Read This Summer for Free Online Page A

the mirror every damn day.
    I massage my neck, a reminder of that night. “I think I have enough here to get me started.” I do a rough calculation on how much the food will cost. I hope I have enough.
    Hadley steers the cart to the front of the store. We get in the shortest line. Hadley leans forward, unloading the items closest to her. My gaze drops to the collar of her shirt.
    “Hey Hadley.” It’s the same girl from earlier that called out. She seems eager for Hadley’s attention but her eyes are on me.
    “Hi Beth.”
    I smirk. Hadley’s being polite but it’s obvious these girls aren’t good friends.
    “And you are?” She offers a hand to me.
    I shake her fingers in the way that girls seem to think a handshake is supposed to go. An older gentleman holding out money to Beth glares in her direction. “I’m Will.”
    “Hm,” Beth tilts her head. “You work fast.” She winks at Hadley. “So the rumors are true.”
    Hadley’s face pales. “Will’s my—we’re—”
    As much as I could watch her squirm all day, I jump in to save her. “We’re neighbors.”
    “Excuse me!” the man in Beth’s aisle grumbles.
    She rolls her eyes at me and turns around, taking the man’s money.
    Hadley shakes her head, stifling a smile.
    The young kid at the register checks Hadley out while swiping the barcodes of my groceries. She’s completely oblivious, as she always is. Hadley bags the supplies as they come down the counter and I pull out my wallet, watching the screen. Damn. I forgot how much of a difference the prices were up here. I won’t be able to come back until my first paycheck.
    Beth prattles on to Hadley about a graduation party she attended and Hadley appropriately replies, but I can tell she wants to get out of the situation. I pay the kid and he’s barely paying attention to anything but Hadley’s chest. When he hands back my change, I catch his eye, fixing him with a glare. He swipes his hand back and turns to the next customer, bright red blotches forming on his skin.
    I smirk.
    Hadley puts the last bag in the cart, but she’s looking at me with the strangest expression. I pocket the money and start forward.
    “Bye Hadley!” Beth calls. “Nice meeting you Will.”
    Hadley and I wave to the girl, then she takes off like a bat out of hell.
    When we get outside, her pace slows and I catch up to her. “I see you two are close?”
    She smiles. “Not quite. Just one of those high school friendships that are supposed to end at graduation. But she’s hanging on tight.”
    I know the feeling. She helps load the groceries into the bed of the truck and this time allows me to open the door for her.
    “See, it’s not that difficult,” I say.
    She sticks her tongue out as I close the door. I shove my hands into my pockets as I round the car to my side and get in.
    “You can listen to whatever you want,” I offer, indicating the radio.
    “Ever think of updating to this century?” she teases, pressing one of the pre-programmed buttons on the ancient tape deck.
    “I much prefer commercials and static.”
    She laughs and presses several more buttons until a country station plays. I reach out and touch her hand. She stiffens.
    “I like this song,” I say, rolling the volume knob up.
    “Me too,” she says.
    I raise an eyebrow. “You like country?”
    She touches the hem of her shorts. “Sure I do. Is that surprising?”
    “Nah. Just different.”
    “Different good?” she asks, smiling.
    I shrug, barely able to contain my grin.
    She chucks me in the arm. “Jerk.”
    I tap my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song and Hadley hums along with it. She wasn’t lying about liking it. After a few minutes the song ends and a commercial comes on. I lower the volume a few notches.
    Hadley whips around in her seat to face me. I glance at her as I turn the corner.
    “Can I say something?” she asks, her fingers tangled in her lap.
    “Yeah.”
    She pushes her hair across her shoulder