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He craned his neck forward just enough to kiss her chin, her cheek, her lips

She felt his hand slide down her back, across her butt, and slip between her legs

“I hear Mark Michaelian is sleeping with Winona Grey”

She shivered at his touch “Fro”

Chapter Twenty-two

This has been the best summer ever Cissy and I have learned a hundred ways to sneak off and be alone Even atout without anyone seeing us It’s not that we don’t want people to knoe’re together, It’s just that in secret we have all the privacy we need No one worries about how ether cause they don’t know about it and Mark doesn’t think he has to tell Cissy why I’h for her I know she’ll hear all that when she starts school, but I’ to keep it away for now

The Fourth of July was especially tight Everyone was busy with their own shit—Mom had the parade and the 4-H car wash to worry about, Aunt Winona was running her ca for her to be done

I took the money I’d saved this suairaffe, and I kissed her on top of the ferris wheel at least ten times When I was out of money, ent up to the hill by the horse barns and made out and talked Best of all, I beat Mo, and said I’d missed a really cool time at the fair She didn’t know I still had my clothes on under the blankets!

July and August have been the best months offor me at Twanoh State Park), but I’ll write soon

Mark and Aunt Winona are going to Sol Duc hot springs for an overnight trip and they invited ! We know they did it because they want to pretend they aren’t having sex all the time Like Cissy and I are blind AND stupid, but we so don’t care When they said they were going, I totally acted like I was bu a favor for Aunt Winona Cissy acted the same ith her dad

We all piled into Mark’s Escalade last night Mark and Aunt Winona were talking so much in the front seat that they never noticed Cissy and s and ht we all slept in our own sleeping bags in a big orange tent The worst part was being about ten feet away fro but I couldn’t touch her or kiss her or really even talk to her

On Saturday we all woke up early and had breakfast at the lodge, which was cool The place has this HUGE swis, so it’s like 100° or so You can float in the hot water and then run over and ju Aunt Winona and Mark were in the hot springs so long I think they kindato touch each other secretly—as if Cissy and I couldn’t see exactly as going on They cae of the cold pool and called for us

Anyway Cissy is a freaking GENIUS Cause she swaht up to them and said she wanted to hike up to see the falls

I swam up beside her and complained that the falls were like ten miles away, even tho I kneasn’t that far

And then Mark goes Noah, why don’t you hike up to the falls with Cissy, and Cissy groans and Aunt Winona (who has to solve every probleether