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

but all I want is for us to have a good summer together. I really, really want to drive up to Tempe with you to help you move into school, and if you screw up, there’s no way my dad will let me. So just ignore Nick, okay? The summer’s almost half over anyway.”

Travis nodded slowly. “Okay, babe. I’ll do my best—

after all, I get to spend the summer with you, right?”

Celeste let him hug her. “Thanks,” she said. Travis turned and pushed out of the bushes. But as she watched him trudge up the path, she had a feeling that the Travis-Nick saga was far from over.

Chapter Fourteen

Celeste!” Devon’s shrill voice zinged into Celeste’s ear. The door to her bedroom banged open, smacking the wall, and Devon bounded in. “Are you

awake? Listen to this!” She plopped down on the side of Celeste’s bed.

Celeste peeked one eye out of the covers. The room was golden with morning sunlight, and dust motes danced in a ray of sun across her bed. She groaned and squinted at the clock. “Devon, why are you here at”—she squinted again—“seven o’clock? Are you out of your mind?” She pulled the old quilt back over her head and closed her eyes. Devon jerked down the quilt. “Listen to this! Are you ready?”

“Do I have any choice?”

“Shut up! Just listen.” Devon cleared her throat and tossed her hair over one shoulder. “‘Dear Ms. Wright.’”

She paused to take a self-referential bow. “That’s me.

‘Dear Ms. Wright. We are delighted to inform you that we have had an opening in the Thistlebottom School Summer Thespian Program in Aberdeen, Scotland. As you are first on the waiting list, we would like to offer you the spot. Please bring with you a passport, other photo identification, and a good wool sweater, as Aberdeen can be chilly even in the summer. We will expect your confirmation answer shortly. Sincerely, John MacArthur, Dean, Thistlebottom School Summer

Thespian Program.’”

Celeste looked down, fiddling with the quilt for a minute as she tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly risen in her throat. It would’ve been really nice to get a letter like that from the Berkshires program. But who was she kidding? She wouldn’t have been able to accept it anyway. Celeste looked up. Devon was watching her expectantly. She swallowed hard and mustered an approximation of a happy smile.

“That’s awesome!” Celeste cried, throwing her arms around her best friend. “Scotland will be so amazing.

You’re going to come back even more of a drama queen than you are now. When do you leave?”

Devon hesitated. “Well, I talked to the program secretary this morning and they want me there by Thursday.”

Celeste’s jaw dropped. “Wait, you mean this Thursday?

Today’s Tuesday!”

Devon nodded. “I know. So I booked a flight to

London that leaves tomorrow morning. I’ll spend the night there and then fly to Scotland the next day.” She looked up and did her best conflicted-emotions squint.

“I feel horrible leaving you here!” she whispered.

It would be hard facing the entire rest of the summer without Devon. She reminded herself that that was her problem, though, not Devon’s. If it was her going to the Berkshires, she’d want Devon to be happy for her, not make her feel guilty.

Celeste hugged her friend again. “Oh my God, I’ll be totally fine! You’ll meet tons of yummy Scottish guys, and when you come back, we’ll have so much gossip to catch up on. And you have to bring me something

amazing from Scotland as a present.” She lay back in bed and pulled the covers up again.

Devon screwed up her face, thinking. “Like some-

thing plaid?”

“Yeah. I guess they have a lot of that there,” Celeste agreed, rearranging her pillows under her head. “Plaid and … sheep, right?”

“Right. And wool scarves.” Devon picked one of

Celeste’s bras off the floor and wrapped it around her neck like a muffler.

“That’s a nice look on you.” Celeste laughed. “Okay, so maybe we’ll skip the present,” she said. “But you have to promise me not to feel guilty. Then I’ll just feel bad too.”

“I promise,” Devon pledged, bouncing off the bed.

“Okay, so I have to go talk to your dad. Oh, and Nick.”

Celeste opened her mouth to ask why Devon had to talk to Nick, when she realized what her friend was saying. “Right, Nick,” she said slowly. “I forgot about that.

You guys have been party planning nonstop, huh?”

“Yeah, we have.” Devon paused with her hand on the doorknob. “I guess you’ll be in charge of that now.”

“I guess so,” Celeste said, her mind whirling. Now she’d just have to explain to Travis that she’d be working with Nick, like, every day, for the rest of the summer. No problem.

“Don’t worry,” Devon assured her. “I’m totally

organized—I’ve got everything we’ve done so far in this big binder, with a list of all the stuff that needs to be done, and all the people we’ve talked to. It’ll be a breeze.” She banged out the door. Celeste could hear her start the “What’s in a name?” monologue from Romeo and Juliet on her way down the hall.

Celeste scrubbed her face with her hands and tried to organize her thoughts. Okay. Working with Nick. It wouldn’t be so bad. True, he still tried to flirt with her at every available opportunity and didn’t seem to understand the potential he had to ruin her life, but they’d had a couple of good conversations too—enough for her to see that he was actually capable of treating her like a human being.

Celeste threw back the covers and picked her way around her clothes-strewn floor to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and stared idly in the mirror as she waited for the water to heat up. And Travis. He might be okay too. He’d been on his best behavior ever since the fight with Nick. Maybe if she just explained to him again that her relationship with Nick was strictly business and that she had no choice in planning the party, he’d just