by Amy Sparling
A woman in her forties gives me a welcoming smile. “Hello.”
“Hi,” I say, trying to smile back. She has the same dark blue eyes as Jeremy and I know without a doubt that she’s his mom. The resemblance is too striking for her to be anyone else. I swallow. “My name is Hadley.”
“Oh, Hadley!” She smiles wider until it reaches her eyes. “So nice to meet you! I’ve been telling Jeremy to bring you around.”
“You’ve heard of me?” I blurt out before my brain can tell my mouth to shut up. I’m too shocked to shut up though. He told his mom about me?
“Of course, of course,” she says, giving me this knowing look that sends all the blood in my body straight to my cheeks. “He’s not here right now, honey. You can probably find him on the beach.”
“Okay.” I’m just the slightest bit relieved that he’s not home right now. I know I need to talk to him, but I’m so scared I feel like I might puke. “I’ll go look for him.”
“You should come over soon for dinner,” she says, still smiling. I think it’s safe to say Jeremy hasn’t told her anything about me lately or she wouldn’t be smiling.
“Thanks,” I tell her. If all goes well with Jeremy today, maybe he’ll want me to come over for dinner, too.
I venture down to the beach in front of Jeremy’s house and look both directions. I don’t immediately see him, but with the dozens of people out here, he could be hiding in plain sight. I decide to walk to the south. My heart jolts every time I see a tanned guy in board shorts, but after a dozen of these occurrences, I still haven’t found him.
There are just a ton of hot, tanned guys on Sterling Beach. Too bad I’m only looking for one specific hot, tanned guy. And I really, really hope I haven’t ruined things with him.
After an hour of walking, my feet are covered in sand and my whole body feels coated in a layer of salty air. I still haven’t found him. Then, it comes to me. So clearly and vividly that I can’t believe I didn’t try this spot earlier. When I needed to be alone, I had found that isolated part of the beach and had taken refuge in it.
I jog across the beach as quickly as the sand will let me, and make my way toward that large rock that provides a shady area to sit. My heart pounds as I approach it, knowing that if he’s not here, I’ll be out of places to look.
I see a trail of footprints leading right up to the other side of the rock. Slowly, I walk around it, and find Jeremy.
He’s sitting with his back against the rock, his hands pressed into the sand next to him. His eyes look over at me, but his expression doesn’t change. I don’t know if he’s surprised or angry to see me.
“Mind if I sit down?” My voice is weak, timid.
He shrugs.
“Is that a yes or a no?”
His eyes meet mine. “It’s always a yes, Hadley.”
I sink into the sand next to him. “I’m sorry.”
He doesn’t say anything, so I feel compelled to keep talking. “I’m sorry for running out of the pie shop that day. Sorry for ignoring you all week. Sorry you had to skip poker night because I’m such a crappy person.”
A muscle in his jaw twitches. “You are not a crappy person.”
“Yeah, I am.” I take a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have left you that day.”
“Why did you?” he asks, his voice sad.
“I was mortified. Your friends were playing that freaking video…” My teeth clench together to stop myself from crying. “I was just too embarrassed. I didn’t want you to see it. I didn’t want you to ever find out about it.”
“About the video…” he says slowly, hesitantly as his fingers trace circles in the sand. “Was that some kind of scripted thing?”
I shake my head. “It was real.”
“Your boyfriend broke up with you on YouTube?”
A ball of dread and hurt fills my chest and all I can do is nod in reply. Jeremy’s arm slides around my shoulders and he pulls me into a hug. “God, Hadley. I’m so sorry.”
My breathing is ragged and I’m trying so very hard not to cry. “It’s fine. It’s over. It’s all in the past.”
“No one deserves to be treated like that.”
I shrug again. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Okay.” He releases me from the hug. I desperately want to stay in his arms, but I still have things to say.
“I want you to come back to poker nights. Grandad misses you.”
