Captivate Me (Book One: The Captivated Series) Read Online Free Page B

that now? I prefer
Kat.”
    We stopped at the door to my next
class, which was slowly becoming my favorite. “Sure. Fits you
better, anyway,” he mused, tipping my chin up with his finger. He
sweetly pecked my cheek before turning and lumbering on his
way.
    Holding the spot on my
cheek he’d kissed, I watched him as he left. Surely if I were
around him enough my lingering doubt over whether or not we
belonged together would leave. I then decided to give him a chance…
a real chance and
see what happened. Maybe tonight we’d kiss for real and officially
be considered a couple. Who knows? He might be the one.
    * * *
    Thinking of the game tonight and Levi
and our budding relationship, I didn’t have a prayer at
concentrating during class. Luckily, this one was an elective and I
could answer every question on a test in my sleep. I wasn’t even
sure why I’d signed up for it. The class was called “Blending in to
Society” and Mrs. Griffith taught us how to effectively hide our
gifts in public while feeling free to tap into them in private. It
doesn’t have to be one or the other. Even though I’d hid mine for
years, perhaps I had signed up for the class because I felt there
was still something I could learn. After all, slipping up and using
my gift in public was the reason I was here.
    The rest of the day flew by, and Anna
and I found ourselves back in our room getting ready for the game.
We quickly dressed in our jeans and cute summery tops, fully
embracing what little warm weather we had left before fall and
bitter winter crept in. Also embracing our school spirit, I quickly
painted her cheek with our school emblem before I got a line going
out the door. Once everyone had found out I was a painter, last
Friday I’d painted fifteen faces before it was time to head out. I
had a feeling tonight would be a mad rush to see who could get to
my door first. Otherwise, they’d have to do it themselves and
settle for the typical war-paint style or half-burgundy-half-gold
faces. Memories of when Liz and I had painted our faces before
games at my old school crept in, threatening to ruin my mood, and I
fought it away. “So, what do you think of Ron?” I asked, hoping to
steer my mind away from ‘Liz the deserter.’
    “He’s so funny!” she
gushed. “And gorgeous. ”
    Oh, wow… she’s got it
bad. “Does someone have a crush already?”
I teased, but it was a rhetorical question – the answer was written
all over her beaming face.
    “Levi’s good-looking too,” she
continued. “I hear he’s the most popular guy in school.”
    My hand paused, and I met her eyes
with a curious grin. “And where did you hear that?”
    “Some girls were talking about him in
class.”
    “They were?” I couldn’t
explain why, but jealousy sparked in my heart. I guess I didn’t
like the idea of other girls pining over him. How stupid of me,
though… of course girls pined over him. It was Levi. Still, I hated
it.
    Anna picked up on my defensive tone.
“They were just saying how cute you were together, is all,” she
explained. “And you are. You two look like you should be in a
magazine or something.”
    I snorted inwardly. Me? In a magazine?
Maybe Levi, but not me. My chin was too pointy and my forehead
could have been used as a projection screen. And my pancake butt…
don’t even get me started. It could have been served up at the
nearest pancake house slathered in butter and syrup. I returned to
painting her cheek.
    “I’ve always wondered though,” she
continued. “How do you know if something’s love or if it’s
lust?”
    I painted the finishing touches and
plunked my brush in a glass of water. “When you find out, let me
know,” I teased.
    “No, for real. How do you know if you
like someone because of the way they look or if it’s
more?”
    Sighing, I worked the
kinks out of my neck. I really wasn’t in the mood for a deep
conversation on love, but perhaps now would be a good time to
explore this, considering