Free Temptation by R.L. Stine Page B

“I’m going nowhere fast.”
    She thought she was making a joke, but he didn’t seem to get it.
    A horn honked. They both jumped and realized they were standing in the middle of the road. “Come on,” he said. She followed him to the walk as the car rolled by, honking again as it passed.
    â€œAre you with Matt?” Gabri asked, stopping in front of the Mini Market.
    â€œBad subject,” April muttered.
    Gabri’s eyes seemed to light up. “Huh?”
    â€œNo, I’m not with Matt,” April said, realizing her anger hadn’t subsided.
    Gabri stepped under the streetlight, making way for a woman who had just come out of the grocery store, struggling with three full bags of food.
    â€œYou have to be the palest townie in the world!” April blurted out, laughing.
    Again, Gabri didn’t smile. In fact, for a brief moment, he appeared alarmed by her comment. But he quickly recovered and his warm smile returned. “It’s my job,” he explained, moving from under the light, back into the shadows near the wall of the building. “I work all day. I never get to the beach till night. It’s kind of hard to get a tan by moonlight.”
    â€œWhere do you work?” April asked.
    â€œIn the next town,” he said after a short pause.
    â€œWhat do you do?”
    â€œWhatever they tell me to,” he replied. “It’s not a very exciting job.”
    April realized that he was gazing into her eyes as they talked. Doesn’t he ever blink? she wondered. And then she thought: His eyes seem so . . . deep. Like tunnels. Like tunnels that draw you in, deeper, deeper.
    Feeling dizzy, she raised a hand to the building wall to steady herself.
    â€œThe carnival opened tonight,” Gabri said. “Want to check it out?”
    â€œYes,” April replied, without even thinking.
    And then she pictured Matt. And thought, Matt won’t like this.
    I’m going to the carnival with another boy.
    And then she thought: I don’t care. He’d rather spend his time with Ben and the guys at that stupid horror movie.
    He doesn’t care what I do.
    I have a right to have some fun too.
    Her anger flared, then slipped away as she gazed into Gabri’s eyes.
    He smiled warmly at her. “Well, let’s go.”
    This is so easy, Gabri thought, slipping an arm around April’s shoulder as they made their way to the carnival grounds.
    This is almost too easy.
    April’s going to be no trouble at all.

CHAPTER 12 NO TIME TO REFLECT
    â€œHow about the Twister?” April urged, staring at the lurching and spinning metal cars. The squeals of the riders punctured the soft night air.
    Gabri shielded his eyes from the glare of the flashing colored lights that ran all along the top frame of the ride. “No thanks,” Gabri said, shaking his head and holding on to April. “I like some rides, but not the kind that make you dizzy.”
    â€œMe too,” April agreed, gazing around the carnival grounds at the blaze of colored lights and the long row of game booths with their back walls covered with enormous stuffed animal prizes.
    â€œHave you ever been on the Gravitron?” she asked.
    â€œWhat’s that?” he asked warily, still shielding his eyes.
    â€œI guess you haven’t,” she said, teasing him.
    They walked for a bit, surveying the rides. Many of them were still and empty, awaiting riders. The carnival had opened only an hour earlier, and not many people had arrived.
    The breeze off the ocean was warm and gentle. April was glad she had decided to come with Gabri. He was fun and charming in a sort of old-fashioned way. The complete opposite of Matt, she thought spitefully.
    Her anger had passed, but she wondered if Matt would even care that she had gone out with another boy.
    â€œDo you like the carousel?” Gabri asked as they came to it. “This one is kind of drab, isn’t it?