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

to put batch number one in the oven. “Well, aren’t you happy?”she asks. I set the baking timer for eleven minutes and face my cousin. “Why would I be?”“Uh . . . because you guys kissed last week- end and then when you thought he was back together with Katie you practically melded to the couch in deep depression, which was only alleviated by my genius romance-crisis plan involving Sex and the City.”Penny leans over for

217 another swipe of cookie dough and I snag the bowl before she can get to it. “That was before last night,”I say. “Sebastian and I are together now for real.”Penny pouts and I put the bowl down again, within her reach. “Besides,”I continue. “I was just confused and lonely. Russ isn’t my type.”“Ooh, if I hear you say that one more time, I’m going to scream!”says Penny. “You are completely blind, Quinn!”After one last pinch of dough, she stomps off, up the stairs to her room. Miss Tiara aban- dons her sous-chef duties and follows Penny. Traitor. I pick up my phone and text Sebastian, making sure we’re on for Friday night at Dirty’s. I’ll bring him cookies and hopefully we can have another sleepover. That should prove to everyone that I’m with him, and that I’m not supposed to be with Russ. Right? The next two weeks go by in a blur. Things have picked up at Amalgam as Rick plans for the big

218 summer festival in August. Jade has been on the phone arranging travel for a lot of the bands, so I’m handling all her normal intern duties, like sending out press kits and prioritizing demos for Rick to listen to. I’m going into the office almost every day. Between work and nights out with Sebastian (he liked the cookies), I haven’t had a chance to breathe—let alone think about Russ. And that has been a good thing. When I call Raina to check in for our fi rst off-line catch-up in almost three weeks, she has news of her own. She’s dating a new theater employee named Eddie. “Isn’t that kind of a dog’s name?”I ask. “More like a rock star name,”she says. “Okay, okay, so what’s he like?”I ask. “Wait! Is this that big nerd you told me about earlier this summer? The one who’s way into science fi ction?”“Yeah . . .”she starts. “But he’s growing on me!”“Really?”I ask skeptically. “Yes!”says Raina, and I can hear her smil- ing. “He wears skater shorts and has lots of pins on his vest to make it individualized. And he’s a

219 fi lm major, so he knows a ton about movies—his favorites are those Armageddon ones, like old stuff from the seventies that I’ve never really seen. He’s planning a full marathon of infl uen- tial sci-fi for us this weekend.”“Sounds fascinating,”I say sarcastically. “Shut up!”Raina laughs. “Okay, so he’s a little nerdy, maybe not as ideal as Mr. Perfect Sebastian.”“Well, we can’t all have the Supreme this summer,”I say. “I kind of think he is my Supreme,”says Raina, and I can hear the giddiness in her voice. “At least, for right now. I’m serious, Quinn—I couldn’t be happier with anyone.”“Really?”I ask. “You’re falling hard for a sci-fi geek?”“Yeah,”she says. “I guess I am.”“Okay, so tell me what else you love,”I say. Raina answers without hesitation. “He holds the popper doors open for me when I’m scooping popcorn, and he always asks me how my day’s going. He recommends books to me because he noticed I’m a big library girl. Oh, and he does this really cute thing where he’ll

220 wait for me to close at night, even though his shift sometimes ends a couple of hours earlier. He just sits in the lobby reading a paperback until I’m done.”I think about how, when Sebastian isn’t spending the night, he doesn’t even wait in the parking lot to see that I get in the door safely. He’s slept over four times now, but he’s never once stayed for breakfast. And he’s rude to waiters. “Quinn?”asks Raina. “Are you there?”“Yeah,”I say. “Sorry. Um, Penny’s calling me, so I’d better go.”“Okay,”she says. “I’ll upload a picture of Eddie tonight, so check my profi le later.”“Cool,”I say. “Bye.”When I hang up, I don’t want to feel jealous of my friend, but I do. How did she get the guy, while I ended up with someone who looked like the guy?

221 Chapter 20 On Friday afternoon, I’m spread out at the dining room table, organizing demos I took home from Amalgam. I’ve had one partic- ularly angsty band, the Gas Station Horrors, playing on repeat as I ponder my mess of a love life. Penny comes in carrying a bunch of poster board and a bag full of art supplies. “It’s time to make signs for Rush!”she says excitedly. Then she notices the drawn blinds and the somber tunes. “Quinn,”she says, “the brooding thing is getting old. Between you and Russ I can’t deal. Can’t we listen to something upbeat?”“What do you mean?”I ask. “Is he upset about something?”

222 “I’m not getting in the middle of this,”says Penny. “Middle of what?”I ask, stopping the Gas Station Horrors in the middle of a dark song called “Pain at the Pump.”“Are you some sort of vampire?”asks Penny, ignoring my question. I’m too emotionally exhausted to argue as she opens the blinds and lets in the way-bright sun. Then she starts laying art supplies out on the table, pushing my demos to the side. “Dude!”I say. “I’m working here.”“Don’t you want to help me make signs?”she asks. “If you don’t, there will be hearts and stars all over these posters. Maybe you can create something that will draw in a different crowd this year?”“Do you want a different crowd, Penny?”I ask a little snottily. “I thought Tri-Pi was all about tradition and sameness. As in, perky smiles, glossy hair, and possibly fake boobs.”She frowns at me. “You really think that’s all there is to me, don’t you?”she asks.