Sass & Serendipity Read Online Free PDF Page B

pinkie finger, with thin yellow, black, and white stripes along the width of its body. The larva of a monarch butterfly.
    “I found it on one of those leaves,” he said, noddingtoward a clump of lush green plants. Gabby thought it was sweet the way he stroked the creature’s back with the tip of his forefinger as it slowly inched up his palm.
    “That’s milkweed. It’s their food. This area is part of their breeding ground,” she’d said, ever the good student.
    “I always knew you were smart,” he said.
    Gabby felt her face flush. “What do you mean ‘always knew’?”
    He shrugged. “I noticed how your dad has you tally the score sheets while he does the tasting at the cook-offs. Plus, I’ve seen you around. You’re always reading and coming in and out of the library.”
    Her breath seemed to run out. Sonny had noticed her? He’d wondered about her?
    “Of course, I always thought you were pretty, too,” he went on, smiling crookedly into his lap. He seemed almost bashful. “I was planning to ask you out when I got my license.”
    She made a gasping noise—partly from shock and partly because she hadn’t inhaled in several seconds. Sonny noticed and glanced up. He didn’t look shy anymore.
    “I remember you telling your dad you preferred seafood,” he said. “So I thought we’d go have scampi. Then maybe come up here.”
    “Up here?” she repeated, finding her voice.
    “You know what this place is, don’t you?” he asked.
    Gabby shook her head.
    “It’s Make-Out Ridge.”
    As an unpopular eighth grader with only one friend to speak of (Mule, skinnier and shaggier, and scarily obsessedwith
Dr. Who
at the time), Gabby had only heard of the spot where high schoolers met to hook up. Looking around, she could see, logically, why it had been chosen. Even though it was just a few blocks from the town by foot, it was still rather remote by car, lying at the end of a winding dirt road. Cedar and mesquite trees bordered the field, obscuring the nearby homes and gas stations.
    She watched as Sonny gently set the caterpillar onto a stalk of milkweed. “So,” he said, grinning at her. “Would you like to make out?”
    She probably should have said no. A reasonable girl would have been shocked and offended. Coming from any other guy, such a question would have been laughable or even disgusting. But Sonny made it sound sweet.
    For the first time ever, she wasn’t stupefied by him. Gabby found herself smiling and nodding, and then scooting near enough for Sonny to wrap his long arms around her. To this day she wasn’t sure why she did that. There was just some quality about Sonny that made her trust him—and want to get closer.
    Hormones
, Gabby told herself, changing positions on her lumpy mattress so that she faced the window. She’d fallen victim to biochemistry, that was all. It was astounding how primitive urges could have such a hold on a person. The passion she’d felt as a thirteen-year-old was understandable. Just intense curiosity and an excess of glandular activity. But sometimes even today, four and a half years later, the memories of his mouth against hers created little warm spots all over.
    For almost an hour they’d sat on the grass, kissing and leaning up against each other. They didn’t talk at all, except for one time when he pointed out a kingfisher that had stopped off at the creek. Mainly they just smiled sheepishly between smooches, until Gabby caught sight of the time on her watch and realized she had only ten minutes to get back to her house. The fear of getting caught snapped her out of her hormonal trance and made her leap to her feet.
    “What’s wrong?” Sonny asked.
    She suddenly felt woozy and confused—and more than a little embarrassed. “I gotta go,” she blurted.
    “Wait!” he’d called out. But Gabby was already scrambling down the nearby bank, heading for home. She didn’t even say goodbye or thanks, just pointed herself toward town and sprinted away.