Free Ceaseless by Abbi Glines Page B

left   here .  “It’s all yours.”
                   “Thank you. You’re a  life - saver . That is such a sweet offer. I promise I’ll take care of it.”
                   The look on her face  made  me want to go buy her five lap tops and anything else she wanted.
                   “About the concert Friday night,” she began. Please don’t let her be backing out on me now. I wanted her there.
                   “ What time do we need to be there? Do you go early and warm up?”
                   “Concert starts at eight but we’ll warm up around five. Then we relax and hang out backstage until show time.”
                   “Oh, wow. What time  should we get there ?”
                   I hadn’t been prepared for this question just yet. I’d wanted to ease her into coming to my practice with me ,  and  letting Miranda come with  Gee   later.
    “Would you be against  riding with me to practice and staying the entire evening with me?”
                   She didn’t respond right away. I watched as a series of emotions crossed her face. “Um, well. What about Miranda and Gee? Would they be coming early too?”
                   I shook my head, “No, they’d come a little later.”
                   I wanted her without her posse.
                   “Oh,” she replied and bit her bottom lip several times before looking back up at me. “Would it be okay if I just came with them? Miranda is looking forward to this and Gee still makes her nervous. Plus while you’re warming up I’ll be all alone.”
                   I tried hard not to let the disappointment show on my face. “That’s fine, Pagan. Whatever makes you feel comfortable. ”  Reminding myself that this was going to take time was difficult. I wanted to get back what we had. But to Pagan I was still a guy she’d just met. One she wasn’t sure she trusted.
                   “Okay, thank you,” she replied  and began pulling more papers out of her book bag.  I’d forgotten we were here to catch me up on what I missed in class. “ Like I said,  I took notes but I probably took more than necessary. You can look over them and write down the highlights. I’m going to go find a copier and make you a copy of the syllabus. Oh ,  and I’ll look for the book too.” She  stood up and headed for the stairs. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. One day ,  I’d have her back.
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 9 
     
    Pagan
                   Finding the  copier  was easier than I’d  thought . Finding  Ethan  Frome  was also a breeze.  Seven minutes later I was headed back upstairs to the little secluded hideaway with Dank. I had used  finding the copier and book as an excuse  to get away from him  so I could  take a deep breath and  gather  my thoughts. He was definitely interested in me. I couldn’t deny that now.  I was also more than positive he’d picked this area for more than study purposes and it excited me and scared me all at  once .
                   Dank was lean ing  back in his chair with his feet propped up on the table and crossed at the ankles. Something about that pose was  oddly  familiar. Th is was th e second time I ’d  felt li ke I had  seen him doing something similar before. Was I dreaming about him? Was that it?
                   “That was fast,” Dank drawled as he turned his head and his blue eyes met mine.
                   I placed the book in front of him and walked back over to my empty chair. “Here you go,” I handed him the syllabus. “You are all set. Did you look over my notes?” I asked to make small talk.
                   Dank let his legs  drop back  down to the floor and he lea ned  forward on the table, “Yeah. I got what I