Selling the Drama Read Online Free PDF Page B

willing to try. That alone was confusing. This
connection to her he was feeling. It was seamless, as though it had
always existed between them.
    Charlotte merely shrugged though and turned
her gaze away. "I don't particularly want to know anything about
them."
    He exhaled with relief, glancing down at the
book beside her pool lounger. "What are you reading today?" He
reached down and picked it up, flipping through the pages more for
something to do than to actually look at the contents.
    Turning back to him, she smiled widely. "Oh,
you'll like this one. It's called Heaven. It's about a girl who
lives in the mountains in Virginia - it's American - and she finds
out she's got a different father and goes to live with his family
instead of her hillbilly one. She's got this mysterious young uncle
there and they start to have an affair." Charlotte laughed with
delight at Toby's shaking head. "Your face! You crack me up with
your prudent mortification."
    "This sounds creepily like that one with the
brother and sister locked in the attic having sex with each other.
My mortification is justified." He tossed the book back down onto
the ground, stretching out on his own lounger to face her.
    "It's the same author!" Her face was lit up
with laughter, radiant and glowing with heat and happiness.
    Toby felt a fluttering deep inside at the
sight of her. "I didn't see that one coming," he teased.
    She poked her tongue out him. "Hey, listen
to this, I have a new album." Sitting up, she reached down for her
Walkman and passed Toby one of the earbuds attached. "You put one
in and I'll have the other. We can listen together." She pressed
play and lay back down, the Walkman resting on the ground beside
them.
    Charlotte closed her eyes but Toby kept his
open, watching her listen to the music, the sounds of REM singing
Night Swimming making him think of her, and the way she would sneak
down to the pool every night to swim when everyone else was in bed.
Toby always made a point to watch her from his window to ensure she
didn't come to harm swimming alone at night. If she were to hit her
head or have seizure or something, no one would be able to help
her. It wasn't safe for her to swim alone, but the nightly vision
she presented, swimming naked in the moonlight; it was too ethereal
for him to feel any motivation towards stopping her, so instead he
watched her from the shadows, telling himself it was for her
safety. His eyes settled onto her chest, watching as it rose and
fell with her even breaths, her skin glistening with perspiration
and sunscreen. There was so much to her, so much more just below
the surface. He wanted to know everything, every single thing that
she thought of, dreamed about, hoped for. Pulling the earbud out of
his ear, he reached over with it and placed it into her own ear,
allowing his fingers to linger in her hair for a few seconds. Her
eyes flew open in surprise and he smiled at her, standing up, his
touch leaving her with reluctance.
    "It's a great album."
    Nodding, she closed her eyes again. Toby
left her side and dived neatly into the pool, staying under the
water for as long as he could, holding his breath until his chest
burned. Yet the image of her skin, the scent of her hair, it
remained with him. He would have to be careful, so much more
careful around her if this friends thing between them was going to
work, because right now, he wanted to be with her in the purest of
ways; not to kiss her or lose himself in her body like he had that
first day by the pool, but to lie beside her holding onto her hand,
listening to the sound of her voice until the sun went down,
immersed within the sheer brilliance that encompassed her
existence. And that was something you most certainly did not do
with your friends.
     
    Charlotte opened the letter first, more
eager for news than what was contained within the parcel. The
letters were sporadic, at best, near non-existent, at worst, but
always deeply treasured, for she was the only one