Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Her tone turns saccharine. “You can come if you promise not to park in the pool.”
I focus on the musical number on the screen, pretending not to hear the giggles. Fuck these girls. I don’t need their approval. Don’t need their friendship. Even if they’d all welcomed me to St. Vincent’s with open arms and tried to make friends with me back in September, I still wouldn’t trust them. I had a big friend group at Ballard Academy and look how that turned out. Every single one of them betrayed me after the accident. Smiled to my face and laughed behind my back. They spread rumors about the worst night of my life, turning me into a laughingstock.
I had to learn the hard way that loyalty is rare in high school. Which is why I’m not interested in buddying up to any of these girls, not when they showed me their true character right out of the gate. There are only two people I trust these days.
My sister.
And the one guy who never fails to put a smile on my face.
So I keep staring straight ahead and mentally count the minutes until I can see Fenn.
CHAPTER 2
CASEY
AFTER SCHOOL I THROW ON MY RUNNING SHOES AND WHISTLE FOR Bo and Penny, who hardly wait for me to open the front door before they bolt down the driveway toward the sun sitting low above the tree line. For a couple of big golden retrievers, they’ve got engines like racehorses and the patience of caffeinated toddlers. They sprint most of the way to the forest path between the dorms and my house on the edge of the Sandover campus, where Fenn is waiting for me.
I’m still not tired of the way he always looks deep in thought before his head lifts and his blue eyes light up. That embarrassed grin he smothers as he wraps his arms over my shoulders and kisses the top of my head.
“Hi,” he says. Never more than that. But it’s the inflection that makes it our own secret language. Everything we need to say in one tiny sound.
“Hi.”
I lock my arms behind his back and stay there awhile. Because even on days I remember my armor, school is exhausting.
“You okay?” Fenn says against my hair.
He’s almost a foot taller than me, letting me nestle against his chest. He must’ve ditched his blazer in his dorm because he’s wearing only his Sandover-issued button-down, the sleeves rolled up. He smells so delicious. That boarding school tuition doesn’t skimp on the good fabric softener.
“Uh-huh,” I answer. “You give good hug.”
I feel his laugh fan over my cheek. “Oh, yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“’Kay. Knock yourself out.”
I give him one last squeeze before I let go, shielding my eyes from the sun to spot Bo and Penny harassing some creature up a tree.
“Guys,” I shout in reprimand, and they quickly dash away from the tree.
“How long can you stay?” Fenn quickly unbuttons his shirt and lays it down on the grass for me to sit on.
I can’t help but snort.
“What? It’s called manners, Casey.”
“Any excuse to take your clothes off.” Not that I hate it. Playing soccer has given him ridiculous abs. Which he’s not shy about.
“Eyes are up here, sweetheart.” He winks at me and sprawls out beside me.
Something weird happens when the guy you like says he likes you back. Everything becomes hyperreal. Vivid. Those dimples I hadn’t paid significant attention to before? They now occupy an inordinate share of my thoughts. I can’t stop staring at his lips, the bottom one fuller than the top. Or noticing how he always seems to miss one tiny patch of dark-blond stubble on the corner of his jaw whenever he shaves.
It’s impossible not to let my gaze drift to his bare chest again. His sculpted muscles and tanned flesh make my fingers itch to touch him. I swallow through my dry throat and force myself not to ogle him. Sloane mockingly refers to Fenn as the golden boy, and it’s hard to disagree with that assessment, only not in a scornful way. With his blond hair, golden skin, and tall, muscular frame, he’s hotness personified.
I still can’t believe he’s actually mine.
“I can’t stay long,” I tell him. “Homework. And Dad’s making dinner. So…”
“So I better not waste my time then.”
With a naughty grin, he reaches for my hand and pulls me to sit across his lap. My resulting squeak is a cross between surprise and delight. Then my pulse quickens, as Fenn catches me around the waist to hold me tight and presses his warm lips to mine.
It begins innocent enough at first. A sweet kiss. The soft brush of his lips. My fingers find their way down his bare shoulders to travel the firm ridges of his abs, and I feel his muscles contract under my touch. My tongue seeks his while he tangles his hands in my hair, gently cupping the side of my face.