and into science? The two are mutually exclusive?”
    “Of course not,” Megan sighed, rolling her eyes.
    Ryan was making his way across the sand to us, swinging a full bottle of beer in one hand.
    “Hey, Ryan,” said Connor. “Did you enjoy astronomy club last night?”
    Ryan sat on the blanket next to me. He pushed the bottle of beer into the sand so that it stood upright. “Yeah. It was good.”
    I nudged Ryan with my elbow. “According to Connor, the membership tripled yesterday.”
    Ryan grinned and nudged me back. “
You
haven’t signed up.”
    “I don’t know anything about astronomy. The only object I can identify in the night sky is the moon.”
    “Maybe you should join then. You might learn something.”
    Connor scowled. “Don’t waste your breath. Eden will never join. She thinks science is for geeks.”
    “I didn’t say that!”
    “It’s true though, isn’t it?” said Connor.
    “Not at all,” I said, beginning to get annoyed.
    Megan stood up. “Come on, Connor. Let’s go and get a drink.” She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him overto Matt and the cooler full of bottles. Ryan and I watched in silence.
    “So you and Connor have been friends