Flirting with Boys by Abbott, Hailey (books to read for beginners .TXT) 📕

Suddenly, Travis’s arm stiffened like cement around her shoulder and she felt his body go rigid. She looked up.

“What?” she asked. “What is it?” Travis didn’t answer.

He was staring across the sand at the cars. Celeste followed his gaze. There, sauntering casually toward them, swinging a six-pack from one hand and a bottle of vodka from the other, was Nick.

Chapter Eleven

No one else had noticed Nick’s arrival. Travis

clenched his fists. “What’s he doing here?” he whispered gruffly.

Celeste could hardly hear him over the roaring in her ears. Bothering her at the resort was one thing, but harassing her off the grounds? What was his deal? Could he really still think that last summer mattered? Hadn’t she made her not-available status perfectly clear?

Beside her, Travis made a rumbling noise in his

throat and started forward, presumably to begin the work of pounding Nick’s face into the sand. But Celeste shoved in front of him. She was going to have to deal with this herself.

She strode across the sand, her eyes fixed on Nick, who was standing near the campfire, looking around.

Searching for me, Celeste thought furiously. This was it.

She was going to let him know that she did not appreciate all his obnoxious flirting this summer, she did not appreciate having to soothe her boyfriend constantly because of him, and most of all, she did not appreciate him following her here when she was trying to have a relaxing, fun night with her friends—she didn’t care how rich and important his parents were!

Celeste drew closer to Nick. She clenched her hands into fists until her fingernails bit into her palms. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, she felt movement behind her. She turned and Devon brushed past, skimming across the sand like a moth.

“You came!” she cried, and threw herself on Nick’s chest, almost knocking him over with the force of her hug. He staggered backwards a few steps. Celeste didn’t move. What was going on?

Devon clutched at Nick’s arm and beamed. “Isn’t this place amazing?” she asked, staring up at his face wor-shipfully. Slowly, the realization of why Nick was here dawned on Celeste, who felt as if her mind were wading through mud. Devon had invited him. He was her date.

Nick smirked at Celeste as if he could read her mind.

“Hey,” he greeted her. “Thanks for letting me crash your party.”

“Oh my God, it’s totally no big deal!” Devon trilled before Celeste could answer. “The more the merrier, right, Celeste?”

Celeste nodded dumbly. She trailed behind them as Devon steered Nick over to the fire and the beer coolers.

Nick broke a beer off his six-pack and dumped the rest into the melting ice of the cooler. Celeste slipped back around the fire to Travis, who had obviously seen the whole thing. She wrapped her arm around his waist.

“He’s here with Devon,” she told him. “See? There’s nothing to worry about.”

Travis studied Devon and Nick, silhouetted by the fire, as they stood talking, and nodded slowly. “Good.

I’m glad he’s not here still trying to get on you.”

“Of course not!” Celeste reassured him. She stared across the fire. Devon was gesticulating wildly as she talked. Celeste could hear her frequent laughter over the general chatter around them. Nick was nodding, his hand shoved in his pockets. He glanced at Celeste and caught her staring at them. He offered her a little smile and turned back to Devon.

Celeste tugged her arm free from Travis and sank slowly down on the sand to sit cross-legged. Travis wandered back over to the beer cooler. The sand felt cool under her legs and the fire was warm on her face. Idly, she gathered a few rocks from the sand and lined them up in front of her, turning the idea of Nick and Devon together over in her mind. She’d known Devon thought he was hot, but she hadn’t known they were actually together—and hooking up, presumably. She snuck another glance at the pair across the fire. They were sitting down too, and Devon had her feet in Nick’s lap, leaning back on her hands while she chattered away.

Celeste couldn’t hear what she was saying over the crackle of the fire, but Nick was laughing. Then Devon shoved Nick’s shoulder. He clutched at her and fell over on the sand, pulling her with him. Travis suddenly reappeared from the beer cooler and thumped down on the sand beside Celeste. “There’s no more Natty Light,” he said, breathing heavily.

“Okay,” she replied absently. Devon and Nick were whispering now, still lying on the sand. As Celeste watched, Devon tilted up the silver flask again and took another swig. Suddenly she jumped to her feet.

“Well, come on, you guys,” she ordered Celeste and Travis. “Let’s get in the water!” A lot of the other people who had been in the pools for a while were getting out and rubbing themselves with towels. Devon grabbed Celeste’s hand and hauled her to her feet. “Come on!”

she yelled. The boys stripped off their shirts and Devon shucked her tank top to reveal a very skimpy pink lace bra. They picked over the rocks toward the biggest pool.

Celeste thought that it was a good thing she’d worn her black bra—it was almost like a bikini top.

“Dev,” Celeste murmured as they balanced on the

wet red rocks around the pool, “that bra’s going to be totally see-through once it gets wet.”

Devon glanced down at her chest. “Oh yeah.” Then she shot a sideways look at Nick, who was dipping a toe in the water. “Oh well!” she chirped. She touched a foot to the water and jerked it back. “It’s hot!”

Celeste sat down on a rock and gingerly dropped

her legs in. The sulfur-y gray water was almost too hot, but not quite. It was murky and dark. She wondered if there were any, say, biting fish that lived in the bottom of natural hot springs pools. She peered down at the water and suddenly something grabbed her ankle and pulled.

Celeste shrieked