Four Letters in Reverse (FLIR #1) Read Free

did he tell you?”
    He smiled mischievously. “No.”
    “Then how are you so sure that he likes me?”
    “It’s the way he looks at you.” Owen commented. “In case you haven’t noticed, he’s been looking at you a lot lately.”
    He saw the confused look on my own face. “You really haven’t noticed?” He appeared genuinely surprised and rubbed the side of his face.
    I slowly shook my head, clutching the phone in my hand even tighter. I crossed my legs together then unfolded them, not knowing what to say. I was the daydreamer of the group; I wasn’t one for noticing anything, least of all the attentions of a boy.
    “How does he look at me?” I asked curiously. I stared back at Owen sideways through strands of my hair.
    “I don’t know.” Owen fiddled with the silver stud in his left ear, one eye half-closed in concentration, and sighed. “He stares at you like he’s never seen you before even though we’ve known each other practically our whole lives. He looks at you as if you were an … alien.”
    “An alien?” I couldn’t help but laugh at that. I started to feel slightly better.
    He grinned and it dawned on me that I liked his smile. A lot. “You know what I mean, Callaghan. He’s totally crushing on you.”
    “Well, I’m not interested.”
    “Harsh.”
    “I mean,” I tried again. “I’m not allowed to date until I’m sixteen and that’s years away and even if I were, boys are not a priority right now and I’ve never thought of Bruno in that way. Ever.”
    “Never?” he whispered.
    I shook my head. “Ever.”
    “Well …” He leaned close like he wanted to tell me a secret. “How would you react if I told you I liked you?”
    I gasped, surprised, and my face instantly reddened. Owen grinned and pulled back, chuckling. “I thought so.”
    Oh. My. Gawd.
    I didn’t have time to respond to his startling revelation. A large vehicle pulled up and at the sound of a honk, I looked up and saw Jade waving a hand at me out the window.
    Owen noticed my ride and stood. He appeared so calm and relaxed, like the last thirty seconds didn’t just happen.
    “Looks like your sister’s here. See you around, Callaghan.”
    Maybe it didn’t.
    He picked up his skateboard and walked toward the sidewalk, placing it on the ground. He positioned one foot on the board and looked just about ready to leave.
    “By the way.” Owen stopped and turned around. He stared at me for the longest time and a smile crossed his face. “I really like your glasses.”
    Or maybe it did?
    Then he skated off like it was no big deal, waving at Jade as he passed, rocking out to some song that only he seemed to hear. I stared after him, hand touching the side of my glasses, wide-eyed, as my heart thumped a mile a minute against my chest like a broken drum set.
    Forget Bruno. The way Owen just looked at me?
    Sigh.

CHAPTER THREE
     
    “W HO WAS THAT CUTEY?” instantly greeted me as I slammed the door shut to my sister’s SUV.
    I turned to see a smirking face.
    “Nobody,” I mumbled.
    She laughed evilly, backing out of the parking lot. “That didn’t look like nobody. That definitely looked like somebody.”
    “No comment.”
    “ Aww . You getting shy around me, AB?” Jade ruffled my hair and I made a face. “Don’t make that face at me, sister. I’m the queen of face making. And you’re totally rocking those glasses by the way.”
    “Thanks.” Owen seems to think so too. I touched the middle of my glasses, proudly perching them higher on my nose, then turned around to stare out the rear view mirror. I saw Owen on his skateboard getting smaller and smaller as we drove away, and bit my lip. “He’s just a boy I go to school with.”
    “Name?”
    “Owen Wilder.”
    “Age?”
    I glanced over at her. “Same as me.”
    She returned the look. “Just checking. Wasn’t sure if you went for older men as well.”
    I looked at her gigantic stomach, with my future niece or nephew inside, and balked. “Oh my