Pushing the Limits Read Online Free PDF Page A

brown leather coat. A light, sunshine smile rested on her face. It appeared Mrs. Collins had kept us both in the dark. The moment she saw me, her smile faded and her green eyes erupted with thunderclouds. Join the fucking club .
    From under the table, I kicked out the chair opposite me. “You’re late.”
    She set her book bag on the table and scooted the chair in as she sat. “I had to go to the office and find out testing dates. I could have gotten the information this morning, but some jerk got in my way.”
    Advantage Echo, but I smiled at her like I had the upper hand. “You could have stayed. I never asked you to leave.”
    “And let you harass me some more? No, thanks.” She shrugged off her jacket, but kept on her knitted gloves. She smelled of cold and leather. Her blue cotton shirt dipped below her beige tank, exposing the top of her cleavage. Girls like her enjoyed teasing guys. Little did she know, I didn’t mind looking.
    Catching me staring, she readjusted her shirt and her cleavage disappeared from view. Well, that was fun . She glared at me, possibly waiting for an apology. She’d be waiting a long time.
    “What subject are you failing? All of them?” Those green eyes danced. It appeared Echo also enjoyed dishing out shit.
    All right, I’d screwed with her this morning for no reason. She deserved to get a couple blows in. “None. Mrs. Collins is calling the shots on this.”
    Echo opened her backpack and withdrew a notebook. Ashadow crossed her face when she slid off the gloves and immediately pulled her long sleeves over her hands. “What subject do you want to start with? We have calculus and physics together, so we could start there. You’ve got to be a complete moron if you need help with business technology.” She paused. “And weren’t you in my Spanish class last term?”
    I lowered my head so my hair fell into my eyes. For a girl who didn’t know I existed, she sure knew a lot about me. “Yeah.” And this term, too. She barely beat the bell walking into class and took the first seat available without giving anyone a second look.
    “Qué tan bien hablas español?” she asked.
    How well could I speak Spanish? Pretty damn decent. I shoved away from the table. “I gotta go.”
    “What?” Her forehead crinkled in disbelief.
    “Unlike you, I don’t have parents to pay for everything. I’ve got a job, Princess, and if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late. See you around.”
    Grabbing my books and jacket, I left the table and immediately exited the library. The cold January air smacked me in the face. Ice covered several spots on the pavement.
    “Hey!”
    I glanced over my shoulder. Echo bounded after me, leather jacket on one arm and pack slung over her back.
    “Get your damn jacket on. It’s cold outside.” I didn’t stop for her, but I slowed my pace, curious as to why she followed me out.
    She caught up quickly and kept step beside me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
    “I told you, to work. I thought you were smart.” I’d never met anyone so fun to mess with.
    “Fine. Then when are we going to make this session up?”
    I slammed my books on the piece of crap I called a car, causing rust to scatter to the ground. “We’re not. I’ll make you a deal. You tell Mrs. Collins that we’re meeting as many days after school as you want, collect whatever volunteer hours you need for whatever little club you belong to, and I’ll back you up. I won’t have to see you and you won’t have to look at me. I get to continue with my screwed up life and you get to go home and play dress-up with your friends. Deal?”
    Echo winced and backed away as if I’d slapped her. She lost her footing when she hit a patch of ice. My right hand swept out and snatched her wrist before her body could smack the ground.
    I kept hold of her while she steadied herself using the trunk of my car. Embarrassment or cold flushed her white cheeks. Either way, I found it funny. But before I had a