Once Again Read Free Page A

come over here and lay
this.” A not-so-subtle pelvic thrust accompanied the last word.
    I felt like a statue, and a complete idiot,
rooted to the pavement, unable to move. I shook my head and rolled
my eyes in disgust, thinking it would be best to just head to my
car and ignore the display of ignorance. Even though a part of me –
a part that never, ever found the nerve to come out – wanted to let
loose with a series of stinging insults, all of which would be way
above this moron’s vocabulary level.
    “Shut up Miller!” came an angry voice from
behind me.
    And then he was there.
    Shoving the idiot named Miller hard in the
chest.
    Miller stumbled back a few steps, looking
stunned that Lucas had pushed him.
    “Whoa, man.” He righted himself, then put up
a hand in mock surrender. “I was just saying hello to the new
girl.”
    Lucas got right in his face and jammed a
finger in Miller’s chest.
    “What do you think you accomplish by talking
to a girl like that?”
    “Dude, look,” Miller stammered. “I was just
kidding around.”
    “You feel like a big shot when you act like a
jerk?” Lucas took a step closer, now nose-to-nose with the
idiot.
    “Back off, Luke.” Apparently Miller-the-idiot
found his spine, though I couldn’t figure out why he thought that
was a good idea.
    For whatever reason, Lucas was livid on my
behalf.
    How in the world had that happened? Since
when did cute guys stick up for me, especially when they looked at
me such guardedness?
    “I don’t think so, Miller.” Lucas shoved
again, and Miller had the good sense not to retaliate. “You’re the
one who needs to back off.”
    “Hey ladies,” Lucas said as he spun around to
look at some of the girls who had gathered to watch the
confrontation. “Any of you want to be talked to like that?”
    Most of the girls just looked at each other
or stared at their shoes.
    But Lucas wasn’t finished. He turned back
toward Miller.
    “Congratulations, you just made yourself look
like a pig in front of half the school.”
    Never in my life had anyone defended me like
this. The fact that I’d barely met him made it all the more
unbelievable.
    The fact that he was freaking gorgeous made
it completely unbelievable.
    Then he turned to me.
    “Come on.”
    And he took my hand and pulled me toward my
car.

CHAPTER 3
     
    Lucas
steered me around to the driver’s side of my car with a gentle hand
on the small of my back. I was both bewildered and exhilarated by
the level of familiarity he displayed with me. And really
uncomfortable with the fact that everyone in the parking lot was
still looking at me.
    “How did you know this was my car?” I
grimaced. What a lame thing to say after he’d just defended my
honor.
    “You were headed this way,” he answered,
taking my backpack off my shoulder and holding it while I fished
inside the front pocket for my keys. “And this is the only car in
the row I didn’t recognize.”
    Apparently, he’d decided to quit eyeing me
suspiciously.
    “Um, I should thank you.” My hand closed
around my keys. “For before.” Great, Layla. That sounded so
grateful.
    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as
if still trying to calm down.
    “Miller’s a complete moron.”
    “There are idiot boys everywhere,” I said,
unlocking my car doors. “I learned to ignore them a long time
ago.”
    “I’m sure you encountered plenty of jerks in
Tennessee.” He opened the back door, put my backpack inside, and
closed it. “But my mom would kill me if she found out I saw that
and didn’t step in.”
    “You know I’m from Tennessee?”
    “News travels fast around here,” he said.
“And I’m really sorry you had to deal with Miller’s stupidity on
your first day.”
    “Not your fault. But thanks again.”
    He leaned against the back door, seeming in
no hurry to leave.
    “Lucas Ellis, by the way.” He extended his
hand. “I realized I didn’t tell you my last name in lit class this
morning.”
    “Layla