BooksBarbecue
Back Parachutes
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

I slather some sunscreen on my neck and arms but don’t take off my mask.

“C’mon, you’re not seriously going to hike with that on, are you?” he asks. “It’s gotta be like a hundred degrees under there!”

I shrug and keep walking. Overheating is a small price for beauty. But Zach won’t let it go. Every few steps, he looks over at me and sighs.

“But I want to see your face,” he complains.

“Yeah, well, you’re not going to want to see it when I’m old and covered with aging spots!” I recite almost word for word what my mom always says.

He puts his arms up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a sec, Snow White,” he says. “Where is this coming from?”

I shake my head at him, frustrated he’s giving me such a hard time. Jay never questioned my pollution mask. He wore one himself when we were walking on the beach in Laguna. His was blue and from Japan. Jess, Nancy, and Florence each have one. Even Dani’s mom makes her wear a hat.

I turn to Zach. “Do you have any idea how much money my mother spends on laser treatments? They’re not just expensive, they hurt!” I tell him. “I have to protect my skin now if I want to look good later.”

Zach chuckles when I say this, which only makes me angrier.

“You’re going to look good later,” he assures me. I roll my eyes and keep walking, thinking back to what Teddy once said about white guys, how they can’t tell the difference between a pretty Asian girl and an ugly one.

“Hey, wait up!” Zach calls, running toward me. He reaches for my arm and pulls me aside. “You think I like you because of the color of your skin?” His eyes search mine. “I like you because you’re smart. Because you’re kind. Because you can swim like a fish. And you’re brave. You’re the bravest person I know. You’re here all by yourself in this strange, foreign country.”

A lump forms in my throat.

“So you can put on all the masks you want but it’s not going to matter. I can still see what’s inside you. And that’s why I like you,” he says.

It is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, and as I put my hands around his neck, I want him. Now. I rip the mask from my face and we start kissing. His soft lips nuzzle my neck, and all of a sudden, it’s happening again. Breathlessly, Zach pulls himself away to get a condom out from his backpack this time. He leads me over to a patch of grass underneath a tree and starts peeling off my pants.

As we’re undressing, we hear someone on the trail.