Read Last Summer for Free Online Page A

shops, and it was like a whole other layer of Pebble Beach goodness. Across this particular courtyard was one of the village’s ice-cream stores, and there was a big commotion outside at the plastic tables.
    Intrigued, Beth walked over, and eased her way into the middle of the crowd so she could see what was happening.
    Two guys sat at the table, bent over two huge platters of ice cream. Beth knew exactly what they were doing. Every summer, Benny’s Ice Cream offered a deal: If you could sit down and eat the entire platter of ice cream—which waslike Emack & Bolio’s Mack Attack and featured a scoop of every single flavor of ice cream in stock—it was free. But if you didn’t finish, you had to pay for the whole thing.
    Beth knew all about the contest because George had attempted—and failed—to get his free thirty-seven scoops of ice cream on several occasions.
    So really, she shouldn’t have been at all surprised when one of the guys lifted his head and she saw that it was her ex-boyfriend-ex-best-friend-ex-everything. She would have recognized George earlier if he hadn’t been wearing an out-of-character baseball cap that covered his unmistakably wild hair.
    “I am the man!” George shouted to the crowd all around, but mostly to the other guy, who Beth assumed was his friend Dean.
    “Ohhh,” Dean moaned. “I think I might hurl.”
    George had done it. He had actually cleared his plate. He had smears of chocolate and strawberry all over his shirt, but his platter was clean. Dean hadn’t fared nearly so well: At least ten scoops of ice cream remained, melting sullenly on the platter in front of him.
    “I told you not to eat that waffle for breakfast,” George told his friend. He whooped. “It’s all about pacing.”
    Beth felt a rush of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, she knew better than anyone how excited Georgeprobably was, because he’d been trying to achieve this goal for years. On the other hand, she sort of felt like she was spying on his life. A life she wasn’t a part of anymore.
    Beth tried to blend back into the little ring of observers, then started for the New Age shop’s back door—until she heard her name.
    She couldn’t exactly make a break for it without looking like an idiot, so she turned around instead.
    “Hey!” George looked thrilled. “Did you see what I did? I ate an entire Benny’s Big One! Finally!”
    “I know,” Beth said quietly. “Congratulations.” She felt like they were at graduation again.
    George rocked back on his heels, and tipped the brim of his cap up, so he could look Beth in the eye.
    “You weren’t running away in my moment of ice-cream glory, were you?” he asked. “Without even saying hello?” His tone was light, but Beth knew him too well. She could hear the hurt beneath.
    “I didn’t want to bother you,” she said, shrugging.
    George shook his head, but his eyes had that glint in them. “Come on,” he said. “You alone understand the torturous history of George and Benny’s Big One.”
    “That’s true,” Beth conceded, and found herself smiling a little bit. “I was there the first time you made the attempt, and bailed after a mere seven scoops.”
    “I was just a boy, Beth,” George said wistfully. “Just aboy who today became a man.” He nodded wisely, and rubbed a hand down along his belly, which had to be killing him. Beth couldn’t help laughing.
    “Manhood is thirty-seven scoops?” she asked. “Because I would have called that insanity.”
    “Manhood is knowing that thirty-seven scoops are insanity, and figuring out the best strategy for consuming them, anyway,” George told her, his eyes dancing with merriment.
    “My mistake,” Beth said with a sigh, which made him laugh.
    “Hey,” he said, suddenly serious. “We should hang out some time.”
    Beth felt her smile slip.
    “George…”
    “In a totally platonic way!” he shook his head at her. His eyes were clear and warm, but nothing more. “Not