Dark Promise Read Online Free PDF Page A

“What’d I miss?”
    Sierra’s face brightened and she opened her mouth to gush, until she looked over at Emma. She sat back in her seat and held her hands up in surrender. “I’ll let Emma tell you.”
    Emma was known for being a gossip. She knew everything about everyone before it even happened. At least that’s how it seemed. She pushed a strand of her curly black hair behind her ear and leaned forward. “Well, apparently Amanda and Colin got caught doing the deed in his car. A cop came up and flashed his flashlight at them, and then he followed them home and told their parents.”
    “What!? I didn’t even know they liked each other.” I appealed to Adam. Colin was on the baseball team and a pretty good friend of his, but he just shrugged.
    “That’s not all,” Emma went on, her round face animated. “Jason broke up with Liz—”
    I tried to pay attention, but Adam had his hand on my thigh and everyone else seemed to fade out. His touch gave me tunnel vision, so much so that I had a hard time finishing my lunch.
    When the bell rang, I dumped my trash into the garbage can and tossed the tray on the pile to be cleaned. Adam put his hand on my waist and spun me around, pulling me close so he could press his lips against mine. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed every second of our kiss.
    With one last peck, he pulled away and said, “See you later.”
    I watched as he walked away, my lips still tingling.
    Sierra walked up and came to a stop next to me. “You two really are sickening. You do realize that, don’t you?”
    I nodded, heat rising to my cheeks. We couldn’t help it; being together just came so naturally.
    On the way to our next class, I spotted Ian hanging out by his locker. I nudged Sierra with my elbow. “Go say hi,” I murmured.
    She blushed and looked down at her sandals, her hands knitting together in front of her.
    “Oh, don’t play shy with me. We both know you are anything but.” I gave her a little shove towards him.
    She stumbled and dropped one of the books she was holding. It was a heavy textbook that hit the ground with a thud. “Ry!” she hissed between her teeth.
    Ian looked up at us from where he was crouched over his backpack. His hair was such a dark black, it made his face look extremely white and his lips red. He had one earring in his left ear and another in his bottom lip. He hadn’t always looked that way. I remembered him from elementary school when he was blond and all-American.
    Sierra held up a hand and waved timidly. “Hi, Ian.”
    The corners of his mouth turned up just a little. “Hey.”
    Sierra went to lean against the lockers beside him, and he stood. Leaving them alone to talk, I continued on towards history class. I really wasn’t a fan of history because I thought it was so annoyingly boring. Who cared about what happened in the past?
    I plopped down in my assigned seat and waited for Sierra.
    She showed up a couple of minutes later, right before the bell rang, wearing a huge grin on her face.
    “I take it things went well?” I prompted.
    She took the seat in front of me and whipped around with a nod. “He asked if I wanted to grab a bite to eat and go to the movies this weekend.”
    The bell sounded, and our teacher stood up behind his desk. “Please take out your books and turn to page two hundred thirty.”
    “And you said yes, right?” I whispered as I flipped open my book and searched for the correct page.
    “Of course,” she whispered over her shoulder.
    I grinned. “When?”
    “Rylie? Sierra? Stop talking or be sent to the principal.” Mr. Jackson looked down at us over glasses that always slid down his nose.
    Sierra rolled her eyes and turned to face the teacher. “Sorry.”
    I knew it was selfish, but all I could think about was how her date better not be on my birthday. After class was over, I pulled Sierra aside in the hallway. “When are you going?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Calm down. I know exactly what you’re thinking. I told