No Interest in Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

the back of my neck when I hear her sniffle, and I’m not sure whether to ignore her right now or to pat her leg and go, “There, there.”
    “You okay?”
    “I’m fine.” Her voice shakes, but she clears her throat and takes a deep breath. “Really, I should be used to it by now.”
    The wheels squeal as we come around a bend. I swallow hard and loosen my grip on the dash. “Hey, I know you’re upset, but we really are going too fa—”
    “I’m fi—” Shay starts, then the car swerves to the right
hard
, then back to the left, and then…
    “Agghhhhh­hhhhh­hhhhh­!”
    It takes me a second to realize the sound of a thousand banshees is
me
. I grapple for the “oh shit” handle, the car spinning and spinning while Shay slams on the brakes.
    And my life actually flashes before my eyes.
    First grade: Peter Rubarb gives me a black eye after I call him “Peter the wiener.” Junior prom: Kelsi Higgins kicks me in the nuts after I try to get to second base. Last year: Penny Shaw pushes me buck-ass naked into the hallway at our apartment complex after I tell her I’m not ever gonna love her back.
    I’m going to die a douchebag.
    The car spins again, the rain pelting on the windshield, and Shay’s white-knuckling the steering wheel. And I don’t know what comes over me, but in the midst of it all, I blurt out, “I love you, Grandma!”
    Just as I’m sure we’re about to fly off into a ditch and get swallowed up in the bright light, the seat belt locks against my chest, cutting off my airway, and the car jerks to a stop. There’s just enough time for my lungs to function again before a large
clunk
jars through the engine and the entire car
glugs
.
    A small whimper escapes Shay’s mouth, and when I blink out of my near-death-experience haze, I flick my eyes to her gasping for air, hands still wrapped tight around the wheel.
    “You’re right,” I mutter. “People don’t know how to drive in this weather.”
    She clamps her lips shut tight, the corner of her mouth twitching badly as she refuses to humor me. She reaches out and turns the key. The car’s not gonna start, though.
    “You flooded it,” I tell her.
    “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
    “Just wondering why you’re even trying to start it.” I pull my hood over my head and reach for the door handle. “Pop the hood.”
    “And what are you going to do?” she asks, crossing her arms. She rubs her hands up and down over her goose bumps. “Bang on the engine?”
    “Pretty much.”
    She hits the door lock. “Not a chance. You can’t get sick.”
    “I won’t get sick.”
    “Could you imagine trying to create chemistry during your screen test with a runny nose?”
    “So we’re just going to stay in here?” I shake my head. “Hard pass.”
    She leans over me.
    Her long hair brushes my arm.
    And something in my brain wakes up.
    She looks so damn soft. Her cheeks, the pale color of her skin, the feather-light bangs that move with the slightest breath of air. “Shay” and “soft” don’t go together. She’s a hardass. Seeing her up close like this almost makes me want to touch her to see if she’s real. A prickling sensation rises up in my chest, and suddenly my hyperaware senses shut off completely, like I’m under anesthesia. I may be drooling.
    She reaches down by my leg, and I watch the movement with wide eyes, wondering why I haven’t said the smart-ass remark that’s on the back of my tongue. Oh, that’s right. I can’t find my tongue. It’s probably hanging out of the side of my mouth.
    Her brows furrow, and she leans forward even farther, pushing me back into the seat. I count an unbelievably long six seconds before she yanks on her oversized bag. Then the air clears when she settles back in her seat.
    “Can I borrow your phone?” she asks, digging through her purse.
    “Wh-what’s wrong with yours?” I ask, and what the damn hell? My voice sounds like a thirteen-year-old going through puberty.
    “Died while I