Read Lovestruck Summer for Free Online Page A

“What’s up, Quinn?”she asks, feeding a strawberry to Miss Tiara, who sits on a barstool between us at the kitchen island. “Nothing,”I say, tucking my hair behind my ears. “What’d you do last night?”she asks.
    59 “I just went out with a friend from work,”I say. “We saw a show.”“Fun!”says Penny. “Yeah, it was cool,”I say. I don’t want to tell her about Sebastian, because I can’t pic- ture them getting along. If I admit it to myself, I think I’d be embarrassed to let him meet her, in all her sorority-sister glory. “Sorry I’ve been MIA all week,”says Penny. “Planning Rush is a huge task, and I’m also trying to get a head start on a venue for Tri-Pi’s fi rst formal of the year, the Sweet September Swingfest.”“It’s okay,”I say, cringing internally at the name of the dance. “I can entertain myself.”“I know,”says Penny. “But I just feel bad that you don’t have a car and—”Ding-dong. Penny jumps up to get the door as Miss Tiara starts barking haughtily. I race to head them off. “I’ll get it,”I say. Russ is standing outside in the sun with a huge grin on his face. His curls are completely unruly today, I notice. “Ready?”he asks. “Ready,”I say. “See you later, Penny.”
    60 Her mouth drops open, and so does Miss Tiara’s. “Russ is taking me to buy a car,”I explain. “I was just about to tell you. Bye!”I shut the door before Penny can say any- thing. It’s not a big deal. I really hate it when people act all like, Ooooh, about things. We’re not in fi rst grade. Outside, Russ opens up the passenger side door to a giant Ford truck that looks like it’s seen a few decades. “This one’s yours?”I ask. “You surprised?”asks Russ, taking my hand to help me step up into the cab. I swat him away. I can do this myself. “I’m actually not surprised,”I say. I should have known that this old rusty truck, among all the other normal cars in the lot, would belong to Russ. We drive through the main part of town by the Capitol building and then head out onto an empty stretch of road. I’m guessing they didn’t have AC in cars made in the 1950s or whenever this thing came from, so we have the windows rolled down, and the engine isn’t the quietest in the world. Despite all the noise and wind, the
    61 fi elds around us look peaceful and still, and I lean back in the seat and stare over the hori- zon. It might be one of the only times in my life when there isn’t music playing, but I feel per- fectly content. After a few minutes, Russ slows down in front of a giant old barn surrounded by broken- down-looking cars. I’m sad the drive is over, to be honest, and also that the wind is no longer keeping me cool. The heat feels like a hot blan- ket clinging tightly to my body. I step down onto a dusty driveway, and Russ puts two fi ngers in his mouth to whistle. It is loud. “That’s a skill I never learned,”I say to him. “It’s handy,”he says, smiling down at me. “Here comes Albie.”“Y’all want a piña colada?”shouts the old man walking up to us. He’s wearing faded blue overalls and a T-shirt that may at one point have been white but is now covered in dust and rust. I’m into his look. “Nah,”says Russ, though a frosty drink sounds kind of good to me. “We’re trying to fi nd Quinn here a car.”
    62 I look at Russ sideways. Did he just call me Quinn? He winks. “Hello, Quinn,”says Albie, holding out his hand. “Hey there,”I say, reaching out to shake. “Come sit,”he says. Russ and I follow him to a circle of tree stumps behind the barn, where we each take a seat. I look at Russ like, What’s going on? But he just smiles and nods, like this is all part of the process with Albie. “So, Quinn, tell me about yourself,”says Albie. I’m not sure what to say, so I start with something easy. “I’m really into music,”I say. “I came down here from North Carolina to intern at Amalgam Records and I love it so