by Len Webster
But it seemed the rest of her body fell into lust as her eyelids closed and she held her breath. Suddenly, a phone ringing caused AJ to jump, and she opened her eyes to find Landon groaning. He removed his hands from her and reached into his jeans pocket and answered his phone.
AJ cleared her throat and willed her heart to stop its anxious beats.
Landon nodded as he listened to the person on the other end of the call. He’d said, “Yes,” and “Uh-huh,” until he finally said, “Ah, yeah, of course, Coach. I’m on my way now.” Then he hung up with a frown, and the apology was written all over his face. “That was Coach.”
“You have to go?”
He nodded. “Sorry, Alex. Want me to walk you back to your dorm?”
She smiled, the disappointment fast disappearing. He was still making an effort, and she appreciated it. “I’d like that.”
“All right, let’s go,” Landon said as he grabbed their cups from the railing and walked off the bridge with her. When they reached a trashcan, Landon disposed of their takeout cups. Before she had even taken a step, he grasped her hand and threaded his fingers through hers.
AJ glanced down at their connected hands and smiled.
Landon wasn’t afraid to show his affection for her, and it was nice.
More than nice.
He had been the first person to ever show honest desire toward her, and that made AJ’s heart leap at the knowledge. So she glanced up, smiled that she was okay to walk through campus with him, and then began to walk toward the garden’s exit.
As they headed to her dorm, all she could think about was the fact that Landon Carmichael wanted to kiss her.
And the fact that she wanted to kiss him.
She also began to feel nervous about their date on Saturday.
Then she felt sick with worry when she realized that she had never gone on a date before. AJ was in over her head. She didn’t know how to date. She didn’t even know what to do during a date.
“Alex?”
AJ blinked and came face to face with her dorm’s front door. She tilted her head and was surprised to find that they were already at Wilson.
“Umm,” she said as she turned and noticed Landon’s concerned expression. “I blanked out, didn’t I?”
“You were definitely lost in thought,” he said. “Want me to walk you to your dorm?”
AJ shook her head at the twinkle in his blue eyes. “You just want to know which room is mine.”
“And Savannah’s,” he added.
Laughing, AJ released his hand, pulled her lanyard from her bag, and pressed her card against the card reader by the door. When she was granted access, she opened the door, and Landon walked inside Wilson. AJ led him up the stairs until they reached her floor, and she peeked at him to find him smiling.
“Landon, you’re a junior. You know what dorms look like. I’m sure you’ve been to Wilson countless times,” she teased as they made it to her dorm.
“When I was a freshman, I always wanted to live in Wilson. You have it lucky, Massachusetts.”
“Where did you live?”
“Bell Tower.”
AJ rolled her eyes. Bell Tower was one of the best houses on East campus. “You mean Hotel Bell?”
“Okay, so I didn’t have it bad. Bell Tower was a great freshman dorm. But I always wanted Wilson.”
“Well, we can’t have it all. Now, you have to go, remember?”
Landon sighed. “I bet Coach is fitting in a last-minute training session before break.” He reached out and wrapped his hands around her arms, leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I’ll text you later?”
She nodded with a smile. “Sure.”
Then Landon grinned, turned around, and walked away. AJ refrained from glancing over her shoulder to steal a peek at him. She used the key on her lanyard to open her dorm room. Once she was inside, she kicked the door closed and went to her bed. She dumped her bag on the mattress and removed her thick coat. She let it rest on her mattress as she retrieved her phone from her bag.
When she turned it on, she had several missed calls and a text message from Kyle. As AJ unlocked her phone, a knock on her door had her turning around. She could only imagine it was Landon since he had just left her.
AJ decided to make him wait a second longer as she walked to her door while she opened Kyle’s message.
Kyle: I’m sorry, Alexi.
Her brows furrowed in confusion.
Kyle’s sorry?
For what?
Another knock on her door had AJ shaking her head and ignoring Kyle’s strange text. She’d reply later. AJ grasped the doorknob, twisted it, and pulled the door open, expecting to see Landon’s smile and his bright blue eyes.
Instead, AJ’s heart stopped as she came face to face with heartbroken brown eyes and lips that made a straight line.
She found it hard to breathe as pain radiated throughout her body.
“Alexandra,” he breathed.
Her lips parted in bewilderment as she shook her head.
Then she whispered,
“Evan?”
The end of
THE THEORY OF UNREQUITED
Book one in the Science of Unrequited series.
Find out what happens next to AJ and Evan in
THE SOLUTION TO UNREQUITED
Book two in the Science of Unrequited series.
THE SOLUTION TO UNREQUITED
Book two in the Science of Unrequited series.
Atomic number: 33
Name of chemical element: Arsenic
Symbol: As
Every solution has a poisonous flaw … even between best friends.
The agreement: Fall break spent together.
The struggle: A road trip from North Carolina to Massachusetts.
The reason: To find a way back into each other’s lives.
The issue: AJ’s not ready to let Evan reclaim the parts of her he’d made his.
The hindrance: Connecticut.
Read on for an excerpt of AJ and Evan’s upcoming story.
PROLOGUE I
AJ
When I was nine, I cried when my parents told me I couldn’t bring my best friend back to Australia for the entire summer break.
I thought it was unfair and I had the worst parents in the world.
Evan had to stay in Brookline and I had to visit my family in Melbourne.
His father had been kind enough to drive him and Kyle to the airport to see us off. I remember seeing the desperation on his face for us to be reunited and spend the remaining weeks of summer together.
