Read The Sweetness of Salt for Free Online Page A

not just left a train wreck behind me. Milo nodded at me. He looked weirdly handsome in a white button-down shirt and pair of green swim trunks dotted with red lobsters. Only someone like Milo could pull off an outfit like that. He’d slicked his hair back too, and I could make out the faint scent of soap as he leaned his arms over the top of his seat.
    “You guys ready to party?” Zoe had done her eyes up in some kind of glittery purple eyeliner. Her own outfit was a study in dichotomy: black leggings paired with a hip-length T-shirt that said I LIKE CATS; I JUST CAN’T EAT A WHOLE ONE BY MYSELF , and a bright red pair of cowboy boots.
    “Chill, rock star,” Milo said. “And keep your hands on the wheel.”
    “Oh, you’re such a fart,” Zoe said. “Relax.”
    “I’ll relax when you get us there without getting into an accident.”
    Milo turned and looked out the window. He stayed that way too, as Zoe yammered on about the party, not so much as even turning his head in my direction for the entire trip. It was as if the whole conversation we’d had after graduation had never even happened.
    Like we were strangers all over again.

    Melissa’s backyard looked like something out of MTV’s Spring Break. Dark purple material had been draped canopy style over the pool umbrellas, while disco balls, spinning tiny coins of light, swayed lightly underneath. A rap album blared from the outdoor speakers, and tiki torches, standing well over seven feet, blazed against the lengthening shadows. Then there was the food. Aside from the usual pretzels and chips, there were two tables filled with platters of triangular pita toasts, seeded crackers, bowls of strangely hued dip, and small phyllo-dough pockets. Whole sides of ribs were buried deep inside a charcoal pit across the yard, and pieces of chicken sputtered and sizzled on a large silver grill on the patio.
    Off to the right was a kidney-shaped pool, complete with a diving board and circular steps. It was filled to capacity with students from Silver Springs High, including Melissa, who was sitting like a queen on the top step, surveying her subjects, and Cheryl, who was sitting in a lawn chair next to a few other girls.
    “You guys coming in?” Milo asked, pausing at the front gate as Zoe and I peered out from behind him. “Or are you just going to watch everything from back there?”
    “Of course we’re coming in!” Zoe stepped forward, pushing her brother out of the way, and made her way over to the food table. Milo cleared his throat loudly as Melissa came toward us. She had tied a sarong around her hips, and she was spilling out of her bikini top. Behind her, I could make out the slightest tilt of Cheryl’s head as she watched us from her chair.
    “Hey, guys!” Melissa draped a hand casually on Milo’s shoulder. Her eyes took in every inch of Zoe’s appearance in the span of three disgusted seconds. “I’m so glad you could make it! Did you just get here?”
    “Just now.” Milo shoved his hands in his pockets, rose up on his toes. “Wow, Melissa. Your place is great.”
    “Thanks!” Melissa still hadn’t moved her hand from his shoulder. “Did you get anything to eat yet?”
    “We were just admiring all the options,” Zoe said, waving a hand at the phyllo-dough pockets. “There’s a lot of stuff here.”
    Melissa rolled her eyes. “God, that is so all my mother. She belongs to some culinary group down at the country club, so of course she decided to try out all her freaky recipes for my party.” She tossed her head. “Whatever. I mean, just eat what you want. There’s chips and stuff too. You know, real food.” She squeezed Milo’s shoulder, looking at him slyly. “How about drinks? Did you get something to drink?”
    “A drink would be great,” Milo said.
    Melissa bumped him with her hip. “There’s soda in the silver buckets over there, or we have punch in the pool house.” She used her fingers to make air quotes around the word