Blurred Lines Read Online Free PDF Page B

notebook in hand, and his eyes were fixed on Lauren as well. He smiled when he realized she was looking back at him, and she was struck by how his smile brightened the darkened features of his face. He was definitely older than the seventeen and eighteen-year-old students who giggled and laughed in the front rows, but Lauren wouldn’t peg him for being past thirty either. Nervousness set in and she turned away from him, focusing her attention once again on the front of the room where Anthony stood with his arms crossed, watching with amusement as the introductions occurred around him. All of a sudden, the man who’d smiled at her showed up beside Lauren and offered his hand. His other arm was cradling a jacket and notebook.
    “Hey, partner.”
    Lauren looked up and smiled uneasily at him. She had nothing against him, she was just uncertain about having to do something as personal and subjective as writing with a man she’d never met before. If their writing styles, opinions, and ideas didn’t mesh well, Lauren’s grade in the course could be in jeopardy, and she had yet to even start the lessons.
    “Hello,” Lauren said but didn’t meet his eyes. The man seemed to find her shyness amusing as he side-stepped in front of her seat and sat down beside her, tossing his things into the chair on the other side of him.
    “I’m Dean. Looks like we’re stuck together.”
    Lauren was surprised when, once again, he held out his hand. If nothing, he’s adamant , she thought to herself. She didn’t want a partner, someone to have to answer to when it came to what and how she wrote. She didn’t want to have to suffer through her writer’s block and perhaps even fail at this course because of it, especially with an audience, and she surely didn’t want to be paired up with an attractive man. She had enough on her plate to keep her distracted without that.
    What would Sarah do? She couldn’t help but realize Sarah wouldn’t be nearly as against such an arrangement. She was more of a roll-with-the-punches kind of girl, more comfortable in her own skin, more outgoing. She would be able to handle this situation like it was no big deal.
    Lauren squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment, then looked up and met Dean’s gaze. Portraying all the confidence she could muster, she slid her hand into his and shook it gently. “I’m Sarah, good to meet you.”
    Not only did her words surprise her, but Lauren was taken aback by the voice that emanated from her own throat. It was almost unrecognizable, coated with authority and confidence that Lauren had never been able to convey before.
    “Nice to meet you, too, Sarah. What do you think he’s got up his sleeve for a first assignment? This guy seems a little unconventional, to say the least,” Dean said as he leaned sideways to be closer to her.
    Lauren was repeating Sarah’s name in her head over and over again, intent on channeling her character to take full control of the situation.
    “Unconventional, yes, but perhaps he’s got a point. Since when does writing have to include specific rules and a certain order of things? As with most things, it’s better left to chance. Some of the most interesting things to happen to us are usually the most unexpected as well.” Lauren gave Dean a smug grin and then turned her attention back to Anthony, who had just found a piece of paper in his pile and was taking his place again in the center of the stage. Lauren wasn’t sure if she was more excited about the words that were coming to her so easily as she played Sarah or the surge of adrenaline and rush of freedom that was washing over her. Maybe Nadine was right.
    “All right.” Anthony’s voice reverberated throughout the auditorium. “Now that you’ve met your unsuspecting partners, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. It won’t be difficult unless you make it so. You may or may not know the lucky soul that you’ve been placed with, but you will know a lot more about their