Reaching Hearts (Hearts Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Zipping up her dark grey jacket, she
asks, “Yeah, B?”
    “You’ve
got style, you know that?”
    “Thank
you. Uh-oh. I sense something bad coming.”
    “I’ve
always been honest with you, right? Told you what’s up.”
    She
looks to the other side of the street, smiling sideways, one corner higher. “Oh
yeah. You always tell me how it’s going to be.” She adopts a voice that’s
supposed to be me. “Don’t get attached Teri. This is as far as this will ever
go. But I’ll treat you right. You just can’t ever expect me to be anything you
dreamed about when you were a little girl.” Her hands go up with quotation
signs and she gets very serious. “And I will be fucking other women.”
    I
look off to the distance. “Jesus. You memorized it.”
    “I’ve
heard it enough!” She touches my cheek. “Why are you asking? You want to make
sure I don’t get my feelings hurt if I don’t see you again for awhile after
tonight?”
    “No.”
I remove her hand and hold it in both of mine. “It’s because I’m hoping you
won’t hate me for not taking you back to my place. I have somewhere I need to
be. I promised someone something.”
    Her
eyes cloud over. “Oh. I didn’t see that coming.”
    “Yeah.
Sorry. I was trying to avoid it.”
    She
backs away a step, pulls back her hand, holding it up. “Wait. Who’s waiting for
you at this hour? Please don’t tell me you were about to use me to get over
another girl.”
    Hearing
it put so directly sounds awful. Thinking fast, I do what I rarely do. I lie.
It’ll hurt less and I like her that much. “It’s not that. I have to go help a
guy who’s got his heart all busted up. I didn’t want to go. I’d much rather go
with you.”
    The
frown lines smooth out and she exhales, and looks away again, relieved. “Oh.
Sorry. I was just surprised for a second. That’s not something I’ve ever seen
you do.”
    “What?”
    “Ditch
one woman for another. I mean , I know you’re not the
tied-down type, but you usually focus on one of us at a time. It gives a woman
a sense that she means something.” She blinks away the vulnerability, tries to
cover it up with a smile.
    I
hold out my hand, asking her to take it again. She does. “Teri, you do mean
something.”
    “I
know. I just need you to know it, too.”
    “I
do.”
    “I
do have self-respect. And I like to fuck you. The two can co-exist.”
    “They
sure can.” I laugh and bend to kiss her hand before releasing it. “Another
time.”
    “Oh,
alright. Enough with the seriousness. Jeez. Go help
your friend. I’ll see you later.”
    “Let
me call you a cab.”
    “It’s
okay. I’ll go back in and have Bobby call me one. I’ll be safe. Don’t worry.”
    I
watch her walk inside before I turn in the direction of Le Barré. Checking the
time on my phone, I discover it’s a sad 2:37 a.m. I hope she’s still there.
    As
I get closer, it’s obvious the place is dark. They must have gone home. I
fucked up. I care, which is hard for me to understand or believe. I have to see
her again. I feel it. I really need to talk to her. What is wrong with me?
    I’ll
just go and look inside the window, see if she’s there. If I have to walk home
alone after this, I have a feeling I will replay my mistake over and over until
my frontal lobe falls right the fuck out. The last two steps until I get to the
window are fucking torture. I’m sure when I look in, she’ll be gone. C’mon Annie, still be there.

11
Annie
    Lights:
dimmed.
    ________
    “You know what, Manny?”
    He
pulls off a long piece of plastic wrap. “What?”
    “I’m
going to make this place great. You wait and see.”
    He
grins. “I know.”
    “Now
you can’t use that whole thing. Are you trying to bankrupt me?”
    He
laughs and we tear pieces off it, covering the pour spouts of the sweet alcohols
to protect them from fruit flies. As we work, I’m trying so hard not to feel
disappointed. Why did I leave Italy anyway? You know what? I don’t need