Flat-Out Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

lacking, but he was probably just shy around new people…
    Look, everyone has a few psychological idiosyncrasies, right?
Julie reasoned. She probably had a few, and this was Celeste’s. Hell, there were worse things than this. Maybe not more bizarre, but there were worse. Probably.
    “Julie, guess where Finn is right now?” Celeste asked excitedly.
    “Antarctica?”
    “No.”
    “Syria? Mongolia? New Zealand? Tallahassee? No? Must be Boise then.”
    “There are no game reserves in Boise. At least, not that I know of. He is in South Africa. The Eastern Cape, right by the Indian Ocean. He sent me pictures of antelopes yesterday and said that next time he will send a picture of a serval. It looks much like a regular cat, but it is not.”
    “Very cool,” Julie agreed. “How long is he gone for?”
    “That is unclear,” Celeste said. “He has been going all over the world for months now, and he still has a long list of places he wants to see. He finds jobs and charity work wherever he goes, so he is
not
just some spoiled brat on a permanent vacation. He might even climb Kilimanjaro.”
    “That sounds terrifying,” Erin said. “I’m not one for heights myself, but Finn is certainly qualified. He climbed Denali and Rainier.”
    “Really?” Julie said. “That’s impressive.”
    Matt coughed and made a show of reaching across the table for another carton of food.
    “He did. I will show you those pictures later too,” Celeste said.
    Erin smiled. “Finn is our adventurous child. When he was eight years old, I came home from work one day to find him at the top of the telephone pole outside our house. The babysitter was talking on the phone and failed to notice that her charge had scaled up forty feet. I fired her, obviously, and when I asked Finn what had possessed him to do that, he told me that he’d been hoping to see into Ellie Livingston’s bedroom window.”
    “Trying to peek at a girl in his class?” Julie guessed.
    Erin laughed. “Her mother, actually. Mrs. Livingston heard about this and was flattered. She sent a tray of cookies over with a thank-you note. Finn was such an interesting child.” Erin dabbed her mouth with her napkin, her fingers clenched tightly around the cloth, and stood up. “I hate to run, but I really should get going.”
    “I’ll walk with you,” Roger said. “It’s a beautiful night. I should be done around eleven. Will you be ready then?”
    “Perfect. Julie, you’re welcome to use the car tomorrow to look at apartments. The keys are hanging in the kitchen. We both leave early for work, so we’ll see you at dinner? And I’d love to hear more about how your mother is.” Erin pushed her chair in. “OK, good night, everyone.”
    Erin and Roger vanished faster than you could say
Type A personality
, leaving Julie and Matt alone with Celeste and Flat Finn.
    Matt backed his chair up and looked wryly at Julie. “Interesting enough for you?”

CHAPTER 4
    Julie studied Celeste’s face, watching her peruse the Whitney course catalog. They’d been on the couch together for the past half hour, weighing the pros and cons of the classes that Julie had to choose from. It was odd the way this thirteen-year-old was glued to the course listings. But the truth was that she’d been surprisingly helpful in figuring out a schedule. Julie was even starting to get used to her rather formal style of speech.
    The house was chilly now, with the central air on full blast, and Celeste pulled a light blanket over her lap. Julie adjusted her computer, which sat on her lap, and rested her fingers on the keys. She peered at Celeste’s scrawling in the book. “So which English class am I taking? The eight thirty one?”
    “No. English is at ten on Tuesday and Thursday, and Introduction to Psychology is at noon Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Write down these course numbers.” Celeste pointed to the page and waited as Julie typed. “See, you have to be totally prepared on Friday morning, or