Between Hearts: A Romance Anthology

by Alexander, Erica

  “Sweet.” He bites his fist as we approach a very familiar rusty, black Kia with the hood open.

  Bent over the engine block is the sweetest ass I’ve ever seen.

  Josh doesn’t miss it, either. He veers in her direction. “On second thought…”

  I grab him hard by the back of the neck before he gets too far away. “That’s only a good idea if you feel like dying today, my man.”

  “The fuck, Falls? Why you gotta be like that? You get all the pussy you want at this school. Help a brother out.”

  “I am helping you out. Everyone knows Evie’s a man-eater. Go mack on Jackie. She’s more your speed.”

  “Yeah, but Eva’s hot body makes a man forget what a bitch she is sometimes. Thanks for the reminder. I was about to do something really stupid.” A grin spreads across his face.

  I’d love nothing more than to wipe it off him.

  “You couldn’t keep up with Jackie, huh? I hear she’s a real wildcat.”

  “Something like that.” I sigh in frustration as I watch Evie fiddle uselessly with some wires.

  While Josh interrogates me about Jackie’s sexual preferences, which I honestly know nothing about, a new threat approaches Evie.

  She startles when he places a hand on the small of her back. If looks could kill, I wouldn’t have to lift a finger because she’d already have the guy bleeding at her feet. That idea really shouldn’t make me as happy as it does.

  Still, he doesn’t seem to be taking the hint. Evie takes a defensive stance, her arms crossed over her chest. Leaving Josh without a word or a look back, I make my way to the standoff not ten yards away.

  Evie’s eyes widen as she sees me approach at the guy’s back. I’m just close enough to hear what he’s spouting off to her.

  “…in exchange, you could show me how you work that magic mouth of yours.”

  In my head, the next few seconds play out very clearly. I tap the asshole on his shoulder, and just as he turns to face me, my fist makes a satisfying crunching sound against his face. He crumples to the ground in pain and abject fear. Evie thanks me for coming to her defense, I fix her beat-up sedan for her, and then we ride off into the sunset.

  So simple. So easy.

  So not my reality.

  Instead of getting myself expelled for assault on school property, I simply wait until I’m only an inch from the guy before clearing my throat. “Car trouble?”

  He whips around to face me. The panicked look on his face almost makes me laugh out loud.

  Not so tough when someone’s around to overhear your vile filth, are ya, buddy?

  “Oh, hey, Rob!” he squeaks. “I, uh, didn’t see you back there. Yeah, Eva here is just…having some issues. I’m gonna help her out though, so it’s all good.”

  I squint at him until recognition sets in. Tate Barnes. Another fucking sophomore. What is it with these guys? They’re like a plague on the female population of Ironville. His brother Trent is in my class and on the football team. He’s not nearly as much of an asshole as this little guy.

  I lean down to whisper in his ear. “If you ever talk to her like that again, I’ll break your fucking neck.”

  A loud bang followed by a shout of, “Fuck!” interrupts our little moment.

  We both turn towards the commotion and find Evie sucking on her finger. Tate’s eyes widen even further, this time in arousal. The little punk is only thinking about his earlier proposition, not the fact that she clearly hurt herself.

  A loud crack of my knuckles brings him down a peg. I jerk my head to the side to indicate he should get lost before I make good on my earlier proposition. He’s smarter than he looks, because he doesn’t waste any time before making his retreat.

  “What’s going on, Papageorgiou?” My voice is probably an octave too high, so I busy myself with looking under the hood.

  Her glare burns the side of my already-heated face, so I take a deep breath to focus on her problem and not her. Judging by the amount of corrosion on her ancient battery terminals, I’m gonna guess it won’t start.

  “Does the engine turn over at all?”

  “It just makes some sort of clicking sound.” She colors her answer with a hard voice.

  Casting my gaze to the side, I give her the once-over to make sure she didn’t hurt herself worse than I first assumed. That probably wasn’t my smartest idea, because she’s still sucking on her finger, her blue eyes lasered in on the engine like she could will it to start with her superhuman mind power. Damn, but she looks good. Her hair’s a frizzy mess of tight curls that spill out of the bun on top of her head. She’s wearing her large, black-framed glasses today, which match her black Metallica tee. Her ripped jeans give off an edgy vibe that excites every nerve ending in my body.

  Her drastic style change from girly to badass is the stuff wet dreams are made of.

  Coupled with the rumors going around about her “magic mouth,” it’s no wonder half of my time at school is spent threatening the douche canoes who want a piece of her.

  Fuck that shit.

  I already suffered through her being with someone else for a few short weeks. Didn’t like it. Not about to let it happen again.

  “Shit!” She kicks the old bumper with her Doc. “I’m supposed to be at work in fifteen minutes!”

  “Well, you’ve got two choices.” After another deep breath, my voice comes out steadier than I feel. “I can bring my car over and try to give you a jump, but you’ll probably still have to get a ride home from the diner. And your battery’s so old that there’s no guarantee that’ll work. Or I can just drive you over there now.”

