Free Chosen by Ella James Page A

it, they were going to, “drag that man-slut” back to the adjoining rooms.
    “No more Mr. Playboy,” Meredith agreed. “The hussy came here with us, and he should have to stay with us.”
    “Exactly,” Carlin said happily. And Julia decided, for the first time, to be more tolerant of her Edan crush. He was exceptionally attractive—and it wasn’t just his looks. He had the whole sex machine vibe down to an art, and surely most girls would be susceptible if they didn’t know the odd aura and strangely creeptastic vibe lurking underneath his pretty surface.
    Meredith was going to sneak onto the roof, which she assured them she was adept at, being able to “always sense when people are nearby.”
    For some reason, Meredith’s plans involved Drew, Carlin and Cayne getting new blizzard-wear, so Julia sat beside her friend on one of the beds, popping chocolate covered strawberries into her mouth while the others went to the first-floor ski shop. “I think it’s funny that Cayne didn’t question you. He just went with them to buy a snow suit.” Julia smiled.
    “I’m the boss, and I needed some time with my BFF.”
    “Ditto,” Julia said, feeling the warm and fuzzies. She twirled a strawberry’s green cap in her fingers, realizing how long it really had been since she and Mer had talked alone. She glanced over at her friend, who today wore a big pink hooded sweatshirt, form-hugging jeans that might have been leggings, and sparkly All-Stars she’d gotten in homage to Julia’s pink ones. Her hair, despite her earlier complaints, was beautiful and shiny, and she’d even managed to come up with eye makeup. “So…Carlin probably wants to look hot for you know who, huh?”
    “She’s got it bad for the hussy,” Meredith confirmed.
    “She really does.” Julia ran her tongue over her teeth to check for strawberry seeds, trying to decide how to broach her next question. In the end, she just tossed it out there. “So…does Edan give you a weird vibe?”
    Meredith shrugged, looking like the cat that ate the canary. “Hmmmm.” She dipped her strawberry into chocolate, chewed it, and licked the chocolate off her lips.
    Finally, she twirled a piece of hair and tucked it behind her ear and said, “It’s not him. I mean it’s not, like…his feelings,” she said slowly. “Those are usually in line with how he acts. I do think Jess Stanton might be an old flame of his or something, though, because seeing her made him really nervous.” She put her finger to her mouth. “Shhh. But there is something about him. Sometimes when I’m really near him for a while, I feel kind of…like there’s a dementor in the room.”
    “Holy crap, no way! Me, too! Just like a dementor!”
    Julia was waving her arms in the air, practically jumping on the bed, when Cayne walked back into the room. He gave her a hilariously skeptical look, set a walkie talkie on one of the glossy wooden tables, and swung a snow suit over his shoulder.
    One glimpse of the thing made Julia’s blood warm. On the outside, it would look just like an ordinary black suit: jacket and those overall thingies that Julia was too Southern to identify. But below that…on another hanger… Those things looked like long johns. And Julia thought long johns were very sexy.
    Meredith punched her in the arm, and Julia jumped. “Get a room!”
    She blushed and pulled her hair over her face, pretending to play with it. It
    Cayne shrugged, looking confused. Then he held it up. “Is this right?”
    “I wouldn’t know,” Julia managed. “Mer?”
    “Yep, it’s right.” She pointed toward the bathroom and gave him a ‘get going’ look.
    Julia grinned as he walked by, imagining him in his clothes.
    “Julia, come out of it.” Mer snapped her fingers, and Julia realized Cayne had slipped into the room next door. “I said, what do you think it means?”
    “What what means?”
    “You’ve got it bad. Do you even remember what we were talking