Twisted Dreams Read Online Free PDF

you able to say anything that isn’t a cliché?”
    He held his hands up in surrender and laughed, a full-belly laugh that made me want to laugh with him. “Okay, okay. I was just messing with you. So if you’re so focused on your studies, don’t you think you should ask me some questions?”
    “Actually, I should probably be honest. I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to ask you. I don’t know anything about the swim team.”
    He ran a hand across the top of his drying head. “That’s Dana for you. She likes to throw people in at the deep end, see what sort of stuff they’re made of.”
    “See if they sink or swim?” I said.
    He laughed again. “Now who’s talking in clichés?”
    I grinned and went back to picking the skin on my nails. I looked back up at him. “So you guys know each other well?”
    “We’re both from Sage Springs, so yeah, I guess you could say that.”
    “ Really well?” I probed.
    His head jerked back, his eyebrows knitting in the middle. “Oh, man, no. She’s more like the big sister I never wanted.”
    “Oh, she’s older than you then?” I remembered the glimpse I’d gotten from her as she shook my hand, that of the older man with the salt and pepper hair. I didn’t normally see anything too far ahead—months or days as opposed to years, so perhaps I should have been more aware that Flynn wouldn’t be Dana’s type either.
    “Yeah, she’s in her final year.”
    “And you’re …?”
    “In my second,” he said slowly, as if I should have already either known or figured it out. Okay, that made him nineteen. Not quite so intimidating. I felt like I’d asked far too many questions around his personal life. If I didn’t switch the topic, he was going to get the wrong idea.
    I fished in my bag and pulled out my hardback notepad and pen.
    Flynn filled me in on everything happening with the swim team—upcoming races and training schedules. I diligently scribbled down all the information he fed me, while sneaking glances at his face. He seemed to come alive when he spoke of his time in the pool, of lap-times and formations. His hands spoke for him, gesturing to highlight some particular fast time or stroke.
    Just as I was writing down his final thought about which other college teams were the ones to beat, his hands dropped to the table. He folded his arms in front of him and leaned forward, his chest resting against well-muscled forearms.
    “So tell me about you, Beth. What brings you to Sage Springs?”
    His direct question caught me off guard, and I glanced up from my notebook.
    “Errr … college?”
    “Yeah, I think I figured that one out for myself. I meant why Sage Springs? You don’t strike me as a small town girl.”
    I cleared my throat. “I’m not. I’m from Los Angeles. West Hollywood, to be exact.”
    “Daughter of a film star?”
    No, a vampire.
    “Not quite.” I looked down at my hands again, self-conscious, the heat rising in my face.
    “Only child, though. I can tell.”
    Something about the comment jarred me, and my head snapped back up again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    He shrugged. “You just have that ‘single-child’ vibe.”
    “Why?”
    He must have realized he’d pissed me off, because he sat back and raised both hands in a ‘surrender’ gesture. But I wasn’t going to let him get away that easily.
    “So what about you? I suppose you come from a family of six—after all, I’m guessing there isn’t a whole lot else to do around here.”
    He flashed me a grin, showing off his straight white teeth and the dimple in his left cheek. “Nah, takes one to know one.”
    I felt my defensive posture relax, my shoulders sinking. “Oh … Oh right. You’re an only child as well.”
    “So I was right then?”
    “Yeah. I guess you were.”
    I’ve never been comfortable with people asking about my background. The story I’ve told so many times about my dad’s condition always felt false on my tongue. I’m a terrible