I wanted to reach around and smack the makeup right off her face. However, I stayed silent, unmoving, too interested in hearing Parker’s reaction to do anything else.
“We don’t do anything. I can talk to whoever I want, whenever I want. Get the stick outta your ass, Brynn. You’ll be more comfortable.”
I tried to hold down the laugh that wanted to escape at his retort, but unfortunately all it did was make it come out in a loud snort. The cough I followed up with did nothing to mask that I’d been listening in, and when I turned around to look, Brynn was glaring at me so hard I thought lasers were going to pop out of her eyes at any moment.
Luckily, Mrs. Wilkins spoke up right then, “Okay, class. You’re in for a treat today. I’m going to have you partner up with another student…”
A collective groan rumbled through the room at the thought of whatever team project our teacher had planned. And I swear, Mrs. Wilkins grinned at everyone’s misery.
“We’ll be reading The Crucible,” she stated as she began handing out papers. “I’ve put together a list of discussion points I want you and your partner to go over. At the end of the month, I want a four-page paper with your opinions on each topic.”
I started to shift my desk toward Stella’s, assuming I’d partner up with her, when Parker’s voice rang out.
“Mrs. Wilkins, I’d like to volunteer to be Freya’s partner. You know, since she’s new and doesn’t really have any friends.”
My cheeks instantly burned red and the tips of my ears heated with embarrassment as everyone around me chuckled.
“How chivalrous of you,” she replied banally. “But how about we ask Freya what she wants, hmm?”
Curious eyes gawked at me from all different directions, waiting for my answer. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was, “Uh…”
“Fantastic!” Parker exclaimed with a clap from behind me. “Let’s get our learn on.”
The sound of desks shuffling echoed off the walls. I shot a look at Stella who was giggling at my dilemma as she moved closer to the kid on her right. The traitor.
“That desk isn’t going to move itself.” Parker laughed, clearly enjoying my discomfort. Begrudgingly, I began to spin my desk around to face his, moving as slowly as I possibly could.
“You just don’t give up, do you?” I whispered once we were face to face. It took all my energy not to get sucked into those eyes that seemed to see everything. Parker’s lips quirked up in a knowing smirk, drawing attention to his ever-present lip ring. “What can I say? I’m a persistent guy.”
“And I said I didn’t want to make any new friends,” I shot back. My emotions were rioting inside of me, one side annoyed he was becoming such a nuisance while the other was secretly thrilled at his attention. For as much as I didn’t want to be near him, I found myself drawn to Parker, even when he wasn’t around. During the times I wasn’t wallowing in my own heartache, my thoughts were all about him. I thought about what he might see when he stared at me so intensely, about what that messy hair would feel like if I ran my fingers through it. My traitorous mind even focused on what his lip ring might feel like if I were to kiss him. Parker was dangerous for me. But even though I knew that, I was still undeniably fascinated by him.
“Yeah, I thought about that and figured you must not really know what you want after all. I mean, I’m a pretty awesome friend to have. You’ll realize it eventually.”
Choosing to ignore the tugging match going on inside my head and trying not to feed into his ego, I quickly shifted the subject off me. “Since when do you know Stella? The other day you couldn’t even remember her name and now you’re acting like you two are close?”
Parker leaned in and rested his forearms on his desk, staring intently. “I never said I didn’t know her, Freya. I just forgot her name, that’s all. I’m kind of bad about stuff like that.”
I immediately shot back, refusing to admit that maybe he wasn’t the bad guy I’d made him out to be. “And what kind of self-centered jerk doesn’t remember the name of someone he’s known since they were kids, huh? You really think you’re an awesome friend, Parker? Because from what I’ve seen, you’re just like every other popular asshole who thinks he’s better than everyone else.”
He grinned, which did nothing but infuriate me more. “We’ll see what you think of me by the end of the month, gorgeous.”
“Stop calling me that!”
“Just calling it like I see it,” he said with a casual shrug.
