Read Online Any Red-Blooded Girl by Maggie Bloom - Free Book Online

right, the boy with the marshmallows was the brother of Cal
the Creeper, and Donny the fisherman was the other card player I’d
tripped over at the rest area.
    “So…did you say Mick was here?” I asked
again, attempting to get myself back on track.
    Penny pushed a small pair of pliers across
the table to her sister. “Oh, yeah. He’s out back working. Come on.
I’ll show you.”
    With my happy-go-lucky new friend in the
lead, we slipped out of the compound and into the trees. And that’s
where we found Mick working on some horribly complicated automotive
task involving nuts and bolts and metal and rubber and wires
and…
    “There you go,” Penny said with an approving
grin. “He’s all yours.”
    “Uh…thanks.”
    Mick must have heard us coming, because when
I took a step toward him, he crushed me with his sad, hurt
eyes.
    “I’m sorry,” I blurted. “I was wrong. I like
you. I love you. I didn’t mean what I said before. I just
said it because of my parents. Forgive me?” I begged.
    Without a word, he swallowed me in his
strong, muscular arms. And from the tight, hungry way he squeezed,
I knew he not only forgave me, but he also loved me back. As hard
as it was to believe, the most exquisite creature on earth belonged
to me. Flora Fontain. Little Miss Ordinary.
    I let out one of those little sucking gasps
people sometimes make in the middle of a good cry. “Shh…” Mick
cooed, kissing little circles around my eyes and stroking my hair.
Meanwhile, I clamped my arms around his waist like a needy toddler.
And we stayed like that—stuck in an understanding, apologetic
embrace—until the sadness between us dissolved into sweet,
unadulterated love.
    “Wanna go for a swim?” he asked, once things
had finally shifted out of crisis mode.
    Even though I wanted to move on, I was still
stuck on what my mother had said. “What’s your name?” I asked.
    He squinted and blinked. “Huh?”
    “I know it’s Mick, but Mick what? ” I
asked again. “What’s your last name? You never told me, and
my mother made me feel like an idiot for not knowing.”
    He chuckled. “It’s Donovan. Mickey Donovan,”
he said. “If you want my full legal name, it’s actually
Mickey Reed Donovan. I guess you probably should know it, just in
case we run off and get married or something,” he joked with a
wide, perfectly-crooked grin.
    So his first name was Mickey. I’d sort of
been right about that, at least. “Reed? What does that mean?” I
asked. It sounded sort of nature-y and a little bit
hippie ish, like my middle name: Moon. “Isn’t it
something…botanical? Like some kind of plant or something?”
    “Very good,” Mick said, sounding impressed.
“It’s a type of tall grass that grows in the wetlands.” He paused
for a moment, then said, “You know, you never answered me about the
swimming.”
    The sun was still lingering on the horizon,
and I could tell it was going to be one of those oppressive nights
where, at home, we wouldn’t have even been able to crack a window
for fear of suffocating. Perfect swimming weather.
    “Sure,” I agreed. “But do you know any
private spots? I mean, my parents are probably still pretty ticked
at me about the fit I threw earlier, so I’m trying to fly under the
radar.”
    “I haven’t had much time to explore, since
I’ve been a bit preoccupied, ” he said with a wink. “But
Donny did mention a good fishing spot. A cove past the main
beach . We could try that.”
    I tiptoed up, slung my arms around his
shoulders, and planted a soft peck on his cheek. “Perfect.”
    “Here we are,” Mick said, as our feet hit the
grainy sand. He paused to survey the area. “It looks like Donny was
right about this place,” he said, nodding in approval. “It’s very
secluded.”
    “It’s gorgeous!” I gushed. “I love it!”
    Like I said, I’m normally an indoor girl. And back in Punxsutawney, that’s pretty much where I stay.
But the way the sky over the lake dissolved