Winter Untold (Summer Unplugged) by Amy Sparling Read Free Book Online Page B

pretty happy.”
    “I am,” I say with a roll of my eyes. “I’m excited. I can’t believe you’re trusting me to drive your truck.”
    His eyebrows narrow. “Well… I trusted you until you said that…”
    I give him a playful slap and then immediately regret it because he pins me to the bed and tickles my ribcage in the exactly the most ticklish spot. I lash out in laughter, unable to stop the giggles and squirming. I hate him so much some times. But in the best possible way.
     
    The long, romantic goodbye I had pictured on our drive up to the airport is ruined the moment Jace and I walk into the terminal. Two women who might be old enough to be his mother come rushing up to him with the typical star-struck face I’ve come to recognize lately.
    Jace slowly lets my hand fall from his as he goes in to return the hug the first woman throws at him without even asking. Talk about an invasion of his personal space. Plus her perfume smells like she went to a cheap perfume kiosk and sampled every bottle.
    I stand idly by, hands clasped together in front of my body, waiting for my boyfriend to finish small talking with these women. He autographs things for them—an iPod case and a dirt bike magazine—and takes a dozen pictures because the second woman keeps looking at each one and determining that it’s not good enough for Facebook, so can he please pose with her again? Ugh.
    Ugh, ugh, ugh. So much ugh. I hate people who love my boyfriend.
    When they finally leave, Jace pulls me close to him and sways gently as we stand at the furthest part that I’m allowed to walk without having a plane ticket myself. I press close against his chest, closing my eyes to block out everything else. I smell him and feel him and listen to his heartbeat which is much faster than usual. I hate these goodbyes. The ones that feel like it will take an eternity to see him again.
    I don’t pull away until Jace reaches into his pocket and pulls out his truck keys. “Here ya go. Take care of her . I left a credit card in the glove box if you need gas money,” he says. “Or, you know… pizza money.”
    I smile, feeling entirely more important than I am, and take the keys. I may be losing Jace for a week, but at least I get a piece of him to take home with me. Or, a piece of him that will take me home, rather.

Chapter 9
    I get home around midnight, the same time Jace’s plane is probably leaving. It takes a lot of effort to climb out of his truck and go inside, but it’s not because I’m tired. This truck smells like him. That’s why I don’t want to leave it. In fact, I don’t even want to sit in the driver’s seat out of fear that my shampoo or laundry detergent will rub off and wear away his scent. But then I realize that a normal, sane person would not be thinking these things, so I suck it up and pull myself out of his truck, determined not to be as crazy as I want to be.
    The moment my head hits my pillow, a red laser beam dashes across my ceiling. I crawl out of bed and walk over to my window, kneeling to the floor. I push open the glass and lift an eyebrow at Chase, who is also sitting near his window. “What could you possibly want at midnight on a school night?” I ask.
    “Sorry. I saw your light on just a minute ago when I couldn’t sleep. Figured you couldn’t sleep, too.”
    “I just got home, actually.” I yawn, despite myself.
    Chase looks like he hasn’t slept in a while. His white undershirt glows in the light of the moon. He rubs the back of his neck. “I just wanted to say that I didn’t know you had a boyfriend until today. So I’d like to apologize for how I’ve acted around you. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have… well you know.”
    “No, I don’t know,” I say, leaning forward. “It’s fine, Chase, you haven’t done anything wrong.”
    “I know I came on to you at that party. I don’t remember doing it, but I know I did. I had a huge crush on you and I started drinking so I’d get the