I was in Hell, and that Hell was called Sommerspoint. And I was convinced Parker Owens was the devil.
As I walked into Biology later that morning, I was relieved to see I had managed to beat Parker to class. I was safe to head to the back table without interruption…or so I thought. As I started down the aisle, the jock Parker had been sitting with all week put his leg up, propping his foot on the table across the aisle and blocking my way. He leered at me with an unfriendly sneer on his face. I hadn’t spoken a word to the guy, yet I already knew I didn’t like him. Standing there awkwardly as he stared me down had me feeling extremely uncomfortable.
“Hey there, new girl.”
“Excuse me,” I spoke through my discomfort, keeping my eyes pinned to the dingy, laminate floor. I didn’t want to look at him at the risk of egging him on.
He dropped his leg but pushed his chair in the way. “I’m sorry, am I blocking you?”
I finally managed to meet his mean grin and narrowed my eyes. “Please move,” I asked through clenched teeth.
“You’re a good-looking little thing, aren’t you?”
I glanced around the room looking for the teacher, but the final bell hadn’t rung yet and he was nowhere to be found. I noticed we’d garnered attention from several of our classmates and felt the blush start to creep up my cheeks.
“I just want to get to my seat,” I told him.
“What are you willing to do for it?”
Just then, a familiar deep voice rumbled from behind me, sending a chill through my body. “Move out of the way, Seth. Now.”
I spun around and was quickly thrown off-kilter by how close Parker was standing to me. His cologne wafted my way, muddying my senses and making me desperate to find out what he was wearing. At the same time, the fierce look on his face was enough to make even me want to cower away in fear. He looked downright murderous as he stared his friend down.
“Ah, come on, Park. I was just having a little fun with the new girl.”
Parker spoke in a low, menacing tone, “I don’t give a shit what you were doing. You don’t mess with Freya. You hear me?”
Considering Seth’s size, and the fact that he had at least twenty pounds on Parker, the fact that he looked just as uncomfortable as I felt truly was astonishing. In that moment, I knew Parker was not someone to be fooled with.
“She knew I was just teasing. Didn’t you, Freya.”
“Yeah, sure,” I mumbled. As soon as he moved his chair, I hurried back to my seat, ignoring the concern etched into Michael’s expression as he looked at me. My mind was too jumbled to engage in conversation with my tablemate so I kept my head down. I couldn’t put my finger on Parker. One minute he was rude, the next, charming. I’d come to expect that from him, since it seemed to be his personality. However, talking to Stella earlier and defending me against Seth…well, that was most definitely unexpected behavior. I found myself wondering who exactly Parker Owens was. And what was it about him that had me so intrigued.
The sun was minutes from setting as I slid my feet into my tennis shoes. As I headed for the back door, a knock at the front stopped me in my tracks. As I turned and headed in the other direction, I shot up a silent plea that whoever stood on the other side made their business quick. I had somewhere I really needed to be.
When I pulled the door open, I was shocked to see Parker standing on the front stoop. “What are you doing here?”
He gave me a self-satisfied smirk as he put a hand to his chest. “A
h, gorgeous. Your welcome is so touching. I’m happy to see you, too.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I lowered my eyelids into slits, trying desperately not to think about how good he looked with his tattered jeans and messy hair. His shirt was covered by a dark gray hoodie, but if I’d had to guess, he was wearing a basic t-shirt underneath. In the few days I’d known him, I’d come to realize Parker dressed more for comfort than flash. “Seriously, Parker. Why are you here?
“I seem to remember us teaming up on a project together.”
I’d completely forgotten about our English assignment. He couldn’t have picked a more inconvenient time to remind me. “You mean the project you bullied me into partnering up with you for?”
He snapped his fingers. “That’s the one. Glad you remembered.”
“Look, I was just about to leave. Can we do this another time?”
He straightened from where he was leaning against the doorframe and shoved his hands in his pockets, his expression suddenly full of excitement. “Where are we going?”
