Get-Together Summer Read Online Free Page B

both down and let them go off to the theater
by themselves, where they could sit together and maybe hold hands
and who knew what else--
    Simon dressed quickly and somehow managed to only rip
one seam in his shirt. He headed downstairs as soon as he was done,
not quite stomping into the dining nook. Dirk was at the table,
eating a drippy piece of french toast; Haley sat beside him,
glasses perched low on her nose, chewing her lip in contemplation
of the crossword. When Simon entered, she looked up and tilted her
head, looking him over; her lips were still pursed and there was a
furrow between her brows. After a few moments he finally seemed to
pass muster and she looked up at his face again.
    "There's toast," she said. Next to her, Dirk looked
up; his cheeks were fat and his mouth was shiny with syrup. "Unless
you don't want something sweet this early."
    "Sweet's fine," he muttered. He
shuffled to the stack of them, grabbing himself a plate and a few
pieces. The space between his shoulder blades prickled, but when he
turned again, Haley had returned her attention to the crossword --
it was Dirk watching him now, chewing with what seemed like a slow
deliberateness. Something about his gaze was unnerving, and Simon
had to wonder for a split second if his sins were literally written
across his face: I saw you
two , I dreamed
about you two, I want more than that.
    Then Dirk swallowed and said, "There's syrup if you
want that too."
    Instead of answering, Simon huffed and flounced for
the table. He sat next to Haley, which unfortunately put him across
from Dirk, stuffing a large bite into his mouth and hunching his
shoulders.
    "Mom said they were going out to the lake today,"
Haley said, without looking up from her crossword. "They won't be
back till tomorrow, I think. She left some money if we want to
order out for dinner tonight."
    "Baby," Dirk protested. "I can cook more than just
eggs."
    "We could hit up the grocery store instead," she
agreed, and looked up to smile at him. Simon stared more resolutely
down at his plate, unsure of how much he wanted to see them so
comfortable with each other. When had that happened? Was it because
they'd slept together? How long had this been going on without him
noticing?
    The rest of the meal passed the same way, with Simon
methodically eating to keep his mouth full and trying to tune out
the rest of the quiet conversation, troubled by his own thoughts --
but once he was finished, Haley stood, folding her newspaper up
again.
    "It's the theater down on Main," she said. "We could
walk there. It's not supposed to be too hot today."
    Dirk snorted as he rose as well, and Simon had to
wonder what was so funny -- Haley was wearing a white sundress that
cut off just below her knees, with pink roses and green vines
embroidered along the hem; it looked like the sort of thing that
wouldn't be hot even under the noonday summer sun. He didn't
elaborate, though, reaching to take her hand with an ease that
Simon envied. "C'mon," he said, and glanced over his shoulder at
Simon. "You got a problem with walking?"
    He scowled, shooting to his feet in a single sharp
movement, nearly knocking his chair over. "Walking's fine! I don't
mind! Let's go!"
    "Be nice," Haley chided before she reached out to
take Simon's hand with her other one. It was an unexpected gesture,
and it came so easily that he couldn't even protest, just reach to
accept it. Her fingers were cool against his, and softer than he
remembered.
    The whole walk there passed in a blur, the sounds of
Haley's voice and Dirk's filtered just above background noise.
Simon spent the entire time watching his hand in hers, not quite
marveling at the whole package: the way her fingers interlocked
with his, slimmer and just a little paler, with neat oval nails
cropped short. He only snapped out of his daze when Haley pulled
away -- to pay for an obscenely large box of popcorn, which she
handed to him before taking a soda for herself.
    They filed into the theater