Heart's Reflection Read Online Free PDF Page A

Keagan. Can I give you a
ride home?"
    For a
mille-second, surprise widened his eyes and slackened his jaw. He tossed the
cigarette butt to the pavement and ground it under the heel of his boot. Then a
casual smirk replaced surprise. He muttered something to his companions,
causing them to laugh and shoot me a leer as Keagan sauntered my way.
    "What are you
doing here, Goody?"
    "Don't call
me that." The nickname set my teeth on edge. "Do you want a ride or
not?" Great. What a way to start a
seduction .
    "Oh
yeah," he said, pulling open the passenger door. "I definitely want a
ride."
    His statement was
loud enough for his friends to hear. From their nasty chuckles I knew they were
reading in a double entendre, as Keagan had no doubt meant them to do.
    Once he was
inside, I set off but couldn't think what to say. We drove along in silence. My
hands clenched and unclenched on the steering wheel while Keagan sat in his
seat, staring at me with that horrid smile. A glance at him and my stomach
churned as if somebody had installed a roulette wheel inside me.
    "Put on your
seatbelt would you?" I said, finally.
    "Concerned
about me?" he asked.
    "About the
ticket I'll get. Since I'm underage I could lose my license."
    He didn't answer,
just snorted and reached for the strap. He jerked it down and buckled himself
in. "Happy?"
    So far from happy
that happy wasn't even a speck in the distance.
    When I didn't
answer, he spoke again in that too knowing drawl. "What's this about? I
don't imagine you're giving me a ride for my convenience."
    I'd have to tell
him sometime but somehow I couldn't force out any words. This had all seemed
like such a good idea in theory but in practice my seduction techniques reeked.
    "Well?"
he asked.
    "Ummm."
    We pulled up in
front of his house and I stopped the car but kept it idling.
    "Okay,
then," Keagan said with a fake cheerfulness, as if he knew I was
struggling to come out with something. "Thanks for the ride."
    He pulled on the
handle and the passenger door swung open. Keagan had one foot out the door when
I put a hand on his arm.
    "Wait,"
I said.
    He relaxed back
into the seat and shut the door while I switched off the ignition.
    "Youwannagooutwithme?"
The mumbled words tumbled out of my mouth.
    "Huh?"
    Straightening my
shoulders, I sucked in a deep breath. This ninny act of mine just wouldn't do.
I turned and faced him.
    Staring Keagan in
the eye, I said, "A date. You and me. How about it?"
    Except for a few
blinks, Keagan's expression didn't register any reaction. Why had I never
noticed before what long lashes he had over those gray eyes?
    "You want to
go on a date. With me." He pronounced every word distinctly.
    "Yes."
    Now his eyebrows
arched and he pointed at himself. "With me?"
    I nodded.
    Shifting to turn
away and stare at the floorboards of the car, he said, "Sure.
Tonight?"
    "No. Tomorrow
night."
    "After the
game?" Keagan looked up at me and a smirk twisted his lips. His eyes
twinkled with a cynicism that cut at me. Somehow he already knew what I would
say. I said it anyway.
    "No. During
the game."
    "Do I get the
same deal you offered Liam," he joked. "You'll go with me to the
reserve?"
    "Yes," I
said, swallowing a lump the size of the hope diamond. "If that's what you
want."
    "Why?"
He asked.
    "Maybe I just
want someone to care enough about me to give up the big game . You heard Liam. I'm a manipulative tease."
    "That just
doesn't seem like you," he muttered. He shook his head as if trying to
clear it of confusion. "There has to be something else—"
    Interrupting him,
I squeezed his arm. "The important thing is you said you'd have taken the
deal."
    "You were
joking." His eyes bored into mine with their intensity. "So I was
teasing you."
    "I'm not
joking now." My gaze didn't waver from his. "I want to go out with
you. You've been telling me to go wild. Now I have."
    "I don't
believe it," he said. " Something is going on and I just don't know
what."
    The thoughts in
his head almost screamed out