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There Adam had instructed Seth on how to feed quarters into the cigarette machine and get a pack of Marlboros. Seth had been really nervous about getting caught, but Adam had told him it was no sweat.
On the bridge, Adam and Seth smoke cigarettes. It is the first time Seth has smoked. He doesn’t inhale the smoke, hoping that Adam won’t notice. In this paragraph, readers learn that the cigarettes came from a cigarette machine at a diner. At the time the story takes place, cigarette vending machines were installed in such places. Still, it was illegal for minors to buy or smoke cigarettes. Adam encourages Seth to break the law, and despite his reservations, Seth succumbs to Adam’s peer pressure. Ironically, Adam may be pressuring Seth into buying the cigarettes because, despite his reassurances to Seth, he is afraid of getting caught himself.
He was really tempted to leave but he stayed because he liked being with Adam. It made him feel good that a cool guy like Adam let him hang around.
After Adam pretends to throw a rock off the bridge, potentially causing a serious accident, Seth becomes nervous about Adam’s recklessness and the possibility of getting caught. He ignores his moral compass because he does not want Adam to think he is a coward. Being with Adam makes him feel good about himself. The key phrase in this quote is let him. Seth thinks so little of himself that he must submit himself to Adam to be accepted into his social sphere.
