The Perfect Guy (Books We Love Young Adult Romance) Read online

  "Give it a couple of months." Josh opened his jacket and wrapped one side of it around me, his arm around my shoulder. "Warm enough now?"

  I nodded. I couldn’t remember a time when I hadn’t known Josh. I’d always felt comfortable and secure with him. It was one of the pleasures of life to walk on the beach on a beautiful day with one of my favorite people. In fact, if they could see me now, I’d be the envy of half the students at Sandy Cove High, the female half. I laughed at the idea.

  "What’s so funny?" Josh asked.

  "I was just thinking," I said. "I’d be the envy of most of the girls at school if they saw me now."

  "Oh?" Josh raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

  "You, of course." I poked him in the ribs. "I’m sure you’re aware that most of the girls at school are dying to go out with you, and here I am, alone on a deserted beach with you."

  "I’m not sure if I’m being complimented or insulted."

  "What do you mean?"

  "On the one hand, you make it sound as if girls are dying to go out with me. On the other hand, you make it sound as if you think it’s a joke that they do." A trace of a scowl flickered across Josh’s face.

  "It’s just that I’m like a sister to you, so of course I wouldn’t be interested in dating you. You wouldn’t be interested in dating me."

  "Oh. Of course." Josh threw his hands in the air, and I could see he knew what I meant.

  "Who else would I have asked to give me secret dancing lessons, so I wouldn’t make a fool of myself at the wedding reception? Only someone who was like a brother to me."

  "Ah, yes, the infamous dancing lessons." Josh grinned, took me in his arms and waltzed me across the sand, humming in my ear.

  I relaxed in his arms. I liked dancing with him, and not just because he’d given me lessons. He so clearly enjoyed dancing that he made it simply fun. I joined in the humming. The wind rippled Josh’s dark curls. I studied his handsome face, outlined against the bright sky. It was easy to see why so many of the girls at school were attracted to him.

  "After waltzing in this sand," Josh said, "dancing at the graduation party should be a breeze."

  "I’ll say." I closed my eyes and rested my head against Josh’s chest, imagining myself dancing with Pres at the graduation party. Then all of a sudden I gasped. "Josh, what time is it?"

  "Oops." Josh checked the time. "It’s quarter after ten."

  "The library opened fifteen minutes ago." I grabbed Josh’s hand and we ran back to the car as fast as we could in the sand. "Hurry!"

  "Relax," said Josh. "The library isn’t going anywhere."

  "Easy for you to say. You don’t have a deadline hanging over your head. Can’t you drive any faster?"

  "Besides getting us there in one piece," Josh said, "I’d like to savor as much as I can of this beautiful day before we burrow ourselves in the library."

  I tried to contain my annoyance, but I was beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea to have Josh help me with the research if he wasn’t going to take it seriously.

  Chapter Seven

  While Josh did a computer search, I claimed a quiet table in the corner. When I finally went back to help him, I bumped into Alicia Johnson.

  "Hi, Rebecca," said Alicia. "Are you here with Josh?"

  "Yes," I whispered. "We’re doing research on Sandy Cove’s history for the school play, and we’re late getting started." I headed off before Alicia could get going on one of her nonstop conversations.

  "I’ve found a ton of stuff," Josh said. "I've printed the little I found on the internet. Most of the information is in books that are upstairs in the back room. Let’s go see what looks good."

  "Sure." As we headed upstairs I caught Alicia looking at us. When her eyes met mine, she ducked her head.

  Upstairs Josh and I weaved our way through the stacks until we found the section on Sandy Cove.

  "They fill two whole shelves!" I couldn’t have been more thrilled than if we’d discovered gold.

  "Let’s look through them up here." Josh pulled out a few books and settled on the floor. "Come on. Sit down. It’ll take a while to sort through them."

  "Okay."

  Moments after I started thumbing through the first book, I was lost in the early days of Sandy Cove. I devoured paragraphs, feasted on Chapters. I hardly noticed the number of times Josh popped up to select more books for me to inspect.

  "I don’t know about you," Josh said after a while, "but I think we have enough. Let’s take these down to the table."

  I looked at the pile of books we’d sifted through. "Good idea. I don’t think we could carry any more anyway."

