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

with “I could waltz across Texas with you . . .”I feel a tear run down my cheek. I hear the bar patrons clapping politely, probably not sure what to make of the subpar

258 “songbird,”as Pick-up Pete called me. But then I hear the applause growing. It’s getting louder and louder and I hold my hand out in front of my face to block the spotlights so I can see what’s going on. Just then, I feel the wind under me as Russ lifts me up in his arms, twirling me around once and then setting me down, back on the stage. I don’t even care that there are two dozen people watching—including my cousin. I lean in to meet Russ’s amazing lips. And we have the best freaking kiss this stage has ever seen. When my eyes and ears refocus as we part, I hear more cheers and hoots, and I suddenly remember to be a little embarrassed. I give a shy wave as Russ leads me down the stage stairs. I don’t even say good-bye to Penny or Jade or Chrissy as he pulls my hand and we dash outside. “Leave your car,”he says. My cheeks fl ush again as I hop into his truck, more lovestruck than I ever knew I could be.

259 Epilogue I ’ve had three weeks with Russ by my side. As I wake up next to him in his double bed, where I’ve been sleeping pretty regularly, I realize that this is the second half of the last weekend of the last week of our summer. I fly home tomorrow. I’ll see Raina and my parents, and I’ll make trips to Target to buy things like a laundry basket and storage bins and folding bookshelves for my college dorm room. I leave in just two more weeks for Vermont. I look at Russ, sleeping, and my heart starts to sink a little. But then he opens his eyes. “Good morning, sunshine,”he says, wrap- ping me up in his arms for five more minutes in bed. I look up at the ceiling, where a poster of some

260 famous UT quarterback is taped above the bed. The walls are covered in party photos—mostly from frat keggers—and there are wooden Alpha- Alpha letters hanging on back of the door. If I’d had a crystal ball three months ago, just before I came to Austin, and I’d been able to see where I’d end up hanging out—in this room, with this guy—I would have been morti- fi ed. Because back then, I had all these ideas about who I was, and who my friends were sup- posed to be, and who I didn’t want to know. I lean over and kiss Russ on the cheek. With the help of Penny and Chrissy—and Jade, too—I have so much more now. The Amalgam festival went amazingly well—after Rick dried off he was able to laugh at the getting-thrown-in-pool incident. He even gave both me and Jade small stipends for our summer work, which will help with college stuff next year. He also gave Jade something more impor- tant—the full-on “I’m a dick”apology. It even sounded sincere. Jade’s response was awesome. “That was so three weeks ago,”she said. “I’m over it.”I half expected Sebastian to call me or stop

261 by Amalgam after the San Josépool incident, but he stayed away that whole next week. I was busy with Russ, mostly, but I felt like I had to say something to him, so I stopped by Dirty’s the next Friday night when he was deejaying. I walked in and saw that he was taking a break, in a booth, with his arm around some other girl, who looked way more indie than I do. Black hair, cat’s eye glasses, patchwork dress. She was straight outta Hipster-land. My jeal- ous instinct didn’t kick in even a little bit, and I went over and talked to him like nothing had happened. He acted the same way. And when I left, I smiled and waved one last time, happy that he found someone he wanted, too. Or at least the possibility of someone. I muss Russ’s hair and climb out of bed. I go downstairs and walk out the back door, head- ing to Penny’s kitchen to grab an apple. She’s sitting at the island bar with Miss Tiara in her robe. That is, both of them are in robes. “Morning,”I say. “Hola, Juliet,”she says. “Last night with Romeo tonight?”

262 “Yeah,”I say, not wanting to think of it that way. “What are you guys doing?”she asks. And it seems like maybe she’s wondering if we’re going to hole up in Russ’s room and not hang out. Which is so not our style. “Something with you,”I say. That night, Miss Tiara, Penny, Chrissy, Jade, Russ, and I stake out a spot on the lawn of the Four Seasons Hotel around six P.M. We spread a big blanket over the grass and order frothy root beers, looking toward the sky and hoping we’ll see something special. Namely, bats. “I’m telling you, they’re fl ying tonight,”says Russ. “I can feel it.”“I read on some website that they fl y on warm, calm evenings—sometimes even before sunset,”says Jade. The six of us talk about plans for next year. Penny, Chrissy, and Russ will all be UT seniors; Jade is starting college in Dallas. And I’ll be in Vermont, which I’m sure will feel

263 worlds away from here. I look down at the blanket for a minute, get- ting sad. Russ picks up my chin. “Take a quick walk with me?”he asks, grabbing the backpack he brought and reaching out for my hand. “Sure,”I say. “We’ll be right back, guys.”“Take your tiiiime,”says Chrissy while Penny makes a kissy face. Sorority girls, man. We walk down to the edge of the river, head- ing away from the bridge a little bit so we’re out of the Tri-Pi-Jade sight range. Russ unzips his bag and hands me a bou- quet of