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

the exact same. But when I peek at the narrow edge of the case to read the title, I see that there’s some- thing different. INDIE + COUNTRY, THE RE-MIX, it reads. It’s a replacement tape. But how did it get in here? I hear a knock on my window and I jump. I turn and see Russ, smirking. I smile back. I’ve never been so happy to see that pair of mock- ing dimples.

235 He moves out of the way and I open my door. When I shut it and turn around to face him, I realize I have no idea what I want to say. “You lost, Quinn?”he asks. And the way he says it—Quinn—makes me nervous. Like something else is lost, not just me. “I was trying to fi nd Albie’s,”I say. “I guess I took a wrong turn.”“Or didn’t take the right turn,”he says, turning to point down the road. “You missed it about fi ve miles back.”“Oh,”I say, feeling silly. “Is there trouble with the Festiva?”asks Russ. “I’m actually heading out this way to pick up a part for the truck right now, but I can check under your hood if your Sebastian isn’t handy with cars.”“No,”I say. “I was looking for you, actually.”“For me?”he says. “What for?”And here it is: My chance to say what I couldn’t in the kitchen the other day because I was still tangled up in Sebastian, and I was afraid. I’ll tell him that I’m glad I’m the reason he’s not with Katie, that I love the things he’s shown me in Austin. That I can’t get his songs

236 out of my head. But I’m having trouble voicing the specifi cs, so I just say, “I’m ready.”Russ tilts his head and looks at me funny. “Ready for what?”“Ready to go out with you,”I say. And he starts to laugh. At fi rst, it’s a quiet chuckle, but it grows into a giant hooting sound, and it’s infuriating. I kick the dust at our feet, and a cloud rises up to interrupt his guffaw-fest. “What is so funny?”I ask. He’s holding his stomach, but he gets him- self under control for a second. “The fact that you think it would be that easy,”he says. “You had your shot, Miss Priscilla. This bird has fl own.”I cross my arms across my chest. “Then why did you leave this replacement mix in my car?”I ask. “Why did you want me to have it so badly that you’d record it again?”“I can’t have you going back to Carolina uneducated,”he says. “You need that music, honey. And you need to open your mind. More

237 than anyone I’ve ever met.”He turns then, and walks back to his truck. He gets in and drives up next to where I’m lean- ing on the Festiva, a little dumbstruck. “So your car’s running fi ne?”he asks. I nod, frowning and refusing to look at his face. “See you around then, ’Cilla,”he says, driv- ing off in a big roar and a mini-cyclone of dust. I get back into the Festiva and stew for a minute before starting up the engine to turn and go home. Who the eff does he think he is? I have a date with Sebastian tomorrow night, and I might as well keep it. I guess any kind of fl ing is better than none. I feel a little bit empty as I drive home, though, and I don’t let myself pop in Russ’s mix until I’m about halfway there and can’t resist any longer.

238 Chapter 22 The next evening, I hear a honk outside—Se- bastian’s signature call. He can’t even walk up to the door, I think. I step outside and climb on the back of his Vespa, snapping my helmet in place. As we zoom away, I turn back, and I see Russ stand- ing in front of his condo with an arm leaning on the door frame. He watches us go, and I give him a tiny wave. I’m not even sure he notices it, let alone the feeling behind it. I wish . . . but I try to block that thought out of my mind. We go to this place called the San José. It’s a hotel, but there’s an outdoor patio where you can sit next to a small swimming pool and order food. The trees provide a pretty, dappled shade, and the people here all look really stylish.

239 “This is nice,”I say, feeling a little under- dressed in my T-shirt and jean shorts, not to mention underage, next to all the sundresses and high heels nearby. There’s even a girl from Project Runway, I notice, at the table behind us. Not that I watch that show. Very often. “It’s like LA here,”says Sebastian. “Oh,”I say, “have you been to LA?”“No,”he says. I laugh, but he doesn’t. I guess Sebastian thinks he can seriously know LA without having been there. I see Jade walking through the patio. I asked her to come hang out with us. She puts on a good face about the Rick thing, but I know she’s been lonely lately. “Hey, guys,”she says, sliding into a seat next to us and fl agging down a waiter. Sebastian orders a fruit-and-cheese plate, which feels fancy and very adult-like. He talks about his latest gig, and Jade and I tell him about the August music festival, which is going to be awesome. “We’ll go to that together,”says Sebastian, more telling me than asking me. But I guess I

240 don’t mind. And just when I’m thinking that we’re having a nice (if slightly boring) time here, I spot him. Rick strolls in with some older lady on his arm. Okay, maybe she’s like twenty-fi ve, but still. Yuck. I glance over at Jade to see if she’s seen them. She hasn’t yet—she’s reaching for the last plump red grape. But then she looks up and her eyes widen. I put my hand on her arm, but I can