Pants on Fire (21 page)
Authors: Meg Cabot
Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #Social Issues, #Adolescence, #Humorous Stories, #Love & Romance
“What you were saying before, about why you came back.” I licked my lips, which had gone dry as the gravel beneath my feet. “You said I was partly right. That it was because of me.”
“Oh,” Tommy said, his gaze on mine. “That.”
I didn’t look down this time. I looked right into those amber-gold-green eyes of his.
“Yes,” I said.
Ka-thump. Ka-thump.
Overhead, a seagull screamed. “That.”
“Well, I’ll admit,” Tommy said finally. “I was curious.”
Ka-thump.
“About what?”
“About whether or not I was still in love with you,” Tommy said.
KA-THUMP.
“You were in love with me?” I echoed. “You mean…in the eighth grade?”
“You sound shocked to hear it,” Tommy said wryly. “I guess I hid it pretty well.”
“
Super
well,” I said.
Ka-thump.
And, in spite of all my best intentions, I found myself taking a step toward him. “I had no idea.”
“Well, you were pretty hot, even then,” he pointed out. “I don’t know if it was the braces or the frizzy hair that did it.”
KA-THUMP.
“Was that what the peanut butter cookies were all about?” I asked, taking another step toward him.
“Absolutely,” Tommy said. “My plan was to lure you into my romantic clutches with Scholastic Reading Counts quizzes and peanut butter cookies. Not very sophisticated, but the best I could come up with at the time. It was eighth grade, after all.”
One last step, and I was standing directly in front of him, so close that I had to tilt my chin up in order to look into his eyes. With his sunglasses on, I couldn’t see what color they were just then. But I was betting bright, ocean green.
“And?” I asked.
He looked down at me, his gaze unreadable, thanks to the Ray-Bans.
“And what?”
“And
are
you still in love with me?” I asked.
He grinned. “What do you care? I thought you were taking a vacation from guys.”
“I am,” I assured him. Good-bye, convent. Good-bye, all-women’s college. “From every guy but you.”
Which is when he took his sunglasses off. And I saw that his eyes were bright green, just as I’d suspected they’d be.
“In that case,” he said, “the answer is yes.”
But the truth is, I’d already forgotten what the question was. Because I was too busy kissing him.
Many thanks to Beth Ader, Jennifer Brown, Barbara Cabot, Sarah Davies, Michele Jaffe, Laura Langlie, Amanda Maciel, Abigail McAden, and especially Benjamin Egnatz.
Meg Cabot
is the author of many bestselling, critically acclaimed books for teens, including the Princess Diaries books, the Mediator series, the 1-800-Where-R-You series,
ALL-AMERICAN GIRL, READY OR NOT, TEEN IDOL, AVALON HIGH, HOW TO BE POPULAR,
and
PANTS ON FIRE
, as well as
NICOLA AND THE VISCOUNT
and
VICTORIA AND THE ROGUE
. She also writes books for adults, including
THE BOY NEXT DOOR, BOY MEETS GIRL, EVERY BOY'S GOT ONE, SIZE
12
IS NOT FAT, SIZE
14
IS NOT FAT EITHER
, and
QUEEN OF BABBLE
. She currently lives in Key West and New York City with her husband and a primary one-eyed cat named Henrietta, as well as various backup cats.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
MEG CABOT
ALL-AMERICAN GIRL
READY OR NOT: AN ALL-AMERICAN GIRL NOVEL
TEEN IDOL
AVALON HIGH
HOW TO BE POPULAR
PANTS ON FIRE
NICOLA AND THE VISCOUNT
VICTORIA AND THE ROGUE
THE BOY NEXT DOOR
BOY MEETS GIRL
EVERY BOY’S GOT ONE
SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT
SIZE 14 IS NOT FAT EITHER
QUEEN OF BABBLE
The Mediator Books:
THE MEDIATOR
1:
SHADOWLAND
THE MEDIATOR
2:
NINTH KEY
THE MEDIATOR
3:
REUNION
THE MEDIATOR
4:
DARKEST HOUR
THE MEDIATOR
5:
HAUNTED
THE MEDIATOR
6:
TWILIGHT
The 1-800-Where-R-You Books:
WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES CODE NAME CASSANDRA
SAFE HOUSE
SANCTUARY
MISSING YOU
THE PRINCESS DIARIES
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME II: PRINCESS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME III: PRINCESS IN LOVE
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME IV: PRINCESS IN WAITING
VALENTINE PRINCESS: A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK (VOLUME IV AND A QUARTER
)
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME IV AND A HALF: PROJECT PRINCESS
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME V: PRINCESS IN PINK
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME VI: PRINCESS IN TRAINING
THE PRINCESS PRESENT: A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK (VOLUME VI AND A HALF
)
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME VII: PARTY PRINCESS
SWEET SIXTEEN PRINCESS: A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK (VOLUME VII AND A HALF
)
THE PRINCESS DIARIES, VOLUME VIII: PRINCESS ON THE BRINK
Illustrated by Chesley McLaren:
PRINCESS LESSONS: A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK
PERFECT PRINCESS: A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK
HOLIDAY PRINCESS: A PRINCESS DIARIES BOOK
PANTS ON FIRE
. Copyright © 2007 by Meg Cabot LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Microsoft Reader June 2007 ISBN 978-0-06-149008-8
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