Page 46 of No Ordinary Girl
He leaned in, elbows on knees, and shot me a teasing grin. “You’re afraid to sit next to me, aren’t you?”
“Uh… no, I just like it here.”
“You’re afraid if you get too close, I’ll read you.”
I was breathless for a second. “Well… yeah, it’s sorta like someone reading your diary. I don’t like it.”
He laughed. “But you like reading other people’s diaries, don’t you?!”
He wasn’t completely wrong. Although, I kind of hate being a Reader, sometimes I do get a kick out of it. It can occasionally be quite entertaining.
“You freak me out,” I confessed. I figured I might as well confess, the boy already pretty much knew what I was thinking.
“You freak me out, too.”
We both smiled quietly, and just stared at each other for a long beat.
“I’m pretty good, you know,” he said. “I can read you from over here, so you may as well come over,” he added with a swift tilt of his head.
I wanted to. I wanted to so bad. I didn’t care if he saw all my deepest thoughts, all my secrets (thankfully, I didn’t have many) and saw me deep to my core. So, I liked him. Big deal. I wanted to be close to him, smell his fresh soap scent, and feel the heat of his body.
I shook my head. What would my mother think of this? What had happened to me? Maybe my x chromosomes weren’t faulty, after all.
He smiled wide, and his eyes fixed me as I stood and slowly made my way to his bench, three steps, tops. They were the most exciting three steps I’d ever taken. I settled next to him, and my heart threatened to escape out of my ribcage. I was sitting right next to him, and for the first time, I had him all to myself.
I ventured a shy look up at him. I had to force myself not to pull my gaze away. It’s my natural instinct to do that when I’m nervous. But I didn’t want to miss anything, I wanted to take in every single detail of him. It felt as if he was doing the same. Neither of us uttered a single word. He truly had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen; soft brown with lashes I’d kill for. He had better lashes than I did – so unfair. My lashes could never even compete, even with the help of mascara.
“You have pretty eyes, too,” he said, completely catching me off guard. “I love green eyes.”
My heart skipped a beat. I’d been caught. This was so freaky, but still, I didn’t want to pull away. I wanted him to read all my thoughts, even the naughty ones.
“Did you know that green eyes are the most unique?” he asked.
I nodded, fascinated. “Tell me what else I’m thinking.”
He smiled wide, and I noticed for the first time that one of his front teeth was chipped, barely noticeable up close. It only made him cuter.
“Bicycle accident when I was ten. I was being a goof.”
I smiled, and was suddenly brought back to my own childhood. I’d been a goof, too. I’d fallen off a small cliff, and had banged myself up pretty good. I had a pretty impressive scar below my knee.
“Show me,” he said. “Show me the scar.”
He could read me so well. I couldn’t decide if I liked it or hated it. I pulled my knee high sock down.
“Wow, pretty impressive.”
I turned to him. “Tell me what else I’m thinking.”
His face broke in two. “You like the looks of me. You like my eyes, you like my smile. You think I need a haircut, but you hope I won’t get one.”
Cocky. So cocky. But absolutely right.
“You’re also thinking of bailing right now, because I’m freaking you out.”
I laughed. “True.”
“The feeling is mutual, by the way.”
