Read Online Saturday Night by Caroline B. Cooney - Free Book Online

at her. “Alone?” she repeated, as if this were a crime. She turned to her date. “Chrissie, darling,” she said, “you’ve got to dance once with Bethie. Just once. Promise me now. It’ll make her evening. Promise?”
    “Okay,” said Christopher. “She can be my good deed for the night.” He howled with laughter.
    You don’t die of humiliation, Beth thought. You suffer over and over.
    Molly and Christopher sauntered through the rose arbor, Molly flouncing, Christopher lurching.
    Beth followed them quickly, slipping in and over to the side, escaping the photographer’s attention.
    “You’re shaking all over,” said Matt. “I guess you got pretty wet after all. Shrug off that coat, because it must be wet through, and get closer to the heater.”
    She was shivering because of him: his nearness, his presence. But she shrugged off the coat, as he had told her, because now her skin would be bare and she wanted him to touch her.
    What would the other kids at the dance think when she and Matt walked in? Would they figure he was some cousin taking pity on her? Or decide Emily had finally blossomed and richly deserved this great guy?
    “You know,” said Matt, “I’m just driving along here. I don’t have any idea where I am or where I’m going. You want me to turn off this road or shall we just cruise all night long?”
    She laughed and looked around for landmarks. It was surprisingly hard to figure out where they were. The rain was thick . How could rain be thick? “We’ve gone past the turn we should have taken,” she said. “Well, don’t turn around. Keep going. We’ll take another way. Go past this intersection, and down there, where that truck is, turn left.”
    “I obey, my lady,” said Matt, gently touching her bare shoulder and moving away from her as if it stung. Emily understood. It stung her, too, sending threads of desire through her like a sticky web.
    He has to have a girlfriend back home, Emily thought. How could he not have one? Is he taking me to this dance on the sly? Cheating on her? Or is he between girls, and I’m good filler on a dull weekend?
    “So one thing I know for sure, Emily,” Matt said. “You don’t like student government conferences. What do you like? I was talking to my mother before I left tonight and she says, ‘So what are you two going to talk about?’ and I said, ‘Beats me,’ and my father said, ‘Find out what she’s interested in and talk about that.’ So give me a list. What are you interested in?”
    She giggled. “The world. Truth, beauty, and the meaning of life. Also, baseball, crosswords, and saxophone.”
    “Emily,” said Matt, turning left where she pointed, “I think we have a problem.”
    “What’s that?”
    “We have absolutely nothing in common. I do not care about truth, beauty, or the meaning of life; I am interested in ice hockey, cars, and rock music.”
    “We’ll compromise,” said Emily. “I’ll skip crossword puzzles if you’ll skip ice hockey.”
    He took her left hand in his right. Putting his right hand back on the steering wheel, he drove with her hand like padding. “We’ll begin with cars,” he said. “I own seven of them.”
    “ Seven ?”
    “I’m restoring them. My father helped me pay for them. I’m learning body work as well as engines. It’s a good investment and if we’re lucky they’ll pay for college. Assuming I go to college. I’d rather do something with cars. Be a mechanic for a racing team.”
    “Where do you keep all those cars?” said Emily. “You must have an enormous garage.”
    “Nope. Spread out all over the backyard. The neighbors hate us. My mother isn’t too thrilled, either.” Matt grinned and squeezed her hand. “But hey, I’m happy.”
    “Crossword puzzles take up less room,” Emily said.
    “Yeah, but you have to know how to spell and I—”
    The lightning Emily had feared all her life struck.
    Their car came around a curve, dipping low, and ahead of them something