Free Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton Page A

fun of it.”
    “So you do hate books,” I joked.
    “No, I don’t!” Josh said. “There are a lot—well, some—that I think are amazing.”
    He dropped Coconut Dreams onto the desk and grabbed another book off it. It had the same cover as the book on Josh’s in-progress poster. It was called Photo Negative .
    “ This one is amazing,” Josh said, showing me the new book. “You haven’t read it because it’s not out yet. But when it does come out, you’ve got to get it.”
    “And the writer’s coming here?” I said, nodding at his poster.
    “Yeah,” he said, clutching the book a little more tightly. “He is.”
    He looked so cutely vulnerable that I smiled. I couldn’t help it. It was like I had no control over my face.
    Josh smiled too—tentatively, like he’d dodged a bullet. He glanced back at his desk and seemed about to say something, when I felt Abbie tap-tap-tap my shoulder. I jumped.
    “Hey,” I said, turning to give her an irritated look. Hannah was behind her, looking amused.
    Abbie whispered gleefully, “I’ve got good news and bad news.”
    She pulled me over to a display case that blocked our view of the J-boy in the lounge. It was also conveniently out of earshot of Josh.
    “The bad news is,” Abbie breathed, “I still don’t know his name.”
    I looked over at Josh. His smile had faded, but it hadn’t completely disappeared. He turned back to the desk.
    I turned back to Abbie. She was so giddy with her impending good news that she didn’t even seem to notice me making eye contact with Josh.
    It probably doesn’t occur to her that I could have a J-boy of my own, I thought ruefully.
    “The good news is,” Abbie said, “he’s invited us to a party on Sunday. It’s called a lantern party. I guess they do it every summer on the last day of June.”
    “That’s weird,” I said. “Why that day?”
    “Oh, I don’t know,” Abbie said, waving her hand dismissively. “He explained it, but I didn’t get the whole story. It’s some small-town private joke.”
    “Huh,” I said. I shot Hannah a dubious looks. “So he invited all of us?”
    “Yeah, essentially,” Hannah said. “I bet Liam will be there.”
    “Oh, great,” I said. “So you can both go off with your boys and leave me with a bunch of strangers.”
    “A bunch of potential ,” Abbie declared. “We’re going to be here the rest of the summer. Don’t you want to make some friends? Don’t tell me you want to stay home with Mom and Dad every night.”
    I glanced over my shoulder at Josh. He was sitting back at his desk, scribbling intensely on his poster.
    I crossed my arms over my chest and faced my sisters again.
    “What’s a lantern party?” I asked.
    “It’s at the big dock at the marina,” Abbie said with a shrug. “I assume they’re lighting it all up with lanterns. You’ll love it.”
    I cocked my head.
    “I might like it,” I said slowly.
    “She’s in!” Abbie blurted. She thrust her hand toward Hannah, and Hannah high-fived her. Abbie started for the door. Perfect. If she and Hannah went outside, I could finish talking to Josh.
    “Oh, no!” Abbie said. She pointed at the Pop Guy’s stand across the street. He was pulling down his giant umbrella, which meant he was closing up shop. “We’ve gotta catch him!”
    She trotted to the door, then looked back and gestured wildly at us.
    “Come on ,” she said. “It’s so hot out, if I don’t get something cold in me, I’ll pass out.”
    “Okay, okay!” Hannah said with a laugh. She headed for the door.
    “I’m going to . . . ,” I began.
    Hannah turned and looked at me impatiently.
    “What?” she said. “Aren’t you coming?”
    I glanced again at Josh. His head was still down and he was frowning in concentration. Clearly he was back in work mode. I shrugged unhappily and headed for the door. Before I let it close behind me, I snuck a last peek over my shoulder—and saw Josh peeking around the book stacks at me! My