Free Enigma by Leslie Drennan Page B

I had to play this cool. There is nothing more that hot guys hate than girls who react immaturely and go gaga whenever they found out that they were interested. I had to remain calm.
    “So, Mattie, I decided that today I would talk to you.”
    “Okay, well, what would you like to talk about?” I asked, putting my laptop on the coffee table in front of me as I repositioned myself once again, sitting on one foot and letting the other dangle with the toe of my shoe touching the hardwood floor.
    “I want to talk about you.”
    “All right. What do you want to know?”
    “Everything there is to know.”
    This had to be a dream! I was not interesting enough for a guy like Avan Rork to want to know everything about me. I was never the last kid chosen in gym class or the loser without a lab partner, but Avan was different. Just hearing him talk, I could tell there was so much more to him than just his amazing looks.
    “Okay, well, how do you suppose we go about that?” I let out a small laugh as I responded.
    “I guess it would require you agreeing to spend a lot of time with me for starters.”
    Spending time with Avan? I was so excited right now I could fly! Was he hinting around that he wanted to date me? Taking deep breaths, I had to find a way to respond and sound confident and cool without getting one of those idiotic, overdramatic smiles pasted across my face as my eyes glassed over.
    “I suppose that can be arranged.” Yes, I had managed to keep it together. Maybe I was better at flirting than I thought I was.
    “Good, I’ll start by driving you to school.” He winked at me and smiled.
    “Drive me to school? Like today?” Once again I was caught off guard, not expecting it.
    “Yes, and every day thereafter.”
    “What about my car?”
    “Leave it here. It’ll be safe in the parking lot. Besides, my coworkers are here all day. They’ll keep an eye on it.”
    Let’s see, ride in my own car and turn down the hottest guy that I’d ever known who really seemed like he wanted to get to know me or go with this gorgeous guy and come get my car later. It was hardly even a choice at all.
    “Okay, but if it gets stolen, you’re buying me another one!” I said jokingly.
    “Deal! So I’m gonna run upstairs for a minute so I can get my jacket and my bag. We’ll leave in a half hour. Sound good?” he said, like he’d just won the lottery.
    “I’ll be waiting.” I finally stopped fighting the cheesy grin that had stuck onto my face, hoping it wasn’t too obvious.
    Those thirty minutes seemed like the longest thirty minutes of my life. I couldn’t help but wonder why Avan wanted to get to know me. If I had gotten butterflies in my stomach anticipating the date I’d gone on with Ian, then I could compare the feeling in my stomach now to a stampede of water buffalo. I was so nervous that I was still having difficulty breathing, and I couldn’t focus on anything but Avan.
    I was going to be completely worthless today in class. I could sense it now. I would spend the entire day dreaming about the countless possibilities of how this could all turn out. I was going to have loads of homework tonight that would keep me up until all hours due to my wandering mind. It was at that moment I realized my appearance. I looked like a bum. Of all the days Avan could choose to start talking to me, it had to the day when I looked like a train wreck. Then my breath was completely taken away.
    I looked up while placing my laptop back in my bag. Avan was coming down the stairs. His eyes looked radiant with a deepness I’d never seen before as he pushed a loose strand of his soft, brown hair from his face and flashed a smile that displayed his perfect white teeth, his dimple adding an extra bit of charm. For a moment I couldn’t help but think he looked like an angel descending from heaven. I was so overwhelmed looking at him that I had to look away.
    Something about him seemed out of this world, like I was seeing a part of