Free Color Blind by Diana Gardin Page B

breathe?”
    “It really was, girl!” Sarah agrees,
releasing me.
    “I knew you had some choreography skills,
but that? That was on another level. I forgot I was watching a high school
musical.” Brandon shakes his head in disbelief.
    I watch some of the stars of the musical
around us, hugging their parents and being showered with praise from their
mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other family members. Wistfully, I wish I
had that. I wish my mom didn’t have to work so hard. I wish, for the umpteenth
time that she could be at one of my performances. I try to put it out of my
head.
    My friends’ praise washes through me and
makes me feel warm and tingly all over. Luka, Dara, Sarah, and Brandon are a
good substitute for parents, showering me with compliments.
    Tonight really was a success. I can’t
believe it.
    “So are you guys headed home now?” I ask
them.
    “Actually,” Luka reminds me. “Aren’t you
supposed to come out with me for a little while?”
    I smile at him. “What did you have in
mind?”
    “Do you guys want to go grab dinner? I’m
starving,” Dara asks.
    Brandon looks at Luka and me.
    “I’m down for that,” I answer. “Luka?”
    “Sure,” he says. “El Nino?”
    We agree to meet at my favorite Mexican
restaurant, and Luka leads me out of the school to his SUV.
    As he walks me around to the passenger side
door, he reaches over to open it. Instead of doing so though, he snakes both
arms up on either side of me and presses his palms against the car. I am
pinned, facing Luka’s strong, tall frame.
    He leans in, sweet breath tickling my
face. “You’re amazing,” he says.
    I meet his gaze, and wonder where the
sweet, gentlemanly Luka has gone. “Oh?”
    “Yeah,” he answers “I’m so proud of you.”
His voice is low, gravelly. “The show was off the chain.” He leans down and
kisses me, for the second time tonight. Hungrier, longer this time. As the kiss
goes on, I lose myself in it, letting my hands loosely explore his broad
shoulders, his strong back muscles. They ripple under his shirt, and it makes
me shiver with pleasure.
    I hadn’t expected this bad-boy side of
Luka to emerge, and I like it more than I ever thought I would. I pull him
closer, and he groans softly under my lips. I smile to myself.
    We arrive late to dinner.

 
    Chapter
8
    The
Bonfire
    Cooper
    I can say I’m disappointed I didn’t get
to give Camryn the gift I’d created for her after the show, but I’d be lying. I’m
not just disappointed; I am beyond
frustrated. How am I supposed to get closer to her if she doesn’t give me
opportunities to impress her? Now I’ll have to wait until the next time I got
her alone, and who knows when that will be?
    The beach bonfire is coming up, and I
decide to ask her to go with me. I don’t have anything to lose by asking her. Judging
by the fact that she is walking around school on Luka’s arm and cozying up to
him in the cafeteria every day, it’s long shot.
    I’ll still ask.
    I close my locker and turn to walk toward
my math class.
    “What’s up, man?” says a guy with spiky
blonde hair and three metal studs in his left ear.
    “Hey, Hunter,” I answer. “What’s good?”
    “Nothing, dude,” he says. “Just wanted to
make sure you were coming to practice this afternoon.
    “Yeah, I planned on it. We working on the
new stuff?”
    “That’s the plan,” he says cheerfully. “I
gotta run. See you at my house later.”
    I watch Hunter saunter off, then shake my
head and head to my class.
    Entering my classroom just after the bell
rings, I slip into my seat in the back of the room and slouch low.
    “Thank you, Mr. Goode, for deciding to
grace us with your presence,” Mrs. Hiller intones. “Homework out, everyone.”
    Surprising as it probably is to Mrs.
Hiller, I had actually done my homework. I complete my homework every night,
yet it always seems to surprise my teachers when I get good grades. I guess
naturally smart isn’t something teachers