Everybody's Daughter by Marsha Qualey

Author:Marsha Qualey [Qualey, Marsha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Published: 2014-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“This music is awful,” Andy shouted in Beamer’s ear. Beamer hushed him, then rose from the sofa and made her way across Tyler’s crowded living room. Sarah was standing in the doorway, directly under a sprig of mistletoe, accepting birthday kisses from any boy who tried to enter the kitchen.

“Christmas was weeks ago,” Beamer said to Sarah. “Where did Tyler get the mistletoe?”

“He saved it just for the party. You can have it next week for yours.”

“No birthday party for me.”

“Just a nice quiet time with Saint Andrew?”

“Something like that.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Sounds like fun. Why don’t you at least make him get off the sofa and come give me a kiss? My day won’t be complete until he does.” Someone turned the volume of the music higher and the crowd whooped as a favorite song began. Beamer shrugged a noncommittal response, eased around Sarah, and went into the kitchen. Tyler and Sarah had been going together since eighth grade, and every year they gave each other a birthday party. Together they had an unusual mix of friends, and Beamer always looked forward to their parties.

She helped herself to two large slices of cake and, balancing the plates on top of cups of soda, cautiously made her way back toward the sofa. Halfway, she stopped to observe Wendy riffling her long fingers through Andy’s hair. Andy was not unhappy.

“Here’s your cake,” Beamer said when she stood in front of him. “That looks like fun,” she said to Wendy.

“Confetti,” Wendy said. “Somebody popped a bag all over him. There was just a ton of it in his hair.”

Andy grinned at Beamer. “It’s gone now.”

Wendy hopped off the sofa. “That was fun, Saint Andrew. Let’s do it again.” She was quickly lost among the dancing bodies.

Andy took his cake. He ate a bit and made a face. “Carrot cake? For a birthday?”

“You’ve always liked carrot cake.”

“Well, yeah, but you should have chocolate for a birthday.”

Beamer slipped a finger into his shirt collar and lifted out a tiny confetti square. “She missed one.”

“I was saving that one for you.” He spread the collar open and peered down. “I think there may be more.”

Beamer laughed. “By the way, Sarah wants a kiss.”

“Looks like she’s getting enough. Doesn’t Tyler mind?”

“The mistletoe was his idea.”

“You can spread diseases that way.”

“We’ve all had chicken pox. Don’t be so old.”

“I just think Tyler should be jealous.”

“What would you know about jealousy?”

They squared off with looks, then he rose, walked resolutely through the dancers, and approached Sarah. The kiss was a long one. As Beamer watched them, she pinched the rim of her plastic cup until it cracked. “Tie game, Andy,” she whispered sharply, the words unheard through the loud music. “Now you can stop it.”

Andy finally stepped away from Sarah and returned to the sofa. “Let’s go,” he said.

“Let’s dance.”

“Let’s go.”

“Andy, we’ve been here forty-five minutes and almost that entire time you’ve sat like a lump on the sofa. Try to have fun.”

He brought his face near her own.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.