Burnout (Jack 'Em Up Book 0) Read Online Free PDF

stupid and forced. I just couldn’t fathom what was going on between us. Inside of me. I’d never felt like this before.
    We were silent as we pulled into the Whataburger lot and he parked next to my car. He shifted in his seat. “Thanks. I had fun.”
    “Me, too.” My voice was a rushed whisper. I was desperate for him to ask me out again. To find out what this was pinging back and forth between us. His eyes simply pinned mine. “Okay,” I finally said, reaching for the door handle. “See ya later, I guess?”
    I popped open the door, letting in a cool gust of December air. I shivered and stepped out. Just before I shut the door, he stretched across the seat and caught my gaze. “Wanna go out again sometime?”
    My stomach seized and I wanted to jump up and down. But I kept it cool. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
    I returned his mysterious smile and pressed the door closed with a click. I felt his eyes boring into my back as I turned to my car and opened the door. I slid into my driver’s seat and let myself look. His smile was gone. In its place was a fierce look I couldn’t name. Desire? Hope? Fear?
    Yeah. I knew the feeling.
    I offered him a brief wave then backed out. As I drove into traffic, I checked my rearview mirror. He was exactly where I’d left him, his car idling, headlights blazing a path in the darkness.

    “Where have you been, young lady?”
    I grimaced at my father’s condemning tone as I spun to face him from the top of the stairs. Damn. I’d hoped to sneak in quietly. I pasted on a contrite expression. “Out. With . . . friends.”
    “Friends?”
    “Yes.” God, I hated to lie. But I wanted to get caught with Blake even less. That would be ugly. “With Rachel.”
    My father studied me, but when his cell phone rang, he nodded and walked away.
    Phew.
    I closed myself into my bedroom and plopped on my bed. Was I being dumb, making too much out of this? It was only one date. Nothing.
    Liar , my heart called out. It felt like a lot more than a date. And we were going out again. Well, if he was serious.
    A brisk knock preceded my mother barging in. “You’re back,” she said, stating the obvious.
    I plucked at the hem of my sweater, watching as she paced in front of my gleaming mahogany dresser, stopping to lift the cover of my Anatomy book then letting it flop back down as she faced me. “John called while you were out.”
    “John?”
    Displeasure splashed down her features. “John Hughes. The Councilman’s son.”
    “Oh. Why?”
    She rolled her eyes. “To speak with you, of course. I hope to ask you out on a date.”
    I gaped like a fish. “A date?”
    With a sour face, she headed for the door. “I left his number downstairs. Call him back.” Then she was gone in a whoosh of Chanel.
    I thought of John’s perfect, blond good looks. Maybe any other day, I would’ve found him attractive. Or at least tried, to please my parents. But not today. It was impossible with Blake Travers’ brooding brown eyes swimming around my subconscious.

Blake
     
    I let myself in the house after dropping Delilah off. I stood for a second to adjust my eyes to the dark, my nose to the stench. Sweat, alcohol, cigarettes. Misery.
    It was still cool, but not as cold as that morning. Maybe Dad had worked on the heater. I hung my jacket up on the rack by the door and ran a hand down my face. I was suddenly tired. So tired.
    “Where’ve you been?” Dad’s quiet voice came from the living room.
    I squinted and saw him lying on the sofa. “Out with a friend.” I padded down the hall toward my room, not waiting to see what else he had to say.
    Before I got to my bedroom, soft snoring sounded from the living room. I shut my door and locked it before flipping on a light. I dumped my wallet and keys on the dresser, my eyes catching on the photo of me, my brother, and my mom at a Boy Scout event.
    I picked up the dusty frame and swiped a finger over my mother’s face. She was always smiling. Always happy with