Read Andre for Free Online Page B

along with a reply. You told me to leave. I asked you to stay.
    I get back to the dorm with enough time to change for dinner. I enter my room to find Ginny has thrown almost all of her clothing on the bed. She turns to me with wide eyes. “Thank god you’re here. I need help.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “Andre’s brother Adrian is coming to dinner.”
    She lifts a pink top up, and I shake my head as I say, “I take it you’ve got a crush on him.”
    “I’ve never met the guy,” she says. I shake my head again when she holds up a gray sweater to her chest. Ginny continues. “But you know those dreams we have? A very tall, very blond man who looks like he could be Andre’s brother is in them. Since Tori said both participants have the dream, I’m hoping that’s why he’s coming tonight.”
    Whoa. Andre is having the same dreams I am? I forgot about that piece of information. Fabric is soft against my hand as I sift through the shirts on Ginny’s bed. I pull out a dark-green silk blouse that will set off my sister’s eyes. I hold it up near my face so she can see the effect as I say, “That seems kind of cruel to do to people who are just mates, don’t you think?”
    I grin when she snatches the shirt out of my hand. She says, “I don’t know. I think it’s kind of cool.” Her voice is muffled when she lifts her turtleneck over her head. “Remember how Tori told us the Le Roux put out the call and that the De Roziers’ clan was so small that they did the same thing? It’s to keep the clans alive. I think it’s neat that we’re a part of that.”
    Silk slithers over her torso, and I nod in approval as I ask, “You’d consider becoming a werebear?”
    “Hell yeah. My dreams are so lifelike, it makes me think the star of them is my true mate.”
    Oh my god. My dreams are lifelike too. What if Andre is my true mate?
    Ginny puts her hands on her hips and tilts her head at me. “Your dreams are intense right now, aren’t they?”
    I nod.
    Her feet thump on the floor as she walks over to my closet. It takes my sister about a second to pull out a green sweater in the same shade she’s wearing. “You need to stop being an idiot and give Andre a chance. My future is at the dinner table tonight, and you’d better not screw this up for me.”
    “I don’t think you can if it’s true mates.”
    Ginny is holding eyeliner, and she tosses it at me. It bounces off my arm and clatters to the floor, and she says, “Lucky for you. But it would be nice if you’d stop torturing yours.”
    “Andre is not my true mate.” My hairbrush yanks at my locks as I pull my hair up in a high ponytail.
    “Wanna bet?” asks Ginny.
    “Ugh, I was in such a good mood before this discussion. Can we just stop and pretend we’re normal humans again? I want to enjoy my night.”
    Ginny ignores my question and strikes a pose. “How do I look?”
    “Fabulous. Let’s go.”
    I let my sister drive, and I gaze out the window. Christmas lights reflect below a layer of snow, making them glow, and tacky decorations make me smile as I imagine the joy of the children who see them. I wonder if Andre has ever witnessed anything like this. The wrapping paper of his present crinkles as I hug the gift. I may be torturing him as Ginny says, but I bet he’s going to be happy when he sees what I got him.
    I ask, “Did you know the reason Andre doesn’t talk much is because he and his brothers spent the last ten years as bears in order to survive?”
    The blinker ticks as Ginny prepares to turn onto a side street. “Oh, wow. God, don’t you feel so spoiled sometimes?”
    “I do.” If I hadn’t grown up in the land of country clubs, would I still crave the soccer-mom life? My stomach hurts when I think of how I told Andre I had plans that didn’t include him.
    I glance at my sister, who is so excited about the prospect of entering a world I can’t seem to embrace. If she does meet her true mate tonight, she’ll get a life filled