Confessions of a Teen Nanny 03 - Juicy Secrets by Victoria. Ashton

little less afraid. Do you think Mindreader wants you flopping around on her back like a sack of potatoes?"

    "I guess not," Heather said.

    "I think if you stop being so afraid, you'll be able to

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    understand the instructions better. It's normal to be scared of new things. But you'll feel so much better if you face what you're afraid of head-on and don't give up."

    Heather bit her lip as if she were considering what Liz was saying.

    Whaddya know, Liz thought. My pep talk might actually be working. She didn't want to lose momentum now.

    "And you know what? Afterward, you might not even remember why you thought it was so scary in the first place."

    "I don't know. . . ."

    "Ready to take another shot?"

    "Oh, all right," Heather said.

    "Ready?" Ms. Winters called once Heather had climbed back up onto Mindreader.

    "Ready," Heather said, her voice a bit more confident.

    I should listen to my own advice, Liz realized. I'm so afraid of talking to Parker that I'm making it even worse.

    Liz decided she would track Parker down tonight and have it out with him. I just hope that I mean enough to him, she thought, to get him to stop.

    Liz walked into JG Melon's on Third Avenue. The hamburger shop and bar was a hangout for the boys at Dudley, and Parker and the swim team regularly had dinner there after practice on Thursdays.

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    She really hated barging in, but she didn't know what else to do. For the last four days she had phoned, e-mailed, and texted, and Parker hadn't replied. He was back in elusive mode. But she knew she had to have this conversation tonight. She was not going to spend another horrible night tossing and turning, running every scenario she could think of and generally making herself insane.

    Liz walked in and looked around the wood-paneled room. She spotted Parker's friends sitting around one of the red-checked-cloth covered tables in the back.

    "Hey, guys," Liz said, stepping up to the table.

    "Hey, Liz," said Jack Chasen. "You meeting some other lovelies from P-B?"

    "Actually, no," Liz said. "I'm looking for Parker."

    "Oh." Jack frowned, then glanced at the other guys at the table.

    Liz suddenly felt super self-conscious. She started worrying that this had been a very bad idea.

    No, she told herself. This has to be done, and done now.

    "Parker was out of school today," Jack said, looking around the table. "We don't think he's even coming."

    "What, and miss treating my favorite scoundrels to burgers?"

    Liz turned to see Parker standing behind her, gor- geous as ever. He looked surprised when he realized that it was Liz who was standing in front of him.

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    "Hey Liz, what are you doing here?" he asked.

    Liz blushed, knowing the entire table was watching them. She stepped in closer."I-I really need to talk to you," she said quietly.

    "Guys, I'll be right back." He took Liz by the arm and led her through the restaurant back out onto Third Avenue.

    "Liz, what's wrong? What's so important that you came here tonight? I thought you understood about boys' night."

    Liz took a deep breath."Parker," she said in a low voice. "I know."

    "About what?" Parker asked.

    "About the drugs," Liz whispered. She didn't want any of the passersby on the sidewalk to hear her.

    "So?" he said.

    Liz stepped back and stared up at him. "So, Parker," she said."You could get into trouble.You could go to jail."

    "For getting high every once in a while?" he asked, amused. He snickered. "They'd have to arrest every kid in every private school in New York if that were a real problem."

    "Parker," Liz said firmly,"not every kid in every private school in New York is dealing drugs."

    Parker's expression went from amused to dumb- founded. "I don't deal drugs," he said. "Liz, poor kids deal drugs. I have more money than any kid in New York, and

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    you, of all people, should