Endless Summer: The Boys Next Door; Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

Author:Jennifer Echols [Echols, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Love & Romance, Social Issues, Juvenile Fiction, Dating & Sex, Humorous Stories
ISBN: 9781442406599
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 2010-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

After a shower, I took extra time to dry my hair. Despite the fact that Adam and I had gotten each other in so much trouble—or maybe because of it—I wanted to make sure I looked as pretty for him as I had last night with my Ominously Good Hair.

Of course, this was ridiculous. All my efforts would be for naught. If Mrs. Vader stuck me in the warehouse, my blonde crowning glory would be full of boat grease and spiders by nine a.m. Also, I didn’t want to be late for work. Not this morning.

I did, however, want my dad to embark on his Sunday morning routine of going back to bed before I got downstairs. I had never seen him as angry as he was when I came home an hour ago, and I did not want a recap.

No such luck. When I popped into the kitchen, my dad and my brother leaned against the counter with their arms folded. Dad still looked red, but at least he wasn’t yelling anymore. I stepped through the doorway just in time to hear him say, “You take care of your sister today.” McGillicuddy gave my dad a two-finger salute. “Ayeaye, cap’n.”

Dad turned to me. “And you.” Every morning that I’d gone to play with the boys when we were little, or I’d gone to work at the marina this summer and last, he’d told me, Watch out around those boys next door. This time he couldn’t muster the words. Focusing on me, he opened his mouth, breathed in, breathed out.

He turned to my brother and repeated, “Take care of your sister.”

My brother and I closed the door behind us—softly, so as not to startle an already shell-shocked father—and walked through the garage to the yard, heading past the Vaders’ house to the marina. As soon as we were out of Dad’s earshot, I said, “Well! It’s a good thing you’re not serious about taking care of me. Dad can keep me from going out with Adam, but he’ll never see me on the lake. He won’t know about anything I do at the marina, because you won’t tell him. Hold up a minute.” I’d been limping behind my brother on one bare foot and one flip-flop, scanning the yard for a flash of pink as we went. I remembered having both flip-flops on at the bridge. After that, it got fuzzy. All I knew was that I’d been wearing only one when I arrived home an hour ago. My dad had characterized this as my telltale state of undress.

Now I dove into an azalea and brought out my flip-flop. I shoved my toes into it and turned around.

McGillicuddy frowned at me.

Suddenly I realized how it looked to him and to my dad. “Come on,” I pleaded. “A flip-flop in the bushes does not mean anything. If you ever see my bikini top hanging from the bird feeder, I give you permission to raise an eyebrow.”

He cleared his throat. “Dad will see you on the lake.

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