  She opens her mouth, no doubt to argue, but I cut her off before she can deny me this small chance.

  “You’ll only be five minutes late instead of probably a half hour if I take you now.”

  That did not come out at all the way I intended. A quick cough brings me back to my senses. Even after all of this time, this girl ties my tongue up and flash-freezes my brain. Keeping my internal filter in place is a very real struggle in her presence.

  Her eyebrows furrow, and she switches from sucking on her finger to chewing her thumbnail. Her unsure gaze falls on me only briefly before she scans the parking lot for a better option.

  Come on, come on. Take a chance on me, Evie. I won’t let you down the way he did.

  Normally, I’d give her all the time in the world to come to the obvious choice, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Sabrina approaching with purpose in her long strides.

  She didn’t take real kindly to our horribly awkward make-out session after the only date we went on this past winter, and she’s been relentlessly pursuing me for a second chance ever since. The last thing anyone needs is for her to make a scene in the parking lot. Somehow, the girl has gotten it into her head that, if we just try it again, we’ll have better results. I’m not about to tell her that the only reason it didn’t go the way she had hoped the first time is because I couldn’t get my mind off the gorgeous brunette beside me.

  Every step Sabrina takes towards us ramps up my anxiety over the impending explosion until I can’t wait for an answer any longer.

  “Tick tock. Pick your poison.” My prompt comes out a little too urgently, judging by Evie’s icy glare.

  “Fine,” she huffs. “I don’t really have a choice.”

  I slam the hood closed as she grabs her backpack out of the car. Without waiting to see if Evie follows, I make quick tracks to the other side of the parking lot, unlocking my Mustang with the fob. Am I avoiding the inevitable? Maybe. Will I keep running like a cowardly lion for as long as it takes until Sabrina moves on to another target? You bet your ass. How is it even possible for me to tell her the truth?

  Yeah, sorry, Sabrina. It’s never gonna work out between us. I only used you as a distraction to get over the girl who broke my heart. Sorry about my lack of skill in the making out department, but you were my first kiss, first grope, first real date, and that thought makes me want to puke and/o
r punch something.

  Nope. Not gonna do it.

  No girl wants to hear that not only are they a stand-in for someone else, but that you regret that you wasted every first you always hoped would be with another on them. I might be disgusted by the chicks who throw themselves at me, but it doesn’t mean I have to be an asshole to them.

  It's not until I’m opening the driver’s door that I realize Evie isn’t climbing in across from me. I scan the parking lot until I find her frantically gesturing to her friend, Jess. She’s not even twenty yards away from me, but it might as well be twenty miles. It’s clear from watching their interaction that Jess is going to give her a ride to the diner.

  Sure enough, Evie shrugs her shoulders in a lame apology.

  Our gazes lock for only a few seconds, but in that small amount of time, an eternity of things seems to pass between us. Through the hardened shell she wears like armor around herself, I still see the beautiful, intelligent girl I want with every fiber of my being. And, when she looks at me, I just know she sees through my mask of a typical jock too. We’ve both been acting for so long. Too long.

  She blinks then climbs into the passenger’s side of Jess’s little coupe. It seems we’ll be acting for a bit longer than I hoped.

  Damn. Foiled again.

  A deep laugh behind scares the shit out of me. It’s not until I turn around and see Alex loping towards me that I realize Sabrina has given her chase up for today.

  “What the hell was that all about?” He winks, probably having watched the entire crash and burn with Evie unfold.

  “Ah, you know. Just the usual for me. What are you so happy about? And why are you still here?”

  “Oh, no reason. Hey, I need a favor though.”

  Of course he does.

  “Would you be interested in going to the diner later? I got Kelly to agree to a date tonight, but only if she can bring her friend.” Alex plasters on his patented puppy-dog pleading look.

  “You know, I’m not sure if you do this to yourself because you’re running out of girls who don’t already hate you or if you’re trying to help me in a really roundabout kind of way.”

  He shrugs as he leans against the hood of my car. “Does it matter? You get to spend the evening eating good food and drooling over Eva.”

  “Yeah, but it kind of defeats the purpose for Evie to see me out with another chick, even if I’m not interested.”

  “Hey.” He punches me in the chest. “You owe me for all the times you make me sit in that damn diner without girls.”

  He’s got me there.

  “All right, fine. What time?”

  “Eight.”

  “That’s a little early for you, isn’t it?”

  A sly smile spreads across his face. “Yeah, but she has an early curfew.”

  “Alex, just how old are these girls?”

  He pushes off the car, digging for his keys in his pocket. “Freshmen.”

  “Aww, man! Are you fucking kidding me?” There is no way I’m taking a freshman on even a fake double date.

  “It’ll be less weird if you have an actual reason to be there instead of just blatantly stalking Eva, you know. You could be a little more grateful.” He walks away to his own car.

  I roll my eyes and climb in to start the engine. Alex makes a valid point.

  Evie’s been in a rut ever since she and Eddie broke up five months ago. The rumors that have ramped up about her ever since have put her in some kind of funk she just can’t seem to shake.

