All the Way Read Online Free PDF Page A

striper.”
    â€œSeriously?” I figured he was making half this stuff up.
    â€œSwear to God.”
    I giggled and looked up at him. “Is there anyone here who meets your demanding standards?” I asked.
    â€œI’m looking at her,” he said, giving me the dimple grin.
    The line at the concession stand was so long, we finally gave up and went back to our seats empty-handed, which meant that by the time the game was over, I was starved.
    I figured Joey would say something about going to Alforno’s for pizza—it was a Norton ritual to go to Alforno’s after practically every sports event—but he didn’t mention it. He just walked me to his car in silence, opened the door, and popped in a CD mix of old metal rock.
    â€œYou want the top down?” he asked, only half seriously. It was early April, still not exactly convertible weather in Ohio.
    â€œNot really, although the stars are great tonight,” I said, bending my neck to look out the windshield and up at the sky.
    Joey nodded. “I know a great place to see stars,” he said, pulling out of the parking lot.
    Uh-huh.
    Honestly, I probably knew right then what he had in mind, but I guess I didn’t want to spoil my first real date all year. Besides, I wasn’t opposed to the idea of parking and letting him kiss me, maybe make out with him for a little while. And I was kind of curious: Where did kids from Norton go to park and make out, anyway?
    Answer: the lake. There was a deserted parking lot on the far side of town, on the banks of the lake, with weeping willow trees hanging down, drooping their branches into the water. When we pulled up, the moon was in just the right spot to make a perfect crescent reflection, sparkling in the starlight.
    Joey flipped off the CD and tuned in K-Rock on the radio. They were playing a new single by Jack Johnson. Very mellow and romantic.
    â€œCome here,” he said, jerking his head like he wanted me to come over and rest mine on his shoulder.
    I looked down at the gearshift and hand brake sticking up between us.
    â€œUmmm . . .” I shrugged. “Like, how?”
    â€œYou want to get in the backseat?” he asked. “I could put the top down. It’s not that cold tonight—we could snuggle under the blanket.”
    I cocked my head to the side and gave him a skeptical stare. “I don’t think so.”
    â€œOh, come on,” Joey said, really offhand and casual. “We don’t have to do anything. Just look at the stars. Okay?”
    He saw a little look of indecision creep across my face and took that for a yes. Before I knew it, he had unlatched the canvas top, pressed a button, and the roof was peeling back to reveal the starry sky.
    â€œOkay,” I said, shivering slightly now that the top was down. “Where’s that blanket, anyway?”
    I climbed into the backseat while Joey fished a red wool Ohio State University lap robe out of his trunk.
    Then he slid over the edge of the car and into the backseat beside me.
    Let me tell you: the backseats of Mustangs are small. Tiny. Minuscule.
    I leaned against him to get warm, and he spread the blanket across us. In a few minutes I wasn’t shivering anymore.
    â€œThere’s Orion,” I said, looking up at the stars and seeing the diagonal three-star formation that represented the belt in a constellation that was supposed to be a hunter. Like you could ever see the whole thing—but I knew what it was called, because my dad used to show me this stuff when I was little.
    â€œThere’s Carmen,” Joey said, not even looking at the sky, just turning my face up to his with one hand on my chin.
    Then he kissed me—a really soft, slow, polite kiss. No tongue. Just his soft, wet lips gently pressing against mine. The Beatles were singing “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Joey reached under the blanket and covered my hand with his.
    The kiss was