The Convenience of Lies Read Online Free PDF

this morning. What a great way to start the summer.

Chapter Two
    A month has passed since Kira left for Russia, and there's one more month left until she gets back. Soon after she left, I decided not to get my VISA and join her in Russia. I didn't want to go through all that hassle, make my mom spend all that money, only to find out that Kira didn't want me there.
I bet she doesn't miss me at all
. I shake my head to release these thoughts.
    I hear a car cruising down my street, and I instantly forget about Kira as I hop to my window to see if it's him. A grin spreads across my face as I see his red car speed by my house and turn around the corner. He is hiding his car from my mom; she has given me one too many glares whenever I mention Ramon to know that she is not a fan of him. She would rather never hear his name again and would freak out if she knew how much I actually see him. Usually when I go hang out with Ramon, I tell her I am seeing another friend instead. “Mom, I'm going to go hang out with Julie.” My mom nods her head and is excited that I am spending time with one of my “wholesome” friends. She has even said she's really happy to hear how much I've been hanging out with Julie. But she doesn't know where I drive off to after I head out the door, and 90% of the time it's over to Ramon's house.
    This time, Ramon is coming over to my place because we know that my mom is not going to be home for a while, and so we will have some uninterrupted time. My mom has a boyfriend, and she likes to go over to his house all night once or twice a week, giving them some grown-up time. What she doesn't know is that I am taking advantage of these nights to have some grown-up time of my own. For the past month, ever since Kira left, I have been calling up Ramon whenever Mom goes over to her boyfriend's house.
    Usually before my mom leaves, I will play this one-sided dance with her. She will tell me she is going over to her boyfriend's house, and it will be around 8:00 pm. I'll ask her if she is planning to stay the whole night, even though I already know she is. Mom will confirm this, and ask me if I will be all right. I try to hide the fact that my heart has started fluttering with excitement as I tell her I will be fine, and as soon as I hear the car backing out of the driveway, Ramon will already be on his way over.
    After I see Ramon's car turn the corner, I know he is about to park. I bounce through the house to the front door, and once I see his blurred image through the fogged glass, I throw it open. Ramon frowns and covers his eyes as our front light, which responds to motion, turns on, blinding him. He is still scowling about it when he enters the house. My cat, Cherry, has black and grey swirls throughout her short fur, penetrating golden eyes, and a wet pink nose. She is already fifteen years old, but still has the energy of a kitten, and comes running over to say hello to Ramon, like she does to everybody. He spats at her to make Cherry leave. When she doesn't respond, he jumps suddenly at her, and Cherry runs away in fear. I see Cherry's grey and white ringed tail whisk off around the corner as she hurries into the living room.
    I pretend I don't care that Ramon just shooed off my cat as we wander back to my bedroom like we always do. Ever since the first night of summer, we have fallen into a routine. When my mom goes out for the night, I call Ramon. He comes over, and we hang out chatting in my room for a while. By chatting, I mean that Ramon listens as I chat away about whatever is on my mind, and he grunts monosyllabic responses. This goes on until I've talked myself out and have worked up the nerve to ask him for another massage. Ramon always agrees. This time he tells me to give him one first, and we set a time limit for twenty minutes.
    Usually Ramon's massages feel pretty good. He needs to rub harder sometimes, but other than that, I really enjoy them. One kind of massage that Ramon always does well is a