Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
She challenged, “How do you know someone hasn’t already?”
“Don’t fuck with me, Harley,” I stated in a cocky tone. “We both know you won’t win.”
“I’d never give you my v-card, Jackson Pierce.” I could see it in her eyes, she was going to say something spiteful, but I never expected it to be, “I’d sleep with Cash, who’s like a brother to me, before I ever slept with you.”
It was my turn to jerk back, hurt.
The chorus of the song kicked up, and the person I least expected stepped up next to us.
“Can I cut in?” Willow requested in a sultry tone.
I didn’t think twice about letting go of Harley. “I’d love to dance with you, baby.” Shifting my stare back to the Gremlin, looking her up and down, I spoke the truth, “Yeah, I’m done with her.”
She glared at me, and I smirked before turning my back to her, leaving her all alone...
On the dance floor.
Chapter 29
<>Harley<>
Then: Fifteen years old
I’d been standin’ there watchin’ them for what felt like forever. Lost in my own thoughts.
What does she have that I don’t?
Why do I care?
Why am I thinkin’ about him? Them?
Why is it botherin’ me that they haven’t stopped hangin’ out together?
I. Hate. Him.
But why do I now hate her? I don’t even know her.
Why does everythin’ about her piss me off? From her hair, to her nails, to her dress... even the sound of her voice bothers me.
Don’t get me started on the way she looks at him.
Barf.
Why do I feel this way?
His words, “Yeah, I’m done with her.” Playin’ over and over in my head. Triggerin’ the ache in my heart with every word.
“You alright?” Camila asked, catchin’ me off guard in the corner of the room.
“Yeah, of course.” I shrugged, looking at her. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’ve been staring at them for the last hour.”
“Who?” I played dumb.
“Jackson and Willow.”
“I think you’re seein’ things.”
“It’s okay, Harley, you don’t have to pretend with me.”
“What are you sayin’?”
“I’m saying I know you don’t hate him.”
“Pshhh... that’s funny, Camila. I can’t stand him.”
She arched an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side as if she was calling my bluff.
“What? I do.”
“Hate is a strong word, sweetheart.”
“Yeah. One that perfectly describes my feelings toward him.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “It’s okay, Harley. I won’t tell anyone, especially not Jackson. You can trust me. What you say doesn’t leave you and me, I promise.”
I bit my lip, contemplatin’.
“Come on.” She gestured toward the patio. “Let’s go where we can have some privacy.”
I nodded, followin’ behind her. Genuinely curious where she was goin’ with this. As soon as we stepped outside, the ocean breeze hit me, blowin’ the loose strands of hair away from my heated cheeks. Stirrin’ shivers to course up my spine.
“You look beautiful, Harley,” she complimented, leaning against the railin’, overlookin’ the water out on the beach.
“Thank you, so do you.”
She smiled, bumpin’ her shoulder into mine. “I saw you guys dancing earlier. What happened?”
“Nothin’.”
“This isn’t going to work unless you’re honest with me.”
I sighed, takin’ a deep breath. “I don’t know. He’s just so confusin’.”
“In the very best way, right?”
“You’re jokin’?”
“Yes,” she chuckled. “Jackson is anything but easy to understand. He’s the most complicated boy I’ve ever met.”
“Try knowin’ him your entire life.”
“I bet.”
“It’s like I never know where I stand with him. Ya know?”
“I can understand that more than anyone else. He terrorizes me too, Harley.”
“Yeah, but at least you know he likes you.”
“How exactly?”
“Cuz he does it outta love for you.”
“And how does he do it for you?”
“To torture me.”
“I see.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. I see you’re totally in denial over what you mean to him. Harley, outside of his father and Noah, you’re his best friend.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Now I know you gotta be jokin’.”
She shook her head. “But I’m not.”
“How do ya figure?”
“How do you not? You’ve been there for him throughout everything. You’ve written him letters which he keeps in his nightstand.”
“How do you know that?”
“I found them one day when I was cleaning up his room. He has a folder with your name on it.”
“He does?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
“Because he loves you.”
“Oh my God. Now you’re usin’ the word love?”
“He just doesn’t know it. Actually,” she thought for a second, “he does. He just doesn’t want to admit it out loud. That boy has been devoted to you since I met him.”
“I think you might have fallen and hit your head, Camila.”
“Jackson shows his love through his antics. It’s how he gets your attention.”
“You sound like my memaw.”
“I know. We’ve talked about it.”
“You have?”
“Yes. All the women in your family know what’s up. It’s the men who are blind to it. If your daddy knew how much you meant to him, he’d probably end up in jail for life.”
“Wait? What? The women in my family know?”