The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend Read Online Free PDF Page B

technically, she brought this on herself. “Hey, Casey?”
    “Hmm?’
    “Are you awake?”
    “Mmm-mmm.”
    “If I tell you something, will you swear not to tell anyone?” I asked. “And will you promise not to freak out?”
    “Sure, B,” she mumbled. “What is it?”
    “I kissed someone tonight,” I said.
    “Good for you. Now go back to sleep.”
    I took a deep breath. “It was Wesley… Wesley Rush.”
    Casey shot straight up in bed. “Whoa!” She shook her head and rubbed the sleep from her wide hazel eyes. “Okay, now I’m awake.”
     She turned to face me, her short blond hair sticking up in every possible angle. God, how did she manage to make even
that
look good? “OMG! What happened? I thought you hated the guy.”
    “I do hate him. I will always hate him. It was just a stupid, immature, thoughtless moment of… stupidity.” I sat up and hugged
     my knees to my chest. “I feel dirty.”
    “Dirty can be fun.”
    “Casey.”
    “Sorry, B, but I don’t see what the problem is,” she admitted.“He’s hot. He’s rich. He’s probably a fantastic kisser. Is he? I mean, he has those lips that just make me think—”
    “Casey!” I put my hands over my ears. “Stop! Look, I’m totally not proud of this. I was upset, he was there, and I just… God,
     I can’t believe I did that. Does this make me a slut?”
    “Kissing Wesley? Hardly.”
    “What do I do, Casey?”
    “Kiss him again?”
    I shot her a cold look before falling back onto my pillow. I rolled over so that I faced away from her. “Forget it,” I said.
     “I shouldn’t have told you at all.”
    “Oh, B, don’t be like that,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I think you should look on the bright side for once in your life. I
     mean, you haven’t had a boyfriend since…” She trailed off. Both of us knew the name, after all. “Anyway, it’s about time you
     started getting a little bit of action. You never talk to any guys but Joe, and he’s way too old for you. And now that we
     know Toby’s off the market, what’s the problem if you date Wesley? Would it kill you?”
    “I am
not
dating him,” I hissed. “Wesley Rush doesn’t date, he fucks—everyone, for that matter. I just kissed him, and it was so stupid…
     stupid, stupid, stupid! It was a huge mistake.”
    She nestled back into her side of the mattress. “You know, I knew even you couldn’t resist his charm forever.”
    “Excuse me,” I said, rolling back over to glare at her. “I’m resisting just fine, thanks. And you know what? There’s nothing
     to resist. I find him repulsive. Tonight was just a lapse in judgment and it will never happen again.”
    “Never say never, B.”
    She was snoring within seconds.
    I grumbled to myself for a few minutes, then fell asleep, inwardly cursing both Casey and Wesley. Strangely enough,
that
was comforting.
    Dad had just gotten in from his job at Tech Plus, a local rip-off of Best Buy, when I walked through the door the next afternoon,
     shaking fresh snow out of my hair. The storm hadn’t been as big as the weatherman predicted, but flurries were still falling
     outside. The sun was bright, though, so the moderate dusting would be melted by that evening. I took off my jacket and glanced
     over at Dad, who was on the couch, browsing through the
Hamilton Journal
with a mug of hot coffee in his left hand.
    He looked up when he heard me come in. “Hey, Bumblebee,” he said, putting his mug down on the coffee table. “Did you have
     fun with Casey and Jessica?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “How was work?”
    “Busy,” he sighed. “Do you know how many people in this town got laptops for Christmas? I’m sure you don’t, so I’ll just tell
     you that a lot of them did. Do you know how many of those laptops were faulty?”
    “A lot?” I guessed.
    “Bingo.” Dad shook his head and started to fold up the newspaper. “If you don’t have the money to spend on a good laptop,
     why bother? Just save it and buy a