He nods. “I will. I felt awful for skipping the last one, but I figured you didn’t want to see me.”
“It’s not you… I was just so embarrassed. I’m still embarrassed.”
“Don’t let some jerk’s actions ruin your happiness,” he says. His hand reaches up and touches my cheek. When our eyes meet, a jolt of electricity ripples through my body. He smiles softly. “You are way too good for that guy anyway.”
I lean against him, letting my body wrap into his, my face pressing to his chest. He smells good, like summer and happiness, and I want to say here forever. “Thank you for saying that.”
“Hey… Hadley?” he says after a few minutes.
“Yeah?” I say without looking up. Laying against his chest, with his arm around me while we stare out at the ocean is my official favorite place to be. I’m not going to look up and ruin it.
“How do you feel about long-distance relationships?”
Okay, maybe I will look up. My lips press into a thin line as I hold back a smile. “What do you mean?”
Jeremy—always so full of confidence and a happy attitude—suddenly looks bashful. “I just… you’re going back home after summer and… well…” He scratches his neck.
I grin. “I hate long distance relationships.”
His face falls. “Oh.”
I talk quickly because I can’t leave him in a state of sadness for too long. “But what if we weren’t long distance?”
Jeremy’s brows shoot up. “What are you talking about?”
“Grandad said I could move in with him. Like, for good.”
“Are you serious?”
I bite my bottom lip and nod. “Yeah.”
That beautiful, carefree grin of his is back. “No. Freaking. Way.”
“Yes way.”
He stands up, then takes my hands and pulls me up with him. The sun is shining and the sand is warm beneath our feet, and on the shore, the ocean is swooshing water onto the sand, providing the perfect backdrop for a moment like this.
“Hadley,” Jeremy says, holding my hands tightly in his. “Will you be my girlfriend?”
This time, the feeling of tears stinging at my eyes is from happiness. The next time I talk to my cousin I will have to thank her for throwing the party that ruined my life and then somehow brought about the events that saved it.
I look at Jeremy and feel my whole body warm up. “Yes.”
Thank you for reading Saving Hadley! If you enjoyed the book please consider leaving a quick review on Amazon.
Don’t miss the next book in the Boys of Summer Series!
Eleanor’s childhood friend is all grown up...
It’s been three years since Eleanor last stepped foot in Sterling Beach, and some things haven’t changed. Her old friend Deacon isn’t one of them. Gone is the nice boy she remembers. In his place is a burly, tattooed bouncer with a chip on his shoulder and a grudge against the girl who left and never looked back. He’s not a kid anymore, and his kisses? Those are far from friendly.
Eleanor is looking for answers, but what she finds revisiting her favorite beach town haunts has her more confused than ever. The sites look the same but everything that matters has changed. Eleanor and Deacon might not be able go back to the past, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a future...
This is a novella in the Boys of Summer series, a collaboration between several YA authors. They are all standalone stories that take place in the same fictional town. Escape to Sterling Beach today!
Click here to get Beach Town Bad Boy and continue r
eading the Boys of Summer Series!
Also by Amy Sparling
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Ella’s Twisted Senior Year
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A contemporary teen romance series based on three couples that go to the same school. These books can be read in any order.
About the Author
Amy Sparling is the bestselling author of books for teens and the teens at heart. She lives on the coast of Texas with her family, her spoiled rotten pets, and a huge pile of books. She graduated with a degree in English and has worked at a bookstore, coffee shop, and a fashion boutique. Her fashion skills aren't the best, but luckily she turned her love of coffee and books into a writing career that means she can work in her pajamas. Her favorite things are coffee, book boyfriends, and Netflix binges.
She's always loved reading books from R. L. Stine's Fear Street series, to The Baby Sitter's Club series by Ann, Martin, and of course, Twilight. She started writing her own books in 2010 and now publishes several books a year. Amy loves getting messages from her readers and responds to every single one! Connect with her on one of the links below.