Read Online Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez - Free Book Online Page B

tried to remember: Had she ever felt that moony over Chip? She loved him in the sense that she cared about him, but she didn’t feel the gushiness that Jenny did with Jack, at least not anymore. Why didn’t she? What had changed?
    After dinner they went to watch an action flick that the guys wanted to see. Jenny cuddled up beside Jack, kissing him at the end of practically every other scene. Meanwhile, Allie’s mind wandered back to the anime convention . . . to Kimiko’s poem about the two women . . . and to Lance—she hoped he was having a good time with Sergio. . . .
    When the movie was over, the couples said good night and Allie watched Jenny ride away on the back of Jack’s motorcycle. Then she and Chip returned to his bungalow and took their usual places in front of the TV.
    She knew she needed to say something before they settled into making out—but she still wasn’t sure what to say. Although both Lance and Kimiko had urged her to be honest, it would feel cruel to tell Chip she didn’t feel in love with him anymore. She nervously twirled a curl of hair between her fingertips.
    “I think maybe we should take a break,” she announced.
    Chip blinked, obviously caught by surprise. “A break from what?”
    “From . . .” Allie’s voice quavered, “ . . . from spending so much time together.”
    He blinked again, studying her. “I thought you liked to spend time together.”
    “I do,” she said, resting her hand on his arm. “I just think maybe it would be good for us to take a break.”
    “What did I do wrong?” he asked.
    “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s about me, not you.”
    “Okay, then—so what’s going on with you?” His brow wrinkled up as he struggled to understand. “It feels like you’re not telling me something. Does it have to do with that girl dream?”
    “Maybe.” She shifted her feet on the carpet. “I don’t know. I just feel like I need to sort some things out. Stuff I mentioned before . . . about our future?”
    He glanced away and thought for a moment, then looked back at her. “For how long do you want to take a break?”
    “I’m not sure,” she said honestly.
    “All right,” he said, leaning back. “Then I guess I’ll wait.”
    His response didn’t exactly make sense to Allie. “Wait? For what?”
    “I’ll wait for you,” he replied, taking hold of her hand, “ . . . for as long as it takes.”
    She hadn’t foreseen that. She’d figured he might feel hurt or pouty but not this.
    “I love you,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her.
    “I love you too,” she answered, although she felt more confusion than love.
    When she got into her car to drive home, she checked
    her cell for missed calls hoping to find one from Lance. But there weren’t any and she didn’t want to interrupt his date with Sergio.
    Once she got home to her room, she tried to take her mind off Chip by diving into the Girl Panic manga from Kimiko.
    The story took place at an all-girls’ high school and opened with Katsuko, a tomboy, falling in love with Ayumi, a girlie girl whose beauty “stole Katsuko’s breath away.”
    Ayumi reciprocated the crushy feelings, leading to much angst, wacky chaos, and dialog that cracked Allie up—like when Ayumi said, “If you really love me, buy me doughnuts.”
    And Katsuko replied, “Okay, but don’t blame me if you get fat.”
    At the climax, a jealous classmate convinced the girls that they’d each betrayed the other. But in the end, Katsuko and Ayumi reconciled with the full-on lip-lock that had grabbed Chip’s attention. And when Allie closed the last page, she felt a warm glow inside. No wonder the story was Kimiko’s favorite.
    Noticing that it was almost midnight, Allie decided to go to bed and catch up with Lance in the morning. But first she sent Kimiko a text that said, Thanx, loved Girl Panic. But don’t blame me if I get fat.
    When she’d gotten home from the manga convention that afternoon, Kimiko had pressed the