Ever: The Ever Trilogy, Book One (Volume 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

talk to Frankie about everything and anything for as long as I could remember, I was suddenly, painfully, tongue-tied. I swear he knew it too. He let his gaze slide over my body in a similar fashion as he did before—pausing briefly at my mid-section—and even though I was no longer in merely a bra and panties, I could almost see the gears turning in his head as he thought about my lack of clothing the previous night.
    He smiled at me—a mischievous, knowing smile—and my cheeks heated up a bit more.
    “I almost didn’t recognize you with all of your clothes on.”
    And then he winked at me. My mouth dropped open on a gasp. He actually winked at me. I wanted to punch him, but I restrained myself. I hadn’t figured out the logistics of punching a ghost yet.
    “Ugh. You’re impossible. I’m going to my room.”
    “Oh, Doll, come on. I’m teasing you!”
    It was hard to resist him when he smiled at me so playfully like that, but I stomped off down the hall, Gollum close on my heels. Frankie’s laughter followed me out of the kitchen. Well, I’m glad he’s enjoying himself. Jerk.
    I was trying to portray an air of nonchalance, when all the while I was torn between wanting to get away from him as fast as I could to keep my silly lovesick feelings for him a secret, and turning around and running into his arms.
    His ghostly arms.
    His ghostly arms that could never, ever hold me.
    I didn’t have long to stew on that fact, or pout about my depressing lack of a love life because it was time to get ready for work. Lately, my shift at the animal shelter started early on Sundays because of the before-church adoptions my boss really thought would take off. She called them the Early Bird Adoptions and had some tagline I could never remember about the early bird getting the dog , or something silly like that. Jessie and I had to be in by seven every Sunday morning. Today was the fifth Early Bird Adoption event, and we’d had only one adoption so far.
    I grabbed my iPod and my purse then headed for the door, stopping quickly to say goodbye to my mom and dad. They were huddled together over their coffee mugs, talking and laughing about who knows what, barely even noticing my presence in the room. I had to clear my throat to get them to tear their eyes away from each other and acknowledge me.
    I didn’t see Frankie again, which was fine with me. I didn’t honestly know what to say to him, and he clearly found that fact amusing. Apparently, he was about as unaffected by seeing me nearly naked as I was affected by it.
    Jessie was waiting for me when I pulled up to the shelter, leaning against her car, which was parked right in front. Our manager hated when she did that, but Jessie could charm anyone, and somehow she always managed to get her way. She wore a fitted pink tube top with a matching cardigan, both of which were almost the exact same pink of her car. The surprising aspect of her outfit wasn’t the shade of pink though, since Jessie only ever wore pink. It was the introduction of another color entirely: cream, not to mention a wardrobe item I had no idea she even owned: leggings. Cream, lace-trimmed leggings to be exact. Cream. They must have been brand new since I’d never seen her in anything other than variations of pink, and I’d definitely never seen her in leggings. At all.
    I parked my green machine in the employee parking lot across the street and sprinted to meet up with Jess. I’d spent so much time in my room feeling sorry for myself that I was almost late. Again.
    “Helloo? Late much?”
    “Hey, Jess. What’s with the leggings?”
    “Oh. Yeah, well, I thought it would be fun for spring. You know, switching it up a bit. Nude is all the rage right now.”
    I didn’t correct her by telling her that she wasn’t actually wearing nude. I just nodded and told her I liked them.
    “Well, of course you do. Duh. I know all about your unhealthy obsession with leggings.”
    Jessie worked in the front office of