26 Kisses - Anna Michels Page 0,3

school diploma, not okay with the overwhelming feeling that my life has suddenly veered off course in a potentially devastating way, and, worst of all, because it is entirely unfair of me, I am not okay with the possibility that Seth now loves Mel more than he loves me.

“Vee, you did great. We shouldn’t have gone to the parade. We should have known Mark would be there.”

I rub my eyes and swallow hard, trying to hold it together. “I just feel really stupid.”

“I know, babe. But you shouldn’t. He’s the one who—” She sighs and drums her fingers on the steering wheel. “Never mind. There’s no point in rehashing what a complete, total, utter asshat Mark is.” She takes a deep breath. “I have to get over to work the Big Float. You still want to come?”

I don’t respond, suddenly exhausted. Mel’s dad owns Flaherty’s Float & Boat, the biggest boat rental company in the area, and he sponsors a free inner tube float down the river every year for Dune Days. Working the Big Float is a nightmare of yelling at kids who haven’t put their life jackets on properly, seeing all the people from high school I’d rather avoid during the summer, and splashing fully clothed into the river to chase after errant tubes. It is not on my list of favorite things to do, but I always go and help out to keep Mel company—and the fifty dollars her dad throws in doesn’t hurt. But today, just thinking about the chaos of the float makes my eyes well up again.

“You don’t have to,” Mel says. She lets go of the steering wheel and grabs my hand, shaking it until I open my eyes again. “Seriously, Vee. I’ll just take you home.”

With my brother over at my dad’s house for the weekend, my mom will go into overdrive on chores, then abandon the tidying and dusting halfway through when she gets bored. I’ll probably lie on the couch all afternoon, watching TV and repeatedly pushing Fat Snacks, my overweight cat, off my chest. Throw in some shameless stalking of Mark’s Instagram account, and it sounds like the most depressing day ever.

I clear my throat. “It’s fine,” I say. “I’m not going to abandon you.”

Mel glances over at me. “I don’t want to be responsible for you having a complete breakdown,” she says.

“I promise not to let the Big Float snap my fragile psyche.”

Mel grins and bounces in her seat. “Good. And you’ll get to meet Killian.”

I stare out the window at the post-parade traffic, unable to muster up any enthusiasm for the newest male summer help at Flaherty’s Float & Boat. Knowing Mel, she’ll have him smitten within two weeks and then will just play mind games with him all summer—something she does with boys more often than she’d like to admit, and which she blames on her fear of commitment. A group of people darts out into the street in front of us, and Mel swears and slams on the brakes.

“Stupid idiots!” She honks the horn and rolls down the window. “Go home, fudgies!” Mel’s intolerance for the vacationers who overrun our town every summer is legendary, but she secretly loves giving the tourists shit and would miss them if they were gone. She has even been known to intentionally give them bad directions or warn them about the sharks in Lake Michigan. Leaning on the horn, she swears under her breath and rolls her eyes at a family jaywalking through the intersection.

Despite myself, I smile.

CHAPTER TWO

The parking lot at the Float & Boat is already half full of minivans and SUVs, as well as families in their swimsuits and T-shirts, standing outside their vehicles, greasing up with sunscreen, and doling out beach towels. Mel pulls her car into a grassy area behind the office, bouncing over exposed tree roots and rutted dirt.

“I swear, this stupid float gets more crowded and ridiculous every year,” she says, pushing her sunglasses back into her tangle of dark hair. “Let’s go see what Dad wants us to do.”

Mel is on office duty since she’s the only one who knows how to use the credit card machine if people want to buy snacks or bottled water from the mini concession stand. After a heated game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with Mitchell and Heather, two of the seasonal employees, I’m relegated to the inner tube brigade. There’s no way I’m wearing my favorite shorts to go into the river, so Mel grabs