Free Waking Up to Boys by Hailey Abbott Page A

do something stupid.”
    “What?” Chelsea demanded. Was he referring to the pool party? Couldn’t he just let her have a good time like everyone else?
    “I mean—that,” he answered, pointing at her knee.She looked down to where a blob of ketchup had dripped from her burger and landed on the corner of her skirt. Sara’s skirt. Crap.
    “Good luck with that, Little M,” Todd chuckled, turning toward the tables.
    Chelsea quickly rotated the skirt so the stain was hidden on the back, and hurried to catch up with him.
    “Chelsea, Todd, hey!” A happy chorus went up when they arrived at the picnic table and sat down. Sebastian hadn’t shown up yet, and she briefly wondered where he was. As Chelsea bit into her burger, the staffers began to talk excitedly about the gorgeous weather, the myriad of tourists, and of course, the secret pool party.
    “What do you think, Chels, do you want to bring CDs or just trust Leo’s iPod?” Sienna asked.
    “Hey, what’s wrong with my iPod?” Leo demanded.
    “Oh, I dunno, it’s probably all emo,” Sienna joked.
    Leo pretended to be insulted. “Uhm, hello… and Primus. ”
    Chelsea tuned out as they bantered back and forth. Despite Todd’s teasing her, the feeling she’d gotten earlier that day of being truly included for the first time ever had come back, and she let herself soak in it like a nice, warm bath. It felt so good to belong.
    “I’m going to go get some dessert.” She started toward the buffet table and piled her plate with strawberry cheesecake. As she was headed back toward thestaff table, she heard her mother’s voice and turned her head to see her sitting on a picnic blanket, head-to-head with Sara. Chelsea was closer to her dad than her mom, but it still bothered her to see her mom and Sara getting along so well and having so much fun together—almost as if they were friends instead of daughter and stepmom. Wasn’t it obvious how Sara was just trying to worm her way into their family?
    “Boo!” Sebastian slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Sorry it took me so long to get here—had to finish a long lesson. The fireworks are starting soon. Want to watch with me?”
    “Okay,” Chelsea agreed. She was sorry that she couldn’t go back and hang out with Todd and the others, but it made her feel guilty. Sebastian was so sweet and earnest standing there. And he looked at her with such desire that Chelsea couldn’t help but hope that they would end up someplace secluded. Sebastian led her to a blanket far down on the sandy beach of the lakeshore. Although several other groups had the same idea and the beach was littered with blankets, it seemed more peaceful there, and Sebastian felt warm and solid as they sat side by side, their arms and legs touching. Chelsea grabbed a huge piece of the luscious cheesecake with her fork and fed it to Sebastian.
    “Mmm…,” Sebastian murmured. “This is amazing. You know, this is my first Fourth of July in America.”
    “Well, you picked a really good one,” Chelsea said. “The weather’s perfect.” Sebastian took the fork from her hand and began maneuvering a piece of cake toward her mouth. Chelsea leaned forward to catch it—she didn’t want to risk another spill.
    “Not just the weather,” Sebastian said as the first firework whizzed high into the sky and burst into a shower of pyrotechnic white rain above their heads.
    “Ooooooh,” said the crowd. “Aaaaaaaah.”
    “Not just the weather?” Chelsea probed, picking a strawberry off the top of the cake and slipping it between Sebastian’s lips. A little juice slipped out of the corner of his mouth, and she reached up to wipe it away with her finger.
    “Yeah.” Sebastian caught her hand, and with his other, he moved the plate of cheesecake away from them and onto the blanket. “It’s everything: the fireworks, all of the people, the lake…you.”
    Chelsea was sure the rush of uncertainty she felt was just because she wasn’t used to being