Free How to Ruin a Summer Vacation (Ruined Series #1) by Simone Elkeles Page A

and Mitch lets out a long, satisfying sigh. I don't know if I should feel flattered he feels comfortable enough to pee while he's on the phone with me, or grossed out.
    "You done?" I ask after I hear a loud flush.
    "Yeah," he says. "I'm back in my room."
    "You didn't wash your hands."
    I mean, if I heard him pee and flush I would have definitely heard the sound of him washing his hands.
    "You just told me to hurry up. If I wash my hands I have to put the phone down. You wanna wait?"
    "I guess not. Just remember to wash them when you get off with me," I say. "And then disinfect the phone with antibacterial spray."
    "Leave it to you, Amy, to tell it like it is."
    Unfortunately, Snotty opens the front door and walks in the house with Ofra. Avi,
    Doo-Doo, and Moron follow them into the house. Great. Just my luck. Now I have a bigger audience to eavesdrop on my conversation with my boyfriend.
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    Out of the corner of my eye I catch Avi looking at me, his jaw tense. I haven't talked to him since he purposely didn't apologize for watching me undress. I think we've been avoiding each other, actually. Which is just fine with me.
    I turn my chair around so I'm facing the wall and say quietly into the phone, "You know what I like about you?"
    "Shit," Mitch says, "I just stubbed my toe on my skateboard."
    It's not the response I was aiming for.
    "You okay?" I ask, trying not to lose my patience.
    "I think I'm bleeding. Wait a minute."
    As I wonder how much a phone call costs per minute from Israel to the United States, I twirl the cord around my finger.
    It's hard while I'm waiting not to turn around to catch a glimpse of what the others are doing. They're talking loudly in Hebrew.
    I can't stand it anymore. I take a glimpse at Avi. He's wearing a black T-shirt with some Hebrew lettering on it and faded jeans ripped in both knees. He's also wearing a silver-linked chain around his wrist.
    Now, I've seen boys wear jewelry before and haven't thought it enhances masculinity in the least. But Avi wears the bracelet like it's a manly accessory. He makes the other guys look dorky for not having a silver link chain bracelet on their wrists.
    When my gaze travels up, I feel like a Peeping Tom when I realize he's caught me checking him out. Lifting the bracelet hand, he gives me a mock salute.
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    I can feel my face turn red and my blood starts to pound loudly in my head. He's seen me check him out. I want to die now, especially when he then walks up to Snotty and grabs her hand. That hand holding Snotty's is the same one that held my snake-guts-covered foot two weeks ago.
    "Okay, I'm back," Mitch says. "No blood, but it still hurts like a bitch."
    I forgot I was even on hold and, to be honest, wasn't paying attention to what Mitch just said. Turning back around, I giggle softly into the phone. Avi is trying to concentrate on Snotty, but I know for a fact he's listening to my end of the conversation.
    "What's so funny?" Mitch asks. "I'm hurting here and all you can do is laugh?"
    Have you ever tried to make other people think you're having a good time when you're not? What sucks is when the person you're with doesn't get it. They need to play along, but you can't tell them for fear of being discovered. Play along with me, Mitch.
    "I can't wait to go camping with you," I say.
    Let Snotty and all of them realize I have someone back home waiting for me. For some reason I'll feel like less of a loser here for hanging out by myself every day.
    "What's wrong with you?" he says. "You hate camping."
    "Of course I do," I say, then giggle again.
    Giggling doesn't come naturally to me, but I do a pretty good job of making it sound authentic. I think.
    Although my boyfriend now thinks I'm a freakoid.
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    "What about our tickets to the BoDeans concert at Ravinia for next weekend?" he says. "I spent fourteen bucks on those tickets, along with the extra thirty I spent on the Renaissance Faire tickets. You said you'd go with me."
    Thankfully, the group heads