  Josh stood up and offered me his hand. My legs were numb from sitting so long in a cramped position. Josh grabbed me around the waist just as my knees gave way.

  "Are you all right?"

  "I think my legs are asleep." I rubbed my thighs. "They’ll be okay as soon as the circulation gets going again." I smiled awkwardly at Josh. I felt pretty foolish, not being able to stand up on my own.

  "Take your time," Josh said, pulling me closer so I could lean against him. "I wouldn’t want you to have a relapse."

  "I’ll be all right in a minute," I reassured him.

  Just then I caught a glimpse of Alicia whizzing past the stacks. I tested my legs. "I’m fine now. Let’s go."

  "Keep hold of my arm," Josh said, "in case your legs buckle again. I wouldn’t want you to fall down the stairs."

  "Yes, sir."

  Josh was playing guardian angel, as usual, but I did as he said. It probably was better to be safe than sorry.

  We spent the rest of the morning taking notes. By noon my fingers started to cramp and I was getting a headache. I put down my pencil and rubbed my eyes.

  "I think we need a break." Josh yawned and stretched. "Let’s get something to eat."

  "Good idea."

  We left our books at the table, headed across the street to Harry’s Hamburger Heaven, and relaxed over burgers, fries, and strawberry milkshakes. On the way back to the library I saw Gramma in her car next to the curb.

  "Hi, you two," Gramma said. "I was on my way to your house, Rebecca, but this saves me a trip." She handed me a Tupperware container filled with her homemade chocolate chip cookies.

  "Mmm." I opened the lid and inhaled the fragrance of my favorite cookie. "Thanks, Gramma."

  "Be sure Josh gets some too," Gramma said. "I know how much he likes them."

  "Thanks a lot," Josh said.

  "Thanks, again," I called as she drove off. I fished two warm cookies out of the container and handed one to Josh. "Here. A reward for all your help."

  "De-licious," Josh mumbled around the crumbs as he chewed. "A growing boy like me could eat at least a half-dozen of these in one sitting."

  "There are plenty more where that came from," I said. "Come over after supper tonight and you can help me polish off a few more."

  By the time we left the library at closing time, we’d gathered tons of information.

  "Too bad you have baseball practice tomorrow afternoon, Josh. You’d be a great help organizing all this material we dug up."

  "Yeah, Sunday practices are boring," Josh said. "As much as I like baseball, I wish I could help you too."

  Just as Josh dropped me off at home, Mom and Bill pulled into the driveway.

  "We’re going out to dinner and a movie. We'll be home by midnight. Bye," Mom called.

  I waved and skipped into the house. What luck. I’d be alone with Pres. Maybe we could have a candlelight dinner. It was a cool enough evening for a fire. After dinner we could have hot chocolate and cookies in front of the fireplace. A romantic evening like that would surely get Pres thinking in the right direction.

  "Hi," Pres said as I skidded into the kitchen. "I’m going out soon. There’s plenty of stuff in the refrigerator and there’s soup in the cabinet if you want something hot."

  "Out?" I froze. Not tonight!

  "I’m going over to Maplewood with s
ome of the guys to check out a new bowling alley that just opened."

  "Oh." I clutched the container of chocolate chip cookies. At least he wasn’t going out with a girl. "How about a cookie? Gramma made them."

  "Thanks." He grabbed one. "I hear the guys pulling up. Got to run." In two seconds he was gone.

  Tomato soup and a tuna sandwich alone at the kitchen table certainly wasn’t the romantic evening I’d envisioned. To drown my sorrows I made a large pot of hot chocolate and stacked a bunch of cookies on a plate. Maybe, by some miracle, there would be something good on television to help me forget my misery.

  I couldn’t believe it when I checked the TV listings and discovered that the Old Movie Channel was having a Humphrey Bogart festival. Casablanca was just starting. As I snuggled up on the couch, the doorbell rang. I leapt up to get it. Maybe it was Pres, deciding to stay home after all. Maybe he’d forgotten his key.

  "Josh. What are you doing here?"

  "And a good evening to you too, Ms. Collins."

  "I’m sorry. I was just surprised. Pres is at a new bowing alley in Maplewood. Maybe you can catch up with him there."

