I woke up to chirping. Two small birds sat on the railing in front of me having a chat. Once that just-woke-up confusion wore off I remembered where I was. I remembered Stephen.
He wasn't on his balcony anymore. I grabbed my phone and saw that I had a few texts from him.
Stephen:
Did you fall asleep?
You're a terrible reading buddy
It's only been ten minutes
Did I really pass out that quickly? The last thing I remembered was Stephen talking about how weird it was reading kissing scenes written by his mom.
No. That was a lie. The last thing I remembered was imagining how it'd feel to kiss Stephen. Even then the thought made my whole body warm.
I continued going through messages he sent while I was asleep.
Stephen:
As much as I want to stay here and listen to you snore
I have to go have breakfast with my mom
We should do this again
Not you falling asleep on me
But the reading
I still need you to explain how Dion is a good guy
All he does is lie and tries to fight everyone
Okay
I'll stop texting now
It was 9:42 and the last message was from less than thirty minutes ago. I was grinning at my phone on my way to my room when I bumped into Mom heading down the stairs.
"Where have you been?" She asked, stopping on the top step. "I've been all around this house looking for you."
My first instinct was to lie. But I didn't need to, not really.
"I was reading on the balcony and fell asleep."
I hoped that was enough to fool the lie detector she claimed parents had when it came to their kids.
She accepted my answer, heading down the steps. "You need to get ready, we're checking out a venue with Shontell in a half an hour."
"But I thought-" I clamped my mouth shut, almost telling on myself. "Okay."
Back in my room I pulled open the door of the small walk-in closet. It was a mess of clothes I never bothered to put on the hangers, my suitcase splayed open on the floor. As I pondered my options I wondered if Stephen would be there.
Maybe I should wear something nice, I thought to myself as I went through my clothes. My mind went back to the party and the way the girls there dressed. Suddenly my brightly colored clothes with their fun prints looked like I raided a child's closet.
Whatever. I had half an hour to shower, get dressed and wrangle my hair into something presentable.
I grabbed a shirt with sunflowers all over it, some jeans, underwear and hopped in the shower.
Since I fell asleep outside without wrapping up my hair it was a wild mess. I forced it into two buns, my go to style for bad hair days, and ignored how much it aged me down to twelve.
"Waverly, we have to go!"
Stephen was joining us. So was the groom-to-be, Brad. We all climbed into Brad's SUV. Stephen sat in the back, mom and I in the second row, Brad and Shontell up front. Brad drove cautiously, like somebody's grandma.
Shontell was telling Mom about the banquet hall we were going to see in downtown L.A. when my phone buzzed in my hand with a text.
Stephen:
Can I ask you something
I resisted the urge to look back at him and replied.
Me:
Sure?
Stephen:
What's the tattoo on your back?
YOU ARE READING
Foolish Summer | ✔
Teen FictionWaverly Davidson would rather be lost in a book than helping her mom plan weddings all summer. Stephen Davis would cut off his right arm if it would get him away from his mom and future stepfather. When their paths cross at a festival there's an und...
