Read Cherry Red Summer (Emely and Elyas Book 1) for Free Online Page A

I’m hoping you’ll reply.
    Yours,
          Luca
    After reading each line, my forehead crumpled into tighter and tighter wrinkles, and by the end, my face must have looked as though I were ninety years old. What the hell was this? Who the hell was Luca?
    I scrolled up and saw that the message had been sent to my university e-mail address. All freshmen automatically got an e-mail address, which was then listed in the public directory, so it was easy to look up any student. That didn’t narrow things down at all, unfortunately. To the contrary: it could be anyone at the school. There was no last name. It just said it was from “Luca,” and the account was Gmail. It could be anyone.
    The whole thing was more than a little mysterious.
    “Hey, I asked you a question,” Alex grumbled, shaking me out of my thoughts.
    “Sorry,” I said and blinked. “I just got a weird e-mail. What was your question?”
    “A weird e-mail?”
    “Yeah, from someone named Luca who apparently wants to get to know me.” I shrugged. “It’s probably just someone trying to make fun of me.”
    Alex’s interest was piqued. She quickly got off the bed and stood behind me to read the e-mail herself. I took the opportunity to read through it again, but I still didn’t know what to think.
    “Oh my God, that is totally cute!” Alex squealed, and I furrowed my brow.
    “Please don’t go all hysterical on me,” I said.
    “How will you reply?” she asked, clapping.
    “You think I should reply ?”
    “God, Emely.” She rolled her eyes. “Of course you should reply!”
    “Hello?” I said, looking at her in exasperation. “Who knows what kind of psycho that is! I don’t know anyone named Luca. He could be some skinny computer nerd with horn-rimmed glasses and greasy hair. Or maybe a serial killer!” I was starting to get all worked up. “Think about it, Alex. What kind of person decides to write a random e-mail like that? We’re not thirteen years old anymore, passing notes back and forth in class—Oh my God,” I shouted. “He probably is thirteen! He didn’t mention his age anywhere!”
    Alex giggled. A new theory popped into my head. “And what exactly does that mean: ‘I’ve had my eye on you for a while’? Is he stalking me? He’s probably got a telescope for all I know!” In a minor fit of paranoia, I rushed over to the window and hectically scanned outside looking for light that could be reflecting off a telescope lens.
    “Now don’t go all nuts on me,” Alex said, laughing and patting me on the shoulder. “You always assume the worst. The e-mail doesn’t read like it’s from a serial killer.”
    “Ha!” I replied. “The worst serial killers are the ones who don’t seem like sociopaths.”
    “Yes, and you’re a weirdly pessimistic person. What if this guy is the absolute man of your dreams, huh? Luca doesn’t sound like a computer nerd’s name. More like a sexy jock or something.”
    “Sexy jock?” I repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Why would a sexy jock not be able to muster the courage to speak to me?” I crossed my arms over my chest, daring her to explain.
    She thought for a moment. “Because he’s sh y . . . ?” Her voice got higher and higher until it faded into nothingness.
    “So much for that theory,” I said, crossing the sexy-jock option off my list.
    “That’s exactly what you could ask him when you reply,” she said. Alex was never stymied for long.
    I sighed. The mere thought of replying to that message sent an unpleasant shiver through my gut.
    “We’ll see,” I finally said. I would have to think about it when I had time to myself, which wouldn’t be until Alex left, but I didn’t want her to go yet. “Do you want to grab a bite in the cafeteria?”
    “That’s a great idea,” she said nodding, so I shut my laptop and we walked down to the cafeteria.
    Alex got a salad that she said didn’t taste good, so she nibbled away at my four-cheese spaghetti.
    Even though I was