For us to go swimming at the beach.
For us to ride our bikes up and down the sidewalk as my father watched by the driveway.
For us to talk about all the things we would do when we grew up.
Every summer, Evan saw us off at the airport.
When I was old enough to travel alone, he’d hug me a little longer, a light tighter, a little more desperate than when I was travelling with my parents. When Evan let me go, he’d ask me if I had my boarding pass and passport and would remind me that my grandparents would be on the other side and he’d be there waiting for me when I returned.
No matter where I went, I always knew that when I came home, Evan Gilmore would always be there to welcome me back with open arms and a kind heart.
I was well aware that would change when I left for North Carolina instead of California. I knew I had lost my best friend when I turned my back on him.
I was finally free from my broken heart’s punisher.
I was free to be Alexandra Parker.
But I wasn’t free.
I was in pain.
Pain I tried to hide by losing half of me.
Pain I felt because I was stupid enough to let Evan go.
Pain I couldn’t turn off because I kept loving him the way I shouldn’t have.
Evan owed me nothing yet I kept holding everything against him.
I held his mistakes as intentional actions against me.
I held my broken heart against our friendship.
I ruined everything because I wasn’t a stronger person.
I was selfish.
I’m still selfish.
Because here he is, outside my dorm room, and I want nothing more than to push him away and run.
Further this time.
I want to run away and not have him know that he is my heart’s poison.
My heart’s one true weakness.
Evan Gilmore is arsenic to my soul.
THE SOLUTION TO UNREQUITED
Book two in the Science of Unrequited series.
COMING SOON
MID 2018
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
After over a year of waiting to release The Theory of Unrequited, it’s finally here! It’s finally a book. I’m so happy that I get to finally write these acknowledgements. I’ve been in love with AJ and Evan’s story for years and being patient was the hardest thing I had to endure. But finally, AJ and Evan’s story has begun.
And trust me, you don’t want to miss the next installment to their story in The Solution to Unrequited, coming mid-2018.
I couldn’t have published this book without my family and my dogs. Yes, my dogs. Their undying love, support, and enthusiasm for this book and my career is awe-inspiring. I couldn’t do this without the Webster, and honestly, I wouldn’t want to.
Thank you to my best friend, Jaycee Ford. Your belief in my future is incredible and when I need someone to believe in me, you’re always there. Thank you for being an incredible friend and an author I look up to so highly.
Thank you to Danielle Melo for beat reading and loving this book as much as I do. I love you.
To Veronica Larsen, you are so incredible I can’t even put it into words. You have become my confidant and my go-to person. And thank you for being part of this journey. I can’t wait to watch you blossom!
To my editor, Jenny Sims, thank you so much for fitting TTOU into your schedule. Thank you so much for not only editing AJ and Evan’s story, but also making it American! You always give my books that added something that makes it special. Thank you, Jenny. For absolutely everything!
To my cover designer and book interior book designer, Najla and Nada of Najla Qamber Designs. You ladies are incredible, and you’re always there to make everything so beautiful. You made AJ and Evan’s cover, interior, and everything in between so stunning. Thank you so much.
My incredible, hard working, talented, and always supportive publicist, Veronica Adams. How did I ever do this without you? You’ve made my life better and you inspire me to be better and work harder. Thank you for bring AJ and Evan to the world.
To the amazing authors, bloggers, and readers who shared The Theory of Unrequited. Thank you for sharing AJ and Evan. It means so much to me to have the love and support of this industry. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
To my readers, thank you for making the last six years of my life incredible. I wouldn’t be where I am without you. Thank you all so much for loving my books and the person that I am. I hope you loved AJ and Evan as much as you loved all my other characters.
To Noel and Clara, I promise I’ll take care of Alexandra.
To my Lenatics, you have known about AJ and Evan for almost two years. Thank you so much being so patient and for loving this story in all the snippets you read. I hope it was worth the wait.
And to you. Always YOU.
Thank you for buying and reading AJ and Evan’s book. You flourish my career and I am honored to have you read my words and stories.
Until our next adventure together in The Solution to Unrequited,
Love,
Len
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Len Webster is a romance-loving Melburnian with dreams of finding her version of ‘The One.’ But until that moment happens, she writes. Having graduated with her BBusCom from Monash University, Len is now busy writing her next romance about how a boy met a girl, and how they fell completely and hopelessly in love.
She is also not a certified explorer, but she’s working on it.
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The Theory of Unrequited
Copyright © 2018 Len Webster
Published by Len Webster
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re- sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Published: Len Webster 2018
Editing: Jenny Sims
Cover & Interior Design: Najla Qamber Designs
Table of Contents
Title
Prologue I
Prologue II
1 H - Hydrogen
2 He - Helium
3 Li - Litium
4 Be - Berylium
5 B - Boron
6 C - Carbon
7 N - Nitrogen
8 O - Oxygen
9 F - Fluorine
10 Ne - Neon
11 Na - Sodium
12 Mg - Magnesium
13 Al - Aluminium
14 Si - Silicon
15 P - Phosphorus
16 S - Sulfur
17 Cl - Chlorine
18 Ar - Argon
19 K - Potassium
20 Ca - Calcium
21 Sc - Scandium
22 Ti - Titanium
23 V - Vanadium
24 Cr - Chromium
25 Mn - Manganese
The Solution to Unrequited
Acknowledgements
About the Author