“We aren’t going anywhere. I’m heading down to the beach,” I answered as I pushed past him and pulled the door shut. He wasn’t deterred as I walked along the side of the house toward the cliff; he simply followed along as if he’d been invited.
“What a coincidence! I was just thinking of heading down to the beach.”
I came to an abrupt stop, circling around so we were standing face to face, “Seriously, Parker. We’ll work on the paper another day. I just want to be by myself right now, okay?”
The charming smile melted from his lips as his brows lowered. His face lost all its humor as he looked at me thoughtfully. “You’re big on being by yourself, aren’t you? Don’t you ever get lonely, Freya?”
My heart squeezed painfully at his question. If only he knew just how lonely I really was. No longer able to look into his perceptive eyes, I turned toward the water, seeing the sun had already begun its descent.
“All right. You can come with me.” I spun around and jabbed my finger into his chest, stating seriously, “But no talking.”
One of his brows lifted as the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Seriously? I can’t talk at all?”
“That’s the deal, Parker. Take it or leave it.”
“Fine,” he huffed indignantly. “Lead the way, gorgeous.”
We walked in silence as we made our way down the path leading to the beach below. I took a seat on the same log I sat on my first day there; the same day I’d met Parker. It felt strange to have him there with me, but oddly comforting at the same time. I sat quietly, in awe at the beauty of the different colors scattered across the sky. I’d forgotten the tranquility of watching the sun as it went down, bringing an end to the day. Shades of light pinks and yellows morphed into a fiery orange before the sky began to turn a light purple. As that purple deepened into a brilliant indigo, Parker spoke.
“What are we doing?” Even though he’d broken my ‘no talking’ rule, he’d still been considerate enough to whisper.
“Watching the sunset,” I answered softly.
“Ah.” Peaceful silence resumed for all of thirty seconds before he asked, “Why?”
I remained quiet for several more seconds before answering. “It’s just something that’s important to me.” I wasn’t ready to open up to Parker about my promise to my mother. I wanted to keep that piece of her to myself for as long as I possibly could.
“You’re a puzzle, Freya Linden. You know that?”
I looked at him curiously. “How do you mean?”
He leaned back and rested his palms on the smooth, weathered wood of the log as he studied the calm water. “I see something in your eyes when I look at you. You just seem so…sad…all the time. You claim you don’t want to make any connections, but the moment I said something in reference to Stella that rubbed you the wrong way, you didn’t hesitate to chew my ass out. You were protective of her. I think there’s a lot more to you than you’re willing to let people see.”
My gut had told me Parker was more perceptive than other boys his age, but I hadn’t realized just how much until right then. The last thing I wanted was for him to dig deeper to try and figure out what made me tick. At that point in my life, I was just trying to get through each day. Anything else would have been too much.
“I’m curious to know what I’ll find if I peel back all your layers.”
“I’m not an onion, Parker,” I deadpanned.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw him studying my profile, and I had no doubt he saw more there than most other people. “There’s something about you, Freya,” he said quietly. I didn’t respond, hoping if I ignored the statement he’d let it go.
As the shadow of evening slid across the water toward the beach, I shivered at the drop in temperature. Without a word, Parker pulled his hoodie over his head and handed it to me.
“Thanks,” I said with a small smile as I pulled it on. I basked in its warmth, inhaling discreetly, taking in as much of Parker’s scent as I could without him noticing.
The kind gesture left me feeling out of sorts. I didn’t know how to act around Parker when we weren’t butting heads.
“You aren’t going to make this easy, are you, gorgeous?”
I stared down at the pebbles on the beach, understanding exactly what he was asking. “It’s better this way. I don’t have room in my life to let anyone in right now, Parker. Believe me, you’re best off just letting it go. I’ve got too much baggage. I’m not someone you want to be friends with.”
He smiled softly and nudged my shoulder with his own. “Well, that’s not really fair,” he joked. “You’re already friends with Stella. What does she have that I don’t? It’s boobs, isn’t it?”
