Read Online Sing by Vivi Greene - Free Book Online Page B

way.”
    â€œIt’s like everything’s on a different scale,” he says. “Stripped down or something.”
    I nod. It’s exactly how I’ve been feeling. Unencumbered. Raw. Exposed.
    We’re quiet again for a moment, sitting in an easy, comfortable silence. It’s hard to believe this is the same guy from the car accident, the same guy from the boat. I no longer feel the insane urge to make him like me because, I realize with a jolt, he’s sort of acting like he does.
    â€œSorry, about before,” he says suddenly, as if reading my mind.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” I ask innocently.
    He sighs, leaning back to look me in the eyes. “I wasn’t exactly the world’s greatest host.”
    I stare at him carefully, waiting to see if he’ll say more.
    â€œBad day?” I ask when he doesn’t.
    â€œA few of them,” he says with a tentative smile. It’s a smile I recognize right away: the one you try on when your face wants to be happy but the rest of youhasn’t quite caught up. It’s been a permanent part of my wardrobe, of late. “And when you . . . when I saw you . . .”
    â€œYou thought I was some privileged celebrity here to invade your island and screw up your summer?” I guess.
    Noel runs his hand through his hair sheepishly. Adorably. “Not in so many words, but . . . something like that.”
    â€œIt’s okay,” I say. “I understand.” I look out at the ocean and watch Murphy splashing in the frothy surf. A breeze rolls off the water and I pull my sweater closer.
    â€œDid you sleep out here?” he asks, as if noticing for the first time that my hair is full of sand.
    â€œI guess so.” I laugh. “I came out last night to go for a swim, and the next thing I knew . . .”
    His eyes widen in surprise. “You went in? You’re insane!”
    â€œI am?”
    â€œI don’t swim in this water until the middle of August.” Noel shakes his head. “Nobody does.”
    â€œIt was refreshing,” I insist. “You should try it.”
    Noel cocks his head as if he’s trying to figure out if any of this is real. “This has got to be pretty different from the way you normally vacation, right?” he says. “Private yachts. Infinity pools. That’s more your scene, I bet.”
    â€œYou have me all figured out,” I say. “Ibiza or bust.”
    He laughs, a genuine laugh that makes my cheeks warm with pride. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to work so hard to earn a real laugh from somebody. I realize, with surprise, that I like it.
    â€œMy sister is going to lose it,” he says. “I promised her the next time I hung out with you guys I’d bring her along. She’s kind of obsessed.”
    â€œReally?” I smile.
    â€œReally,” he says. “It’s weird. I mean, she’s fourteen. But she’s super smart.”
    â€œAnd smart people don’t like my music?”
    â€œNo, I didn’t mean . . .” Noel lowers his head onto his crossed forearms. “This is why I try not to talk. It usually just gets me in trouble.”
    â€œI’d like to meet her,” I say. “Your sister.”
    â€œYou will.” Noel lifts his head back up. “She’s probably hiding in the bushes right now. Or she would be, if she hasn’t stayed up all night doing her homework.”
    â€œHomework?” I ask. “Isn’t school out for the summer?”
    â€œShe takes classes,” he says. “For fun . She’s not normal.”
    â€œShe sounds great.”
    â€œShe is.” Noel stares up at the blue sky and stretches his legs out toward the ocean. “She’s the reason I came back.”
    It’s clear there’s more to the story, and I get a strange sensation that he wants to talk about it, but I feel like I’ve done enough prying for one morning.