Lust Read Online Free PDF Page B

not see her at all before she goes. Then I’d feel like a total idiot.
    What the hell.
    Anyway, Gaia’s not a girl per se. I mean, she is, but not like any girl I’ve met before. She’s not into shopping, she’s not into gossip, but she’s also not so punk rock that she hates all girlie things just to make a statement. She seems to be above it all—I mean, just outside of everything that most kids in high school think is dementedly important. It’s like she’s lived morethan she’s supposed to already. She’s seen more of the world than she has a right to at her age. And something about that—I just want to be near it. I want to soak it up.
    So she won’t be my prom date. I can’t picture her in a dress, anyway. But girls like that are a dime a dozen. Gaia’s mysterious. She’s got so much going on. She’s on a whole different level.
    I had no idea, when I found out I was switching schools, that I’d find such a prize. It’s like I’m getting a taste of the real world. And I just want more.

Feeling of Foreboding
    â€œTRY IT ON.”
    â€œI’m not trying it on.”
    â€œCome on, just the hood.”
    â€œThe hood is the worst part.”
    â€œThe cape, then.”
    â€œJake, you’re going to have to fulfill your fantasies some other way. I am not putting on that ridiculous getup.”
    â€œI’m going to have to ask you to put that down,” the salesclerk said. Gaia was quick to oblige. Jake, on the other hand, was clearly offended by the clerk’s request.
    â€œLet’s get out of here—I want to get some dinner, anyway,” Gaia said, defusing any potential “situation.” “C’mon, I’ll buy you some rice and beans.”
    â€œThat’s a whole dollar fifty,” Jake called after her as she strode out of the store. “I can’t let you do that.”
    They went to Burritoville around the corner and ordered. But just as they were digging into their Mexican concoctions, Gaia’s phone bleated.
    â€œThis has to be good news,” she said. “Unless it’s a wrong number.”
    But it wasn’t a wrong number. It was Oliver. Gaia made a few grunts of agreement, then snapped her phone shut. Her eyes were shining as she turned back to Jake.
    â€œI’ve got to go.”
    â€œBut your food,” Jake said, knowing it soundedlame, but not quite ready to watch her walk away for a week—or for the rest of his life.
    â€œI’m not hungry anymore. I gotta go.”
    â€œLet me come with you.”
    Gaia turned to him, her forehead wrinkling. “What, are you kidding me?”
    â€œYou may as well let me. I’m just going to follow you, anyway.”
    â€œYeah, right. I could lose you in half a second.”
    Jake gave a frustrated sigh. “Just let me come with you.”
    â€œJake, this has nothing to do with you!”
    â€œI’ve got bullet holes in my arm that beg to differ.” The veins in Jake’s forehead were bulging. “I mean, the least you could do to show your gratitude is to condescend to let me follow you.”
    That shut Gaia right up. Her eyes narrowed. “I guess it’s okay,” she said, shrugging. “But we have to go all the way out to Brooklyn.”
    â€œThat’s cool.”
    â€œJust . . . be careful, okay?”
    Jake followed Gaia up Third Avenue, toward the L train. Oliver lived on that line, past the hipster part of Williamsburg and deep in the no-man’s-land of Greenpoint.
    But as soon as they got on the train, Jake sensed something was wrong. He looked at Gaia, but she was hard to read. She seemed deep in concentration. Hesupposed he was just imagining things. Still, his uneasy feelings hovered like a cloud over his head as they passed stop after stop. The other people on the train seemed innocent enough. So why this feeling of foreboding?
    Finally Gaia