My Fake Summer Boyfriend Read Online Free PDF Page A

can have some free time. What do you say?"
    "Well ...," I said hesitantly. I could always use the money and, since I wasn't sixteen yet, my prospects for finding anything better weren't very good. Also, I'd be working the same hours as Alex and have the same hours free. That would be convenient. I put up with Jason all year long, anyway. Why not get paid for it? "I'll take the job," I said finally. I liked the sound of the word "job." It sounded more important than "babysitting," which was not my favorite occupation.
    "Oh, good!" Mrs. Stedman exclaimed.
    "You will?" Mom sounded as though she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. She knew, of course, that I didn't care much for babysitting, that I thought children—especially Jason—were essentially boring and useless.
    "I can start tomorrow," I volunteered. "I 'll pick up Hailey at 8:50." I figured that was about when Alex would leave for work.
    "We can drop her off," Mrs. Stedman said.
    "I don 't mind," I said. "It will give you more time for golf or whatever you plan to do." I wouldn't have an excuse to see Alex if they dropped off Hailey!
    "Fine," said Mrs. Stedman. She looked at her watch. "See you tomorrow morning. It 's late. We'd better be getting back to our cottage. Come on, everyone. We can't stay all night."
    As Mr. Stedman and Hailey said their good-byes and thank-yous, Alex drew me outside. He took my hand and led me back down by the water. He slipped his arms around my waist.
    I looked up at him. There wasn 't enough moonlight to see the expression on his face.
    "Wh-what are you doing?" I asked nervously.
    "There are six people who are closely related to us standing just a few yards away. At least one of them is bound to be watching us. If you're supposed to be my girlfriend, I really should kiss you good-night."
    "But—but we 're only trying to fool those girls."
    "If we 're going to pull off a realistic act, I think we should try to convince everyone."
    "Oh. Of course." My knees trembled. I was beginning to wonder if it was wise to have gotten myself involved in such a scheme, even if I was the one who originally suggested it. I cared too much for Alex to have to pretend all the time that I was only pretending to like him!
    Alex leaned down, pressed his lips on mine and crushed himself against me. I locked myself into his embrace. His arms around me melted any doubts about having him as a  pretend boyfriend. But a minute later I pushed him away. "That's enough," I whispered. "This … this is only supposed to be a good-night kiss."
    I felt light-headed and short of breath. I 'd only been kissed seven times since eighth-grade graduation, and none of those kisses had left me feeling the way Alex's had.
    "I keep forgetting," Alex said, "that I'm seventeen and you're a mere child of fifteen. I'll try to keep myself in check from now on."
    I couldn 't see Alex's face well enough to tell if he was teasing, but even if he was, I didn't need to be reminded of how young and inexperienced I was. Undoubtedly Nicole Kendall had no trouble handling Alex's kisses.
    " Alex," Mrs. Stedman called out. "We're leaving now."
    "Be right there." Alex draped one arm around my shoulders and walked me back to the cottage. "See you tomorrow, Katie." He squeezed my shoulder, then turned to leave.
    "Good night." I watched until I couldn 't see Alex any longer, then went inside. Before I dashed upstairs, Mom shot me a funny look. I wondered if she'd seen Alex kiss me.
    In my room I sat in front of the mirror, thinking. I 'd tried to put my best foot forward and wound up tripping over it. Maybe if I looked older Alex would take me more seriously. If only I could do something to measure up to Nicole Kendall! There wasn't much I could do about my figure, but maybe there was something I could do about my drab hair. I fingered a lock and curled it around my thumb.

 
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    "Jason, will you stop picking the raisins out of your toast and just eat?" I paced around