Read Online Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne - Free Book Online Page B

tasting?”
    “Yeah, it’s like a wine tasting, except you serve tea.”
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    “Don’t you have to make each type of tea in a different teapot?”
    “I guess.”
    I couldn’t think of anything that would be more boring.
    “Wait until you see my boyfriend play,” Nathalie said as we crossed the street. “He’s really athletic.” She bumped up against me. “And hot.
    Quite honestly, he’s the hottest guy on the island.” Someone hotter than Chase and Josh? I couldn’t wait to see this guy. I wondered if some sort of mutant gene had developed on the island that made all the guys good-looking. I mean, really, what were the odds that there wouldn’t be any dorks around here? Let’s hear it for gene mutation.
    We went over the knoll and down toward the beach. I could see some guys on either side of the net, playing very seriously. None of them were wearing coats. I wondered which one was Nathalie’s boyfriend. With the exception of a boy who looked like he was about twelve, they were all boyfriend-worthy.
    Chase, Josh, and two guys I didn’t know were on one side of the net. Not only were they not wearing coats, they weren’t wearing shirts, either!
    How insane was that?
    “They have to be freezing!” I said, trying not to 89
    notice how buff Josh looked. But it was a little difficult to miss.
    And it made sense that he would be totally in shape. Construction work required a lot of heavy lifting. I already knew he was strong. I just didn’t think he’d look that great.
    Chase wasn’t bad, either. Stirring fudge was apparently excellent exercise.
    I felt a tad guilty that my attention kept going back to Josh.
    “It’s too hard to play in coats and gloves,” Nathalie said. “The games don’t last long.” No kidding.
    Corey and Shanna stood nearby, and we joined them.
    “Still not used to the cold?” Corey asked me.
    She was holding another coat in her arms. I thought about asking if I could borrow it. It was colder on the beach, because a breeze was blowing off the water.
    “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it,” I confessed. “Are you using that coat?” She laughed. “It’s Chase’s. I’m being a good sister, so it won’t be covered in snow when he’s finished playing.”
    “Is your boyfriend playing?”
    “Oh, yeah.” She pointed to a guy on the other 90
    team wearing a red sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off. “That’s Adam. I’d be holding his coat, except he didn’t bring one. And that guy”—she pointed toward a guy who was at least wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt—“is Rand, Shanna’s boyfriend.”
    “Are there many guys without girlfriends?” I asked.
    “Nope. Just Chase and—”
    “Watch out!” someone yelled.
    A volleyball came soaring at us. I ducked. The girls laughed.
    “Their hands get so cold they can’t control where they hit the ball,” Nathalie said.
    “Isn’t there someplace where they could play inside?” I asked.
    “What would be the fun in that?” Shanna asked.
    But the way the guys were shivering, I wasn’t certain this method was much fun either.
    I turned back to Corey, so she could finish giving me the official list of girlfriendless guys, but her cell phone rang and she moved away to answer it.
    I thought about asking Shanna or Nathalie but I didn’t want to appear to be obsessing about getting a boyfriend. I mean, I didn’t want a boyfriend.
    I was just trying to figure out how many dates I 91
    could have before I ran through the menu. Chase.
    Maybe Josh. I knew he didn’t have a girlfriend.
    Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited me to come watch him play. I hadn’t considered that Chase would be here. I hoped it wouldn’t get awkward after the game. I probably should have mentioned to Josh that I had a date with Chase.
    Josh hit the ball over the net. Another guy slapped it back at him.
    “My boyfriend is so good,” Nathalie said. “I love watching him.”
    So the other guy was her boyfriend. He was okay-looking, not what