Swept Away Read Online Free Page B

have to do it more often, then.” Mom grinned.
    “Now, it’s back to the books for us.” Amber held one arm out toward the doorway and waited for Brittany to join her.
    “Oh, I don’t know.” Brittany’s face fell. “I think the break is doing us good. Let’s take the rest of the night off.”
    “Really?” Amber checked the clock. It did feel nice to take some pressure off. They had studied for four hours straight before the run. And Brittany looked so hopeful. “Okay, Britt. We’ll quit for the day.”
    Brittany grinned. “What do you want to do?”
    “First? Sustenance. We’ll collapse and die if we don’t get food. Then we’ll talk plans.”
    Brittany laughed. “Such a drama queen.”
    Amber had already pulled the doors open so she could dig through the kitchen cabinets. “Aha! I knew it!” She triumphantly pulled out a half-eaten package of Oreos. “Milk!” Amber pulled the milk from the fridge while Brittany got two glasses.
    Amber unscrewed her cookie and scraped the filling off with her teeth. She dunked the chocolate cookie part into her milk and held it there for a few moments.
    Brittany dropped an Oreo into the milk and let it float there until it started to sink. She used a spoon to retrieve the milk-logged cookie and popped the whole thing into her mouth. It barely fit, and milk dripped out of one of the corners. She leaned forward over the counter and held up a cupped hand to catch the drip.
    “Here, silly.” Amber laughed and handed her a napkin, then they polished off the cookies in the bag. “Okay, now that I’ve had enough sugar to last the whole week, we can talk plans. What do you want to do tonight?”
    “I think a movie. My treat.” Brittany casually threw that last part on the end.
    “Okay. I’ll treat next time.” Amber hoped she’d have money next time.
    “Deal!”

    “Amber, we’re leaving for church.”
    She rolled over in her bed and mumbled good-bye to her parents. Barely awake, she sensed movement in the room.
Brittany!
For a moment she’d forgotten Britt had spent the night. Amber pried one eye open and peeked across the room where Brittany stood fully dressed, tying her shoes. Amber bolted up to her elbows. “You leaving?”
    “Yeah, I told you my parents would be picking me up.” Brittany picked up the brush. “Your parents left already. Don’t they want you to go with them?” Brittany hesitantly asked.
    “Want me to? Sure. But they don’t force the issue.” Amber lay back down and pulled the covers up around her. “They’re trying to let me find my own way.”
    “Hmm.” Brittany smoothed her hair in the mirror.
    Amber tilted her head. “Ah, I can hear the disapproval in your
hmm.”
    “Well, I think church would be good for you. If I were your mom and dad …”
    “Oh, I know. You’d be a slave driver.” Amber threw her pillow at Brittany and they both laughed.
    Brittany peeked out the window. “They’re here. Gotta go!” She grabbed her things and started to leave the room. “Next week, come with me. Okay?”
    “Your church is so far away,” Amber whined. Brittany laughed. “It’s downtown—thirty minutes away. You’d drive farther to go shopping. You’re coming.”
    “We’ll see, Britt.”
We’ll see
.

Chapter 4
BE MY GUEST
    “How can you make popcorn without a bag?”
    “Are you serious?” Amber stared at her supposedly brilliant best friend. “You’ve really never seen popcorn made on a stove in a pot?”
    “Nope, I’ve only had the microwave kind—oh, and the kind at the movie theater.”
    “What do you think people do with the jars of popcorn kernels they sell at the grocery store?”
    Brittany shrugged. “I just assumed they put them in some sort of special bag and popped them in the microwave.”
    “Really? I can’t believe it.” Amber turned away briefly to face the stove, then spun back around. “Wait! I have a question. What about before microwaves? Where did popcorn come from then?”
    “I guess I