Read Blue Christmas (The Moody Blue Trilogy | Book One) for Free Online Page B

cue-stick dance partner in a dramatic dip.
    Be cool.
Unimpressed. “I was expecting something like doing your laundry or giving you
a foot massage.”
    “Ooooh, now that
could be nice—”
    “In your dreams,
McKenzie.” That’s it, that’s it. Nice and cool . . . “I’m
pretty good at pool. I’ll take the bet. But let’s see—how about if I win, you sing me a song. An original song that you make up, right here, right
now. All by yourself. No fancy equipment. Just you and your guitar. Let me see
just how good a musician you really are.”
    “Piece of cake.
With the addendum that if I lose, we play double or nothing for a second
chance.”
    “You’re on. Break
’em.”
    “Stand back, girl.
You’re about to witness poetry in motion.” His tone changed. He became the
announcer. “The master takes his stance. He carefully stretches across the edge
of the table, positioning every muscle for optimum effort . . . he
draws back . . . and in a single, fluid motion—”
    “He misses the
ball by a mile!” she shouted. “Way to go, Jason. Oh, this is gonna be way too
much fun. Move over, Beethoven. Let me show you what ‘poetry in motion’ really looks like!”
     

     
    “That was
beautiful, Jason.”
    He set the acoustic guitar
back into its case. “You’re just saying that. You’re mocking me ’cause you beat
the snot out of me over there.”
    “No, I’m not. Of
course, it’s not a spontaneous original, so you still owe me. And probably big
time, since you tried to cheat me with a Jason classic. But I’ve always loved
that song. Why didn’t you guys ever release it as a single?”
    “How do you know that song?” He noticed the blush creeping across her face again and
realized how much he enjoyed such innocence. Such a refreshing change.
    “You played it on
your first televised Fox Family concert.”
    “You’re right—I’d
forgotten all about that. We never released it because I was the only one who
liked it. The guys gave me so much grief about it. But it was one of the first
songs I wrote, and it still means a lot to me. So I’m glad you liked it. Even
if it wasn’t spontaneous .” He rolled his eyes. “Oh well, at least I know
there’s two of us on the planet who like it. Which tells me something else
about you.”
    “And what would
that be?”
    “We have a history
together. We both like the same music.”
    “That would be an
understatement,” Hannah laughed. “Confessions of a former groupie and all
that.”  She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and darted her eyes away
from his.
    He leaned back and
smiled at her. In fact, he realized he couldn’t stop looking at her.
    What is it? Why
is this girl getting under my skin? I don’t even know her. She’s kinda cute . . .
and the gawking is long gone, thank God. But just look at her—she’s relaxed
like she’s been here a thousand times before. What’s that about? And why did
Mom invite her over here tonight anyway? That’s so not Mom.
    He watched her
squirm under his gaze.
    She looked away, stretching
her arms over her head, yawning. “What time is it anyway? I can’t keep my eyes
open.”
    Jason peeked at
the clock over the counter. It’s only 2:30. The night’s still young!” He stood
up. “And don’t you even think about pulling that sleepy stuff. You promised
another game if I lost.” He headed back to the pool table. “You owe me a game.”
    “No way. I’m beat.
If you’ll recall, I put in a full day at work before your Mom kidnapped me.”
    “Oh yeah, poor
baby. And here’s where I’m supposed to get all sympathetic and understanding,
right? Forget it. Look, I’ll get us something to drink and make some popcorn.
Mom keeps the kitchen down here stocked. What do you want—a Coke? Dr. Pepper?”
    He could tell she
was exhausted but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want the night to end. He
watched her tortured yawn and felt a twinge of guilt for keeping her up, but it
passed.
    Hannah