Sea Read Online Free Page B

belly, bobbing on the board up and over the smooth water, waiting for the next set of ride-worthy waves, I found Spider.
    And he wasn’t alone.
    Someone was bobbing next to him, and that someone had thin shoulders, long red hair and a curvy wet suit.
    “Who is that girl with your brother?” I asked, surprised at how jealous I felt.
    Bev, now busy rubbing white Bullfrog on her nose, didn’t answer.
    I shielded my eyes with my hand. “In the water? Some surfer girl. Can’t you see them?”
    “Not really.”
    “I’m pretty sure it’s a girl. Look at her hair: it’s not hippie-boy long; it’s girl long. And I see boobs. Can’t you see her boobs? It’s definitely a girl.”
    “Um. Sienna. News flash. I don’t exactly sit on the beach in order to stare at girl boobs. That’d be my brother’s department.”
    I tilted my head so she couldn’t see me grimace.
    “And so what if he’s surfing with a girl; what else is new? Why do you suddenly care what my stupid brother does, anyway? Because you guys hung out together last week in his room?”
    She glanced at me suspiciously before flipping open the front page of the New York Times. She scanned down the newsprint with her pinky finger, humming and nodding to herself. “Status update: all clear. No new terrorist attacks in Indonesia or Bali, so you should be g-to-g for the whole trip. Good to go.”
    I snorted. “Oh, right, and that means the whole two weeks will be threat level what? Yellow for low risk of terrorist acts?”
    “Something like that.”
    I leaned in closer. “Sure you don’t want to come with me, Bev? You could be my personal bodyguard.”
    “Ha. I’ll pass. But don’t you worry. You can be your own bodyguard armed with my info.” She tapped the side of her skull. “Knowledge is power.”
    I laughed. Right. Those warning levels worked about as well as Dad predicting a plane crash. No one knew anything, so why warn at all?
    I watched Spider and that girl bob around in the water some more. I could almost feel it in my stomach, the sense of rising and falling, as I watched them go up and over the waves.
    I doubted that girl would give Spider the cold shoulder if he tried to kiss her. And I doubted that Spider worried for even a second about the possibility of sharks lurking under inky blue waters or plane crashes or terrorist attacks as he paddled hard into the building curve of water. All he cared about was catching this one perfect wave.
    I studied his form as he rose up on the board.
    Knees bent, arms out, he braced himself for the foam-topped thrill ride and, as always, cruised effortlessly toward the shore.

THE HAZE
    That evening, Spider and I walked barefoot, together, in the sand.
    Away from Team Hope. Away from Spider’s family. Away from Oma. Away from the crackling bonfire and roasted marshmallows and veggie dogs.
    He had said he wanted to talk to me.
    Alone.
    Sitting cross-legged in the sand, Bev raised her eyebrow, and so did Dad. And so did I, frankly, but I shrugged and followed Spider toward the cliffs anyway. My stomach tied up in the same twisted knot of seaweed that hadn’t managed to untangle itself since my birthday.
    “What’s going on?” I asked once we were out of earshot.
    “Nothing.” Spider glanced over at me, sunset washing over his face.
    “Nothing?” I asked. Then why ...
    He ran his fingers through his hair, tugged on a handful like he was trying to remember what he wanted to say. “So, you all set for the trip? Didn’t forget your toothbrush or anything?”
    “I probably have three extras,” I said, playing along. “Vera made sure the car was totally packed before she agreed to the farewell bonfire. If you haven’t noticed, she is nothing if not organized.”
    Spider laughed, angling in closer. “So, are you nervous? I mean last week—you were acting sort of weird.”
    I shrugged away. To ensure an even safer distance between our swinging hands, I tucked mine in my hoodie pocket. “Kinda,” I