Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) (25 page)

“I’d love to have you if you want to come to Cleveland,” he said. “But I won’t be hurt if you want to stay.”

I nodded again. “For now . . . I think I’m going to stay here.”

He kissed my forehead. “Stay for now, think about things, and let me know what you want to do next year. If you want to get an apartment. Or move in with us. Or if you want to stay at Suzanne’s. No rush.”

“Vi’s finishing school this year,” I admitted.

“I know. But Suzanne doesn’t mind you staying. She wrote me this morning saying so, actually.”

Ha. Did she? I contemplated telling him the truth. Telling him that the emails from Suzanne were actually from Vi.

But . . .

No rush.

ONE MONTH LATER

I knocked. Twice. My heart fluttered with the sound.

“Who is it?” the voice said.

“I heard you were having a party,” I said. My heart fluttered again. Was I really going to do this? Was I really going to try something new? Trust someone new? I straightened my shoulders and tried to channel Vi. If she could trust someone new, so could I.

Hudson opened the door and smiled. “How did you know where I was?”

“Dean is over at our place. I beat it out of him.”

“Dean is always over at your place,” he said, stepping onto the porch.

That was true. Dean and Vi had been locked in Vi’s room for the last month, since my birthday. And it didn’t look like they would be separating any time soon. Vi had gotten a full scholarship to Columbia, and Dean had decided to go to NYU. “New York girls are the hottest,” he’d proclaimed. “Someone should write a song about
them
.”

“Welcome to Ms. Franklin’s,” Hudson said. “I’m glad you finally made it.”

“Me too.”

“I hope you know that the reason I haven’t been by in the last month is because I wanted to give you some space.”

“I know,” I said. “Thank you. All is settled.” Noah was history. There had been lots of crying, lots of Hulaing, and a follow-up visit to Rosini. But it was done. He was done. “And I know we have a lot to talk about.”

“Since the kids are in the living room, can I just do something before we go inside?”

I nodded.

His hand cupped my cheek and he leaned toward me. As our lips touched, my whole body sizzled.

It was lightning.

GOT ON A PLANE

The three kids in row fifteen were moving like glaciers. I’d be a hundred by the time they were done. And we were back in row twenty-four.

What time was it anyway? Poor Donut. Stuck with the bags. The amount of paperwork required to get her here had been insane, but worth it.

I switched on my phone. Seven
A.M
. local time. A text popped up:

How’s the hottest girl in Paris?

Hudson. I smiled. Typed back:

She’s still on the plane!

Marissa grabbed my hand. “Movement! Are you ready?”

I nodded. Yes. I felt ready. To explore Paris. To see Matthew. To work on my relationship with my mom. I stuck my phone in my purse and felt my heart leap. I gave Marissa a huge smile. I had her with me for the whole summer. And then . . . I was staying for senior year.

I was a little nervous. I was a little scared. But it was time to be a little gutsy.

“This is going to be awesome,” she squealed. “Can we go to the Eiffel Tower today? And then the Seine tomorrow? I definitely want a baguette. And an espresso.” She squeezed my arm. “You
are
going to come back for college. Right?”

I nodded. Probably. I skipped in my spot. Row twenty-three was on its way.
I picked up my bag. Pulled it over my shoulder. I was ready to explore.

“Let’s go,” I said. And I went.

TOLD MY DAD THE TRUTH

“So are you up to anything fun today?” I asked my dad one night in November. I was sitting on my favorite spot on the couch, chatting with him on the phone, while Matthew did his homework on the living room floor and my mom and Daniel made dinner in the kitchen. It was already evening here, but only noon in Ohio. I had just gotten off the phone with Hudson at Brown. We had been planning his trip—he was coming to spend New Year’s with me.

“Penny got us tickets to see
Mary Poppins
! It’s a national production that’s in Cleveland for two weeks. It was her favorite movie as a kid and the play’s gotten rave reviews.”

I almost dropped the phone. I swallowed a nervous laugh. What was he going to do? Set a nine o’clock curfew? “Dad? Um, listen. I have kind of a crazy story for you. . . .”

Laura Dail, my incredible agent.

Tamar Rydzinski, the queen of foreign rights.

The most excellent gang at HarperTeen: Farrin Jacobs (still brilliant),
Kari Sutherland (thank you thank you thank you, Kari), Elise Howard, Catherine
Wallace, Allison Verost, Christina Colangelo, Kristina Radke, Sasha Illingworth,
Melinda Weigel, Amy Vinchesi, and Rosanne Lauer.

Joel Gotler and Brian Lipson for all their hard work in Hollywood.

Elissa Ambrose, my mom, for her love and willingness to read, edit, and
discuss on command.

Lauren Myracle and E. Lockhart: I have no idea how I ever did this
without you two. You are my cheerleaders, my editors, and my co-conspirators. Thank
you for everything.

Emily Bender for her terrific suggestions.

Tricia Ready for her fantastic help.

Jessica Braun, as always.

Bennett Madison for helping me shape and title this book.

Alison Pace for her notes and friendship.

Little Willow, aka Allie Costa, for her awesome insights.

Veterinarian Lindsay Norman for all her suggestions about Donut. (Of
course, any mistakes are all my own.)

Pierrette C. Silverman from Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
for taking the time to chat and explain. (All mistakes, also my own.)

Susan Finkelberg-Sohmer for her medical expertise.
(Mistakes—mine.)

Targia Clarke for taking such great care of my little one.

Ronit Avni, who took me in and housed me in her basement when I was
seventeen.

Shobie Riff and Judy Batalion for being my friends and saviors during
the year of the futon. (Todd too, but more on him later.)

Aviva Mlynowski, my little sister, for introducing me to all the movie
people (and because I love her and am very proud of her).

Larry Mlynowski, my dad, for his constant support and for always
trusting me (even when he probably shouldn’t have).

Love and thanks to my family and friends: John & Vickie Swidler,
Louisa Weiss, Robert Ambrose, Jen Dalven, Gary Swidler, Darren Swidler, Ryan and
Jack Swidler, Shari and Heather Endleman, Leslie Margolis, Bonnie Altro, David
Levithan, Avery Carmichael, Tara Altebrando, Ally Carter, Maryrose Wood, Jennifer
Barnes, Alan Gratz, Sara Zarr, Maggie Marr, and Jen Calonita.

And, of course, a million thank-yous to the loves of my life, my
husband, Todd, and our daughter, Chloe.

SARAH MLYNOWSKI
is the author of
GIMME A CALL
and the Magic in Manhattan series, which kicked off with
BRAS
&
BROOMSTICKS
. She is
also the co-author of
HOW TO BE BAD
and has written several novels for adults. She
currently lives in Manhattan and can be found online at www.sarahm.com.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your
favorite HarperCollins authors.

Jacket photo © 2011 by Jill Wachter
Jacket design by Sasha Illingworth

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)

Copyright © 2011 by Sarah Mlynowski

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mlynowski, Sarah.

    Ten things we did (and probably shouldn’t have) / Sarah Mlynowski. — 1st ed.

        p. cm.

    Summary: Sixteen-year-old April, a high school junior, and her friend Vi, a senior, get a crash course in reality as the list of things they should not do becomes a list of things they did while living parent-free in Westport, Connecticut, for the semester.

    ISBN 978-0-06-170124-5

    [1. Conduct of life—Fiction. 2. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 3. Self-reliance—Fiction. 4. Connecticut—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.M7135Ten 2011

[Fic]—dc22

2010045556
CIP
AC

EPub Edition © 2011 ISBN: 9780062084613

11 12 13 14 15 LP/RRDB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

First Edition