Despite the heavy mood still lingering in the air, I laughed. “She’s a force,” I answered. “She makes it impossible not to like her.”
His put his fingers under my chin and applied gentle pressure, lifting my face so I could see him. “Yeah? And what about me?”
A light-hearted smile spread across my lips as I joked, “Oh, you make it very easy not to like you. Has anyone ever told you that you can be exceedingly annoying when you want to be?”
“What can I say? You bring out the best in me,” he answered with a grin.
A chilly breeze blew across my face. Even with the warmth of Parker’s hoodie, I still felt cold. “It’s getting late. I should get back.” I stood from the log and started toward the path before the sky darkened too much for us to see our way.
“What about the paper?” Parker asked from beside me once we’d navigated our way up the path and were walking across my backyard.
“I guess we can start on it tomorrow. Is that okay? I’m pretty drained right now. I don’t think I’d be very helpful.”
We’d just rounded the corner to the front of the house when he stopped and turned to me. “Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal of my own.”
I studied his expression closely, trying to find the reason for the cocky grin he was currently sporting. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“Just hear me out. I’ve already read The Crucible and I’d be willing to write the paper myself. But you’d have to do something for me in return.”
I lifted a skeptical brow as I asked, “And what makes you think I’d trust you enough to write the paper all on your own? For all I know, you’re lying and you’ve never even heard of The Crucible. By the way, watching the movie with Daniel Day-Lewis doesn’t count.”
“First of all,” he said, lifting his finger in the air. “Your lack of faith wounds me, Freya. And secondly, I’ve had a 4.0 GPA for the past three years. I’d be willing to bet I could write a better paper than you in my sleep. And third, I learned my lesson on using movies instead of books when I watched Demi Moore in The Scarlet Letter. That was two hours of my life I’m never getting back.”
My head fell back in laughter. “Did you fail?”
“Hell, no! I rocked that shit. B
ut seriously, worst movie ever,” he shuddered.
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him with curiosity. “Fine. Let’s say I take this bet. What do you want in return?”
“Ah, now that’s the easy part, Freya. All I want in return is your friendship.”
I gawked at him in bewilderment. I was so sure he was going to ask for something ridiculous like my first-born child or something. Once again, Parker had surprised me.
“That’s it? All you want is for us to be friends?”
He took a step closer. Only inches separated our bodies, and I couldn’t help but think about how easy it would be to just lean into him, to close the miniscule space between us and press my lips against his. Parker’s lip ring shined in the soft glow of my porch light, toying with me.
“That’s it. Everyone needs friends, Freya. Even you. You can’t keep everyone out forever.”
He was right. I knew that. And for the first time since moving to Sommerspoint, the thought of making connections didn’t seem so bad. “I think I can do that.”
A huge, beaming smile spread across his face right before he pulled me in for a bone-crushing hug. “I knew I’d wear you down!” he exclaimed as he let me go, startling a laugh from me. As he started down the driveway, I finally noticed his truck wasn’t parked in front of my house.
“Hey,” I called out. “Where’s your truck?”
“Just another benefit of being my friend, gorgeous,” he said as he looked back over his shoulder. “We’re neighbors.”
Halfway down the drive, he cut across the side yard into the wooded area that separated our house from the one next to us.
“See you tomorrow, friend!” he yelled as he disappeared between the trees and into the darkness.
Maybe being friends with Parker Owens wasn’t going to be so bad after all
As I walked into my house, a sense of relief washed over me. Ever since I stumbled onto that gorgeous, weird girl down on the beach, looking so sad and broken, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head. It had been driving me insane. She consumed my thoughts. Every time I saw her, I found myself unable to quell the urge to do anything and everything to get her attention, be it good or bad. I didn’t know what was happening to me. All I knew was after that very first moment, I’d become obsessed. When she told me she didn’t want to make any friends, I became hell-bent on changing her mind.
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