Second Skin Read Online Free PDF

returned from the Packlers' at ten-thirty, covered with finger paint and graham cracker crumbs, and was fast asleep by eleven.
    I shoved the thought out of my head and turned to Alex.
    "So," I said, slipping my arm through the seat belt. "Where are we going?"
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    He pursed his lips and tried to look mysterious. "It's a surprise."
    "Can I guess?"
    "You can try," he said as he eased the car out of the driveway. "But you'll never get it."
    "Um, Cape May?"
    Alex's face fell. "How did you- Did Gwen say something?"
    I laughed. "Lucky guess."
    I tilted my head back against the seat. It was January and cold, but the sun was up and it streamed through the car windows, warm and relaxing. I stretched, turning to Alex. "Hey, maybe we should stop by Gwen's and pick her up."
    "She's busy," he said a little too quickly.
    I sighed. I hated tension between my friends. "Don't be mad," I told him. "She didn't tell, I swear."
    "I know." He stuck an arm out of the window, signaling a turn. "But I talked to her last night. She was all excited about going to Reading Terminal. I guess rhubarb's finally in season."
    That made sense. The farmers' market was Gwen's home away from home.
    "Thanks for doing this," I said after a minute.
    "No problem. I figured you could use some cheering up."
    I straightened slightly. "Why? I'm not-"
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    "Hey," he said gently. "It's okay."
    I felt my body relax into the seat cushion. It was okay, I decided. After all, it was my sixteen-and-a-quarter birthday.
    We got to Cape May around noon and walked along the chilly, mostly empty beach.
    "What are you doing?" I asked Alex as he pulled a tiny plastic tube from the pocket of his jeans.
    "Zinc oxide," he explained, squirting a strip of bright green lotion onto his palm. "UV rays are surprisingly strong on days like this. Want some?"
    I shook my head as he spread the goo across his face. "You do know that stuff's green, right?"
    Alex smiled. "Yeah, I grabbed it from Ginger's knapsack. Do I look like the Incredible Hulk?"
    I giggled. "More like a string bean." I leaned over and plucked a small white shell out of the sand. "What's this one called?"
    Alex glanced over. "Crepidula fornicata," he rattled off automatically. "Slipper shell."
    I ran my thumb over the surface, feeling the bumps and ridges.
    Alex bent down and picked up a fan-shaped disk. "Chlamys nobilis," he said.
    "Now you're just showing off."
    Smiling, Alex pulled his arm back and released. The shell whipped through the air and
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    bounced through the surf before disappearing under the water.
    I turned to him. "Cool. Show me how to do that."
    "It's easy," he said, coming up behind me. He dropped a stone into my palm and lifted my arm gently, extending it against his.
    I looked around. The beach was completely deserted. School, Kylie Frank, Tanner Mullins...out here, they were all so easy to forget. It was just Alex and me, alone with the sand and the waves.
    If Alex were my boyfriend, this would be really romantic.
    I jerked away. from him. Where had that come from?
    "What's wrong?" Alex asked, his forehead wrinkling.
    I looked at him, at his bright green skin and smart brown eyes. It wasn't a perfect face. Far from it. His features weren't chiseled like Tanner Mullins's and his nose was definitely too long.
    Then again, comparing any face to Tanner Mullins's was hardly fair. It was like doing a taste test between a filet mignon and a Big Mac.
    Still, Alex definitely had a certain appeal. He was the sort of guy mothers were always saying nice things about, like, "That boy is gonna make some woman very happy one day."
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    Actually, my mom said that. All the time.
    I looked down at Alex's hand, which was streaked with green grease. Long, wiry fingers fanned out from a wide, round palm. It was, I decided, a goofy-looking hand. Way too goofy for me. I wanted something smoother. More "leading man" than "funny sidekick."
    For some reason, the thought made me feel better. I turned toward Alex and