Rites of Spring Read Online Free PDF

would think I’d been very lucky indeed to snag George, even for a little while. I rolled closer to the door to listen in.
    “Don’t you know any nice guys for her?” Lydia was asking. “We could double date.”
    “Look,” Josh said, a note of annoyance creeping into his voice, “it’s not my responsibility to play Cupid for my—er—girlfriend’s roommate.”
    “She’s not just your girlfriend’s roommate, though, is she?” Lydia cajoled.
    “This conversation is officially over.”
    Hey! No! It was just getting good! Why didn’t Josh want to set me up with anyone? Didn’t he think I was cute enough for any of his friends? Or did he have another problem with me? Was it my, um, experience with George? I was ready to burst back out and ask him what he meant, when Lydia spoke again.
    “No need to get bent out of shape. I can understand your concern. She does have a tendency to self-sabotage all of her relationships. Like last year, she was seeing this great guy—”
    “Brandon.”
    “Right, of course you know.”
    And he had made several vows to the effect that he wasn’t supposed to let anyone know that he knew! Josh! Man, I had him so bad. The fines I’d level on him at the next meeting—he’d better hope flights to Barcelona weren’t pricey!
    “Anyway, you should have seen them together. They were so perfect. But of course she botched it up,” Lydia added. “Oh, that reminds me.” She shouted, “Amy!”
    I waited a few seconds before opening the door, so they wouldn’t realize I had been right behind it. “Yes?”
    “Brandon called.”
    I blinked. I hadn’t known what Lydia wanted with me, but a phone message from my ex-boyfriend and ex-friend-with-benefits (if not ex-friend, full stop) was not at all what I’d expected. Brandon never called. In fact, the last time I’d spoken to him at any length, he had said the ball was in my court as far as future contact went.
    It was a ball I’d dropped, as Brandon’s Amy-free life seemed to make him perfectly happy, and Brandon’s very non-Amy girlfriend was beautiful, accomplished, crazy about him, and singularly unimpressed with me.
    “What did he want?” I asked, or rather, croaked. My mouth had gone inexplicably dry in the last two seconds.
    “Um…to talk to you?” She pointed at the phone. “You still have his number, right?”
    Yes, I still had his number. And I still had a lot of baggage to lug around regarding our broken relationship. After sleeping together for several months last spring, Brandon had finally talked me into becoming his girlfriend for real, only to discover that I was no more committed to him than I’d been when I hadn’t called him my boyfriend, and he broke it off.
    I’d been more hurt by the loss of his companionship than by anything else. He’d mostly kept his distance ever since, but every time we did see each other, the air was charged with unfinished business.
    My hand hovered indecisively over the phone, as if each of my fingers had taken a vote, decided that calling Brandon would be a poor plan, and mutinied. “It’s probably too late.”
    “It’s barely eleven,” Lydia replied. “Early evening in college time.”
    I willed my fingers to retrieve the phone then beat a hasty retreat into my bedroom.
    “See what I mean?” I heard Lydia say as I shut the door.
    I’d show her. I dialed his cell phone from memory, and Brandon picked up on the first ring.
    “Hi, Amy.”
    I was so unprepared, I couldn’t think of a response. “You rang?” Ugh. Well, that was rude of me. Not even a Hi, Brandon, how was your Winter Break? No wonder his girlfriend thinks I’m a bitch.
    “Yes, I did, though I should have known you wouldn’t be home. It’s Sunday, after all.” He chuckled. Everyone on campus knew that Sunday nights were secret society meeting nights.
    Time to get back on subject. “So, what’s up?” I kept my tone light. “Have a good break?” There. I could be polite.
    “Wonderful. Felicity