Read Online Falling for You by Lisa Schroeder - Free Book Online

it.”
    “Do you have a channel?” I asked.
    “Yeah.”
    “I’d love to check it out.”
    “Nah. I think, for now, I want to remain anonymous.” He looked at me. “I mean, no offense. It’s just—”
    “It’s okay. I get it. It’s personal. Kind of like your diary or something.”
    “Yeah. In a way.” His eyes returned to the paper. I could tell he was reading one of the poems.
    I don’t know why I did it. Did I hope he’d confide in me if I confided in him? Or did I want someone to know pieces of the hidden truth? I’m not sure. Leo just had a down-to-earth quality that made me feel like I’d known him forever. If I was going to hand my trust over to someone on a silver platter, something told me Leo would not only accept it, he’d take care of it.
    I reached over and pointed to my poem. “I’m actually quite familiar with wanting to be anonymous.”
    He followed my finger. Then I sat back, picked up the second cookie, and let him read.
    When he finished, he looked at me. The expression on his face wasn’t one of pity or disgust, which I half expected, even from someone as kind as Leo. Instead, he looked at me in a way that simply said, I hear you .
    “It’s really good,” he said.
    I felt my cheeks get warm and suddenly I felt very shy. I’d just let someone into my life as well as my writing, neither ofwhich I did much, if at all. “Thanks,” was all I could manage to say.
    “Does it help? Getting the words out like that?”
    I set the remainder of the cookie down, staring at it, afraid of the vulnerability I felt. “Yeah. It does. I have journals filled with them, so that tells you how screwed up my life is.”
    I meant it to be kind of funny, but it didn’t come out that way.
    “Rae, if you ever want to talk—”
    I let out a little nervous laugh, suddenly kicking myself for thinking it was a good idea to show him that poem. “No, I’m fine, really.” I stood up and tossed the book into my backpack. “I should get to work. Nina’s probably wondering where I am.”
    He stood up too. “Oh. Right. Well, let me know what you think of the book, okay?”
    “I will.” I looked at him before I turned to leave. I wanted to say something. Let him know how much it meant that he’d said just the right things. But all I could say was, “Thanks again.”
    His warm smile reassured me that I didn’t need to say anything else. “Anytime.”
    How come I never noticed that dimple before?

desperate
    “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” I ASKED.
    Nathan got up from the bench where I’d seen Scarlett ten minutes earlier and stormed toward me. “Who is he?”
    “What? Who?”
    He grabbed my arm and pulled me past the front door and window of the Bean Shack. Before I knew what was happening, Nathan had me pinned against the wall, his face inches from mine.
    “I saw you,” he hissed. “With that guy in there. You think I wouldn’t find out?”
    I tried to shake free. “Nathan, stop it. What is wrong with you?”
    “Tell me who he is.”
    “He’s a friend. That’s all. I went in there to get a tea. Heworks there, and business was slow, so he sat and talked with me for a few minutes.”
    Nathan didn’t say anything. He just stared at me, like he was trying to figure out if he should believe me or not.
    “Look, you’d better let go of me before I knee you where it hurts.” He slowly loosened his grip. As he did, I shook him off and took a few steps away, grabbing my backpack, which I’d dropped in the scuffle. His face changed at the realization of what he’d done. He looked like a lost little boy. Sad. Confused.
    “Damn it. Rae. Are you okay?” He took a step toward me.
    I held out my hand for him to stop. “Don’t come near me. You need to go. Now.”
    “Let me explain first, okay?” He looked like he was going to cry. He took another small step toward me. “I really needed to see you. It’s my dad. I saw him with another woman on my way home. He kissed her, and then he helped her