Read Online Summer Boys by Hailey Abbott - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Hailey Abbott
Tags: Fiction
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against what felt like Peter’s. The fact that she couldn’t play footsie with him under the table made her absolutely miserable.
“Does anybody have money for the jukebox?” Ella asked, holding out her empty palm. “I only have a twenty.”
Kelsi fished in her pockets as Peter pulled out his wallet and extracted a five, laying it on Ella’s tiny hand.
Ella grinned at him. “Thanks.”
She squeezed out of the booth and sashayed past the table ofguys next to them. On a whim, she made a pit stop there and interrupted the conversation. Of course, she hoped Peter was watching.
“Hey, would one of you mind buying me a drink? I forgot my ID.” Lucky for Ella, she had her fake one tucked away in her purse, in case her charms were lost on these frat boys. But her cute little flirty smile almost always worked, and this time was no exception. At least three of them offered to get her a round.
“I’ll have a Jack and Coke,” she said, winking at the guy closest to her. “Don’t forget.”
She continued on to the jukebox, inserting the five-dollar bill. Instead of getting change, she chose fifteen of her favorite dance songs—everything from Missy Elliot and Justin Timberlake to 50 Cent and Beyoncé. On her way back, she picked up the Jack and Coke and gave the boy who’d bought it for her such a charming thank-you grin that he didn’t object when she kept on walking back to her own table.
Ella, Beth, George, and Cara split fried clams and a basket of fries with vinegar. Kelsi and Peter had lasagna and calamari, which they kept picking off each other’s plates. In an attempt to ignore them, Ella tried to start a game of finger football with Beth, but Beth kept turning around in her seat and asking George and Cara dumb small-talk questions like, “So you just bumped into each other again on the beach this morning? That’s lucky.” And “Are you in town for the whole summer, Cara?” Ella didn’t know what her cousin’s deal was.
Ella drummed her fingers against the table and tried to look anywhere but at Peter and Kelsi. Every few seconds, she heard kissing sounds coming from their direction, which was shockingto Ella. After all, Kelsi was the poster girl for the anti-PDA movement. Hearing them kiss made Ella want to run screaming out of the bar. Her only consolation was the thought that kissing was probably all Kelsi and Peter ever did.
Some college kids had started congregating in an empty area of the room near the bar. They began to dance to the selection of tunes Ella had picked out. She couldn’t help but be proud of her stint as DJ. The people out on the floor were loving the music and seemed to be having so much fun that Ella wolfed down the last of her share of clams so that she could join in. She stood up and peered down at Cara and George.
“You guys wanna dance?”
“I’m kind of nursing this surfboard injury.” George shook his head and pointed to his left ankle. “Maybe later?”
Cara also declined the invitation very politely. “I don’t really ever dance on a full stomach.”
Ella rolled her eyes at both of them and let out an exasperated sigh. She slid out of the booth and stood at the end of the bench across from Beth. She started dancing and mouthing the words to a J.Lo song, then waggled a come-hither finger. Damn it, she was going to accomplish Mission Forget Peter. And she was going to have fun doing it.
She winked and made a goofy kissy face at Beth, sensing that the guys at the next table were watching her and hoping she’d give them a good show.
“Come on, sweet stuff,” she said to Beth, tossing her shiny mane of blonde hair back and forth as if she were in a shampoo commercial.
She stretched out her hand, and Beth finally accepted. Theymoved toward the crowd and stood on the edge for a few seconds, then slowly started to move in when the moment felt right. Ella’s favorite thing in the universe (next to Dentyne Ice and boys) was dancing, so when the bass line
“Does anybody have money for the jukebox?” Ella asked, holding out her empty palm. “I only have a twenty.”
Kelsi fished in her pockets as Peter pulled out his wallet and extracted a five, laying it on Ella’s tiny hand.
Ella grinned at him. “Thanks.”
She squeezed out of the booth and sashayed past the table ofguys next to them. On a whim, she made a pit stop there and interrupted the conversation. Of course, she hoped Peter was watching.
“Hey, would one of you mind buying me a drink? I forgot my ID.” Lucky for Ella, she had her fake one tucked away in her purse, in case her charms were lost on these frat boys. But her cute little flirty smile almost always worked, and this time was no exception. At least three of them offered to get her a round.
“I’ll have a Jack and Coke,” she said, winking at the guy closest to her. “Don’t forget.”
She continued on to the jukebox, inserting the five-dollar bill. Instead of getting change, she chose fifteen of her favorite dance songs—everything from Missy Elliot and Justin Timberlake to 50 Cent and Beyoncé. On her way back, she picked up the Jack and Coke and gave the boy who’d bought it for her such a charming thank-you grin that he didn’t object when she kept on walking back to her own table.
Ella, Beth, George, and Cara split fried clams and a basket of fries with vinegar. Kelsi and Peter had lasagna and calamari, which they kept picking off each other’s plates. In an attempt to ignore them, Ella tried to start a game of finger football with Beth, but Beth kept turning around in her seat and asking George and Cara dumb small-talk questions like, “So you just bumped into each other again on the beach this morning? That’s lucky.” And “Are you in town for the whole summer, Cara?” Ella didn’t know what her cousin’s deal was.
Ella drummed her fingers against the table and tried to look anywhere but at Peter and Kelsi. Every few seconds, she heard kissing sounds coming from their direction, which was shockingto Ella. After all, Kelsi was the poster girl for the anti-PDA movement. Hearing them kiss made Ella want to run screaming out of the bar. Her only consolation was the thought that kissing was probably all Kelsi and Peter ever did.
Some college kids had started congregating in an empty area of the room near the bar. They began to dance to the selection of tunes Ella had picked out. She couldn’t help but be proud of her stint as DJ. The people out on the floor were loving the music and seemed to be having so much fun that Ella wolfed down the last of her share of clams so that she could join in. She stood up and peered down at Cara and George.
“You guys wanna dance?”
“I’m kind of nursing this surfboard injury.” George shook his head and pointed to his left ankle. “Maybe later?”
Cara also declined the invitation very politely. “I don’t really ever dance on a full stomach.”
Ella rolled her eyes at both of them and let out an exasperated sigh. She slid out of the booth and stood at the end of the bench across from Beth. She started dancing and mouthing the words to a J.Lo song, then waggled a come-hither finger. Damn it, she was going to accomplish Mission Forget Peter. And she was going to have fun doing it.
She winked and made a goofy kissy face at Beth, sensing that the guys at the next table were watching her and hoping she’d give them a good show.
“Come on, sweet stuff,” she said to Beth, tossing her shiny mane of blonde hair back and forth as if she were in a shampoo commercial.
She stretched out her hand, and Beth finally accepted. Theymoved toward the crowd and stood on the edge for a few seconds, then slowly started to move in when the moment felt right. Ella’s favorite thing in the universe (next to Dentyne Ice and boys) was dancing, so when the bass line
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