  It’s obvious to me that they’re not true, but she’s so damn gorgeous that everyone else seems to be buying into it.

  It’s not really fair of me to make a move until she gets her head on straight. I figured a few months would be enough, but the school year is almost over and she shows no signs of making peace with everything. It’s seriously unfair how much our lives have changed. No way am I gonna let her out of my sight and wait for some other asshole to mess with her head ever again. For now, I’m just biding my time until the stars align.

  I waited nearly three years and almost lost her.

  I can wait the whole summer more if that’s what she needs, as long as I’m close enough to make sure she’s safe.

  Safe and ready for me.

  I don’t know what it’s going to take with her. If there’s one thing I learned over the miserable winter months, though, it’s not to give up when the going gets tough.

  I’m going to make Evie Papageorgiou mine.

  All that’s left is to figure out how.

  Game on.

  About the Author

  Kata lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her four children and large extended family. Actually, that's a lie. She only has three children by birth; one by marriage. That would be her husband. When she isn't writing or living in the fictional world of her mind, she's mainlining coffee, laughing at SpongeBob reruns, and methodically organizing her music playlists. Her current project is to make a master list of all covers that are better than the original.

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  Also by Kata Čuić

  First and Goal

  Moving the Chains Book 1

  Eva Papageorgiou has one goal: to make it through her senior year of high school unseen and unscathed. But when her strategy to stay out of the limelight is derailed by rampant rumors, she’s forced to change tactics. Her new game plan is to keep everyone at arm’s length. Especially boys. So when she’s partnered up in class with the hot as hell varsity quarterback, she pushes and pushes.

  Until he pushes back.

  Rob Falls just wants to fit in. With his teammates, with his friends, with everyone. His image as the quintessential jock makes him feel like a fraud. Especially since it’s the only reason all the girls at school want him, except the one girl he dreams about. She wants nothing to do with him. When he’s forced to tutor the class pariah, he realizes it’s time to get in the game instead of standing on the sidelines.

  She’s going to help him get exactly what he wants, whether she knows it or not.

  Life doesn’t come with a playbook, but Rob knows this could be the most important play he’ll ever make.

  First and Goal is book one in The Moving the Chains series. It ends on a cliffhanger.

  Second Down

  Moving the Chains Book 2

  Soon to be released.

  Some memories stand the test of time.

  Others, if we’re lucky, are forgotten forever.

  Then there are those that are etched into our hearts, branded on our souls, and carried within us until the day we die.

  She doesn’t remember the best and worst day of her life.

  Eva Papageorgiou has no memory of the brutal attack she suffered at the hands of her would-be rapist—the last few days of her life wiped away completely. But the scars she bares hint at the trauma she endured.

  She feels powerless and alone, no longer able to trust her own mind. The only certainty in her life is that everything is different. Until a friend reveals a secret, filling the holes of her memory.

  Now Eva is determined to reclaim her life and her control over it.

  The day he dreamed of was the one that cost him everything.

  Rob Falls is stuck in a perpetual nightmare, unable to move past the horrific event that changed his and Eva’s lives forever. While friends and family urge him to overcome the tragedy, he withdraws, consumed with guilt and regret no one else—not even Eva—understands.

  He may never earn the redemption he longs for, but he vows to help her feel safe once again.

  Now Rob will do whatever he can to protect the girl he loves from anyone who might hurt her—even himself.

  Eva longs to remember.

  Rob wishes he could forget.

 
Even after everything that has come between them, they’re still drawn together.

  But can two damaged souls build a future even as the secrets of the past carve new scars?

  The Moving the Chains series is recommended for mature readers due to strong language, sexual content, and potential emotional triggers.

  The Tryout

  A Western Mountain College Prequel

  Parker St. Rose

  Edited by

  Valorie Clifton

  Chapter One

  Declan

  I lace up my brand new tennis shoes, taking extra time to wiggle my feet in the toe box, then tighten the laces — tight but not too tight — before tying each knot. I lean back against the tiled wall of the locker room and breathe in the stale odor of sweat and gym socks.

  I shut my eyes and envision what will happen this afternoon.

  I’m ridiculous for wanting this, but I can’t seem to help myself.

  Ever since I heard that Liv Samuels and a few other seniors were forming Parkview High’s triathlon club, I knew I had to show up for tryouts, even though I’d never done anything like it before.

  Sure, I’m a run-of-the-mill Tahoe kid who skates, hikes, and swims in the summertime and snowboards during the winter months, but I have never swum, biked, or run consecutively.

  Before this summer, that is.

  This summer, I swam, I biked, and I ran more than I ever imagined I’d do in my lifetime, let alone in the span of two short months. I went from walking to jogging to running my first 5K. The swim team coach, an old family friend, kicked my ass in the pool. Then I relearned how to ride a bicycle after a multiple-year break.

  My friends said I was crazy, spending so much time training for a club that I might not even make. But as the weeks went by, I realized I loved it.