  "You’ve forgotten, haven’t you?"

  "F-forgotten?" I was starting to shiver, standing there in the doorway.

  "You did say to come over and help you destroy a few chocolate chip cookies."

  "Oh." I slapped my forehead. "Of course. Come on in."

  "I thought you’d never ask."

  As we settled ourselves in front of the TV with the cookies and hot chocolate, Josh cleared his throat. "By the way," he said casually. "I got accepted at Southern Connecticut, baseball scholarship included."

  "S. C. State University? That’s where you really wanted to go, isn’t it?"

  "Yes. Too bad Pres isn’t here. I wanted to find out if he’d heard from Yale."

  "He would have told me if he had, I’m sure."

  "Right," Josh said. "Hope he makes it. I know that’s where he’d really like to go."

  "I hope so too," I said, though not just because Yale was Pres’s first choice. Yale was only a half-hour drive from Sandy Cove, and it would be easy to visit if he went there. Of course, Southern was near Yale, so Pres and Josh would be able to see each other now and then too.

  "Hey," Josh said, "is that a marshmallow I see floating in my hot chocolate?"

  "Would I forget that you like marshmallows?"

  "No, you wouldn’t." Josh draped his arm over the back of the sofa, resting his hand on my shoulder. In his best Bogie imitation he said, "What a terrific evening. Hot chocolate, cookies, and you, sweetheart."

  "Shhh," I cautioned Josh. "Sam is about to play ‘As Time Goes By.’"

  Two mugs of hot chocolate and another plate of cookies later, I yawned. "I’m sleepy. I hope I can make it to the end of the movie." I rested my head on Josh’s shoulder.

  "Me too." Josh stretched and slid his arm down around me. "Maybe I can just rest my eyes."

  The next thing I knew, the news was on and I heard voices in the kitchen.

  "Rebecca’s on the living room sofa with some boy." It was Bill.

  "A boy?" There were footsteps in the hall. I heard Mom say, "Relax. It’s only Josh. Looks as if they fell asleep watching TV."

  "Relax?" Bill sounded concerned. "You know, Josh has a reputation around school as a … ladies’ man."

  "Oh, for goodness sakes, Bill." Mom laughed. "Rebecca and Josh have grown up together. They’re like brother and sister."

  "Well, if you’re not worried," Bill said, as they went upstairs, "I guess I’m not worried. But if it doesn’t sound as though they’re awake in ten minutes, I’m going down and throwing Josh out."

  I nudged Josh and whispered, "Wake up, sleepy head."

  "Huh? What?" Josh blinked. He turned to me with a sheepish grin. "Guess I haven’t exactly been the life of the party. Hope my reputation isn’t ruined."

  "Don’t worry," I said. "You’re secret is safe. I won’t tell on you if you don’t tell on me."

  "I won’t," Josh said. "In fact, I’ll seal my promise with a kiss."

  I expected a quick little peck on the cheek. But Josh held me close and his lips lingered firmly on mine. What really surprised me, though, was the funny floating feeling taking over me, soft at first, then stronger. Somehow, I didn’t want it to end

  Chapter Eight

  The back door slammed.

  I edged away from Josh. Pres, I thought. I must have been thinking of Pres and I ... I got carried away. That was all ….

  "Hi," Pres said. He stood in front of the television looking at Josh and me on the sofa. "If it was anyone but you two, I’d say you looked guilty about something."

  "I confess." Josh stood up. "We pigged out and ate nearly two dozen chocolate chip cookies."

  "So that’s it." Pres laughed.

  That explained why Josh kissed me. He was just kidding around, as usual. He was probably bored because one Saturday evening out of a million he didn’t have a date.

  "How was the bowling?" Josh asked.

  "I did okay," Pres said. "Saw Celeste with a group of girls. Celeste throws a mean strike."

  "Sure can," Josh said. "By the way, I got into Southern, and got a full scholarship too."

  "That’s great," Pres exclaimed. He shook Josh’s hand and thumped his back. "Congratulations."

  "Thanks," Josh said. "Well, it’s late. I’d better be going. See you at practice tomorrow, Pres." He turned to me with no indication that the kiss had been anything but a joke. "Thanks for the cookies and hot chocolate."

