Читать книгу Deborah Kerbel's YA Fiction 3-Book Bundle - Deborah Kerbel - Страница 11

I decided the dark-skinned boy with the big brown eyes had a crush on me.

Although we hadn’t spoken yet, I was almost positive it was true. Every time I went into in his little hole-in-the-wall store, his eyes would follow me up and down the aisles. Even when he was helping another customer, it seemed like he was always watching me. It was pretty shameless — he didn’t even try to hide it. And I could see his hands trembling whenever I came up to the counter.

It made me nervous. I didn’t know what to say; I didn’t know what to do, either. It was just so embarrassing.

Sometimes I’d steal a glance or two from underneath the thin veil of my hair while he was busy at the cash register. He had thick dark hair that was almost long enough to brush his shoulders, smooth tanned skin, and a thin white scar cutting across the bottom of his chin.

And of course, those eyes! They were rimmed with lashes so long and dark that he almost looked like he was wearing mascara. Every time I looked at him I felt jealous. Why should a boy have lashes like that? My own blond eyelashes were practically invisible.

At first I only dropped into the store on my way to Ulpan when I needed something like a pack of gum or a roll of Life Savers. Every time I walked in I could feel the intensity of his gaze. Those brown eyes would burn into me until I had no choice but to just get out of there as fast as I could. But I would always find myself coming back for more a few days later. I have to admit, it was flattering. Never in my life had a boy stared at me like that, and I’d begun to like it. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something unusual about him — something different from the guys I went to school with back in Canada. I started finding excuses to go to his store as often as I could. I must have seemed like a crazy girl with an obsessive gum habit, but it was the only thing I could afford to buy on such a regular basis. I wondered what he thought of me and why he looked at me that way. Harrison Finch never once looked at Hailey Wintrop like that, and they’d almost gone all the way!

When I told Marla about it, her reaction surprised me.

“You mean that Arab boy at the local makolet?” she gasped.

“Mako-what?”

“Trust me, you’ve got to forget about him!” she warned, ignoring my question. “Sure he’s cute, but he’s also Muslim! His parents will never let him date you!”

“I never said I wanted to date him!” I replied, suddenly feeling very defensive. “I just think he’s nice looking. And anyway, why not?”

“Why not? Don’t you see?” she asked, shaking her finger at me. “You’re white and Christian. It’s not going to happen!”

Still, I couldn’t get him out of my head. I dreamed about him at night. I got dressed in the mornings totally based on what I thought he’d like. It’s funny, at home just bumping into a guy wouldn’t put me over the edge like this, but I guess when you’re in a foreign country, any male attention is better than nothing. Soon enough, I found myself going into his shop every single day. Between coffee and gum, I was running out of money fast.

I think I was getting a crush on him, too. And I didn’t even know his name!