Pulled Under (Sixteenth Summer)
Page 23
“Oh, I don’t really . . .” Whoa. Nineteen? Nice.
“Honey, girls have been swooning left and right since he started working here last month, yet he hasn’t dated a single one of them. You’ve gotten the most attention out of any girl here. That makes you the pick of the litter.”
What makes her think he’d want to date me? He can hardly stand me!
A second later a guy appears next to us, oiled and shiny, brandishing two big cups of soda—one for her, one for himself. He looks a little young for her, judging from his skinny body type, if I could only get a look at his face.
She looks up, surprised, and takes the drinks. “Oh, thanks, Oscar. You didn’t have to do that.”
Oscar? Funny, that’s my dad’s name.
“This is my friend, uh . . .” Bikini Girl waits for me to give her my name.
“Haley.”
“Oscar, this is Haley.”
The guy sits on the lounge chair next to her, and . . . no . . . way. I see the familiar, sunny-eyed smile I’ve known all my life, minus thirty pounds, the gray hair, and, apparently, the ability to recognize me. You have got to be kidding me!
Deep breaths, Haley.
Dad? Paternal parental? No way! No friggin’ way!
Immediately, I feel like he’s going to yell at me for not answering his texts. My instinct is to turn around and run. But then I remember—1982. My dad has never even seen me before! He can’t possibly know who I am.
“Hey, Haley. Nice to meet you.” As soon as I hear his voice, his identity is confirmed. Oh my God, Dad! He smiles a smile I adore, have always adored, and does a little what’s up nod.
Someone taps my shoulder lightly. “Miss, are you the one needing medical attention?” Which is great, because staring at my dad as a teen right here in front of me, I just about have another seizure.
About the Author
Michelle Dalton is the author of Fifteenth Summer, Sixteenth Summer, and the Sixteenth Summer series. Married to her high school sweetheart, Michelle loves baking, walking her dog, Lola, and reading on the beach.
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Also by Michelle Dalton
Fifteenth Summer
Sixteenth Summer
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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This Simon Pulse edition May 2014
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Cover designed by Jessica Handelman
The text of this book was set in Berling.
Manufactured in the United States of America
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Library of Congress Control Number 2013051004
ISBN 978-1-4814-0701-4 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-0700-7 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-0702-1 (eBook)
Contents
* * *
Title Page
Dedication
June
July
August
Steady Eddie's Surf School Glossary
'Summer of Yesterday' Excerpt
About Michelle Dalton
Also by Michelle Dalton
Copyright