Page 171 of Summer Love

Flip presses his nose against my thigh. I push him aside.

Footsteps echo down the service hallway. Noah appears in stained coveralls, his lighter between his fingers.

“Yumi, Bungalow 17—you want me to swing by tonight, or can it wait till morning?”

She doesn’t answer. Noah spots me, cracks a small smile.

“Summer moved in with you, in the trailer? Is that why we’re getting Bungalow 17 back?”

His smile fades. He frowns.

“What’s wrong?”

My hand shakes as I hold the letter out to him. He takes it, starts reading.

Right then, the outer door slams. Avery storms in, furious, hair loose, sneakers shoved on and unlaced.

“Jace.”

Her voice is hard. She should be at the apartment with Mom, not here.

I move toward her.

“What’s going on, Avy?”

She plants herself in front of me, arms crossed, jaw tight.

“If some guy bet a hundred bucks he’d sleep with me, what would you do?”

I go rigid. Someone did this to her. I clench my fists.

“I’d gouge his eyes out. Why?”

“Then why did you do it to Summer?”

I stare at Avery. She can’t be talking about me.

“What the hell is this?”

She doesn’t answer.

“Who told you that?”

“Summer did.”

A sharp sound makes me turn my head. Noah’s gone white, still holding the letter. His lighter has rolled to his feet.

“Oh, fuck,” he says.

“What do you mean, ‘fuck’?”

He drags a hand over his face, opens his mouth, closes it again.

“Noah, what?” Avery says.

“It’s a misunderstanding,” he says, not looking at me.

“What are you talking about?” I shout.