Cruiser Read Online Free PDF Page A

then run my finger across his cheek. I have this fantasy of combing my fingers through my boyfriend’s hair, but Rey has a buzz cut and refuses to grow it long like his brother.  I wonder what it’d feel like to…no! I can’t think about that.
    “Why do you always have to pick these movies?”  Rey mumbles. For a second I forget where I am, and for even a slighter second, I think I’m with Cruiser. I hit the side of my head like that’ll help get his face out of my mind. Rey cocks an eyebrow.
    Oh , he just asked me a question. What was it again…? “We watch these movies because documentaries put me to sleep.” All of the sudden, I feel suffocated by Rey’s proximity.
    It seems like he feels the opposite because when I try to slide away from him, he pushes me deeper into the couch, leans down and presses his lips to mine. “Documentaries make you smarter. Open your eyes to things you’ve never seen or thought about before. Romance movies are all fake.” He kisses me harder, like he hasn’t kissed me in weeks, and rests his nose on mine.
    “Rey?”
    “Yeah?”
    I want to ask what’s going on with us. But instead I say, “Is everything okay?”
    He picks a strand of my hair off my shoulder and sniffs it. “Strawberry-flavored this time?” he asks and I laugh lightly. Trust Rey to remember the scents of all my shampoos. He twirls the strand around his finger. “I’m just nervous, I guess. My violin instructor told me some scouts are going to show up at my recital. No pressure there.”
    “Scouts from Juilliard?” I ask, sitting up and forcing him to roll off me.
    “Yeah, I think so.”
    It’s been both our dreams to get into Juilliard after high school and live in New York. But with my doubts about dancing, I don’t know what to think anymore.
    “Let’s not talk about this,” I say, pulling him to me and wra pping my arms around his neck. I press my lips to his.
    He kisses my neck, and when he reaches a sensitive spot, I feel like I’ve been transported into another world, where it rains chocolate and smells like flowers. I’m floating up and up and n ever will come down until—
    Until he jerks back . Footsteps come down the hall.
    “It’s just Cruiser,” Rey mutters before leaning in for another kiss. The Dalton twins have always had an uncanny ability to sense when the other one is near.
    I turn my face and Rey’s lips brush my cheek. “What’s wrong?”  
    “Not in front of…” I rasp, my heart beating so fast I’m scared the b lood may burst out of my veins.
    “Who? Cruiser?”
    “You don’t have to worry about me,” Cruiser says, checking himself in the hall mirror. “I’m g oing out tonight.”
    He’s wearing black jeans and a tight blue shirt.
    “New girl?” Rey leans toward my lips again. I shove at his chest, but my hands are like rubber bands.
    “You bet.” Cruiser shuffles his hair until it falls over his eyes to get his perfect “bad boy” look. “Goes by the name Erica.” His reflection winks at me, then stares at me, and I can’t take my eyes off the mirror.
    My ears pound.
    “Oh, the chick you picked up at work. Where’re you taking her?” Rey locks his fingers though mine and squeezes. I look at him and try to muster a smile, but my eyes flick back to Cruiser’s reflection. His eyes are still on me.
    “Her house,” Cru iser says. My stomach clenches.
    Cruiser gives the mirror a thumbs-up. “I’ll be home late . What you kids doing tonight?”
    “Just hanging out,” Rey says.
    Cruiser turns around. His brother can’t see him because he’s facing me, so he can’t see how Cruiser is looking at me. I pry my eyes away.
    “I’ll catch ya later,” he throws over his shoulder as he heads out the door.
    Once it slams after him, Rey’s lips seek mine. As I press myself closer to him, an uninvited thought enters my head. Cruiser kissing me. Exploring my body. He was the first guy I kissed at fourteen. We’re older now—would Cruiser touch