Whitney Read Online Free Page A

which place?” he asked.
    Or maybe he just wanted the pizza. I really should have given this plan more thought before putting it into action.
    “Uh, I forgot to ask where we’re going. I’ll let you know later today.”
    We heard shrieks and looked over. Lisa was leading a dozen or so kiddos and their parents over to the pavilion.
    “Looks like it’s showtime,” Jake said.
    For now. The real show, though, would be later tonight. Maybe then I’d have a chance to figure out what our relationship was: coworkers, friends, or more?
    *  *  *
    “Pizza? You want to go out for pizza tonight?” Caitlin asked.
    Robyn, Caitlin, and I met at the Tsunami lounging deck for lunch. The area was covered in sand, at least twelve inches deep, so guests had the sense that they were on a tropical beach. The perfect place to host a luau. But I didn’t want to think about that upcoming nightmare. After the luau, I had a feeling I’d have nothing but bad memories of this place.
    “Yeah.” I was stretched out on the lounge chair, trying to look like nothing mattered. “I sorta invited Jake to go out for pizza but I made it sound like it was a group of people, so now I need a group of people. So are you interested?”
    “That is so Whitney,” Caitlin said. “Youmake plans and assume people are going to do what you want.”
    My aunt called me a little dictator. All I had to do was say what I wanted to do and we did it. Since my mom died, no one in the family told me no. I was poor little Whitney, and people didn’t want me to be sad. So yeah, a lot of times I planned things without thinking them through. But it always worked out somehow.
    “Is that a problem for you?” I asked. “Because I can un-invite you.” The words were just talk. I really wanted Robyn and Caitlin to be there. They were the closest thing I had to friends. Since they had boyfriends, if I had questions or needed someone to guide me, they would be the best ones to seek advice from. Like a lifeline on Who Wants to be a Millionaire . I just needed help in figuring all this possible-boyfriend stuff out.
    “It’s not a problem. It’s just weird,” Caitlin said. “The way you try to control everything.”
    “So are you in?” I asked, ready to move on to the next problem on my list.
    “We’re in,” Robyn said.
    I knew she’d agree to it without giving me a hard time. Maybe if I told Caitlin about my doubts regarding Jake, she’d be a little more enthusiastic about coming along tonight.
    “Sure, we’re in,” Caitlin said.
    She didn’t complain that Robyn had spoken for her. She only complained about things that I did. My relationship with her was almost as confusing as the one I had with Jake. Is she my friend or isn’t she? I was pretty sure she was.
    “I’ll call Michael,” she continued. “He should be able to come. So where are we going?”
    “Uh, well, I don’t know. I hadn’t gotten that far with my plan.”
    Caitlin laughed. “You invited us for pizza and you don’t know where we’re going?”
    I didn’t like her laughing at me. I knew it was because she didn’t know the entire story,so I felt compelled to explain. “If you want to know the truth, it was a test for Jake.”
    “A test?”
    She was surprised by the test, but not about Jake? Had Robyn said something to her or had she figured it out, too? I decided that she probably figured it out. She was pretty observant, which was one reason that she made such a good lifeguard and had saved a kid’s life. So if both Robyn and Caitlin figured it out, why couldn’t I? I was embarrassed to admit the truth. “I don’t know if Jake likes me, so I thought if I invited him to do something with me, it would help me figure it out. If he liked me, he’d say yes. If he didn’t, he’d make up some excuse about being busy.”
    “Huh. That kinda makes sense I guess,” Caitlin said. “So you asked, he said yes, so you know he likes you.”
    I shrugged. “Actually, I don’t know. I