July (The Year of The Change Book 1) Read Free Page B

bear hug and buried his face in my neck. The chill ran back up my spine with added force. A heat wave rocketed through the rest of my body. Breathe, Sylvia, breathe. My eyes focused. I noticed a hickey on his neck. For some reason, that bothered me, but not enough to push him away. Inhaling his scent my eyes closed involuntarily. I could smell strawberries in his hair. Did we use the same shampoo?
    Focus!
    His body trembled.
    At first, thinking was a no-go, my brain was on overload. This was way too good to be true. Someone was going to wake me from the best dream of my life.
    Breathe, focus, think!
    I leaned away from him to look at his handsome face. I hoped to figure out what he was thinking. As if I didn’t already know.
    He tightened his hold. “Oh Sylv, you can’t leave. I love you,” his voice was thick with emotion.
    This was definitely too good to be true, so I knew he was just acting to tease me. Even as sweaty as we both were, he held me in the perfect embrace. He played his part flawlessly, and I enjoyed every second.
    I laughed so he would know he hadn’t pulled the wool over my eyes. Although, I had to admit, I really wanted to be fooled, even if for a mere minute. What a glorious minute it would be, too. Ah, to fall completely into the silky smooth depths of heaven itself without reality nagging and spoiling the moment.
    He pulled back and looked at me. A tear ran down his perfect cheek. He was really crying. Boy, he was a good actor with real talent. Of course I already knew that. I’d always been swept away as a bystander in the dark school auditorium, watching him work his magic from the spotlight. Sigh. Even without the stage, getting to play a scene with Calvin was a dream come true.
    “Sylv, how can you laugh at a time like this?” He sounded heartbroken.
    I looked closer at his glazed azure eyes.
    A brief shake to clear my head wasn’t enough. He was serious? I wanted to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming, but he had my hands pinned between us with his strong arms.
    “You tell your folks you’re not going.” His words rushed out. “You could live with my sister until we can get married.”
    He’d actually thought about this … too much.
    “Oh, why did I take so long to realize what I had right next door?” His face was anguished.
    What did my face look like, because my eyeballs felt like they were going to pop out? I had to be dreaming, but the dream was off somehow. Where was the joy and exhilaration a confession, like that, should’ve produced? All I could muster was confusion.
    Then it hit me.
    Glazed eyes?
    Calvin was affected.
    Of course he was. I’m such an idiot.
    My heart dropped and everything clicked into place. How stupid of me. I wanted so badly for him to finally realize I was the best girl for him that I didn’t want to see it was only The Change that had his heart gift wrapped for me.
    Yes, The stupid Change that was thrust upon me last December, on my sixteenth birthday, that I would have to endure for a whole year. The stupid idiotic Change that had all the guys around thinking they were in love with me. The stupid idiotic bewildering Change that was wrecking my life!!
    I wanted to cry.
    He tried to kiss me again and I instinctively pulled back. My sudden movement put us off balance and we fell. He landed on me, knocking my breath out. I struggled to breathe while trying to battle his groping hands.
    The world definitely wasn’t right if I was fighting off Calvin Thompson. It had to be a nightmare. Perhaps it was the same one I’d been having about being forced to move to Alaska. Maybe I would wake up and find myself snuggled deep under my antique quilt, in my room filled with posters and stuffed animals. My grandmother would still be alive and the family legend would be just that, a legend. She would laugh and tell me how gullible I was.
    When my lungs filled my first objective was a scream. “Daaad! Heelllp!”
    “You don’t need your dad, you only need