So Inn Love Read Online Free

wanted to apply, she said the most important advice she was going to give me was to beware of hookups.”
    “Beware of hookers? Really? Around here ?” I tried to imagine a woman in a feather boa and short shorts, down by the boardwalk to the private beach.
    “Hook ups ,” Claire repeated with a laugh.
    I laughed, too. “Oh! Well, that’s okay, I wasn’t really planning any.”
    “Neither am I,” Claire said.
    I didn’t want to completely rule out seeingsomeone over the summer, though. I was only human, and who knew what might happen between me and my probably ex, Mark? If we were really over, then I’d be free to date someone else. I didn’t have a clue if I would, but I could. The beach would be the perfect romantic location, that was for sure.
    “Anyway, my sister just said that this place can get really small, really fast, if you’re not careful,” Claire continued.
    “Hm. Sort of like high school, then?” I asked with a smile.
    “Yeah, exactly. God, I’m glad that’s over,” Claire said.
    I nodded in agreement. I was glad to be moving on—and out—to college, too, but I didn’t hate high school, not after I’d settled in and made new friends. The way I saw it, high school was a lot like a very trendy haircut. Fun while it lasted.
    High school could get boring if you were complacent, if you did the same thing over and over. Same with hair. I preferred coloring mine, streaks of blue or sometimes pink, goingplatinum once or twice, and now, chestnut auburn brown, when I was naturally a blonde. (And no, I’m not going to beauty school. At least not until I flunk out of college.)
    Claire unpacked several books, stacking them on the desk, making a bookshelf by using larger stacks at each end of the desk.
    “Wow,” I said. “Are all those for fun, or…?”
    “Reading ahead for freshman year at Columbia. Plus a few for fun.” She pulled out a couple of paperback chick-lit novels and grinned. “Chaucer’s okay, but…”
    “Sometimes not so much,” I added.
    “Exactly.”
    “Miss Crossley made it sound like we’ll be working all the time. Do you think we’ll have time to read? And if we do, can I borrow that one? Not the Chaucer.”
    Outside our window, a bullhorn sounded. “Come on, everyone, time to tour the Tides!” Miss Crossley’s voice boomed through a megaphone.
    “She’s so high energy it’s painful. I meant towash my hair after the salt swim, but, oh well.” Claire sighed as she grabbed a ball cap from the desk and pulled it over her head.
    “Good idea.” I grabbed my Tigers Volleyball cap.
    When Claire and I walked outside, Miss Crossley met us with a look of disapproval. She was good at doing that. “Dress code rule number seventeen. No ball caps,” she said.
    There’s a dress code? I thought. Why did no one tell me? “Oh. Sorry—” I started to apologize.
    “No ball caps, except these.” Miss Crossley opened a large plastic bag and handed us each an official Tides Inn cotton cap. They were different shades of sun-washed pastel, and the one I grabbed was a pale orange. I caught Hayden’s eye as I pulled it over my head. He was already wearing a white one.
    “How do you guys like your room?” Caroline asked.
    “Fine. Thanks.” I smiled at her. “It’s very scenic.”
    “And spacious, don’t forget spacious,” Claire added.
    “What’s wrong with your room?” MissCrossley asked as we assembled into a group outside the dorm.
    “Oh, uh, nothing,” I said. “It’s fine.”
    “Good. So, moving on. Today we’ll get the big overall picture,” Miss Crossley went on. “You all need to understand the complete workings of the Inn. In case you’re required to fill in for anyone, you should know a little about each other’s jobs.”
    “Miss Crossley, do we really need to do this again? I mean, some of us were here last year, we know the drill,” Zoe said. “How about if we split up and—”
    “Zoe, you know as well as I do that a refresher course is