Angel Star Read Online Free PDF Page B

just the place,” he said warmly.
    I felt completely at ease sitting beside him, as if I belonged there, though I tried not to get too ahead of myself. So far, this could hardly count as a first date and there was so much I was eager to know yet. I decided to enjoy the moment and revel in the unknown laid out before me.
    We were nearing the street now. The long line ahead had trickled down to us and a few remaining cars. The buses had filtered out in the opposite direction, leaving large plumes of exhaust to linger after them, and the parking lot was emptying quickly.
    “Oh, no! Claire!” My hand shot up to cover my mouth as I saw her still waiting for me beside her car.
    Then I realized the impatient anger on her face was not directed at me for my absence but was aimed instead at the person furiously arguing a few feet in front of her. Ryan’s usually happy-go-lucky demeanor had been strikingly replaced by stone and his dark eyes glared at my best friend as they continued their very public discussion.
    “Did you want to stop?”
    A wave of guilt suddenly washed over me. I didn’t know which was worse, leaving Claire alone to fight her own battles or the sinking feeling that I had witnessedsomething she wouldn’t want to talk about later.
    “No. Ryan’s with her. I’ll…I’ll call her later.” My voice unavoidably sounded detached with concern. I would call Claire as soon as I got home, not to gloat about my impromptu date, but as a friend.
    Garreth put his hand over mine and gave it a gentle squeeze then pushed a CD into the stereo. Soon the car was filled with the soothing chords of Rush’s “The Pass,” an outdated classic I secretly held close to my heart. I stared at Garreth in wonder and my soul slowly began to fill with something I had never felt before.
    We drove down Church Street and pulled into a little shopping center already bustling with the early-afternoon business of high school students free for the weekend. Although I was elated to be with him, this was the last place I wanted to be. All those eyes watching us, wondering, forming rumors, unnerved me. As much as I, too, wanted those whispers to be true, I couldn’t help but wish they would mind their own business.
    We parked in front of Starbucks and Garreth turned to me, his beautiful smile blinding me; and, just like that, the “eyes” seemed a million miles away.
    “Do you like coffee?”
    “Love it. It’s my one weakness.”
    Until now.
    I lowered my eyes, convinced if he stared into them long enough they would surely give me away.
    The door to the coffee shop opened and the sharpness of the Arabica beans hit me as I inhaled the penetrating caffeine rush. We stepped inside to take our place in line. It was the only decent place in town to give in to an all-consuming caffeine addiction and was becoming increasingly more crowded by the second; several kids I recognized turned to look at us.
    Brynn, unfortunately, was holding court at the back table, conferring with her wicked groupies. As if catching our scent over the bold Colombian cloud, they turned in unison, their dark eyes unreadable. I looked away in hopes of forcing them out of my head as I scanned the menu board on the wall, but I was already distracted and overwhelmed. Making sense of the newly listed coffees for the season was mind-boggling, so when I overheard Garreth ordering a latte I figured that was good enough for me too.
    “I’ll have the same. Just a tall.” I reached for my wallet to pay my share but he was quicker and handed a twenty to the frazzled girl behind the counter, who happened to spare enough time to drink in the tall, blond wonder standing beside me.
    We stepped aside to wait for our drinks at the crowded counter and I realized I was self-consciously aware of nearly everything around me; aware of how close we were standing to each other; aware of the dark scowls Brynn and the other girls were shooting across the room at us; and, very aware of the