Apples & Oranges (The This & That Series) Read Online Free PDF

Sighing, I dr agged my hand down my face, leaving streaks of mascara on my palm. “I’m just… just… okay, fine. I’m bent out of shape.”
    “Aha! I knew it!” Lexie slapped her hand down on the stainless steel table. “You like him.”
    Candace gasped. “Do you really?”
    “No. No , I do not.” I plucked up a few strands of corn silk. “He’s a jerk. A big one. I can think of a few obscenities that describe Demo Antonopolous perfectly. But I won’t say them in present company.” I nodded my head in the direction of the playpen that was set up in the corner of the kitchen, where Lexie’s baby was snoring away.
    “You’re getting soft.” Candace yanked another leaf. “Ever since Lexie had Ian, you’ve stopped swearing so much.”
    Rolling my eyes, I folded my arms across my chest. “ Go to hell. I have not.”
              “Yes, you have.” Lexie nodded. “The other day you spelled out penis head .”
    “She did?” Candace put her arm around me and squeezed me tight. “Oh, Marisol, I’m so proud of you.”
    Cringing, I wriggled out of her grip. “Okay, okay. Come on. You know how I feel about affection and all that.” She giggled and let go, so I smoothed my hair down casually. “What I’m trying to say is, I don’t like Demo. But he’s nice to look at. And he could be cruising all over Spokane right now in my car.”
    Lexie stopped stirring. “I thought your car was broken down?”
    “It is.” I shook my head. “You’re missing the point.”
    “Well, get to it,” laughed Candace.
    “My point is,” I said. “Demo acts like a total bastard, and I’m pretty sure he’s got a Tasmanian devil tattoo on his back hidden beneath some Greek lettering, which knocks him further up on the douche scale. But he’s also gorgeous. And I loves me a gorgeous man, am I right, or am I right?”
    “Right,” they both said in unison.
    “You’re sort of known for your impeccable taste in men,” Candace pointed out. “You tend to stalk any prey wearing an Armani suit, and you don’t stop until you’ve torn him to shreds.”
    “Which begs me to ask…” Lexie added some fresh chives to her mixture. “Isn’t this mechanic a little bit…” She bit her lip and winced. “You know, below your standards?”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped.
    “Calm down.” Candace touched my shoulder. “What Lex is trying to say is, didn’t you once tell us that Annalise taught you not to date below a certain standard?”
    Lexie nodded. “Which is why you wouldn’t go out with the garbage man when he asked.”
              “He was pretty fine, too,” Candace agreed.
    Embarrassment pressed down on my shoulders, and I had to force myself to stay sitting up straight. I didn’t want to show my friends that I was embarrassed by my behavior. I worked hard to appear cocky all the time.
    “Maybe I’m trying to change that.” When both Candace and Lexie looked at me curiously, I added, “About myself. I’m trying to stop snubbing people because of my mother’s stupid rules. Where have her rules gotten her?”
    “Good point,” Lexie said at the same time Candace blurted, “Kudos to you, Mar.”
    “Gee, thanks,” I muttered.
    Lexie tossed a pea in my direction. “It’s good to see you broadening your horizons. There’s a whole world of blue collar men you’re missing out on.”
    “I’m not saying I’m going to start at the top of the list and work my way down.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. I’d been in a funk all day, beginning when I sat down with my mother at the restaurant and cresting when Demo-the-mechanic rejected my advances. It didn’t matter that I’d only been trying to score faster towing. Now that I knew he didn’t want me, I wanted him. How screwed up was that?
    “Want to go out with the guy who cleaned our gutters last spring?” Candace asked, picking up the stray pea Lexie threw, and popping it in my mouth. “He was