Read Landlocked (A water witch novel) for Free Online

me apologetically. It only took a moment for me to realize that she was horrified at her choice of words. My parents had actually sunk into the ocean.
    “It’s okay,” I assured her with a squeeze of her hand. We walked toward the sickly green metal doors that led outside. “And I’m not sure if I was any smoother. I’ve decided that boys drop my IQ and increase my agitation.”
    She held the door open for me. “If you think you're the first girl to decide that you're outside your mind.”
    I laughed. Men and women had been driving each other crazy since the beginning of time. “I’ve never felt this way before, though. I mean, I have been annoyed by tons of boys, but it was different with him. He just crawled under my skin.”
    Her eyebrows shot up. “In a good way or a bad way?”
    I took a moment to think about it, matching her leis urely stride; neither of us was in a hurry to get to the pool. I looked up at the pale blue sky, raising my hand to block out the too close Louisiana sun. I thought about Jaron. Why did he get under my skin? Was it just his unbelievable good looks? Was it because he seemed honestly curious about me as a person? Or was it the way he challenged me like no one ever had? “I don’t know. I’ll have to get back to you on it.”
    “Always in your head. One thing you won’t have to think on too hard is his looks. He's a hottie with a body for sure!” She paused, cocking her head to the side. “Actually you might need to think about his looks whenever you get the chance.”
    We broke into a torrent of giggles as we rounded the corner, leaving the school ground behind us. Winnfield was such a lovely town. We’d lived elsewhere, but this was the only place that I had a memory of. It was a small town full of history and intrigue, and everyone’s great-great something or other had been a big part of the civil war. I loved the shapes and detail of all of the old buildings. Ours was one of the oldest residential structures in the area, but down town was full of the spectacular things. The city pool was one of the newest buildings, and rumor had it that construction of the Olympic sized indoor/outdoor facility had been funded by my aunt and uncle. They told me not to believe everything I heard. The outside was all gray and stainless steel. I opened one of the many sleek doors and followed Clarissa in. The scent of chlorine stung my nostrils, and although I still didn’t enjoy the smell, it carried with it happy memories and the promise of swimming.
    I almost missed the entrance to our locker room and collided with the wall, but Clarissa stopped me before I face planted.
    “Jeez. You are distracted today!” she accused. “I've never seen you like this… it’s fun!”
    “Come on, I have to deal with you having a new crush every other month. Take it easy on me. I’m new at this.”
    She twisted the knob on her locker quickly. “I’m just excited for you. I remember my first crush. Bobby Sanders, he was six, I was five.” Clarissa opened the small door with a metallic clank. “I wonder where he is now?”
    I rolled my eyes. “So what did you think about him?” I asked, spinning my combination on the dial.
    She lifted an eyebrow. “About Bobby? I guess he was a good boyfriend, hard to tell we were so young.” She shifted her eyes to me impishly.
    “You know who I meant.” I threw my towel at her.
    She caught it before it hit the cold cement floor and tossed it back to me casually. “Besides the obvious?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
    I nodded.
    “He’s different. I can’t tell if it’s good different or bad different.”
    I frowned.
    “Maribel, anyone who can get your attention has to be special.” She smiled reassuringly at me.
    “I hope he’s good different, like you,” I said.
    She opened her mouth forming a capitol O. “What? Different, me?” she said, feigning hurt. “So what are we going to do for an hour, and don't say you brought a book to read!” Clarissa