Next Summer Read Free Page A

felt strange. The not-being-comfortable-in-your-own-skin kind of strange. Every minute that went by, Kelsi became a little bit more anxious and nervous. She had no idea what was making her feel like her legs were made out of lo mein noodles, but whatever it was, she just wanted it to take a hike so that she could enjoy the start of another Pebble Beach summer.
    After all, Kelsi had everything under control. She had just graduated from high school at the top of her class, and she washeaded to Smith in the fall. Kelsi should have been practically drunk on her own shining future. She had felt so together at graduation. Like she knew exactly who she was and where she was going.
    Funny. Kelsi didn’t feel remotely that way at the moment.
    “Kels! Come on!” This time it was Beth. Her cousin’s voice was less strident than Ella’s, but she still sounded impatient. Kelsi snuck a look out the window. The last streaks of the red sunset were fading from the sky, which meant the party down on the pier would just be getting underway.
    Kelsi took a deep breath, and looked at her reflection in the mirror one more time.
    She was just going to have to go with the deep V-necked black T-shirt and her favorite pair of jeans. Both were from Anthropologie, Kelsi’s absolutely most-favorite store in the world. The black push-up bra Ella had talked her into buying at Victoria’s Secret was working big-time, and Kelsi had to admit, she liked the result. Her newly re-dyed dark brown hair was pulled back in a sassy, casual ponytail that had taken at least forty minutes to perfect, and she slicked another coat of lip gloss across her lips.
    Now, if she could just feel the way she looked …
    “What are you doing in here?” Ella demanded, appearing in the door of the bedroom the two of them shared. She leaned against the doorjamb and snapped her gum a few times, a habit that drove Kelsi absolutely crazy. Luckily, at the moment, she was too wound up to get sufficiently agitated.
    “I’m ready,” Kelsi said, grinning at her baby sister as if she’d never been more at ease. She made for the door, but stopped when she saw Ella glance at the pile of rejected shirts that now covered her bedspread and half of Ella’s.
    “You had a fashion emergency and you didn’t call me?” Ella put a hand over her heart. “I think my feelings are hurt.”
    “I was having a bad-me day.” Kelsi gave a wry grin.
    “Puh-leeze, you look fantastic. Better than me, even,” Ella said through her trademark snort of a laugh.
    Without a moment to lose, Kelsi and Ella dashed out to the yard, where Beth was standing with her arms wrapped around herself, staring up at the sky.
    “I always forget how clear it is up here,” she said. “The night looks almost…messy with all those stars, doesn’t it?”
    Kelsi tipped her head back, breathing in the clean air and the ever-present scent of the evergreens. Beth was right. Up above the pines, the sky was littered with stars she never got to see in New Canaan. She had a second to remind herself about all the possibilities that were awaiting her, but then it was time to move.
    The girls began walking down the dirt road that led from the Tuttles’ three rental cottages to Pebble Beach’s main strip. The trees towered over the narrow track, and grass clung to the little cliff between the tire ruts and the forest.
    “As you can see, Beth dressed for the occasion,” Ella told Kelsi, a teasing lilt in her voice.
    Kelsi glanced at Beth. Her cousin was wearing track pants and a blue scoop-necked tee. Her long blonde hair—so different from Ella’s sexy mane—fell straight down her back.
    “What?” Beth asked, opening her arms wide and looking down at herself. “I put on a clean shirt.”
    Kelsi adored the fact that Beth saw no reason to put on makeup or a cute outfit for parties. Clearly, having a boyfriend hadn’t changed Beth that much.
    “And if you feel like it, you can just go for a quick jog between beers,”