The Crescent Read Online Free PDF Page A

fixed on hers for a moment and then came back to meet mine. I felt lightheaded. His knees hovered on either side of mine under the table and his whole body leaned forward. For the briefest moment I concentrated on his perfectly molded lips and considered leaning in to brush mine to his, wanting to know what they would feel like. Being this close felt more intimate than I had ever felt with anyone before. It made me wonder if he knew he was invading my personal space.
    “Are you alright?” Should I say he just caught me fantasizing about kissing him?
    Probably not.
    Jillian saved me. “I’m sorry she has trouble thinking this close to lunch. Low blood sugar.”
    “Is she diabetic?” Concern flashed on his face. I couldn’t stop staring at him, my face permanently frozen.
    “Actually…” Jillian hesitated and put her hand on my knee. She squeezed hard pulling my eyes away from him to her. “She’s not.” Jillian’s eyes searched my face as I came out of a beautiful daydream. She looped her fingers in mine and squeezed my hand tightly.
    “I’m sorry, umm… Alex?” I barely choked out. He nodded. “It’s been a hectic day.”
    “I bet…” Alex glanced towards Courtney as she laughed and shamelessly flirted with Thomas, one of Garrett’s friends. She winked at Alex. My stomach churned. I don’t think I could really stomach them being together; he was out of my league but he was definitely too good for her. “So are you going to tell me your name? Or shall I guess?” Alex’s deep brown eyes could cut me in half if he kept looking at me that way. His fingers pressed firmly around his pen, tapping it slightly on his notebook. His shoulders inched closer to me across the table.
    “Lacey. Lacey Quinn.” He extended his hand; I inspected it before finally offering mine.
    “Wow…” Alex grinned larger. “She has a name... and it’s beautiful.” My skin lit on fire when he held onto my hand a little too long. The fire quickly turned to ice rushing up my arm as his thumb snaked over the top of mine and brushed across my knuckle. “Your hands…” Alex paused. Jillian’s fingers dug into my thigh with such force that I’d be bruised tomorrow.
    “Ok class.” Mr. Thompson announced pulling me from Alex’s hypnosis. Alex brushed his thumb across mine again and then gently lowered both of our hands to the desk. He tapped his index finger to the back of my hand; like a magician snapping his fingers, time restarted and I let out the breath I had been holding. I quickly jerked my hand off the desk, very uncomfortable with all the people that had just witnessed the exchange.
    “Time to introduce your new friends.” I knew nothing about him, other than how his touch stopped my heart and clouded my thoughts: now I had to introduce him. My eyes darted around the room to see Courtney smiling at my panic.
    Alex pulled out a piece of paper from my notebook and whispered, “Here. Write something about yourself.” He quickly scribbled several things onto another sheet of paper. Our hands brushed each other and it felt like he would grab my hand again or maybe I wanted him to. Instead he says, “I hope you can read my writing.” He chuckles and winks. Wait did he just wink?
    “Oh it’s fine.” I barely looked at the paper. He could have written he was a serial killer looking for his next victim and I probably would’ve thought that was perfectly wonderful.
    “This is Lacey Quinn. She is seventeen. She is an only child. She volunteers after school at her Aunt’s Veterinary clinic. She loves listening to her iPod and reading.” Alex hesitated as he brushed his fingertips over my writing and grins. This is what I wrote:
    Lacey enjoys school, going to the beach and hanging out with her best friend Jillian. With such short notice, I couldn’t come up with anything better.
    That, however, is not what he said. “Lacey enjoyed her ten day backpacking trip to Paris over summer. Ironically enough, where she met