Lovestruck Summer Melissa Walker (top 100 books to read .TXT) 📖

lips. But then I see her face—Katie. I mean, I really see it. She’s right in front of me as I lead Miss Tiara back up the steps to Penny’s front door. “Hi,”she says. She’s still wearing the generic black tank dress she was in last night, and the stupid ribbons on her wedge heels are untied, I notice. She’s fi shing around in her purse. I watch, openmouthed, as she fi nds her car keys and opens the door to a white Lexus parked in front of Russ’s condo. Then she drives away, and I swear to ban all thoughts of those kisses from my mind. Forever. I go back inside and delete Russ’s playlist from my iPod, making a mental note to smash his tape later. And then I start to cry.

194 Chapter 16 I spend Saturday and Sunday moping around. I make Penny close all the blinds so that Russ can’t look in and see what we’re doing. Part of me thinks that he’ll come over at some point to explain, but he doesn’t. And I’m done crying. Hour by hour I get angrier. I consider calling Sebastian, but I fi gure he’s still mad. I’m a mess of indecision, so I decide to do nothing. My dad used to tell me that sometimes the best way to handle a crisis is: “Don’t just do something, stand there!”It’s Zen or Buddhist or something. It seems like the smartest thing right now. I email Mom and Dad to update them about . . . well, nothing really. I just tell them I’m having fun and helping to plan a big music festi- val. It’s enough to keep them at bay for a while, I

195 know. When they’re traveling on these research trips they get all lost in their own world anyway. Penny ropes me into watching a full season of Sex and the City on DVD, and those women are way older but they still are just as confused about guys as I am. It doesn’t make me feel better, but eating a pile of candy from Penny’s emer- gency bowl (which includes mini chocolate bars and reams of those button candies) eases my heartache a little. On Monday morning, Jade is anxious to get an update from me, but I’m not in the mood to talk. “Put on Fans of Emptiness,”I say, and she dutifully loads the stereo with the dark and sor- rowful band’s most emo album. “That bad?”she asks. “Let’s just say I saw Katie leaving Russ’s condo at around seven A.M. Saturday morning, wearing her dress from the night before,”I say. “Ouch,”says Jade. Then Rick walks through the door. In the midst of my drama, I forgot that he was back this week. I glance at Jade to see how she reacts. “Hi, Rick,”she says, smiling cheerfully.

196 “Jade, Quinn.”He nods, handing me some of the mail from the P.O. box and then walking back to his offi ce without meeting either of our eyes. “What was that?”I whisper once he’s out of earshot. Jade rolls her eyes. “Who knows?”she says. “I’m just going to be a good little intern, at least at work.”“And outside of work?”I ask. “That’s where I get to act like a crazy scorned lover,”she says, laughing. I’m not sure she’s joking, but I laugh along with her. “Penny thinks I should be strong and single this summer,”I tell Jade. “What do you think?”she asks. “I think she knows I have no shot with Russ now, and she just isn’t into Sebastian,”I say. “Well, the question is: Are you into Sebastian?”Jade asks. Then I see her glance at the door. “Speak of the devil,”she whispers under her breath. Sebastian’s standing in the entrance. Could this offi ce be more crowded with angst? He shifts his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. “Um, Quinn?”he asks. “Can I talk to you

197 outside for a sec? If, um, it’s okay?”“Sure,”I say, handing Jade the box cutter I was using to open packages. I briefl y consider taking the stubby knife outside with me, but I think that would look weird. I may be a little bit mad at him, but I don’t want to carve him up. Besides, I’m the one who kissed someone else on Friday night, which maybe wasn’t allowed. I stand up and brush off my jeans, follow- ing him to the parking lot. We sit on the curb in front of the neighboring UPS store, out of Jade’s sight range, which I know will drive her crazy. “I’m sorry about Friday night,”he says. “I was a little buzzed and I fl ashed back to some weird frat parties I’d been to. I just needed to get out of there. But it wasn’t cool to diss your cousin or her friends.”“Thanks for saying that,”I say, picking up a stick and poking it into the top lace hole of my sneakers. “Yeah,”he says. “I just sometimes get weird around jock types. High school memories and all. The kid with the turntables wasn’t really cool in my Friday Night Lights small town.”“I get it,”I say. And I do. After all, don’t I have

198 the same kind of chip on my shoulder? “Besides, that guy with the beer hat might have been asking for it.”I bump Sebastian’s foot with mine. “Yeah, but even that guy deserves a little understanding,”he says, smiling at me. I smile back. “Are we cool?”he asks. “Yes,”I say. “We’re cool.”Sebastian kisses me on the cheek and I stand up to go back inside. “I have to do some work,”I say. “Can I call you this week?”asks Sebastian. “Yeah,”I say. “I’d like that.”And Sebastian does call. He wants me to go out with him on Wednesday night, and it’s not a day too soon. Katie’s obnoxious Lexus has been parked next to my yellow Festiva for two days now. I’ve just barely resisted the urge to key it. I know that would be tacky, but it’s tempting. Jade even