Trust Read Online Free PDF Page A

affection for her. It wasn’t just because she’d used his old skateboarding nickname, either. It was the whole way she carried herself, the way she was deliberately casual. Plus she wasn’t all decked out like she usually was during the school week. Usually Heather strutted around looking like an MTV VJ. After all, she had an image to maintain. But by dressing down, it was almost as if she were silently acknowledging the fact that she never had to put on any kind of act with Ed.
    In fact, the longer he gazed at her, the more she resembled the Heather Ed used to know — her hair was down, loose, free. She wore a zippered, hooded sweatshirt. Soft, faded jeans clung to her slim hips. Battered black loafers and green argyle socks completed her outfit.
    Ed swallowed. The wave of affection began to turn to something else. Something a little more lustful.
    Down, boy , he told himself.
    But Heather didn’t seem to notice the change in his eyes. She stepped inside and glanced around the apartment. Suddenly it occurred to him that she hadn’t been here in more than two years — since a few weeks after his accident. A queasy sensation gripped his insides. Actually, the very last time she’d set foot in this apartment, she had come to break up with him.
    So much for staying relaxed.
    â€œIt’s nice to see that nothing’s changed,” she murmured, as if to herself. She looked down at him. “Where are your folks?”
    Ed shrugged, striving to appear calm and cool. “Out until tomorrow. They went upstate to some bed-and-breakfast to spend the night.” He shot her a rueful grin. “I guess they wanted to chill for a while after Victoria’s engagement party fiasco.”
    Heather laughed. “Oh . . . that party wasn’t a complete disaster,” she said softly.
    Their eyes locked for a moment. Ed’s heartbeat quickened again. What had Heather meant by that enigmatic little remark? She wasn’t being literal; that was for sure. The party was a disaster. Objectively. After all, Victoria had gotten wasted and humiliated herself, Ed’s parents had clearly been miserable, and Blane’s friends (Ed still couldn’t believe that his sister was really marrying a guy named Blane) had trashed the grand ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in a drunken stupor. So Heather must be referring to something else: that being, of course, the little make-out session that she’d had with Ed in the storage room, hiding from the rest of the guests . . .
    Heather’s dark, perfectly arched eyebrows rose. “So we’re alone, huh?” she asked in the same easygoing tone.
    â€œYeah,” Ed said. His face was hot. He knew he was probably blushing. Great. Way to impress the ladies. He turned away from her and headed toward the living room. “You want something to drink?”
    â€œNo, thanks.”
    â€œSo what do you want to watch?” he asked, parking himself beside the living-room couch. “Jackie Chan?” He stared at the blank TV screen, unable to keep from fidgeting. “Or maybe Jean-Claude Van Damme? I don’t know if you remember, but the Fargo house is famous for action flicks.” He listened to himself jabber away like an idiot, wondering when the hell he would be able to stop. “Or we could just channel surf —”
    â€œEd?”
    He felt her hand on his shoulder. He looked up. She sat on the couch beside him, looking hesitant, innocent, vulnerable. Ed’s heart clenched.
    â€œLet’s not watch TV,” she said softly. “I really just want to talk. I mean, if I wanted to watch TV, I could have gone over to Megan’s house or something, right?”
    Numbly Ed nodded. He couldn’t speak — not that he particularly wanted to. What was that old saying? Better to keep your mouth shut and let somebody think you’re an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt .
    Without warning, Heather