Family Ties — читать онлайн бесплатно полностью

We really thought they were going to be together forever.”

“Well, Gina and I never talked about it,” I said. “The forever part, I mean.

And deep down, we probably both knew.” I shrugged. “Think about it, Er…

we want different things. She wants to be a doctor in California. I want to be an architect in Atlanta.”

“Yeah, but… it’s Gina,” Erin said wistfully.

“Sometimes your first love doesn’t last. I guess that was the case with Gina and me. It wasn’t meant to be. I’ll always love her, and I want her to be happy, but it’ll have to be with someone else, not me.

Erin nodded. Then she glanced at Christy. “Sorry to bring that up. But since Paul mentioned it, I figured you knew.”

“Some of it,” Christy said. “Although not the part about how everyone expected them to get married.”

“Even Paul probably didn’t know. He’s kinda slow on the uptake sometimes. Maybe you noticed.”

“I did,” Christy said with a sideways grin at me. “It took him forever to realize I liked him.”

“What can I say? I was distracted by your beautiful… eyes.

Christy rolled the eyes in question.

“Okay, he’s totally right about that,” Erin said. “Your eyes are gorgeous.”

“And if you won Paul’s heart, then you must be extra-special.”

“Wow,” Christy said, “I need to hang out with you guys more often.”

“Well, me for sure,” I said. “Erin’s just trying to get on your good side.”

“And why wouldn’t I, you big doofus? Sounds like she’s going to be around for a while.”

Christy took my arm again. “Me too.”

“So,” Erin said, “now that we have that settled, what else can I tell you about camp?”

Christy thought about it.

“Just people, I suppose.”

“It’s okay,” Erin said with a laugh. “I get it.”

“I mean, do they look like you and Paul, or—?”

“Oh, God no! Paul’s one of the hot guys.”

Christy beamed up at me.

“Most of the men are family types. Some of ’em are sexy in a ‘hot dad’

Christy scrunched her nose automatically.

“—but most are just average. I mean, not ugly, but not Adonis-types like Paul and a few others.

“He didn’t used to be.”

“Uh-uh. He used to be soft and pudgy.”

“Thanks, Erin,” I said dryly.

“At least until Su— he discovered girls.”

“It was baby fat,” I explained to Christy, mostly to cover Erin’s slip.

“Then I joined the wrestling team and started working out.”

“And oh, boy, did he change! He went from pudgy to hunky in, like, a year. I kinda agree with Mom, though—he could stand to gain a few pounds

—but he’s nothing like he used to be.