The Boyfriend Project Read Free

dropped that bag of sugar. I snatched it up and placed it back into its holder, noticed a yellow packet mixed in with the blue ones, plucked it out, and inserted it in its proper place. Then I smiled at Jeremy—a little guiltily because we’d been talking about him—as he set a cheeseburger and shake in front of me, and a basket of fries between us.
    â€œThanks.” He knew exactly how I liked my burger and he didn’t mind ordering it medium well, with a slice of cheese on top and a slice on the bottom, pickle, and tomato that wasn’t from the ends. Mustard on the bottom of the bun, mayo on the top, and the B. S. special sauce on top of the mayo. My mom always made me order my own burger. She was embarrassed that I couldn’t just order a burger by calling out a number or saying all the way . But I was particular. What was wrong with that? I knew what I wanted.
    Avery and Fletcher had cheeseburgers, too, but they were sharing a basket of onion rings. I carefully unwrapped my burger, peered beneath the top bun to see everything exactly as I liked it, and bit into it.
    â€œSo . . .” Avery said as she dipped an onion ring into ketchup. “You know Dot, the owner of the Shrimp Hut?”
    The Shrimp Hut was the restaurant on the beachwhere Avery worked on the weekends. “Yeah,” I said.
    â€œHer mom is having some surgery so she’s going to be out of town for a few days next week and she asked me to house-sit, take care of her cat and dogs. The cool thing is, her house is on the beach. It has three bedrooms, and she said I could have company. Interested in joining us?”
    Us? I looked at her, shifted my gaze to Fletcher, back to her. “The two of you?”
    Grinning, she nodded.
    â€œYour parents are okay with this?” I asked, stunned. Her dad was a cop who kept a pretty tight rein on things.
    â€œI’m leaving for college in six weeks. They know they need to trust me. I’m officially curfew-less. They want me to let them know when I’ll be home, but they know there is nothing I’m going to do right now that I won’t do at college.” She shrugged. “They’re letting me grow up.”
    My mom hadn’t given me a curfew in a while but I didn’t know if she’d approve if she knew Jeremy was going to be there. I suppose I didn’t have to tell her that he’d be there, although I’d felt so guilty about lying to her before that I’d confessed about our botched romantic night. Mom had just laughed and said, “Karma’s a bitch.” Now Karma was giving us a second chance with a bedroom on the beach. I couldn’t hide my excitement about that as I looked at Jeremy. “What do you think?”
    â€œUp to you.”
    He was always such a gentleman. Clearly he didn’t want to push me into anything and would let it be my decision. Although I did wish I heard a little more enthusiasm in his voice. “Could be loads of fun. I just don’t know if I can swing it with my mom.”
    â€œThere’s nothing you could do there that you can’t do just as easily out by the lake,” Fletcher pointed out.
    I grimaced. “I don’t exactly tell her we go to the lake. But you’re right. I’ll talk to her.”
    â€œGreat!” Avery said. “We’ll have a blast. It’ll probably be two or three nights. Dot’s still working out the details. I’ll let you know when I have them.”
    â€œSounds like a plan.”
    Beneath the table, I squeezed Jeremy’s hand. We were getting an all-night-alone-in-a-bedroom-together do-over. This time I was determined we would round second base and head to third. I could hardly wait.

Chapter 2
    JEREMY
    As I walked through the door, I dropped my keys into a small bowl on a nearby narrow table that hugged the wall. I headed for the kitchen, not surprised when I heard, “You’re a little late.”
    Stopping, I