Read Online Island Girls (and Boys) by Rachel Hawthorne - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rachel Hawthorne
Ads: Link
nonchalantly. I had a crazy urge to hug Amy. Great plan! Great plan! Wish I�d thought of it.
�Just follow this road until it dead ends,� I said. �Take a right. And follow it until you reach the end of the road. Pull into the drive. That�s our house. Or follow us.�
�We�ll follow.�
Chelsea, Amy, and I got back in the car. We were chugging down the road before Chelsea looked back over her shoulder and asked, �So, is Jen going to have a little summer romance?�
I felt myself blush. �I doubt it.�
�Well, if you do, I�ll be a lot more understanding about you having your boyfriend around than you are about me having mine.�
�That�s not fair, Chelsea.� It felt good to finally release what I�d been holding in all day. It had been between us, festering.
�No, it�s not, Jen. You shouldn�t make me feel guilty for having a boyfriend.�
�This isn�t about you having a boyfriend. It�s about you having your boyfriend hanging around at our place 24/7.�
�Why don�t you like Noah?�
I wanted to scream. Other than jabbing her with a sharp stick, I didn�t know how to make her get my point. �I like him just fine, but he wasn�t part of the original plan.�
�Love never is. It just happens.�
How was I supposed to respond to that?
�I don�t want to fight about this, Jen.�
�I don�t either.�
�Then let�s not.�
I thought about asking Amy what she thought, but her shoulders were slightly hunched, and she was watching the road like she expected it to disappear any minute. Confrontation wasn�t her thing.
Noah wasn�t a bad guy. Just an unexpected addition. Learning to live with him in the beach house would really prepare me for living in a dorm room with a stranger. I could put a positive spin on this situation, look at it in such a way that it would stop driving me crazy. Because it looked like he was here to stay, regardless of how much Amy and I wished he wasn�t.
�Fine,� I said. �Noah can stay.�
Chelsea twisted around and looked out the window. �Know what I discovered today? Old fishermen never die. They just smell like they did.�
Amy and I were still laughing when we turned up the road to the house.
CHAPTER 10
I wasn�t even irritated that Noah was camped out on the sofa. I introduced him to Dylan and Zach, while Amy and Chelsea went to their rooms to change.
�Beer�s in the fridge, dudes,� Noah said. �Help yourselves.�
�Did you go grocery shopping?� I asked hopefully, because there hadn�t been any beer when we left that morning.
�Nah, just made a beer run.�
Of course. Let�s not overlook the important things. I tamped down my irritation and walked into the kitchen. My feet were starting to ache from being on them all day. I searched the pantry and the cupboards. Nothing much. Half a package of crackers. Two heels of bread.
I went to the refrigerator. Lots of beer. I ground my teeth together. I could make beer soup.
I heard footsteps and turned. Dylan stood there.
�I have to go to the grocery store,� I said.
�You don�t have to cook for us. We owe you anyway.�
�No, you don�t. Besides, we offered to cook.�
�So do it another time. It�s late. Let�s go out.�
Everyone agreed with Dylan�s suggestion. I ran upstairs and changed into a pair of low-riding jeans and a lacy top that left my midriff and pierced belly button exposed.
We went to Joe�s Surf �n Turf. Because it was Friday, a holiday weekend, the true beginning of summer, the place was as crowded as our campground. Maybe even more so.
Wall-to-wall people. I normally wouldn�t have minded, but I was seriously hungry. We�d walked there, which turned out to be wise, because we
�Just follow this road until it dead ends,� I said. �Take a right. And follow it until you reach the end of the road. Pull into the drive. That�s our house. Or follow us.�
�We�ll follow.�
Chelsea, Amy, and I got back in the car. We were chugging down the road before Chelsea looked back over her shoulder and asked, �So, is Jen going to have a little summer romance?�
I felt myself blush. �I doubt it.�
�Well, if you do, I�ll be a lot more understanding about you having your boyfriend around than you are about me having mine.�
�That�s not fair, Chelsea.� It felt good to finally release what I�d been holding in all day. It had been between us, festering.
�No, it�s not, Jen. You shouldn�t make me feel guilty for having a boyfriend.�
�This isn�t about you having a boyfriend. It�s about you having your boyfriend hanging around at our place 24/7.�
�Why don�t you like Noah?�
I wanted to scream. Other than jabbing her with a sharp stick, I didn�t know how to make her get my point. �I like him just fine, but he wasn�t part of the original plan.�
�Love never is. It just happens.�
How was I supposed to respond to that?
�I don�t want to fight about this, Jen.�
�I don�t either.�
�Then let�s not.�
I thought about asking Amy what she thought, but her shoulders were slightly hunched, and she was watching the road like she expected it to disappear any minute. Confrontation wasn�t her thing.
Noah wasn�t a bad guy. Just an unexpected addition. Learning to live with him in the beach house would really prepare me for living in a dorm room with a stranger. I could put a positive spin on this situation, look at it in such a way that it would stop driving me crazy. Because it looked like he was here to stay, regardless of how much Amy and I wished he wasn�t.
�Fine,� I said. �Noah can stay.�
Chelsea twisted around and looked out the window. �Know what I discovered today? Old fishermen never die. They just smell like they did.�
Amy and I were still laughing when we turned up the road to the house.
CHAPTER 10
I wasn�t even irritated that Noah was camped out on the sofa. I introduced him to Dylan and Zach, while Amy and Chelsea went to their rooms to change.
�Beer�s in the fridge, dudes,� Noah said. �Help yourselves.�
�Did you go grocery shopping?� I asked hopefully, because there hadn�t been any beer when we left that morning.
�Nah, just made a beer run.�
Of course. Let�s not overlook the important things. I tamped down my irritation and walked into the kitchen. My feet were starting to ache from being on them all day. I searched the pantry and the cupboards. Nothing much. Half a package of crackers. Two heels of bread.
I went to the refrigerator. Lots of beer. I ground my teeth together. I could make beer soup.
I heard footsteps and turned. Dylan stood there.
�I have to go to the grocery store,� I said.
�You don�t have to cook for us. We owe you anyway.�
�No, you don�t. Besides, we offered to cook.�
�So do it another time. It�s late. Let�s go out.�
Everyone agreed with Dylan�s suggestion. I ran upstairs and changed into a pair of low-riding jeans and a lacy top that left my midriff and pierced belly button exposed.
We went to Joe�s Surf �n Turf. Because it was Friday, a holiday weekend, the true beginning of summer, the place was as crowded as our campground. Maybe even more so.
Wall-to-wall people. I normally wouldn�t have minded, but I was seriously hungry. We�d walked there, which turned out to be wise, because we
Similar Books
