Toe to Toe (On Pointe Book 1) by Penelope Freed (comprehension books txt) 📗

down from the Quinn’s house. I pull my bag over my shoulder and walk up the street to Katy’s front door. Someone on the street must be having a party, I can hear music playing and people talking from here. It’s only when I stop in front of her house that I realize the noise is coming from the Quinn’s backyard.

Just as I lift my hand to knock on the door, it flies open, startling me. “I got it,” Jack calls over his shoulder as he barrels out the door and crashes right into me, knocking me flat on my back. “Are you okay?” Jack reaches out a hand to pull me back onto my feet, concern written all over his face.

“I’m okay,” I say automatically, rubbing the sting out of the hand that broke my fall. The palm is a little scraped up and my butt hurts from hitting the ground, but otherwise I’m okay.

“Let me see your hand,” Jack commands, pulling my hand towards him to inspect it.

“I’m fine, really.” I insist, pulling my hand back. “Um, can I come in?”

“Jack!” Katy’s voice comes from somewhere behind him. “Let Hannah inside and go away,” she adds, shoving him aside. “Hey Han. Come on.” She pulls me inside and straight up the stairs to her room. Lisa is already there, flipping through a collection of lotions, cleansers and assorted spa-like goodies.

“Ugh!” Katy groans, flopping backwards onto her bed. “Hunter and Jack invited all their friends over to swim.” That explains the noise and all the cars on the street. “I thought they were going to Nicole’s house this afternoon and we would have the house to ourselves. If we want to swim, we have to put up with them, I’m sorry.” She looks up at us apologetically.

“It’s fine, we don’t have to swim,” Lisa says with a shrug. “We can hang out up here.” All three of us pause and listen to the noise coming from Katy’s backyard.

“Yeah, we can just stay up here,” I add quickly.

“I hate my brothers!” Katy groans. “They always do this.” She pouts.

“Do what? Have people over?” I ask.

“Yeah, they’re here all the time.” Katy shakes her head. “It’s been like this since Cole was in high school, so like, basically my whole life. The worst is when I come home from dance all sweaty and disgusting, to find my living room overflowing with beautiful people playing video games or watching a movie and the whole room turns to look.” Katy shudders.

“KATY!” a deep voice thunders through the open window. “Kaaaaaaaaaty! Come hang out!”

She jack-knifes up off the bed and shouts right back, “Shut up Hunter!” Lisa’s wide eyes meet my own. I send mental thanks up to whoever is in charge up there that I’m an only child. “I’m sorry. You guys don’t have to stay.”

“No, no, we’re staying,” I say quickly. “Come on, I brought masks.” I pull them out of my bag and toss them on the bed. Ten minutes later the three of us are giggling at the green, pink and yellow goop on our respective faces as we watch YouTube videos on Katy’s laptop.

“Hey Ka-” Hunter cuts off in a choked laugh as he throws open her door.

“Oh my god Hunter, don’t you know how to knock!” Katy yells, chucking a pillow at his head.

“Sorry,” he says, sheepish. “Hi Hannah, hi Lisa,” he adds, nodding at us. We wave back from the bed. “Uh, Dad’s ordering pizza, he wanted to know if you guys are eating, too.”

“Of course. Can you make sure he orders salad too, please? And a big one, enough for the three of us, plus whatever girls you have downstairs.” Hunter sticks out his tongue at Katy, then heads down the stairs without another word.

We pass the next thirty minutes scrolling through our phones, washing off the facemasks and watching random videos together. My stomach growls loudly just as the scent of pizza comes wafting through the window.

“Let’s go. If we don’t get there quick, there won’t be any food left,” Katy hops up and thunders down the stairs, Lisa and I trailing behind.

“Um, this is weird, right?” I whisper to Lisa as we hang back from the crowd of bodies huddled around a table that I assume has food on it. We can’t actually see anything from where we hover in the sliding glass doorway.

“Yeah. I had no idea this was a thing that happened in real life,” Lisa whispered back. We watch in awe as Katy elbows her way through the crowd, plate in hand.

“Excuse us.” Allyson and Megan push past us, taking a moment to snicker at my tank top and leggings.

“Why are they here?” Megan asks, tossing her thick brown hair over her shoulder. We make eye-contact briefly, long enough for her to see I heard her words, before I look away.

“Ignore her,” Lisa says.

I pull my gaze from their denim cutoffs and tiny bikinis. Not before I get a good look at Allyson pressing her palm to Jack’s naked chest. I glance at my own leggings and t-shirt, realizing for the first time that everyone here is half-naked. The yard is a sea of tanned skin and brightly colored swim trunks and bikinis.

I rub a foot against my calf, feeling self-conscious in my covered up state. “Do you guys want food?” Katy calls to us from deep in the crowd by the table. Like a scene from a movie, every head in the backyard turns to look at us. Okay, not every single person, but all the ones nearby, which feels just as bad. Like a spotlight has flared to life over my head, sweat breaks out between my shoulder blades and I gulp, my throat suddenly dry.

Lisa pushes me forward towards the table, using me as a human shield. I try not to squirm under the scrutiny of the most popular and beautiful people at our school. People who I would have happily lived my whole life never hanging out