When Life Turned Purple Read Online Free Page B

guy who had no problem sitting next to an exotic hottie and not even hold her hand.
    He felt her glance at him a few times while he just stared out the windshield. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shoulders hunch as she lowered her head.
    Oh, baby…. He groaned inwardly. Why couldn’t she just trust him? He’d been so patient already.
    He turned his face toward her and saw that her eyes were cast downward. They moved and blinked as if she were thinking intently about something.
    “Hey,” he said, and she looked up at him. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She watched him for a moment, then gave him a tense-lipped smile back.
    “Listen,” he said, “I just like being with you. Okay? No pressure.”
    Her smile deepened and her shoulders relaxed. Still looking at him, Lia nodded.
    So far, so good.... Russ tried to think of what else to say to put her at ease. So he said, “How’s your art going?”
    Lia straightened up at the question and her whole face softened. “Good,” she said. “Really good. The computer stuff is really intriguing—you can create exact scenarios with the right programming. Like, you can get such a realistic idea of how this place or that place actually looks and it’s so amazing to see it come alive like that. And then with the actual process of painting, it’s really cool and really therapeutic.”
    “That’s awesome,” Russ said. And he found he meant it.
    She flashed him a look of gratitude, though Russ didn’t know exactly why. But he considered it a good sign.
    As they fell into silence again, Russ struggled to carry the conversation. By this point in his previous relationships, things were physical, which made conversation less necessary. Until now, Russ never realized how much of his relationships went toward hooking up and how little was spent on talking. Even with Emma (with whom Russ often felt there was still too much conversation), he realized now that a lot of their time together was still physical.
    “What are you thinking?” Russ heard himself ask Lia.
    Lia’s eyebrows arched as she looked at him. “Well,” she said, “I guess…I guess I’m wondering what you want from me.”
    He held up his palms. “I just like being with you. You’re pretty cool, you know.”
    Lia smiled as she rolled her lips together, then said, “I hope you mean that. Because if you’re hoping for more, well…I just can’t.”
    “Yeah, I understand. Look, you were straight-up with me from the beginning.”
    Lia nodded. “Yep. I have to, I guess. Dating has become all about hooking up. And I hate being called a tease. I don’t know why that’s such a painful insult.” She thought for a moment. “I guess maybe because it implies that I’m being dishonest in some way, like I’m some scheming little vixen who’s out to dupe a guy. But dupe him into what exactly? And why should a guy get so angry when he thinks he might get some and then not get any at all? Well, I don’t know. It’s not the worst thing in the world and it’s not like it’s his right.” She swallowed before continuing. “I don’t feel like anyone has ‘rights’ over me. You know?”
    Tension inched through Russ. His chest tightened up like it did before a fight. He was pretty sure he knew which snuffling mutts she meant. They were those compact athletic types who looked like real guys on the outside, but when they opened their mouths, the voice of a whiny Valley girl came out. He saw them in his store all the time. He also remembered them from high school.
    “You need to stop dating frat boys,” said Russ.
    Now Lia gave him a big grin with a little laugh and leaned her head against the headrest as she gazed at him. “They weren’t always frat boys.”
    “Someone should have told you in high school not to date the college prep crowd—especially the community college rats.”
    She laughed again and it came more easily this time. “What’s wrong? Do you have something against