Embracing Trouble (Trouble Series) Read Online Free PDF

didn’t let on as he headed back into the main room where the other guys were still drinking and smoking. I could see that the numbers had increased, and the big blond guy was watching us. I crossed my arms, feeling uncomfortable as they all studied me. Zac gave them a glare and then continued to the front door, not saying a word as he opened it for me.
    “See you, Ava,” called out Noah with a cheeky smile.
    I gave him a quick smile before I stepped out and then heard all the other guys shout out their goodbyes to me.
    “Bye, Ava!”
    “Love you, Ava.”
    “Come back again, Ava!”
    Zac swiftly closed the door on them, putting their shouts and laughter to a more muted volume in the night air. I slowly went down the steps and saw that Noah lived in a separate unit on top of a garage at the back of the main house. I stumbled a little on the last step and quickly righted myself, still feeling the drug effects.
    “I can drive you home,” he said behind me.
    I shook my head and answered, “No, I can walk.”
    Knowing I couldn’t handle the closeness of being inside a car with him, I asked, “So, Noah lives up there?”
    “Some families like to keep their failures separate,” he murmured behind me.
    I gave him a puzzled look, wondering what he meant but knew he wouldn’t enlighten me even if I asked him. He passed me and started making his way up the main driveway, his hands in his pockets. I quickly tried to catch up, my limbs still feeling heavy.
    I heard splashing and giggling next door at Noah’s party and the music that had been turned down. I tried to look between the trees and bushes but could only make out the deck that was lit up.
    “You want me to take you back there?” he asked suddenly.
    I looked over to him to see he was walking backwards, observing me with his hood on over his head. He looked so amazingly mysterious like that and I took a breath.
    “No,” I said, continuing to walk.
    He hadn’t stopped once and was nearly at the end of the driveway before I realized he was most likely wanting to get back to his own party at Noah’s. He was walking me home under sufferance and I felt stupid. I sped up, folding my arms in front of me, enjoying the warmth from the borrowed hoodie that smelt like soap and cigarettes. I pulled the hood over my head as well and continued to walk beside him.
    “So, do you live around here, too?” I asked, willing my dizziness to go away so I could make the most of our two-minute walk.
    “Sometimes,” he returned, leaving it at that.
    I continued to walk.
    “Do you go to Uni?”
    “No,” he said glancing at me in my hood, his eyes narrowing for a split second before he looked away and kept walking in silence.
    What was that look, I thought nervously. Did he remember that I had his hoodie on and he wanted it back?
    “You’re very mysterious.”
    “I was a date rapist an hour ago.”
    I covered my face with my hands.
    “I’m sorry about that, but I had only met you earlier tonight. What was I to think?”
    He didn’t respond, but continued to walk alongside me.
    “So, Shara,” I pressed. “If not a girlfriend, then a friend?”
    “Just a girl.”
    “Who wants to be a girlfriend?”
    “I don’t do girlfriends,” he stated.
    “Why don’t…”
    “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” he interrupted.
    I lowered my eyes and looked down at the pavement.
    “I haven’t really been looking for one, I guess,” I said softly, which was the truth.
    He continued to walk beside me in silence.
    “Or, maybe no one finds me interesting enough,” I said with a shrug.
    He gave me a questioning glance before looking away.
    I suddenly wondered why I was being so honest with this cool, mysterious guy who was definitely not being open or honest with me.
    He continued to walk in silence with his hands still in his pockets, and a scowl on his face. Maybe I was annoying him? I probably needed to stop talking altogether. I slightly stumbled over an uneven section of the