Lipstick Apology

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Book: Read Lipstick Apology for Free Online
Authors: Jennifer Jabaley
anticipation.
    â€œHis name is Anthony,” I said.
    Andi’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Do we have an Anthony in our class?” she asked, tucking a blond strand behind her ear.
    â€œDark, curly hair?” I said.
    Lindsey nodded. “Anthony Rucelli.”
    Andi crinkled her blond eyebrows like she still wasn’t sure. “Wait, is that the guy who eats lunch in the library every day?” She nodded to herself. “That’s right. I know who you’re talking about. Aidan sat next to him in trig and he texts his mother like fifty times a day. And he chews his pencils. Whatever.” She sliced her hand through the air as if dismissing the thought of him.
    â€œHe seemed nice,” I said. I felt like I made some kind of mistake, like with the soup.
    â€œHe may be nice,” Andi said. “But he’s never at any parties, and at school he just kind of fades into the background.” She stood up with determination. I noticed her take on the school uniform included a cute khaki skirt rather than pants and that her hunter green top with tiny detail on the cap sleeves was unbuttoned at the bottom like she’d just thrown it on one second ago. She really did look like a Guess model. I felt a little awed just to be in her presence. “Come on, after everything you’ve been through, you deserve to meet the real guys .”
    We walked across the room toward a table near the patio doors. As we crossed the cafeteria, Andi’s hand flew left and right, like a flight attendant pointing out the exit doors.
    â€œThat’s Walker Montgomery—his dad works at NBC studios. Travis Martin—his parents are the defense attorney team from that huge murder-dismember-mob case last year. Helena Lender—as in the bagel. Lucas Bailey—his dad runs a hedge fund downtown—incredibly rich.”
    We stopped in front of the patio doors. “And these,” Andi did the flight attendant hands again, “are the guys.” She looked around. “Where’s Owen?” she asked no one in particular.
    Two guys sat at the table, casually joking and eating burgers. Both had perfect faces with shiny white teeth.
    Note to self: Get some Crest Whitestrips.
    The guy with shaggy brown hair jumped up and pecked Andi on the cheek.
    Andi turned to me. “Emily, this is my boyfriend, Aidan.”
    He nodded. “Hey.” He pushed his hair away from his eyes.
    Lindsey put her hand on my shoulder. “This is Emily’s first day.”
    The lanky guy stood up, reached over for a few napkins, and balled them up. He flexed his wrist and shot the napkin wad halfway across the room into the garbage can.
    â€œSwish,” Aidan said, giving the beanpole a high five.
    â€œThat’s Ethan,” Andi said. “Our resident basketball star. He’s being recruited by every college in the country. Even the NBA has contacted him.”
    Ethan did an exaggerated bow before sitting back down.
    Then, out of the blue, like flowers stirring in the breeze, all heads in the cafeteria turned. Through the doors walked a guy. And even in this room of flawlessness, he transcended perfection. It wasn’t his short, blond hair, or his intense, jade green eyes. It was some imperceptible quality that made all eyes just linger and swoon. As he breezed through the lunchroom toward us, my breath caught.
    Andi’s flight attendant hand shot out toward Mr. Perfect. “This is Owen.”
    O-wen. Even his name had a singsong quality that made me breathy .
    He smiled at me, and crash boom —it was like someone pressed two paddles to my chest and shocked the life back into me.
    â€œHi,” I squeaked out.
    â€œHi,” Owen said, holding his gaze a little longer than necessary.
    The electricity coursed through my veins with rapid fire. There was no doubt in my mind that if I reached out and touched him, just the slightest contact, there would be a spark.
    Owen

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