Arousing Love, a teen novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

looked
around and saw my clock. “I should go, my parents will be wondering
where I am. I could try and come back later, after dinner, if you
want?”
    “Sure. I could paint your portrait then.”
    “Okay.” She smiled.
    She kissed me and climbed over me to get up.
At the door, she glanced back and said in a teasing voice, “Maybe
I’ll even let you paint me nude.”
    She flashed me a cheeky smile and was
gone.
    Whoa, she’s such a flirt.
     
    I went to the house to see if dinner was
ready. As soon as I walked through the door, my mom started asking
me questions about Joanna.
    “She’s very pretty. How old is she? How did
you meet her?”
    “She’s nearly sixteen, but she’s pretty
mature for her age.”
    “What about her parents? What do they think
of an eighteen year old boy hanging around with their
daughter?”
    “I don’t know. They probably don’t know about
it.”
    “Be careful, Zach. She might seem mature to
you, but sixteen year olds are still emotionally fragile. They seek
attention and flattery at that age, they often have such a low self
esteem they’ll do anything to be admired or loved.”
    “She’s not like that. She’s very self
confident.”
    “You still need to be careful. You don’t want
to break her heart.”
    “Yeah, okay Mom.” I signaled an end to the
conversation. She was right though, I had to be careful not to
break Joanna’s heart. But maybe it was too late for that. Maybe
we’ll both get hurt, and there’s nothing we can do except live
through it and eventually get over it.
    I headed for the door with my dinner in hand.
My dad was standing in the hallway and must have been listening to
our conversation.
    He shook his head at me. “Zach, if you can’t
see that girl is trouble, you’re a bigger fool than I took you
for.”
    “You don’t even know her, Dad.”
    “I saw her, in that skimpy, little
dress.”
    I walked past him and out the door. He’s
so judgmental—as if he’s so perfect and knows everything.
    In my room, I put on some music to match my
mood and turned it up loud. But then I remembered Joanna was coming
back soon, so I changed it to some Ben Harper—I thought she might
like that.
    I got out my paints and brushes and set up
the easel ready for her portrait. I only had two canvases left.
    There was a quiet knock at the door and I
leaped to open it.
    “Hi.” She breezed in and kissed me, her eyes
dancing.
    “What did you say to your parents?”
    “They just think I’m with my friends.
Sometimes Matt and Dave make a fire on the beach and we stay out
‘til after midnight, so they won’t miss me for a while.”
    “You want me to paint your portrait
then?”
    “Yeah.” She seemed to shiver. “You can paint
me now.” She smiled up at me.
    I showed her the two canvases I had left. “I
can use one for your portrait, and the other to paint something
else for you—whatever you want.”
    “Maybe you can do two portraits—one for me
and one for you to keep.”
    “Okay, if you don’t mind sitting for two
portraits?” I sure didn’t mind painting her twice.
    “No, I don’t mind, but the one I keep can’t
be a nude.”
    I looked at her and she blushed.
    “You mean . . . ” I couldn’t even say it.
    She nodded and smiled at me.
    My heart was already racing. “Okay,” I gave
her a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, this’ll be great.”
    I was saying it to myself as much as for her.
I felt all jittery as I put the canvas up on the easel.
    “So where do you want me?” She asked
meekly.
    “Umm, you can sit on the bed if you want, or
stand, any way you’re comfortable.”
    “Are we doing the nude one first?”
    Her question took my breath away. “If you
want to.”
    Is she really gonna do this? I took a
deep breath and watched to find out.
    She was blushing, and fumbling with her
clothes. She looked around at all the windows to see if anyone
could see in, then she slipped the straps of her dress off her
shoulders and let it fall to