My Sweetest Escape Read Online Free PDF

the stupid
    Skittles bag got stuck. Great. The universe
    was out to screw me. I banged on the
    machine, trying to shake the candy loose.
    Luckily, there was no one around. I didn’t
    want to get busted for destruction of
    hospital property. That would most
    definitely be against Renee’s rules.
    I turned my shoulder and shoved the
    side of the machine, trying desperately to
    get the bag of candy to fall from the
    clutches of the machine.
    “Come on, you son of a bitch, ” I said,
    ramming my shoulder into the machine.
    “You have to put your hips into it,” a
    voice said, making me look up from my
    assault of the vending machine.
    “What?” A guy wearing a baggy hoodie
    and equally baggy jeans over torn-up
    high-tops was looking at me like I was
    something he’d never seen before. He had
    darkish skin, cropped black hair, but the
    most astonishing green eyes.
    Unlike mine, which shaded toward blue,
    they were almost goldish. They popped in
    his face, especially since they were fixed on
    me. He jerked his chin at the machine.
    “You have to put your hips into it. Here,”
    he said, glancing over his shoulder to make
    sure no one was watching before motioning
    to me to move aside. “The key is to thrust
    your whole body into it. Not just your
    shoulders.”
    Was it just me, or did he make that
    sound sexual on purpose? I gaped at him
    and he laughed. Nope, wasn’t just me.
    It was one of those laughs that made
    you want to laugh, too, like a reflex. I was
    barely able to hide the smile that
    threatened to spread on my face.
    “On three,” he said, putting his hands on
    the machine next to mine. Up close, his
    eyes were even brighter. They almost
    glowed.
    “One. Two. Three,” he said, and we both
    shoved at the machine, which moved a hell
    of a lot more than when I’d been the only
    one pushing it. I heard a satisfying clunk of
    the Skittles falling. The guy went around the
    front of the machine and pulled the bag
    out.
    “Mission accomplished.” He winked as
    he held it out to me.
    “Thanks,” I said, taking the bag and
    making sure to avoid touching his hand. I
    was about to turn around and leave when
    he made a sound, like he was going to say
    something.
    I stood there, waiting.
    “I should get back,” I finally blurted out
    to break the uncomfortable silence that
    stood between us.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. Of course, of course,” he
    said, shaking his head as if he’d forgotten
    something and just remembered it.
    He smiled and stuck his hands into his
    pockets.
    “Okay. Well, ’bye.” I gave him a little
    wave and turned around. What a weirdo.
    “Don’t forget. Put your whole body into
    it next time, Red,” he said, making me turn
    back around. He was grinning again. Red?
    Like I hadn’t heard that one before. At least
    he hadn’t called me Carrots.
    “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”
    For the last time, I spun around and
    walked back to the lounge, his laughter
    echoing behind me.
    The lounge was still empty when I got
    back, and all my stuff was still there, so I
    settled back in to finish another movie.
    Next thing I knew, someone was shaking
    my shoulder.
    “Hey, Jos. Time to go,” Renee said, her
    voice softer than I’d heard it in a long time.
    It was the voice she probably used with
    patients. I’d fallen asleep on the couch. I
    couldn’t even remember it. My computer
    was dark; it, too, had gone to sleep.
    Renee sat down next to me, pulling my
    feet into her lap and letting out a heavy
    sigh.
    “So what did you do?”
    “Nothing,” I said, tilting my neck back
    and forth to work out some kinks. “What
    time is it?”
    “Ten. You ready to go home?” Home.
    Was that what her place was now?
    “Yeah.” I swung my feet over and sat up.
    “I see you raided the vending machine,”
    she said, picking up the empty candy bags.
    “You freak and your candy combinations.”
    She crumpled them up and found a trash
    can as I packed up all my stuff.
    “Did you get to do