I tried not to sound like a five-year-old when I said, "I'm not going to sleep yet, I'm swimming." "So how've you been?" he asked.īefore I could answer, Conrad said, "She's fine, and now it's time for bed. I hated when people said "long time no see." It was such a dumb way to say hello. Long time no see." He patted the lounge chair. It felt funny to be standing there in a towel and a bikini when they were all wearing clothes.Ĭlay looked up at me, his eyes narrow. I walked over to them, pretend-confident. But no, I had as much right to be out there as they did. Right away I stiffened and held my beach towel closer to my chest. He was just a person to hang out with, I guess.
Clay lived way down the street, and he'd been coming to Cousins Beach for almost as long as we had. The night Steven left, I headed down to the pool for one of my midnight swims, and Conrad and Jeremiah and this neighbor guy Clay Bertolet were sitting on the lounge chairs drinking beer. It was also ironic, Steven teasing me about being flat-chested, because two summers later I had to wear a bra, but, like, for real. Steven was mad at me the whole rest of the day, but it was worth it. I gave him the finger and flipped over, but inside I was shaking. "But you're still dead, Belly." He pointed at me, and then made a cutting motion with his finger. Which of course only made him madder.Ĭonrad said, "Leave her alone, Steven. I tried to shake him off, but I only succeeded in kicking more sand into his face. "You're such a pain in the ass," he spat out, grabbing my leg roughly. Then he lunged at me, and I rolled away from him. He was in the middle of laughing, and a bunch got in his mouth and stuck to his wet cheeks. I turned on my side, grabbed a handful of sand, and threw it at Steven. Belly, would you rather eat mayonnaise every day, or be flat-chested for the rest of your life?" He grinned and said, "My turn to ask a question. I think I agree with her." Conrad gave me this look, the kind of look I bet soldiers give each other when they're teaming up against somebody else. "Yeah, but you wouldn't know it," Jeremiah argued. "I wouldn't want to have a life that's just one day over and over." That way I could still hope for that one perfect day," I said. I'd take living my life with decent days. My mind raced around in circles as I tried to find the right answer. "Well, if the perfect day involves-," Steven began, but then he looked over at me and stopped speaking, which I hated. "Then I'll take the perfect day," he decided. "With that one perfect day, would I know I was reliving it, like Groundhog Day?" He loved to mull over the different possibilities. Jeremiah didn't say anything for a minute. "Now you go, Con."Ĭonrad squinted his eyes up at the sun and said, "Would you rather live one perfect day over and over or live your life with no perfect days but just decent ones?" "It's a question about death, not turning the tables on somebody." "That wasn't an option," Conrad told him.
#THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY ONLINE FREE SKIN#
"There's more of a chance I can turn the tables on the guy and skin him." Jeremiah said, "Would you rather be boiled in olive oil or skinned alive with a burning hot butter knife?" It was already midafternoon, so hot my hair felt like it was on fire, and they were playing cards while I listened in. Conrad, Steven, Jeremiah, and then me on the edge. The four of us were lying on a big blanket in the sand. It occurred to me that I was going to have to make the most of this summer, really make it count, in case there wasn't another one quite like it. There were a lot of things that could happen between now and then. And Jeremiah, he might go to the football camp he was always talking about. He might have an internship, or summer school, or he might backpack across Europe with all his new dorm buddies. In a lot of ways it was like the last summer. I stayed on the front porch awhile, feeling blue and a little teary-not that I would ever admit it to Steven.