Read Online Over You by Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus - Free Book Online Page A

his Volcom hoodie, and his GOD IS A DJ hat.
    Taylor mutters something about “her perfume” as Ben watches his hands digging through the neat pile in search of—what?
    “What is it?” Ben asks, mouth full of chips.
    “My stuff. From Bridge. No note, no … anything.”
    Ben drops into Taylor’s desk chair and swivels around to check out what Taylor’s search has pulled up on the computer. Ben tells himself to just say it already. “So about Halloween …”
    “What?”
    “Not sure I can swing it this year.” Ben wipes the yellow crumbs from his palms and watches Taylor for a reaction, but Taylor doesn’t seem to have heard because he’s just focused on putting everything back in the box. Taylor presses his hand over the slit. But the seal is already broken, and the flaps slowly rise back up.
    Max feels her phone buzzing in her pocket as she rounds the corner onto Greenwich. “Bridge break free?” she asks.
    “That girl’s in the world’s longest line for Gummi Bears,” Zach says.
    “Then what’s up?”
    “Leaf mold?” he asks.
    “You said allergies!” Max protests. “Look, I just have a lot of cases right now. Yes, I’m a little stressed.”
    “Uh-huh.” Zach sounds unconvinced.
    “Seriously, Zachary, I’m fine.”
    “O-kay,” he trills, the second syllable rising. “Up, gotta jet. The bloodbath is commencing, and the girls are passing on Gummis to grab seats.”
    “Yes—go!” She rushes, and he hangs up. I am fine, she thinks as she strides over to Sixth Avenue. This is allergies. Just a temporary reaction brought on by proximity to asshole .
    That night Max is happily ensconced in her bunny pajamas and working on the presentation for Dr. Schmidt when she realizes she isn’t sure of the year Dr. Schmidt published her first influential paper. So Max goes to the NYU site to load Dr. Schmidt’s page, which leads to a student blog from the psych department, which leads to a freshman blog about NYU housing, which leads to a boy blog about hot girls on campus, which leads to an even tackier boy blog about the best secret hookup spots, which leads to a blog called New at the U . Max starts reading this kid’s account of his first weeks at school, his adventures in the village, imagining herself in his shoes next fall.
    She’s just reaching for her mug of tea when she scrolls all the way down to the bottom of the page, where he’s posted pictures from orientation.
    And she sees Hugo Tillman grinning in front of the library with the other freshmen.
    Oh.
    My.
    God.
    He’s not just visiting.
    He going to NYU.

CHAPTER 7
    M ax pulls upon an age-old female strategy—yelling at herself like a steroid-pumped drill sergeant: “GET A GRIP! STOP BEING PATHETIC!” Which has the same effect that yelling at oneself always does; in addition to Max feeling her future threatened, she dually feels like total crap for feeling it. But come on, it’s massively unfair! And as much as she tells her clients: “Focus on fair, get nowhere,” Hugo Tillman could both be accepted into and afford to attend any happy place on the planet and he’s going to hers. It’s not fucking fair, and she’d say it to fair’s face.
    By the next afternoon, Max has worn holes in her tights pacing the floor.
    “Yallo!” Zach’s loafer appears on the third step.
    “ How , Zach? How did we miss this?” Max follows him as he walks to his desk. “It wasn’t on his Twitter or Facebook? Seriously, I need you guys to talk me through this oversight.”
    “Okay.” He stares at her evenly as he unwinds his scarf. “You first.”
    “Look,” Max says, faltering. “Can’t you just work on this like I’m a client?”
    “You mean, can’t I just work on this like I’m your employee?”
    “No. Yes.”
    “And here I thought I was your best friend,” Zach says, the sea-glass look returning full force.
    “Okay!” Phoebe calls from the top of the stairs as if she’s mid-conversation with them. “Guess who interviewed Hugo