The Secret 02 The Forever of Ella and Micha Read Free Page A

empty parking space. “Thanks for the ride, Blake.” She shuts the door and shimmies off toward the sidewalk.
    “Are you okay?” Blake asks me as I unbuckle my seatbelt. “You seem kind of quiet today.”
    “I’m fine.” I start to open the door. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
    Pulling the beanie off his head and ruffling his hair, he rotates in his seat to face me. “I’m a good listener.”
    I eye him over warily. “I’m sure you probably don’t want to hear it.”
    “Try me.”
    “It’s about my boyfriend.”
    “Ah.” His eyebrows arch upward. “The infamous Micha.”
    “That would be the one,” I say. “He’s leaving… clear across the country.”
    He wiggles the keys out of the ignition. “And you’re upset about this, I take it?”
    “Well, obviously. He’s leaving and he was supposed to drive out here from LA this weekend.” The more I talk about it aloud, the more panic chokes at my chest. “But now he has to drive out to New York tomorrow. I have no idea why I’m telling you this. I’m sorry.” I climb out of the car and close the door.
    He meets me at the front of the car, swings his bag over his shoulder, and pushes the lock button, the headlights blinking. We walk in silence toward the grass area that stretches over the front of the campus. Lila is underneath a tree talking to Parker, a tall guy with thick arms and sandy blond hair. He’s wearing a button-down shirt and a pair of fancy jeans. It’s her type of guy normally, except for Ethan. The two of them occasionally talk on the phone, although they still insist they’re just friends.
    “Thanks for taking us to lunch.” I step up onto the curb. “I’m sure Lila’s thankful too. She’s been going crazy being stuck on campus.”
    “Anytime.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets with a pensive look on his face. “So your boyfriend’s in LA right now?”
    I nod unenthusiastically. “Until tomorrow.”
    He mulls over something, gazing at the parking lot. “You know that’s only, like, a four-, four-and-a-half-hour drive from here. You could probably make it there later tonight if you left soon.”
    “I know that.” I force back a smile, knowing I could make it there in less time than that. “But I don’t have a car.” I point over my shoulder at his red Ford Mustang. “Hence the ride this afternoon.”
    An amused smile tugs at the corners of his lips. “I know, but I have a car that could get you there.”
    “Why would you do that?” I ask, shocked.
    He shrugs, scuffing his shoes against the sidewalk. “Because I know how hard it is to be away from the person you love.”
    “Are you for real?” I ask, and he nods. “Let me get this straight. You’re going to let me borrow your car and drive it out of the state, so I can see my boyfriend for, like, a night?”
    “Actually I was going to take you,” he clarifies. “My girlfriend lives in Riverside and you could drop me off and pick me up.”
    “Girlfriend?” I sputter out a laugh. “Oh my God, you have a girlfriend?”
    He tilts his head to the side with a mystified expression. “Am I that repulsive?”
    I shake my head swiftly. “No, I’m sorry. It’s just that… Well, Lila thought you had a thing for me and that’s why you talk to me all the time.”
    He tugs his beanie onto his head, pressing his lips together to suppress a laugh. “Oh, I see. Your friend’s… interesting.”
    “She’s nice, though,” I tell him, glancing over at Lila, who’s running her fingers up and down Parker’s arm. “I love Lila to death.”
    “I know that,” he replies. “And for the record, I talk to you because you’re an interesting person. You remind me a lot of my friends back home.”
    I’m curious what his friends are like back home. “Are you sure you want to take me? Because you don’t have to.”
    “I’m sure.” He tucks the car keys into the back pocket of his jeans. “It’s worth it just to keep that happy look on your face. You