Free Finding Allie by Meli Raine Page A

arms, his hot, dirty coat wrapping around me, making me suffocate. He smells like sweat and musk, like mint and dirt, and I could breathe him in forever. The sun is so sharp it hurts my head, but now he’s kissing me. The heat, the light, the pain, the bother all melt away as his lips slant against mine. His mouth says ‘hello,’ and I disintegrate into that special world that the two of us create when we’re together. 
    We pull apart and I gasp, remembering David.
    Chase follows my look, his eyebrow turning up in curiosity as he looks at my friend.
    “Hey, Dave,” Chase says casually. His eyes travel back to me, the eyebrow still high, a question in his eyes.
    And then:
    “You two know each other?” we say in unison.

Chapter Nine
    Chase is taken aback. I start to laugh. David just stands there, grinning like a mad fool.
    “I knew it!” he crows. “I knew you two know each other.” 
    “How did you know? What do you mean?” I ask, completely confused.
    “Chase kept talking about this girl in town. The one with long, black hair and gorgeous eyes. The one at the bar.” David’s cheeks are turning pink as Chase stares at him. It’s a hard look, one that almost could have menace in it.
    Chase grips my waist a little tighter. “You knew Allie and didn’t tell me?” There’s something in his voice that makes David tense up. Sparks are flying between them and suddenly, everything’s different.
    The sun is merciless and the wind kicks up. It feels like a rare storm is coming. Or, maybe, the guys are creating one. I don’t know. This is way out of my comfort zone.
    “I’ve known Allie forever. And I’ve known you for a few months,” David says calmly, slowly. “I put two and two together yesterday when you were telling me all about her, and I thought this would be a great way to get you together. You said her father—”
    “Stepfather,” I say, correcting him. It’s petty, I know, but it drives me nuts when people call Jeff my father. He’s not. My real father isn’t a peach, either, but at least I have one. And Jeff ain’t it.
    “Stepfather,” David says, repeating me, tipping his head in apology. “You said her stepfather is a real asshole who’s trying to block you from seeing each other, and I figured it all out.”
    “College boy,” Chase says with a smirk. “You’ve got the smarts for it. You figure things out real quick, don’t you?” The air between them is simmering a bit, settling down, but there’s an unease I don’t like.
    “Thank you,” I say, looking first at David, then at Chase.
    “For what?” they both ask at the same time, then laugh at the jinx.
    “For talking about me with David,” I say, looking down at the buttons on Chase’s leather jacket. “You...you talk about me with people?” I look up as I ask the question.
    He’s smiling at me with a look so dazzling it makes my heart glow. “Only with David. He’s my...well, I guess he’s my friend.”
    Chase looks at David, who nods somberly.
    “How are you two friends?” This combo is the least likely friendship I could ever imagine in a million years. David is gawky and geeky, dark-haired and olive-toned, all into science and engineering. He’s headed off to college in a few weeks. Chase is blonde and tawny, tanned and weathered, all bad-boy danger and a drug dealing biker.
    You really, really can’t find two guys who are more different than each other if you try.
    “David helps me with my stunts,” Chase explains, as if that answers everything.
    I laugh, a sudden gust of wind behind me pushing my long hair in my face, whipping it in front of my eyes. “I mean how did you two meet? You didn’t go to our high school, and until a few days ago I’ve never seen you before, Chase,” I say, my words sinking in as I say them. The connection I feel with him is so immediate, so desperate, the longing there already.
    How could this be so right?
    David answers. “Chase was out here on his dirt bike doing