Free Switched by Amanda Hocking Page B

I couldn’t revel in this, though, because I was starting to think that Finn had stood us up.

    “Okay, so maybe this isn’t as much fun as I promised it would be.”
    Patrick misread the look on my face for disappointment with him and the dance itself, so I forced a smile and shook my head.

    “No, no, it’s fun,” I insisted. I was about to suggest dancing, hoping that would lighten my mood, but then Finn finally pushed through the gymnasium doors.

    Wearing a slim-fitting black dress shirt and dark jeans, he looked good.
    He had the sleeves rolled up and an extra button undone on his shirt, and I wondered why I had never realized how attractive he looked before. I’m sure I had a goofy smile plastered on my face, so I erased it as quickly as I could and tried to look bored.

    “Well look who decided to grace us with his presence,” Patrick joked happily when Finn walked over to us. Patrick had leaned back on the bleachers, spreading his arms out behind so one of them was kind of behind me, but not around me at all.

    “I had stuff with work,” Finn explained vaguely and sat down next to Patrick. He glanced over at me but didn’t say anything about how I looked.
    Already, he looked annoyed and he’d just gotten here. This wasn’t exactly how I had hoped things would go.

    “Work? I didn’t know you worked,” Patrick commented.

    “Family business,” Finn sighed. Eager to change the subject, he looked over at us. “Have you guys been dancing?”

    “Nope,” Patrick grinned. “Dancing is for suckers.”
    59

    “Is that why you came to a dance?” Finn asked pointedly. Patrick laughed, and Finn looked down at my bare feet. “You didn’t wear the right shoes for dancing. You didn’t even wear the right shoes for walking.”

    “I don’t like shoes,” I told him defensively. My dress only came to above my knees, but I tried to pull it down, as if I could get it to cover my bare feet, which had suddenly become a source of embarrassment.

    Finn gave me a look I couldn’t read at all, then went back to staring at the people dancing out in front of us. By now, the floor was almost entirely covered. Kids still dotted the bleachers, but they were mostly the headgear kids and the ones with dandruff. We were among the geeks and freaks of the school, and ordinarily I didn’t care. In fact, I didn’t even really care now. But I was sitting on the sidelines feeling foolish for not wearing shoes.

    “So this is what you’re doing? Watching other people dance?” Finn asked.

    “Sometimes,” Patrick admitted with a shrug. “But right now, I’m gonna go get some punch.” He stood up and glanced back at us. I was still playing with the hem of my dress and Finn appeared to be glaring at the dance floor.
    “You kids don’t have too much fun while I’m gone.”

    “Yeah, that’s gonna be hard,” I sighed. Patrick laughed as he walked away. The refreshments were on the side other of the gym, and I lost sight of him through the crowd dancing.

    Finn leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and I moved so I was sitting up straighter. I thought we had been getting along, that we were growing into something nice and comfortable, but there was this awful awkward feeling hanging in between us. My dress was strapless, and I rubbed at my bare arms, feeling naked and uncomfortable.

    “You cold?” Finn glanced over at me, and I shook my head. “I think its cold in here.”

    “It’s a little chilly,” I admitted. “But nothing I can’t handle.”

    “Yeah, you can handle anything,” Finn replied dryly.
    60

    Patrick still hadn’t returned with his punch, and I was starting to think he never would. It had probably been part of his plan, but it was failing horribly. Finn would barely look at me, which is a complete 180 from his constant creepy staring. Somehow, I found this worse. I don’t know why he had even come to the dance if he hated it so much, and I was about to ask him that when he