Fifteen Lanes Read Online Free PDF Page A

Tina left, the only people I’d gone to movies with were my parents. Even Kyle never wanted to go with just me, and I refused to go with his gang of boisterous friends. I’d had some hope at first that Madison’s group might invite me some weekend—they often talked about going to movies right in front of me—but the invitation never came. After today, it wasn’t likely it ever would.
    Was I doomed to spend the rest of my high school years with no one to hang out with but my parents? Was Todd offering me an alternative? If so, it couldn’t have come at a better time. As bad as I’d felt when Tina left, today had been a new low. It was one thing to miss my best friend but quite another to feel like a social pariah.
    I wasn’t sure if I wanted to date Todd. The fact that Madison was under the impression they were starting something gave me serious qualms. I had no desire for revenge. Quite thecontrary, I still clung to the faintest hope we could somehow make up. At the same time, she couldn’t have been clearer that she had no interest in being friends. And Todd did. Maybe I didn’t have to spend the year lonely and bored.
    I needed to clear up a few things though.
    R u goin out with anoosha?
    No! Not since last year. Why, do u want to go out with me?
    R u asking?
    I looked at the screen. I wasn’t really going to send that, was I? Of course I only meant it as a joke. I added a happy face.
    R u asking? I typed
    It still looked like an invitation. From a desperate girl. Who had no friends. I deleted it.
    Maybe to a movie sometime …  I hit send.
    U dont like me?
    Didnt u just ask Madison out?
    Madison who??
    Ha! After the grief she’d put me through, he didn’t even know who she was! My phone tweeted again.
    So u dont like me?
    Surely a guy like Todd wasn’t really worried that an average-looking, morbidly shy girl wouldn’t like him. He had to be fishing for compliments, not reassurance. Despite that, his question stirred something in me. What if he wasn’t as confident as he pretended? I’d seen Kyle fake it enough times to know that some guys were good at hiding their insecurities.
    It was a relief that Madison’s relationship with him was all in her head. That didn’t stop me from feeling guilty though. Obviously she had a crush on him. But I couldn’t help feeling a glimmer of satisfaction that the very guy Kelsey said wouldnever be interested in me was the guy who was. The symmetry of it was almost poetic. And wildly coincidental. Unfortunately, the wildly coincidental aspect didn’t occur to me until later.
    I do like u. I typed it and hit send before I could change my mind. I gave a little squeal at my own boldness. Bosco pricked an ear and woofed.
    “I don’t really know if I like him,” I confided to Bosco, “but I think I could. He’s really cute, and Kyle said I need to take more risks.”
    U don’t really like me. u r just sayin that
    I shot Bosco a guilty look. Bosco flipped onto his back for a belly rub. I laid the phone on the bed so I could text and rub at the same time.
    Im not. I don’t know u vry well but I want to get to no u. I lik what I do no of u
    U don’t
    I DO!!!
    How can I believ u when it took u so long to say it?
    I’m shy
    2 shy 2 kiss me?
    Bosco pawed the hand that had frozen on his stomach. My own stomach was doing somersaults. I’d never kissed a boy in my life. Even the idea made my whole body feel tingly. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant either.
    “I think this is it, Bosco. I think this is the opportunity Kyle was talking about. My life will never get better if I don’t change. I need to take risks.”
    I could feel the sweat beading on my forehead and collecting under my arms. If Todd had seen me just then, kissing me would have been the last thing on his mind.
    “What should I do, Bosco?” He’d rolled over again and was watching me intently. “I have to go for it, don’t you agree? Maybe Madison will understand.