Taming Chloe Summers (Grover Beach Team #7) Read Online Free PDF Page B

about—”
    “Drama school? I read your file,” he explains, cutting me off. “All counselors’ files, in fact, so don’t get the impression I have a special interest in you.” When he laughs, it sounds reserved. “So, why camp? It’s not for the sake of old memories, I take it.”
    I search his eyes for any hint that he knows the truth and is just playing dumb here, but Justin keeps a poker face. Is it possible that I was worrying completely in vain and my chart says nothing about my community hours after all? “I…er…had to find a summer job that gets me in touch with people is all.”
    “Is that so?” He bites down a snicker, blinking innocently. “And it has nothing to do with your probation?”
    “Actually,” I snap, ready to tell him that he’s an ass for fooling me. But then I let out my breath and unclamp my jaw. “Yes.” What’s the point in lying, if he knows anyway?
    I expect him to sneer at me again, but he surprises me when he resorts to his friendly voice once more. “Over three hundred hours, huh?”
    I can’t look him in the face any longer, so I glare at my toes again. “Mm-hm.”
    “I wonder what got you into that kind of trouble.”
    Is that him playing stupid again? Probably. But I tell him anyway. “Remember my car accident senior year?”
    “Yes.”
    “I was trashed when it happened,” I mumble. “Twenty months on probation and a shitload of community work.”
    He’s so silent, I have to look up and check if he zoned out for a moment. “You didn’t know about me being drunk?”
    Very slowly, he shakes his head, his eyes narrowed with honest bafflement. That sort of shocks me, because one of the guys who went looking for me after the accident—along with my cousin and her boyfriend—was the soccer team captain, and he also happened to be Justin’s best friend. It’s weird that Ryan never told him the truth. Half the soccer team was out on the street looking for me that night, and when the interrogations at the police station were over, they did all swear to keep the truth between us.
    But, although there never were any rumors later, I didn’t quite trust them. Seems like they kept their promise after all.
    “Do Lesley and Kirsten know about your punishment?” he asks.
    “Yes.”
    “I’m surprised they kept quiet about it. Would have assumed they’d let such big news slip at the first possible occasion.”
    I laugh bitterly. “No, they wouldn’t. They’re my friends.” More importantly, I know things about them that would put them on probation longer than for driving while boozed up. “Anyway, I’m free at the end of July, so I’d appreciate it if you could treat this information confidentially.” I give him a cold, pointed look. “Isn’t that part of your job as an assistant, anyway?”
    “Right.” He bites his lip, letting a smile slip. Amused? Scornful? I’m not able to make heads or tails of this conversation.
    Taking a deep breath, I fix him with a stare. “This is weird.”
    “What is?”
    “Us talking like normal people. I don’t remember the last time we did.”
    He hesitates a couple of seconds then startles me as he says, “I do.” His warm gaze rests on me for a long moment and wraps me in a comforting cloud of memories. I wonder what we would be like today if some things had gone in another direction. If different decisions had been made. Then his eyes turn lynx-like all of a sudden, sending shivers down my back. He slaps his hand on my thigh, squeezing slightly before he straightens and walks to the door, murmuring, “Probation.” His snide chuckle is the last thing I hear.
    Yeah, why don’t you just fuck off, idiot! I wait until he’s gone, then push away from the bed and stalk out into the summer heat. The noise of excited kids drifts like a beacon through the trees and around the building. My suitcase is still sitting untouched in front of Mrs. Turner’s office. Pulling it behind me, I fight my way through the people who