Mind Over Easy Read Online Free PDF Page B

grasped for his name and came up empty.
    The visitor's dark shirt against the pink walls of her room made for a sharp contrast.
    "Yeah." The boy responded as if each word were a challenge. "I can do that."
    His eyes were dim, but Jennifer didn't call him over to her after the game because of his smarts. Jennifer clicked her computer trackpad to start a contemporary playlist and put her arms around the boy's waist. She took in the aroma of his post-game scent as covered over by an emergency dose of body spray. It only half-worked. 
    Was it Stuart? I think it started with an S.
    The visitor looked down at Jennifer and ran his hand through her hair. She could see the veins showing on his wrist and biceps. Jennifer wondered what Erica would have thought of her muscular catch.
    "Nice place you've got here." The boy's face squinted into a smirk.
    Jennifer knew her room looked mostly as it had in elementary school. The pink walls matched the pink princess dresses on a row of dolls that kept her old picture books company. She'd always fought to keep it the same, even when Erica and her cousin Winny made fun of her for it. She'd been having second thoughts about the room ever since she'd found out what happened to the old Erica.
    Jen sighed. "Don't talk." She pulled his mouth to her neck, and he began kissing her. A layer of hidden stubble scratched her as his chapped lips touched her skin.
    He's not a Stuart. Maybe a Steve. Or a Stannis.
    As the boy without a name moved up to Jennifer's check, she felt a buzz in her pocket. She placed her hand on his shoulder to gently nudge him away as she checked her phone. It was the third text from Dhiraj in the last hour.
    "They should totally make postcards for this situation," Dhiraj said. "Wish you were here and fighting crime with me."
    Jennifer laughed and began texting back. She felt the boy's eyes land on her before he looked up at the ceiling and crossed his arms.
    "Or Greetings from Robbery/Kidnapping Parking Lot," she typed before sending the text.
    Jennifer looked back up at her guest. He moved his face right back to her cheek, as if he'd left a bookmark there. Jennifer closed her eyes and wondered what Erica had gotten out of these semi-anonymous encounters. As the thought crossed her mind, the boy's hand moved up her midsection. She gripped his wrist before it could reach its destination. 
    "I was just stretching." He tried to make himself look suave, but most of his facial contortions reminded Jennifer of a neighbor's pug.
    "I thought you were supposed to stretch before the game."
    The visitor put his hands underneath the back of her shirt. The calloused palms felt good against her sensitive skin as they slowly moved upwards.
    "Before, during and after."
    As he pulled her hips against his, something changed about him. It was as if his hair grew longer, his face and frame wider. As his fingers crept under the back of her shirt, he had aged in Jennifer's eyes. The sweaty t-shirt had been replaced by a familiar sheriff's deputy uniform. No matter what his actual name was, all Jennifer could see was the visage of Deputy Daly, the man who'd killed her best friend.
    When his hands reached Jennifer's bra strap, she pulled away. The boy with the face of Deputy Daly snorted and put his hands in the air like he'd been busted for jaywalking.
    "Alright. Alright." He took a step back. When he looked into Jennifer's eyes, his features softened. "Hey, are you okay?"
    She wasn't. She couldn't talk or move, aside from her shaking hands. Jennifer felt all the life and color drain out of her. She shut her eyes tightly and opened them again. Still, he looked exactly like the murderer from her nightmares. Her pulse raced as she shook her head from side to side.
    "I didn't mean to–" The boy looked toward the exit. "If you're not comfortable–"
    "I'm alright." She let out three quick breaths through her nose. "Really, I am."
    When he moved back toward Jennifer and put his hand on her side, she