Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski Read Free Book Online
Authors: Sarah Mlynowski
lip-smacking sound. “There we go. Rearranged.”
“Your palate, huh?” He laughed. “You’re cute.”
Now my cheeks felt pink. So are you, I thought.
Under the table, Marissa squeezed my hand.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Noah showed up last to the soirée.
Vi was busy pouring beers and glasses of wine as the guests arrived, and Joanna handed them out. It felt odd watching them serve alcohol. Like we were old, living in an apartment in New York, having cocktails. Already Dean and his brother, Hudson, were finishing the last of the chips.
We’d left the door unlocked and I was refilling the chip bowl when I spotted Noah at the door. “Hi!” I said. I dropped the bag and pushed through the others to get to him as he smiled at me. It wasn’t the private homecoming I’d been dreaming of—but at least he was here.
“Hey, everyone,” he said, glancing around the room. He was looking adorable, like he always did when he came home from Florida. Slight tan, cheeks a bit burnt. He was wearing a new green top that his parents must have bought him on their trip. I’d never seen it before.
“What’s up?” RJ called from the couch. RJ played center on the varsity basketball team with Noah. Compared to RJ’s six-foot-three, wide, bulky frame, we all looked like dwarfs.
I wrapped my arms around Noah’s neck, which was cold from outside. His cheeks were flushed. “Hi,” I said again.
“Hey,” he said softly, looking around.
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. He was the perfect height for me, only a few inches taller. “I missed you,” I said. He smelled like shampoo.
“I missed you too,” he said. He kissed me again.
“Get a room!” Dean hollered.
Noah blushed. “So,” he said, looking around again. “This is home.”
“This is home,” I repeated. I tried to make eye contact. “How was your flight?”
“No problems.” He checked out the surroundings—the ap-pliances from the seventies in the kitchen, the huge rectangular wooden dining room table, the purple tablecloth, the massive blue suede couch, the shag carpet, the clutter of lamps, and candles and stuff that did not belong to me. The water behind the windows and the lights across the way. “Crazy.”
“I know.” I was sure it was bizarro for him to see me in this new environment, this new home. It was weird for me to be in it. But what was also weird was why he hadn’t called me when he’d landed. Why hadn’t he come straight over? Why wouldn’t he look at me?
Maybe it was all in my head. Maybe it was just that everyone was watching. Maybe it was because Corinne was watching.
“Come sit down,” I said, leading him to the rest of the party.
I NEVER
“My turn,” Vi said. “I’ve never kissed a girl.”
All four guys—Noah, RJ, Dean, and Hudson—plus Joanna, drank to that one. But that was no surprise.
Dean put his arm around Vi. “If the rest of you ladies would like to try right now, don’t let us stop you.”
Vi punched him in the arm. “Yes, that’s what we’re going to do, make out with each other for your viewing enjoyment.” The two of them were sharing a lounge chair.
“Excellent,” Dean said, his loud laugh reverberating around the room. Dean and Vi had been best friends since they met freshman year. Now he had his hands on Vi’s hip. He always seemed to be touching someone or something. A ball, a cushion, a girl’s hip.
I was sitting between Marissa and Noah on the couch, and Joanna was on the other side of Noah.
Joanna was a senior at Andersen. She was wearing vintage jeans and a lace shirt that you know she bought at an actual thrift store and not at Urban Outfitters like everyone else. Next year she was backpacking through Australia instead of going to college. She was also the only gay person I knew who had come out, and possibly the only gay person I knew, period. Last year she had brought her (now ex) girlfriend from Stamford to her junior prom. Joanna lived a few
“Your palate, huh?” He laughed. “You’re cute.”
Now my cheeks felt pink. So are you, I thought.
Under the table, Marissa squeezed my hand.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Noah showed up last to the soirée.
Vi was busy pouring beers and glasses of wine as the guests arrived, and Joanna handed them out. It felt odd watching them serve alcohol. Like we were old, living in an apartment in New York, having cocktails. Already Dean and his brother, Hudson, were finishing the last of the chips.
We’d left the door unlocked and I was refilling the chip bowl when I spotted Noah at the door. “Hi!” I said. I dropped the bag and pushed through the others to get to him as he smiled at me. It wasn’t the private homecoming I’d been dreaming of—but at least he was here.
“Hey, everyone,” he said, glancing around the room. He was looking adorable, like he always did when he came home from Florida. Slight tan, cheeks a bit burnt. He was wearing a new green top that his parents must have bought him on their trip. I’d never seen it before.
“What’s up?” RJ called from the couch. RJ played center on the varsity basketball team with Noah. Compared to RJ’s six-foot-three, wide, bulky frame, we all looked like dwarfs.
I wrapped my arms around Noah’s neck, which was cold from outside. His cheeks were flushed. “Hi,” I said again.
“Hey,” he said softly, looking around.
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. He was the perfect height for me, only a few inches taller. “I missed you,” I said. He smelled like shampoo.
“I missed you too,” he said. He kissed me again.
“Get a room!” Dean hollered.
Noah blushed. “So,” he said, looking around again. “This is home.”
“This is home,” I repeated. I tried to make eye contact. “How was your flight?”
“No problems.” He checked out the surroundings—the ap-pliances from the seventies in the kitchen, the huge rectangular wooden dining room table, the purple tablecloth, the massive blue suede couch, the shag carpet, the clutter of lamps, and candles and stuff that did not belong to me. The water behind the windows and the lights across the way. “Crazy.”
“I know.” I was sure it was bizarro for him to see me in this new environment, this new home. It was weird for me to be in it. But what was also weird was why he hadn’t called me when he’d landed. Why hadn’t he come straight over? Why wouldn’t he look at me?
Maybe it was all in my head. Maybe it was just that everyone was watching. Maybe it was because Corinne was watching.
“Come sit down,” I said, leading him to the rest of the party.
I NEVER
“My turn,” Vi said. “I’ve never kissed a girl.”
All four guys—Noah, RJ, Dean, and Hudson—plus Joanna, drank to that one. But that was no surprise.
Dean put his arm around Vi. “If the rest of you ladies would like to try right now, don’t let us stop you.”
Vi punched him in the arm. “Yes, that’s what we’re going to do, make out with each other for your viewing enjoyment.” The two of them were sharing a lounge chair.
“Excellent,” Dean said, his loud laugh reverberating around the room. Dean and Vi had been best friends since they met freshman year. Now he had his hands on Vi’s hip. He always seemed to be touching someone or something. A ball, a cushion, a girl’s hip.
I was sitting between Marissa and Noah on the couch, and Joanna was on the other side of Noah.
Joanna was a senior at Andersen. She was wearing vintage jeans and a lace shirt that you know she bought at an actual thrift store and not at Urban Outfitters like everyone else. Next year she was backpacking through Australia instead of going to college. She was also the only gay person I knew who had come out, and possibly the only gay person I knew, period. Last year she had brought her (now ex) girlfriend from Stamford to her junior prom. Joanna lived a few