Never Let Go Read Free Page A

can’t believe you just said that.”
    She grins. “I like sex. I’m not ashamed of it. Spencer’s good at it. Plus, I’d rather be me than one of those sorry girls who start to cry when they get left behind in the morning.” She scoffs. “Talk about a lack of self-respect.”
    “But if they know he’s going to leave, why would they even…” I trail off again. “… You know .”
    “Sleep with him? Fuck him? Come on, girl, you can say it! This is college, not grade school. If you’re going to start blushing every time I have a guy over, maybe you should bunk with one of our other roomies.”
    I stop, unsure of what to say…
    Katy nudges my shoulder. “I’m teasing , Paige! It doesn’t happen that often, I swear. You’ve got to loosen up a bit.”
    “Sorry,” I say. “I’m not usually like this. Just pooped from the road, I guess.”
    “All right, that makes sense. Still, you want to know why? Hell, I don’t know. Maybe each of them thinks she’s going to be that special little flower that changes Spencer’s ways. If you ask me,” she concludes, “it’s a lost cause.”
    “Well, I’m not going to be like that,” I pronounce.
    Katy looks at me for a long time without saying anything. Then she beams. “You know what, I think I believe you. You and I are going to be great friends.”
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    I wake up with the sun the next morning. I’ve always been an early riser.
    Katy is still asleep in the bunk above mine, so I tiptoe out of the room and close the door. Officially, freshman move-in begins at noon today. I’ve still got a few hours before campus becomes a beehive.
    I shower, change, and head out to look for breakfast. The dining halls aren’t open for another week, but maybe I find some food at one of the small cafés dotting campus.
    “Paige!”
    I turn around, surprised to hear my name called out. I find Andrew jogging up to me. He’s decked out in workout gear.
    “Hey,” I wave. “What are you doing up so early?”
    “It’s the best time to hit the gym,” he smiles. I like seeing that smile. “I should ask you the same thing, though. If I remember correctly, you were pretty exhausted when I left you last night.”
    “Yeah,” I shrug. “I don’t need much sleep. A few hours and I’m good to go. I’m like the Energizer bunny that way.”
    I cringe as soon as the words leave my mouth. That was a horrible joke.
    Andrew doesn’t seem to think so, though. He laughs. “Is that so? I don’t see any long, pink ears sticking out of your head.” He takes me by the shoulders and gently turns me from side to side. “Those,” he announces as he makes a point to touch either of my ears, “definitely belong to a human.”
    I laugh and nudge him away. He’s sweet.
    Andrew smiles and sticks his hands in his pockets. “So, how’d move in go?”
    “I met my roommate,” I tell him.
    He raises an eyebrow in surprise. “Did you? When?”
    “Turns out she was in the other room while we were bringing our stuff up.”
    “She didn’t hear us?” Andrew asks.
    “She was, um, sleeping ,” I say.
    “Did she like Pickles?”
    “Of course she liked Pickles!” I say, hitting him on the arm playfully. “I haven’t met a single person who doesn’t.” Except for one…
    “Good,” Andrew grins. “Otherwise, I’d worry that we have a homeless cat on our hands. With a name like that, all the other animals would make fun of him.”
    “He’s tough,” I defend, squaring my shoulders. I can’t help the warm feeling from growing in my chest. Are we flirting? “The name serves as a decoy. It makes all the other animals underestimate him.”
    “I hope you’re not like that,” Andrew teases.
    I show him all my teeth. “Oh, I’ve got some bite in me.”
    “Noted,” he laughs. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
    “No way,” I shake my head. “That’s up to you to remember.”
    “I’ll do my best.” Andrew nods at my Beetle parked on the street. “You