Without You: Book 1 of the Changing Hearts Series Read Online Free PDF

her.
    “Sorry.”
    “Not your fault.”
    “So where do you work?”
    “At the mall. In that clothing store next to the food court.”  
    “Gotcha. Must be nice. Bet you get a fat discount.”
    “One of the few benefits of working at the mall.”
    She laughed. “Well, I’ll have to remember to swing by and do some shopping when you’re there so you can give me that discount.”
    “Okay,” he said with a smile. “If that means I get to see you later.”
    They stared at each other for a few seconds before Ariana looked away. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Lucas gave her. He had a completely different vibe than Carlos. And she was starting to think maybe, just maybe, Lucas was into her and not Mayra.
    “Are you hungry?” she finally asked.  
    “Yeah. I could go for something. Are you thinking we should ditch Mayra?”
    She looked towards Mayra’s room. “It’s been a while. I’m gonna go check on her.” She walked towards Mayra’s room, trying not to be self-conscious about how she walked.  
    She knocked a couple of times and walked in. She shut the door behind her. Mayra was on her bed, watching TV. “What are you doing? I thought you said you were just going to the bathroom.”
    She shrugged. “Tripped and fell on the bed. Then the TV magically came on.”
    Ariana rolled her eyes and joined her on the bed. “How convenient.”
    “You guys done making out already?”
    Ariana rolled her eyes. “We were just talking. Are you hungry?”
    “Eh. Kinda. I ate right before you guys came over. Did you see his car? Not bad, right?”
    “Yeah. Well, we’re hungry. Maybe we could go grab something real quick and bring you a dessert or something.”
    “Sure. Just text me. Hey, you think your parents are going to say anything?”  
    “Uh, they don’t have to know,” she said slowly, looking around the room.
    Mayra winked at her. “Take your time then.”  
    “Okay. We won’t be long.” She got up and closed the bedroom door behind her. Lucas was on his phone. He put it away as she came closer.  
    “So what’s the plan? We going to eat?”
    “Mayra’s not that hungry. She said we could go and bring her back something later.”
    She stood in front of the couch and looked down at Lucas. He stood up and looked down at her. He was a few inches taller than her.
    “My car, then?” His chest was less than six inches away, and she could smell his cologne. She felt goosebumps go down her spine.  
    “Sure.”
    Her parents wouldn’t mind.

chapter four

    Fifteen minutes later, Ariana and Lucas were eating at a local taco place, the one at the back of the Mexican mini mart in town. It really was pretty good. She was eating a torta de carne asada with extra salsa roja, and Lucas was eating four tacos with brisket and salsa verde. She had ended up texting her mom that she and Mayra had gone to get something to eat. She felt a tiny bit guilty for fibbing but decided it wasn’t a big deal.
    “Hm.” She savored the soft fajita meat in her mouth, the cool sour cream, the fresh tomatoes, and the warm buttery bread.  
    “Good?” Lucas was chewing a bite of taco. He took a sip of his handmade lemonade.  
    She nodded. “Awesome. Thanks again for the food. You didn’t have to do that.”
    “Wasn’t about to let you pay for it. What would my mom say?” He smiled and took another bite.  
    Ariana smiled back. “It was my idea.” She took a swig of her lemonade. “Man, Mayra doesn’t know what she’s missing out on.”
    Lucas nodded. “Got that right.”
    They were sitting across from each other in a booth.  
    About ten minutes later, they were both done and wiping their mouths with their napkins. Lucas sat back and relaxed.  
    “So what are your plans after graduation?” he asked.  
    “Well, my dream would be to get into UGA. They have a good business program there, and that’s what I want to major in.”
    “That’s cool.” He sat back up and played with his napkin.  
    “What