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Back Parachutes Save as PDF
Chapters (93)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. One
  4. Two
  5. Three
  6. Four
  7. Five
  8. Six
  9. Seven
  10. Eight
  11. Nine
  12. Ten
  13. Eleven
  14. Twelve
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-One
  34. Thirty-Two
  35. Thirty-Three
  36. Thirty-Four
  37. Thirty-Five
  38. Thirty-Six
  39. Thirty-Seven
  40. Thirty-Eight
  41. Thirty-Nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-One
  44. Forty-Two
  45. Forty-Three
  46. Forty-Four
  47. Forty-Five
  48. Forty-Six
  49. Forty-Seven
  50. Forty-Eight
  51. Forty-Nine
  52. Fifty
  53. Fifty-One
  54. Fifty-Two
  55. Fifty-Three
  56. Fifty-Four
  57. Fifty-Five
  58. Fifty-Six
  59. Fifty-Seven
  60. Fifty-Eight
  61. Fifty-Nine
  62. Sixty
  63. Sixty-One
  64. Sixty-Two
  65. Sixty-Three
  66. Sixty-Four
  67. Sixty-Five
  68. Sixty-Six
  69. Sixty-Seven
  70. Sixty-Eight
  71. Sixty-Nine
  72. Seventy
  73. Seventy-One
  74. Seventy-Two
  75. Seventy-Three
  76. Seventy-Four
  77. Seventy-Five
  78. Seventy-Six
  79. Seventy-Seven
  80. Seventy-Eight
  81. Seventy-Nine
  82. Eighty
  83. Eighty-One
  84. Eighty-Two
  85. Eighty-Three
  86. Eighty-Four
  87. Eighty-Five
  88. Author’s Note
  89. Acknowledgments
  90. About the Author
  91. Books by Kelly Yang
  92. Back Ad
  93. About the Publisher

“But it’s over now!” he swears.

I side-eye him, trying to decide if I believe him. I gaze back at the house toward Claire. “An essential part of a happy relationship is honesty and communication,” I remind him.

He scoffs and throws back at me, “An essential part of being a good maid is discretion.”

Fifty-Five

Claire

Something’s different after Jay and I get back together. He’s more on edge. I can feel it in the way he jerks away from me now whenever I touch him in the morning, like he doesn’t want to be teased. But I’m not teasing him. I’m working up the courage to take the next step with him. And I feel like I’m ready.

That night, as we’re kissing in bed, I straddle him in my La Perla bra and panties. Slowly, I move my head down, kissing first his neck, then his chest, then his . . .

“What are you doing?” Jay asks, sitting up.

I bite my lips shyly.

He studies my eyes. “I thought you wanted to wait . . . ,” he says.

“I do,” I say. I cover my face with the silk comforter, embarrassed, and peek out. “But maybe we can try . . . other things . . . ?”

Jay smiles. He lies back down and puts both hands behind his head, and I scooch down on the bed. I’ll admit I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’ve read enough stuff online and seen enough movies. Jay watches me. It turns me on to see him so turned on. He groans as I take him in my hands and part my lips.

Afterward, we lie side by side in the damp silence. I resist the urge to face him and ask him what’s wrong. I thought it was pretty hot, which was why I was so surprised when barely three minutes into it, he pulled his boxers back on and said, “It’s okay. You don’t have to do that. I’m good.”

I’m good? What is that supposed to mean? Am I that bad at sex? I pull the covers up over my head, sighing into the night. I can feel his own labored, frustrated breathing next to me. I want to turn to him and ask for editorial comments, just like Ms. Jones always gives us on our writing.

Instead, I think about the 129 girls on his phone. Who are they and what are they doing with him? He must be doing something, because he just turned down a blow job.

At school the next day, I tell the girls what happened. Jess offers to give me tutorials with a banana, if it’ll help.

“I feel like you guys are just in this weird sexual phase,” she says.

I slump my shoulders forward and look over at Jay, sitting with his friends in the cafeteria. God, I hope they’re not also dissecting what happened. Do guys do that?