Truth or Dare by Barbara Dee Read Free Book Online Page A

Winnie asked sweetly.
    â€œNo, I’m good,” I said, giving up.
    â€œYou know, niecelet, Winnie’s a bra expert,” Aunt Shelby said. “Women come from up and down the coast for her expertise.”
    â€œOh, Shelby,” Winnie said. “ You’re the one they come to see!”
    â€œWell, sometimes.”
    â€œAlways! You’re the expert! Lia, did you realize your aunt was a famous women’s health guru?”
    I grabbed another bra, a blue one. This one was considerate enough to attach in the front, but the straps were so loose they were flopping off my shoulders. There had to be a way to make them tighter, right? I tugged and tugged, but I couldn’t figure it out. Why was this bra stuff so ridiculously complicated? And what is the point of wearing training bras if they don’t train you how put these stupid things on?
    â€œHow’s it going in there?” Aunt Shelby called.
    â€œGreat,” I said.
    â€œWant any help?”
    â€œNo!”
    â€œOkay, chickpea, so we’re waiting for the fashion show,” Winnie said.
    What? No way! I threw on my T-shirt, grabbed the five finalists, and yanked open the curtain. “Sorry, but I’ve already decided on these. If it’s okay to get five.”
    Aunt Shelby beamed at me. “Of course it’s okay!”
    â€œAnd at forty percent off, they’re a steal,” Winnie told my aunt.
    I watched my aunt take out her purse and pay, even though I knew I’d never wear any of them, just stuff them into a drawer or something. And not only because theywere impossible to put on, but on principle—the principle being, You should be honest with your niece and not trick her into buying personal stuff she didn’t need and didn’t want.
    Also, you shouldn’t embarrass her in front of strangers and their schnauzers.
    Also, you shouldn’t promise her blueberry pancakes and totally forget about them after shopping.

Something to Talk About

    THE SECOND THING THAT HAPPENED was: one rainy afternoon, Demon Spawn showed up at the beach house with a bloody gash on her cheek. She was still not quite used to me, so to clean her face, I basically had to trap her in the corner of the kitchen and fling some cold water at her while she hissed at me. Aunt Shelby had taken her cell phone with her to the shop, which meant I didn’t have any way to call her. So finally I grabbed my raincoat and hurried over to Herb ’n’ Renewal.
    When I got there, Aunt Shelby was leaning on hercounter, drinking tea with a customer in a blue hoodie. A youngish, red-haired woman who smiled at me as she looked up from her mug. My insides dropped when I realized it was Yazmin, the person who’d been asking those nosy questions on the beach.
    â€œYou know each other?” I squeaked, dripping rain on Aunt Shelby’s clean white floor.
    Yazmin glanced at my aunt, whose smile was too wide.
    I waited for an answer.
    â€œIt’s a very small town,” Aunt Shelby finally said, with just a little bit too much cheeriness.
    Yazmin zipped up her hoodie. “Well, you guys, gotta run, so . . . ,” she said. “Nice to see you again, Lia.”
    I watched her flee the store. Then I turned to Aunt Shelby.
    â€œTo what do I owe the honor of your presence?” she asked, pretending to clean the counter with a sponge.
    â€œDemon Spawn was in a catfight, probably,” I said. “You should take her to the vet. Can I ask you a question?”
    â€œSure.” She didn’t look at me.
    â€œHas that woman—Yazmin, if that’s her real name—been spying on me? At the beach?”
    Aunt Shelby continued the pretend cleaning. “Why do you think that?”
    â€œBecause I see her all the time. She’s been asking me allthese questions. She never seems to have anything else to do. And she said she was studying marine biology, but she never talks about it.