Center Stage Read Online Free PDF

just enough so she could look at his watch. “It is five o’clock. You call this getting out of work early?”
    He shrugged. “Yeah. Stopped and looked at a building on my way home.”
    “Something new?”
    “Maybe.” He scratched his head. “You want a beer?”
    Arianna let out a sigh. “I’d love one.”
     
    John took the steps down to his place slowly. He needed to clear his head.
    What was it about Arianna Keller that made him do ridiculous things? He had been looking at her ass in the air, just as she’d hinted. That wasn’t his way. He didn’t find it amusing when the guys on site did it either.
    And then there was that building he’d been looking at. The Rockwell Theater on the edge of town was slated to be torn down if it wasn’t renovated. All he could think about was helping Arianna fix it up.
    He rubbed the back of his neck as he walked into the kitchen. It was already getting complicated. He should drop the whole thing, sit down in his chair, and watch some sports on ESPN. After all, that was why he had that enormous TV. Sports and MythBusters—explosions were always better in high-definition.
    He could hear boxes slide across the floor. A glance at his TV made him feel guilty. He pulled four beers out of the refrigerator and stood there with the door open.
    Alone in his little space wasn’t where he wanted to be. He wanted to be upstairs with her. Damn it!
    The sound of feet on the stairs which led to the inside door of his apartment had his attention. Then there was a knock on the door. He walked across the room.
    “Yes?”
    “Can I open this?” Her voice was muffled from the other side.
    “The door?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why?” How silly was it they were yelling through it? He unlocked his side. “My side is unlocked. Unlock your side.”
    He heard the bold click, and Arianna pushed it open. “Cool.” She looked around the kitchen where he stood with four beers in his arms.
    “You shouldn’t keep that door unlocked.”
    The corner of her mouth lifted into a grin. “Are you afraid I might sneak down and attack you?”
    There she went again, stirring him up. “No.” He shook his head. “What did you need?”
    “Stupid question, but do you have a hammer, a screwdriver, and a wrench?”
    “No.”
    Her nose crinkled in the most amusing and cute way, but he kept his lips pursed and forced himself not to smile.
    “Oh. I just thought…” She was flustered.
    “I was kidding. Of course I have those. They are in my truck. Here.” He handed her the beers. “I’ll go out and get them. You take these upstairs.”
    Arianna nodded, took the beers, and started up the steps which led to her own kitchen.
    “Stop looking at my ass, Forrester.”
    Guilt dropped like a lead balloon into the pit of his stomach. Again, that was exactly what he’d been doing.
    When he walked through her back door, Arianna was on the floor going through a box. The contents were spread all over the floor.
    “Shouldn’t you get your furniture in its place first, and then sort through the boxes?”
    “I packed in a hurry. The boxes are mixed.”
    “What needs to be fixed?”
    Arianna looked at him with a look of confusion clouding her eyes, but when he shook his hammer in his hand, she bolted up to her feet.
    “Oh, yeah. The bed needs to be assembled.”
    Arianna started up the stairs to her bedroom, but John took a slower pace. He’d felt guilty enough putting the air mattress in there. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be in her bedroom.
    When he reached the top of the stairs, he heard her moving boxes around. As he walked through the door, a pillow flew his way and he was merely quick enough to catch it before it hit him in the face.
    “You seem out of sorts tonight,” Arianna said as she kicked a box into the corner.
    “Do I?”
    “Long day at the office, dear?”
    Oh, she was playing with fire, and he was afraid he was the one getting burned in the process.
    “It was a good day. Are these all the pieces?”