Free What a Boy Needs by Nyrae Dawn Page A

when she kicked me out , but the head and the heart? They don ' t always use the same frequency. I think mine has a particularly bad connection.
    There ' s a part of me that doesn ' t want to talk to her , or wants to think I don ' t. I ' m not sure which , but she told me to go and I went , ready to walk away , but , yeah , totally not as easy as I thought.
    A few more minutes pass as I wait for it to ring. I don ' t know why. It won ' t. Not unless it ' s Sebastian from the other room being lazy or his mom checking in. But for some stupid , lame , annoying reason I will it to ring. Just this once , wanting her to think of me the way Pris did with the Cherry Pepsi.
    It doesn ' t happen so I decide to stop moping and dial the damn phone. Mom picks up after the fourth ring.
    " Hello? "
    My first thought is she sounds the same , which is a stupid freaking thought because why would she sound different? It ' s not like I ' ve been away for years or something. " Hey , Mom. It ' s me , Jaden . "
    And the winner of the most idiotic sayings in a row goes to Jaden Sinclair. Of course me is Jaden. Who else would it be?
    " Jaden . Hi . How are you? "
    " I ' m cool. " I cross my legs. " Just thought , you know , you might want me to check in or something. Thought maybe you ' d wonder how far we got or want to make sure we ' re all safe . We are , if you ' re interested. " Heat simmers inside me. Why did I even call her? I should have known all it would do is make me mad.
    When she speaks , she has the nerve to sound offended. " Of course I ' m interested. You ' re my son , . "
    But I ' m not Mike ' s .
    Why the hell do I even care? I mean , it ' s not like I really do , but at least then I knew. Now? I don ' t know anything.
    " We ' re in Salt Lake. " I change the subject.
    " Good. That ' s good . Have you talked to your uncle? " Her voice is soft.
    " Yeah. I ' m supposed to call him when I figure out when I ' m flying in. Depends on when we get to New York. He ' ll pick me up at the airport and stuff. "
    Heat rolls through my body and I don’t want to tell her anything. Don’t want her to know who ' s picking me up or what I ' m doing because in my head , she doesn ' t deserve to know. Not after everything.
    But then, hiding inside me, there’s a guy who somehow found a damn flame-retardant suit that is soft and feels the need to tell her.
    " Good ... That ' s good. You ' ll be happy there. "
    Will I? I don ' t know. I could have been happy in New York. And maybe I can be happy in Texas. Or maybe I ' m fooling myself into thinking I ' ll be completely happy anywhere.
    I shake my head. Jesus , I hate all these thoughts. I feel like such whiner. " Okay . I guess , I better go . "
    " Okay . Bye . Thanks for calling ," Mom ' s voice bounces back at me.
    I open my mouth to say , bye , but instead something else comes out. " Are you ... Are you okay? " Not that she wouldn ' t be. Actually , things are probably better for her now. I ' m sure all Mike ever wanted was me gone anyway.
    Mom sounds perky when she says , " Of course , I am. Why wouldn ' t I be? "
    Exactly. Why wouldn ' t she be?
    I hang up the phone and , my mind goes back to the stupid piece of paper in my pocket , wondering what the person who lives at the address is like. Wondering , just maybe , if things were different , if they ' d be the type who would call me.

 
Chapter Eight
    We get up the next day and get ready for our rafting trip. I ' m totally looking forward to it , and not , at the same time. It ' s going to be fun , yeah , I know , but there ' s another little fact that keeps jumping around in my head.
    Priscilla in a bikini.
    She wore one last summer and I about died. I mean , sexy , right? I’m totally pumped to see one again because ... yeah , guys are visual creatures , remember? But this is going to be hard on me , too , seeing what I can ' t have. Hard isn ' t even the right word. Brutal. Killer. I ' m totally going to want to touch. Which I can ' t and