Get-Together Summer Read Online Free PDF Page A

in a line, with Haley
leading the way and Simon in the middle. He walked just a half-step
too close behind her, crowding into the narrow aisle after her and
taking the immediate seat next to hers. For a moment he thought
Dirk might squeeze past them both, to sit on Haley's other side,
but instead he sat, half-dropping into the seat next to Simon's and
bending his knees up, resting his feet on the chair in front of
his. Commercials were still playing, occasionally flashing to
screens of stupid trivia questions, which Dirk answered under his
breath, in between the handfuls of popcorn he took from the box in
Simon's lap.
    When the lights finally began to dim Simon glanced to
his left, where Haley was settled comfortably, her hands folded in
her lap. He glanced to the right, and Dirk still had his feet on
the empty seat before him. Both of them were watching the screen,
so he sank a little lower in his seat, eating popcorn a single
piece at a time.
    The movie began with a monologue over a sweeping
panoramic scenery shot. Somewhere around the appearance of the
title screen, Simon felt something brush the back of his head. He
peeked and saw Dirk's arm stretched up and over the back of his
seat; when he looked the other way, he saw Dirk's fingertips
brushing Haley's shoulder -- she had shifted to lean a little
closer, though her eyes were still focused on the screen.
    Something about it, how utterly and artlessly casual
it was, made Simon's throat lock up again; it reminded him too much
of earlier that morning, sitting alone in his shower. He could feel
himself being slowly squeezed out, even though he was in the middle
of the two of them, and that nagged and ached like a sore tooth. He
scowled down at the mound of popcorn. In the middle of his sulk, in
the lull as the movie began properly, he heard Dirk shift, and from
the corner of one eye he watched Dirk shift in his seat, leaning
closer, so he could grab popcorn with his free hand.
    As he did, Simon shifted to bump his knee against
Dirk's. It was a small gesture, one that could be easily mistaken
as adjusting his own weight in his seat. Watching Dirk's face
sidelong, he didn't even see recognition of the contact
register.
    It was annoying. It nagged worse now, an unreachable
itch. Simon sank just a little lower in his chair, but didn't move
just yet. He kept his eyes on the screen, watching as the
generically handsome lead swung his way through the plans for some
heist or other -- Simon would be the first to admit he wasn't
paying attention -- counting the seconds until an opportunity
presented itself.
    As the lead actress made her first
appearance onscreen, Dirk reached to grab more popcorn. Simon moved
at the same time, bumping their legs together again and reaching
into the box as well, so that their knuckles touched. He saw Dirk
blink and glance at him, but he kept his own expression neutral,
pretending to be engrossed with the action on the screen. (If you
could even call it that. For a movie that was supposed to be action , there was an
awful lot of talking about things Simon had lost track of long
ago.)
    Somewhere during the next couple of scenes, as the
two leads met at a fancy dinner party and flirted with each other,
Simon felt something brushing the back of his neck again. He
glanced at Haley and saw that Dirk's hand was no longer touching
her, and his stomach did a nervous little flipflop. He'd never felt
Dirk's arm move away, either, which meant ...
    Something tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck.
Simon bit the inside of his cheek and deliberately pushed back
against the touch. The movement made his leg brush against Dirk's
again, more firmly than before, but he was focused on the fingers
against his neck. They were warmer than he expected, especially in
the chill of the theater, and he had to admit, on some small
embarrassed level, that it felt rather good. No one had ever
touched him like this, not even Haley, who was more given to
petting his hair when he