  "You’re welcome," I said. "Thanks for all your help at the library."

  "Any time," Josh said. "Good night."

  After Josh left, Pres headed upstairs, so I did too. "Did you have fun bowling?" I asked, hoping to draw him into a conversation.

  "Oh, yeah," said Pres. "You should see Celeste bowl. She’s great."

  "I know," I said.

  At the top of the stairs, Pres stopped. "Oh, I got this as a door prize." He pulled a little teddy bear out of his pocket. "Would you like it?"

  "I’d love it." I fingered the fuzzy animal. "Thanks, Pres."

  "Sure." He gave me a warm smile! "Good night."

  In my room I put the teddy bear in the place of honor on the foot of my bed next to Arf. It was my first gift from Pres! And that smile he gave me ….

  I fell asleep thinking of Pres. He was the one I should have been kissing.

  ***

  After lunch the next day I finally reworked my play for fourth graders and sent it off. Then I gathered all the material I had on Sandy Cove’s history and spread it out on the kitchen table. I had to get things organized soon to make Bill’s deadline for the outline. I put the teddy bear Pres had given me in the center of the table for inspiration.

  Suddenly a knock at the back door broke the silence. It was Josh.

  "Hi," I said, puzzled. "Why aren’t you at practice?"

  "Funny thing," Josh said. "I woke up with a charley horse in my leg. Must have slept on it wrong or something. I called the coach and he said I’d better take the afternoon off."

  "Oh, that’s good. I mean, it’s too bad about your leg, but it’s good you have the afternoon off. I need help with all this stuff."

  "That’s why I came over," Josh said. He picked up the teddy bear. "Who’s this cute little guy?"

  "Sylvester," I said, naming him on the spot. "Pres gave him to me."

  "Oh." Josh plunked Sylvester back on the table. "By the way," he said, handing me a sheaf of papers from a folder, "here are some notes I took from the book I brought home with me. I found a character who’s pretty interesting called The Patch Man, because every piece of clothing he wore was made from patches. He was sort of a local mystery person who showed up in Sandy Cove from time to time and did odd jobs in return for meals. Everyone always looked forward to his visits, because he brought plenty of news and gossip from other towns."

  "He sounds interesting."

  "That’s not
all. In the blizzard of eighty-eight he saved a girl by guiding her home through the storm. He refused to take shelter at her house. The next day they found him dead in a cave down by the Hammonasset River."

  "How sad!"

  "Yeah," said Josh. "But maybe he’d make a good character for the play."

  "Definitely." I looked through the papers Josh had given me. "You really dug up a lot of information. You’re a big help."

  "I aim to please." Josh smiled as he surveyed all the papers spread over the table. "Where do we start?"

  "I’m trying to organize things by date for now."

  "Sounds easy enough." Josh started sifting through everything.

  "Take it easy on that leg," I said. "Sit down if it bothers you."

  "My leg?" Josh stared at me. "Oh. Don’t worry. My leg will be fine."

  We sorted and stacked papers, jotted notes, and began a rough outline. Josh joked around the whole time, so, though we accomplished a lot, before we knew it three hours had whizzed by.

  "We got a lot done." Josh stood and stretched. "It’s time to relax. How about if you and I—"

  "Hi." Pres entered the kitchen. He was dusty and dirty from practice. "How’s your leg, Josh? Will you be able to play Tuesday? That opening game against Guilford is going to be tough. We’ll need you."

  "My leg feels better already." Josh bent his knee a couple of times. "Probably just a cramp. I’m fine now."

  "Good," Pres said.

  "Pres, you’re a mess." I brushed dirt off his sleeve. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to touch him.

  "Well, I guess it’s time for me to go," Josh said.

  "Thanks for your help," I said. "I really appreciate it."

  "As I said, any time." Josh ran his hand through his dark curly hair. "See you tomorrow?"

  "Sure."

  As soon as Josh was out the door, I turned to Pres again. "Could you help me with my French homework?" I hoped to recapture the closeness I’d felt to him that night in the attic. How better to achieve it than to study a beautiful, romantic language together?

  "I’ve got to shower," Pres said. "And I have to work out some chemical equations later. But I guess I can help you for a while, if you don’t mind waiting."