Earning Edie (Espinoza Boys #1) Read Free Page B

getting comfortable.
    “Uh …” she said awkwardly, and took a gulp from her cup to stall for time.
    Shit. She was an ex.
    Why had I gone there? Her answer wouldn’t matter. She was too young, and I never dated anyone. Not after Elana.
    Anytime I started to think I could move on, the familiar churning of guilt and regret in my gut corrected my mistake.
    “I don’t really fall into the pretty girl category. I was never on his radar.”
    “Oh.”
    I sensed her pulling back into herself, as she refused to make eye contact and sipped her drink. I couldn’t leave her hanging like that.
    “Carlos is a dick.”
    Great. Real classy, Nick.
    She burst out laughing in earnest, to my relief.
    I decided in that moment Carlos was an idiot. This girl was beautiful, and if she put in half the effort of the glossy girls downstairs, she’d outshine them all.
     
    EDIE
    I watched this guy, whose name I didn’t even know, grinning at me and felt a little lighter than I had all day.
    He was older. Somewhere in his twenties, I guessed. And compared to the obnoxious boys downstairs, he was sexy and sophisticated.
    Too sophisticated for a high school party.
    When I’d first seen him in the hall — a tall, dark stranger stepping out of a bedroom — I shuddered to think what he might be doing there. Now, with his body warming my side as he sat close, I wondered if someone waited inside for him.
    He didn’t seem to be in any hurry. His eyes fixed on me while I watched the party and tried to seem unaffected by his gaze.
    Why hadn’t I done something more with my hair, or dressed up a little at least?
    I dismissed the thought immediately, glancing to the side to take him in once more. He was so far out of my league it was a joke.
    His dark hair was short, but neatly styled, and his fitted T-shirt and dark-wash jeans hugged his body perfectly. He was lean, rather than bulky, but with enough muscle definition to show when he leaned back on his elbows and his shirt stretched tighter.
    I liked his eyes best, though, a deep blue that contrasted vividly against his olive-toned skin.
    In a word: gorgeous.
    “Why so glum tonight?” he asked. “The only time you smiled was when I called Carlos a dick. Did he do something to you?”
    “No,” I said quickly. “I just had a bad day.”
    “Why’s that?”
    He stared at me so intently, and with such sincere interest, the words slipped free before I could think them through.
    “No one came to my graduation today.”
    I shrugged, trying to play off how much it bothered me.
    “It’s pretty typical of my parents, actually. They’ve missed a lot of special occasions, but I was really hoping this one would be different, you know?”
    “Out of town?”
    I shook my head and sighed. “No, they just—” I stopped abruptly and glanced at him. “You don’t need to hear all this.”
    “Actually, I’d like to hear it,” he said, leaning in close and lowering his voice. “And, it seems like maybe you’d like to tell it.”
    Maybe it was the alcohol loosening my tongue, or maybe I just needed to vent. But I told him my whole sad life story.
    At first, I talked about my disappointment with graduation. But he kept asking questions, and he was so easy to talk to, that before I knew it I’d given him a rundown of every birthday my parents had missed, every school concert. Even the story of my parents’ divorce, and the strain with my mom ever since I chose to live with my dad.
    I went on and on, taking breaks only to gulp down the rest of my drink. And he soaked it all in, never interrupting, always listening intently.
    When I finished, I felt drained but also lighter. As though I’d been carrying a burden of bitterness for so long, I didn’t realize it had made it hard to breathe.
    “Wow,” he said when I finally fell silent, my throat a little sore from talking so much. “That is some story.”
    “Sorry. I’ve probably bored you.”
    “Nah, I’d like to hear more. Like your name,