Hailey Abbott - Getting Lost with Boys

GETTING

LOST

WITH

BOYS

Hailey

ABBOT

Contents

Cordelia Packer was the most uncomfortable shed ever

been.

More

Cordelia stood at the front door of her rambling white

Cordelia was fuming. For the zillionth time that Tuesday,

she

Cordelia and Jake managed to get out of the traffic

Cordelia didnt get a wink of sleep that night. She

Cordelia felt rejuvenated as Jake drove the Charger through

the

Cordelia arrived at Mandalay Bay around ten thirty that

night

Cordelia was still crouched down on the floor, trying to 107

Cordelia checked her Swatch. Three P.M. On an ordinary

Thursday,

Cordelia and Jake made it through the night and lived

An hour or two later, the Charger pulled up in

The rest of the evening had been like the WordReference.com

Theyd been on the road for five hours, and

Cordelia

Cordelia had thought standing between Jake and Paul was awkward,

Cordelia wanted to dig her own grave as she

watched

Cordelia woke up at noon to a throbbing headache

and

About the Author

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Cordelia Packer was the most uncomfortable shed ever been. More uncomfortable than when shed contracted the chicken pox from Alexis Dunbar, her best friend, in kindergarten. More uncomfortable than when shed puked up her hot dog lunch onto Alexiss shoes during the semifinal round of the fifth-grade spelling bee after being asked to spell forsythia.

Actually, now that Cordelia thought about it, she was experiencing the most uncomfortable moment of her life, and Alexis was nowhere to be found. Weird. She wished she could call Alexis now.

But even weirder was the fact that she was out here camping. Cordelia never slept on anything except a queen-size bed fitted with two layers of four-1

Hailey Abbott

hundredthread-count sheets and a goose down comforter. Now she was lying on the floor of a tent that smelled like wet canvas, trying to reach the stone that had been digging into her back all night. This stone had single-handedly ruined the restful sleep that she had planned, and it was currently threatening to ruin something that could have been etched in her mind as the most incredible moment of all time, instead of the most uncomfortable. That certain something was the full-on, hip-grinding make-out session she was having with her exceptionally wonderful and gorgeous boyfriend, Paul.

Not only was Paul seriously sexy, he also had a way of convincing Cordelia to put aside her slightly rigid quality-of-life requirements. This time, he had won her over with the fact that Torrey Pines State Reserve was located near the beach. Cordelia hadnt heard the word near

only the word beach. Cordelia always considered the beach to be her second homeshe just loved listening to the roaring sound of the ocean waves. But instead of relaxing in the sand, she was nestled in a tepee-like contraption and surrounded by a forest of pine trees.

Not exactly what shed had in mind.

But she tried to refocus her thoughts on the good stuff, like how Paul was now kissing the length of her neck. God, Paul was a good kissergood as in he had the power to make her forget some pretty important things, like what time it was, her first name, and what planet she was on.

Getting Lost with Boys

Is this okay? Paul asked softly as he pulled her closer.

Mmm, yes, that feels great, she murmured.

Just then Cordelia managed to wiggle so the stone shifted out from underneath her without Paul noticing a thing. What a relief. She could finally enjoy the Paul Morgan lip-lock experience.

Yeah, not a chance. Cordelia could never turn her brain off, even if someone paid her a million dollars to throw the switch. While she was thinking about how Pauls breath was so sweet and his lips were so soft, she was simultaneously obsessing that her own breath might smell like feet, the really sweaty kind. She hadnt been able to brush her teeth since last night. She also reminded herself that she usually slept with her mouth open, so who knew what might have flown in there!

Paul stopped nuzzling her neck for a minute to look deep into her eyes. He never let a day go by without mentioning how remarkably blue hers were, but she didnt expect him to say anything nice about the icky white stuff that was surely stuck in the corners of them now.

He ran his hands through her long honey-blond hair, which Cordelia assumed felt greasy and disgustingshe hadnt had a chance to wash out the styling product build-up.

Why, oh why didnt I wake up at the crack of dawn to takea shower? Cordelia thought. Then she remembered the 3

Hailey Abbott

questionable conditions of public campground restrooms and the answer became crystal clear.

She tried to distract herself by slipping a hand under Pauls T-shirt and tracing the shape of a heart on his back with her fingertip. For a non-jock, he had the most amazingly buff swimmer-type body. Ripped abs, arms that were toned (not jacked), broad shoulders. Cordelia had to restrain herself from climbing all over him as if he were a rock wall. Speaking of which, Paul was slightly over six feet tall and towered over Cordelias small, five-foot-three frame. Even lying down next to him, she felt dwarfed, but that was fine with her. It almost made her feel protected.

Protection seemed to be on Pauls mind, too. As they were pressed up against each other tightly, he stretched out over Cordelia and made a move for his wallet. She knew what was in there. They had talked about this before. Hed only been with one person, which is very respectable for a seventeen-year-old guy. And noble too.

As for Cordelia, she had just turned sixteen a couple of weeks ago and had racked up a big whopping zero con-quests overall. She was cool with it, though. She was just waiting for the right person, and the right time and place.

Paul leaned back over her and delicately kissed her forehead. You take my breath away, you know that? he whispered.

Getting Lost with Boys

All right, it seems like I have the right guy, chirped the voice inside Cordelias head. After all, they had been going out for a few months and he was super-hot and incredibly nice.

But was this the right time and place? Highly doubtful. If it happened here and now, it would be an impromptu, spontaneous event, and those never happened to Cordelia Packer, the most structured, organized, type-A teenage girl in San Diego. In fact, Cordelia was the reason the Container Store existed and why Excel spreadsheets had been invented. Even if Cordelia