Tangled Read Online Free PDF Page A

planet was sitting next to me. His thigh had brushed against mine ever so briefly, and the tickle of his leg hair had plunged my brain into a complete state of freeze.
    I forced myself to muddle through the mental tundra. “Do you think we should do something about it?” I asked.
    “Like what?” He glanced at me. “Tell housekeeping to watch out for their clean white sheets? Remove sharp objects from the kitchen?”
    I swallowed hard, wishing I hadn’t said anything in the first place.
    “I’m just saying,” the guy added, “that whoeverwrote that note is a fucking idiot. If you want to die, go ahead and kill yourself. I’m not going to stop you. But it’s insane to take your own life. I mean, you never know when your time is up so why do it yourself?”
    I studied him, unsure how to even begin responding when he jumped out of the tub, jogged over to a table, and grabbed a beer from under his T-shirt. Then he slid back into the water and tilted the can into his mouth. After a long chug, he set the beer on the edge, wiped his lips, and said, “It sucks, okay? But it’s not our problem. Let’s start again. I’m Dakota. I’m from upstate New York. Who’re you?”
    Dakota. His name was Dakota.
    “I’m—I’m Jena,” I stumbled. My brain was darting all over the place. This guy—Dakota—was starting a conversation with me (wow). But I was currently in possession of a note written by someone who was about to slit their wrists (even bigger wow). Or maybe Dakota was the bigger wow? But if someone killed—
    “You’re cute, you know that?” Dakota added. “In a shy way. I like that. Where’re you from?”
    That did it. I set the paper on the edge of the tub and swirled my hands around in the hot water. “Topeka,” I said.
    “Kansas?”
    “No, the one in Westchester County, north of New York City.”
    He studied me, but didn’t say anything. And so I, immediately, went into hyperkinetic babble mode.
    “People don’t realize this,” I added, “but there are also Topekas in Indiana, Illinois, and Mississippi. Supposedly Topeka is a Native American expression that means ‘to dig good potatoes.’ Great, right? Some people live in the entertainment capital of the world and I live in a place where you can dig good potatoes.”
    “You sure have a lot to say about Topeka,” he remarked, his lip curled in a lopsided grin.
    I flushed. I am such a moron. I tried to imagine Skye here instead of me. She would definitely not be talking about potatoes. Then again, she’s the kind of girl who could recite a monologue on root vegetables and still have him begging for more.
    Dakota took another swig of beer. “So what do you think of Paradise?”
    I shrugged. I wasn’t going to say another word for the rest of my life. Not one.
    “I’m here with my mom and brother,” he continued, “so it’s kind of boring.”
    Oh my god! There were two of them? I couldn’t help myself. “You have a brother?”
    “Yeah, but you can barely tell,” Dakota said. “He’s younger than me, but he’s really tall and has reddish hair. You probably haven’t seen him. All he does is hang out in that business center.”
    I was incredulous. “The Loser with the Laptop guy is your brother ?”
    Dakota laughed. “That’s one name for him.”
    I was starting to feel light-headed from the heat, but there was no way I was going to climb out in front of him. Not in this tankini. Not with these thighs.
    “How old are you?” Dakota asked.
    “Sixteen. How about you?”
    “Eighteen.”
    As I rested my head against the side of the tub, Dakota told me that his mom brought his brother and him here in an attempt to bond, but they haven’t been spending any time together. Mostly, Dakota’s been sleeping late (that body in a bed …sigh), scoring beer from the bar, and swimming out in search of fierce currents.
    “In the ocean?” I asked, lifting my head up.
    “No, in the pool.” Dakota laughed. “Yeah, in the ocean. It’s