by Amy Sparling
Plus making out with him just now was the hottest thing I’ve ever done. I could get used to that. Maybe other guys at college will be just as good at kissing as Park is. There’s really only one way to find out, right? And that’s by boldly embracing the single life and not settling down with one guy.
Park’s phone conveniently comes to life, buzzing around the coffee table just seconds after I hang up with Jace. I panic, thinking it’s Jace calling to yell at him for hitting on me.
“Hey Mama,” he says, giving me an apologetic look. “I’m at Jace’s apartment. Yes, Mom I promise I’m fine. There’s plenty of food and I have plenty of money.”
His voice is softer when talking to her compared to how he talks to me. Maybe not softer, exactly, but different. Childlike. I set my phone on the coffee table and sit back on the couch, keeping my distance from him this time. He answers a few more of her questions. Their conversation could be a clone of the talks I have with my own mom. Always answering her constant questions about every possible aspect of my well-being. If Park has a mom as loving and caring as mine, then he can’t possibly be that bad.
“Sorry about that,” he says when he gets off the phone a few minutes later. “My team and I travel all over the country to race but the one time I do it alone, with no credit card, she freaks out.”
“You have a team? What’s that like?” Yep. I’m changing the subject on purpose. Because although just a moment ago, I thought being the girl who dated around would be fun, right now I’m terrified to kiss those gorgeous lips again. One more kiss just might do me in.
“We call it a team, but racing is pretty much a solo sport. There’s me, a few guys who also race under Kawasaki, and our mechanics come with us. We’re a little family, in a non-weird way.”
“Cool,” I say. “You’ll have to tell me more about that sometime.”
He turns sideways, resting his arm on the back on the couch, his fingers just inches from my shoulder. “Is everything okay? You seem different.”
I shake my head. “I’m fine.” He tilts his head, watching me intently. I swallow. “I’m fine, really. I think maybe I should go soon.”
“Something’s wrong.” He scoots closer to me on the couch, but doesn’t touch me. “What happened on the phone?”
“Nothing.” In my nervousness, I start to laugh. “Seriously, Park. Let’s just change the subject. I’m tired. I guess I should go to bed.”
He leans forward, narrowing his eyes. “You talked to Jace, didn’t you? I bet he said to stay away from me?”
I shake my head, but it’s pointless to deny it. Park sighs. He cracks his knuckles. “I can’t blame him. I mean, I guess I should have known he’d do that. He knows me too well and he cares about you too much.”
“I don’t get you. You talk like you’re some massive player, and then you say you aren’t like that, and then you commend Jace on warning me to stay away from you. So what is it? If we have a…thing…going on here, I want to be a part of it. I refuse to be some silly girl you play for fun.” My chest heaves after my long winded speech, but I’m not finished yet. I square my shoulders and look him dead in the eyes. “If I’m just some girl to make out with and then forget, then that’s my choice. Not yours. You don’t get to sit here and think you’re pulling one over on me. I won’t be the sappy pathetic girl you leave behind, crying and wishing you’d return—”
I don’t stop talking because I want to. I stop because a very rude boy puts his finger over my lips. He smiles and trails his other hand across my cheek. “Becca.” I furrow my brows and he removes his finger, but I don’t say anything. I fold my arms across my chest and wait for whatever he has to say.
“I know you have no reason to trust me, and I know I can be a total d-bag and all,” Park says, lowering his eyes. “But I’m not playing you. I haven’t felt that way once, not since the moment I saw you at the wedding. I don’t want to forget all about you when I go back home. I think we could have something special. I want this to last. I want us to last.”
“You realize you’re asking for something crazy, right?” There goes my brain making my mouth say something logical despite how my heart just sits back and chants yes yes yes! Make it last! in the background of my mind. I look down at my hands. “You sound like some guy in a movie, spouting crazy love-struck ideas to a woman he just met. Life isn’t really like the movies, you know.”
He grabs my hand, folding his fingers around mine. “Life can be better than the movies. You should give me a chance.”
I stare at him defiantly. “Why should I believe you?”
He glances at my lips when he speaks. “Because I’ve never asked this from anyone else before.”
Who did my brain think I was kidding earlier? There’s no way I could casually make out with Park and then date around during college. That is so not me. What he’s asking, what he’s promising me, sounds like a dream come true. My heart can’t decide if it wants to leap for joy or shrink back in fear.
I squeeze his hand as it holds mine. “I’m not in the business of getting heart broken,” I say.
He leans forward, begging for a quick kiss. I can’t help but give it to him. “That’s good,” he says, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against mine. “Because I’m no longer in the business of breaking hearts.”
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Don’t miss part 3 of Becca’s series: Summer Apart, coming March 2015
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About the Author
Amy Sparling is the author of The Summer Unplugged Series, The Devin and Tobey Series, Deadbeat & other awesome books for younger teens. She also writes books for older teens under the name Cheyanne Young.
Connect with Amy online!
Website: http://www.AmySparling.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Amy_Sparling
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Summer Together
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
About the Author