Free Breathe Into Me by Amanda Stone Page B

exchanging contact information. I looked over at Jessi, who just shrugged, letting me know she was okay with the partnership.
    “Sure, that sounds fine. Why don’t you give me your cell number? That way we can text each other to go over what times and days would be best for all of us to meet up and start planning out this project.”
    “Sounds great.” He tore a corner piece of paper from the notebook he had been carrying, and scribbled his number on it before handing it to me.
    “Just text me whenever you want to meet up.” He smiled, then turned and headed for the door.
    “The way I see it, the more people in the group the less I have to do, right?” Jessi asked as she rose from her seat.
    We walked to the door, and as usual, Landon and Kane were waiting. I looked at Kane who was watching Nate head down the hall. When he finally turned to look toward me, I smiled at him and the scowl on his face immediately disappeared and turned into a full dimple smile. The fact that he was giving Nate that look didn’t escape me though.
    “Hey, what’s up?” I placed my hand on Kane’s arm. I really wanted to know where the animosity toward Nate came from, but I didn’t want to pry.
    He glanced at me, and then back down the hall before he spoke. “So you and Nate talk a lot?” He nodded his chin in the direction Nate had exited.
    “Sometimes”—I shrugged—“Jessi and I are doing a project with him, though.”
    “Oh.”
    Even only knowing him for a short time, I could tell something was off about Kane. We had been spending a lot of time together this week, and this Kane was not the usual happy, carefree Kane that I had gotten used to. He was tense now, and you could tell his body was strung tight by the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. I studied him for a brief second, trying to figure out what was actually wrong, but was suddenly dragged away by Jessi before I could figure it out.
    “Come on, chick! We have an appointment to get to!” she said enthusiastically.
    It took me a minute to grasp what she was talking about, but when I finally did, I dug my pink Chucks into the ground and jerked my arm free from her grasp. Jessi whirled around to face me, red hair flying like wild angry flames.
    “I change my mind!” I stated as I crossed my arms over my chest.
    “Oh, no! No you’re not! We ARE doing this Kelsey! We have talked about this far too long to back out now.” She placed her tiny hands on her hips and glared.
    “This is all happening so fast, Jess. We just got here. We are finally getting settled and making new friends. Now we’re going to get tattoos?! Can’t we just slowly move into the next phase of this whole ‘Jessi and Kelsey free as birds, Thelma and Louise’ life you have planned?”
    “Thelma and Louise, Kels? Really? They die at the end of that movie! We are just getting a tattoo!”
    She was so not getting it. I was all up for change, I really was. That was the whole plan for going off to a college in a different state. I was ready to get away from the place that held so many bad memories, that for the past six months I had counted down the days ‘til our move here. I wanted this clean slate … hell I needed it. But I had sheltered myself for so long, that I didn’t know the fear and uncertainty that would come with the changes I was making in my life now. And honestly, now that I was finally living out everything I had said I couldn’t wait for, I was just a little overwhelmed with it all.
    The look Jessi was giving me was enough to make grown men cry. She could be kind of scary when she was determined, and she was damn determined for us to finally get these tattoos.
    I huffed and stomped around Jessi, heading toward the parking lot. “Fine! Let’s do this. Let’s go see a man about some tattoos.”
    I didn’t turn back to look at her, but I could hear her squee and then her heals clicking against the ground as she hurried to catch up with me.
    Lopping her arm in