Free Losing Me, Finding You by C.M. Stunich Page A

that one word, spewed from Kent's tight mouth, makes me suspicious as hell. Melissa sighs and leans back, rolling her eyes and mumbling something about men. I stare at them both for a long while, memorizing the paleness of Kent's skin and the way his dark eyes flash like a summer storm. He doesn't like to be disobeyed, but what is he going to do about it? He needs me, and he knows it. But I also need him, and he knows that, too.
    “I'm heading back to the hotel,” I tell them both as I turn on my heels and shove the doors open on my way out. From the corner of my eye, I catch Mireya's gaze, sharp and piercing, and I know that I have more than just one problem to worry about tonight.

Christy and I walk home slowly, enjoying the sound of cicadas and the warm air against our skin. Mine feels prickly and slick, and my body wants nothing more than to curl up in Austin's arms like the girls in my books, savoring the strong, comforting feeling of another body behind me. He isn't your boyfriend, Amy, I remind myself. Austin Sparks isn't anybody's boyfriend. He's just … tall, ripped, delicious, incredible. I shake my head to clear it and try to remind myself that he's a biker, a nomad if you will. Granted, I did sort of ask him to take me along with him. I wonder briefly if I committed some sort of social faux pas or something. I've heard that motorcycle clubs sometimes have their own rules and hierarchies. What if he tries to make me his kept woman? And how terrible would that be? I slap myself gently in the cheek and get rewarded with a wide-eyed look from Christy.
    “I kissed Beck,” she blurts and then flushes three shades of red, starting with pink and ending with an all over crimson blush that makes her look sunburnt. “And I liked it.” I throw my head back and laugh, pausing at the edge of our street to lift my arms out at my sides and spin in a slow circle. Down below, I'm still hurting, aching, but I feel more like a woman, whatever that means. I suspect it has less to do with the sex and more to do with the fact that I not only made my own decisions today but defied my parents at the same time. Apparently today was all about firsts and records and new experiences.
    “I kissed Austin,” I admit and pause to watch a smile cross Christy's cheeks, making her face look sculpted by moonlight as she stands silhouetted against the navy sky. It is utterly cloudless, leaving the moon naked and round, proud of her own skin and happy to share it with the world. I drop my arms back at my sides. “And I liked it, too.”
    “I knew it!” Christy says, pointing at me and spinning on her heel. “I could tell there was something different about you.” I almost blurt out what just happened, tell her every sordid detail, but then I remember that Christy doesn't read romance novels like I do and that whenever I've used the word sex in conversation, she's blushed. I snap my mouth closed. Looking at her all pretty and innocent in the silver light makes me feel like a bad person. How can I leave when I know that she's going to be stuck here? Earlier, I was so angry at my dad and then so enraptured with Austin that I didn't even figure my best friend into the situation. I look at the girl who helped me hide the pointy witch's hat I made out of paper at church camp, so I wouldn't get the belt, and I know that I can't do that to her.
    I need more time to think.
    I shuffle my feet and then throw my arms around her neck, just for good measure. She laughs and then pushes me off, giving me a funny look that says maybe she has some idea that something's up. Unfortunately, just like everybody else, I tend to write Christy off sometimes when in all honesty, she's probably the more perceptive of the two of us.
    “Are we pathetic?” she asks me as we both cast glances towards our respective houses. Nothing seems amiss, but I suppose we won't know until we actually get inside. If he asks me into his office again, I'm going to run.
    “Why