Relief spills through me. I can get Alec and get the hell out of here.
“There’s my brother.” I tug my arm from Elena’s grip and jerk my thumb in his direction. “I’m just going to grab him and go. Um, thanks for showing me around.”
“What? No!” Elena reaches for me, but I shuffle back. “Stay and hang out!”
“Another time.”
I hold up my hands and back away. I don’t have to tell her I’m lying. She’s been nice enough, but I’m not looking to join in at Silver Lake High School.
Elena pouts, but is easily distracted by a group of girls that lure her on to the makeshift dance floor.
I hover behind Alec at the farm table and watch the game with a detached fascination, seeing an entirely different game with other players unfold before my eyes like an out-of-body experience.
“Come on, come on, come on!” Alec howls as he jumps up and down for his petite teammate to flip her cup. “You’ve got this! Do it!”
He’s the last one in the lineup, just like that night when we were sixteen.
My eyes slam shut. I take a minute to inhale and exhale in measured breaths through my nose, counting backwards.
“Alec,” I say in a tight voice.
He ignores me.
Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I jab him in the side with my fingers. “We’ve gotta go. Mom wants us back before she leaves for her shift at the hospital.”
Alec flicks a flat look over his shoulder. Aside from being identical in our dirty blond hair and green eyes, he stands five inches taller than me at five-foot ten. He shakes his head and runs his fingers through the longer hair on top of his head, ruffling it.
Across the table, the other flip cup team shouts unintelligible gibberish, encouraging their final player starting his attempt to flip the cup from the edge of the table. Alec tenses and bangs out a beat on the thick wood.
The petite girl beside Alec manages to flip her cup upright and Alec wastes no time downing his beer. He’s off like a shot flicking the plastic cup. It only takes him two tries before he lands it, sealing the win for his team while the opposite player is still flipping.
“Yeah!” Alec pumps his fists in the air.
The group around the table erupts in an uproar.
My body tenses and I shove my hands back in my jacket pockets.
“Alec! Alec! Alec!”
They chant it and slap him on the back.
It looks like my brother is already well known. He laughs, wrapping his arms around the girl beside him and fist bumping a tall boy in a soccer captain’s zip up jacket.
“I thought they had us for sure,” the soccer captain says, waggling his brows.
“Nah, man, not when I’m around.”
A laugh rolls out of Alec again when someone announces another match.
“Bishop! Get over here!”
The shout came from across the room and it draws the soccer captain’s attention. He disappears into the party.
I tug on the back of Alec’s shirt. When he turns to me, I raise my eyebrows.
“Ready?”
His expression closes off. “For another game, you mean?”
“No,” I say slowly, trying to keep a lid on my annoyance. “To leave. You heard me earlier.”
Alec bumps into my shoulder as he brushes past me. I hold back a grunt of frustration.
He’s been tetchy with me since we moved. Alec was pissed when Dad broke the news a few weeks before we packed up and left Colorado Springs.
“Can you just come with me? Mom said—”
Alec whirls around. “You think I give a shit what Mom said? I’m not leaving. Fuck off, Gemma.”
I grit my teeth.
A few people nearby watch with interest. High school kids are vultures when it comes to drama. They scent it like blood in the water.
My family issues don’t need an audience.
I keep my voice level as I follow Alec. “It doesn’t seem like you’re unhappy here. You fit right in.”
The ice in Alec’s eyes when he glances at me twists my insides. I don’t want to fight with my brother. I’m sorry I was the reason we had to move.
I was ripped from my friends, too.
Forcing out a sigh, I change tactics.
“Mom doesn’t leave for her shift for another hour. If I text her to say we’re stopping for burgers on our way home, can we go soon?”
Alec’s expression shifts enough to tell me he’s considering it. He can’t resist food. We haven’t kept up with our old after school ritual, so maybe I’m getting through to him at last.
“Strawberry milkshakes?”
The corners of my mouth quirk up. “Strawberry milkshakes and fries.”
For a brief moment, we’re not at odds.
Then a pair of strong hands yank me away from my brother by my hips. I’m whipped around and tugged against a wall of hard muscle.
Before I can react, the stranger’s lips cover mine in a demanding kiss.
And just like that, there goes my first fucking kiss.
...TO BE CONTINUED
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About the Author
Romance with Daring Edge
Veronica Eden is the author of dark new adult romances + reverse harem romances with spitfire heroines and irresistible heroes.
She loves exploring complicated feelings, magical worlds, epic adventures, and the bond of characters that embrace us against the world. She has always been drawn to gruff antiheroes, clever villains, and the twisty-turns of morally gray decisions. She believes sometimes the villain should get the girl and is a sucker for a deliciously devilish antihero. Veronica Eden is the pen name of romance author Mara Townsend. When not writing, she can be found soaking up sunshine at the beach, snuggling in a pile with her untamed pack of animals (her husband, dog and cat), and surrounding herself with as many plants as she can get her hands on.
CONTACT + FOLLOW
Email: [email protected]
Website: bit.ly/veornicaeden
FB Reader Group: bit.ly/veronicafbgroup
Amazon: amazon.com/author/veronicaeden
Also by Veronica Eden
Veronica Eden is debuting her dark new adult romance series and paranormal reverse harem series in 2020. Sign up for the mailing list to get first access and ARC opportunities!
REVERSE HAREM ROMANCE
Bound by Bounty Series
Prequel (coming soon)
The Hunted Witch (coming soon)
Bound by Bounty Book 2
Bound by Bounty Book 3
Standalone
More Than Bargained
DARK ROMANCE
Sinners and Saints Series
Wicked Saint
TD (Sinners and Saints Book 2)
RB (Sinners and Saints Book 3)
SW (Sinners and Saints Book 4)
Standalone
Unmasked Heart
Plus more coming!
Unmasked Heart Page 9