“You’re not leaving because of us are you?” Mason asked, sounding ready and willing to pull out all the guys from the room (which I wanted him to do). His questioning eyes washed over Ally. “We can come back later if you want.”
“No, I really need to go,” Ally lied again softly, scurrying quickly for the door.
“She’s shy,” I explained with a hint of laughter in my voice as my friends watched her scramble away from them as though they were a pack of wild rabid dogs—which they kind of were, especially in small confinements … like a hospital room.
“Who is she?” Jake asked as she opened the door.
Ally froze at my answer. “She’s my girlfriend.”
Like lightening, she turned back to me with wide eyes and flushed, glowing cheeks, and a big questioning smile spreading across her face.
“Right?” I said to her.
She nodded.
Right. On.
My heart rejoiced at the tiny gesture. I mean it, I practically heard angels singing.
Hailey had said I wouldn’t change for a girl … but she was dead wrong. I’d change for one (and only one)—Ally, my Cookie Girl. I was going to let her lead me around, anywhere she wanted. Anywhere. ‘Cause I knew the places she’d take me were the kind that make you glow—and I needed a little light in my life. A little Heaven.
With Ally-made rainbows in my vision, I watched her skip happily out of the room, thrilled she wasn’t going to run away from me anymore.
Then I closed my eyes and smiled. Huge. I, Griff The Grief Master, had a girlfriend—Ally Grange. The sweetest girl in the whole school.
Wild.
Note from Melanie Marks
I hope you enjoyed HER KISS (Griffin).
There will be more to Griffin’s story this July, 2014.
The book is called, GRIFFIN
(It may be out by the time you read this. So look for it!)
***
Note: If you haven’t read HIS KISS or HIGH SCHOOL BOYS yet, you may want to read them before you read Griffin. However, it is not at all mandatory. Just a suggestion.
(HIS KISS is Ally’s version of HER Kiss, and HIGH SCHOOL BOYS is what happens right after Griffin and Ally first start dating.)
***
If you want to read more about Summer and Mason from this book, they are in Melanie Marks’ new novel:
LOUDER THAN WORDS
When seventeen year old Summer Baker is stalked by her obsessed ex-boyfriend she’s forced to ask for help from her secret weapon—her “bad-boy” ex-friend, Mason … but that’s a lot of ex’s. Also, Summer’s not sure her heart can take re-connecting with Mason. Mason who had once—no matter how brief of time—been her “stepbrother.” Mason with his smokin’ hotness and lingering stare.
Still, Summer is forced to call on him, and he comes to her rescue. Just like she knew he would. But the problem is: Summer has always had a secret crush on Mason. But—whoa!—suddenly he’s looking at her all hungry and longing-like. And he says all the right words to get her heart spazzing. It almost has her thinking he craves her too. Almost. But let’s face it, actions speak louder than words and Mason has put out zero action … unless you’re talking about action with other girls. He’s put out plenty of that. Grrr! He breaks girls’ hearts at lightening speed and has made-out with every hot girl at their school … that is, every hot girl except Summer. Because in Mason’s mind, Summer is off-limits. But that bites.
(Louder Than Words is available now.)
http://www.byMelanieMarks.com
email:
[email protected]
Books By Melanie Marks:
FALL FOR ME
When Zoey’s long-time boyfriend, Finn, cheats on her—kissing a girl he “just can’t resist”—he gives Zoey a “free pass,” telling her she can kiss any guy she wants. Finn is so cocky and sure of their relationship that the arrangement seems perfect. He’s not worried Zoey will fall for another guy, and he’s itching to get rid of his feelings of guilt. But the thing is, Zoey knows exactly who she wants to kiss—longs to kiss—Finn’s best friend, Riley. But, she wants the kiss too much. She knows that. So, she resists the “Free Pass.” Still, she’s pushed into it when Finn loses a bet to Riley, and Riley wants his payment—a kiss from Zoey.
(Fall Forever and Finn’s Fall are books #2 and #3 of Fall For Me)
His Kiss
Ally’s world was totally on track: the right boyfriend, the right school activities, the right plans. But then she is bribed into kissing the school “bad boy.” (Griffin Piper.) Now nothing is right. Nothing! Because all she can think about is … His Kiss.
High School Boys:
The book contains the story, More Of His Kiss, which goes on with Griffin and Ally’s story right after they start dating.
THE STRANGER INSIDE
by Melanie Marks
Synopsis:
After her father’s mysterious death, seventeen-year-old Jodi Logan is forced to move back in with her mother and stepfamily. This in itself tears at Jodi. Her mother kicked her out two years earlier after discovering Jodi was romantically involved with her stepbrother, Jeremy. To make matters worse, there’s Jeremy himself. No matter how hard Jodi fights it, she’s still drawn to him.
Adding to the suck-fest that is now her home life, lately Jodi has time lapses she can’t account for, waking places she doesn’t remember going. When she comes to one day and finds herself making out with a boy she’s never met, Sawyer, Jodi learns she’s been living a double life as a girl named Kenzie. But who is Kenzie? Jodi fears she’s going crazy—maybe developing a split personality. But when she discovers the truth, it’s even worse. Jodi is possessed by a ghost—a stranger inside her that refuses to leave.
When a girl from school is murdered Jodi doesn’t know who she can trust: her new friends? Sawyer? Jeremy? Or the stranger inside?
An excerpt from
THE STRANGER INSIDE:
Sawyer handed me his toothbrush with the paste already on it. He must have prepared it for Kenzie. The thought made my stomach turn.
I shuddered and asked it again, “Sawyer, what did I do?”
He breathed out a soft laugh—sympathetic, yeah, but still slightly amused. “You were really … entertaining.” His lips quirked at the corners. “You danced while our band played. I had no idea you could dance like that—I mean, it wasn’t ballet.” He laughed again. “So not ballet. And you sang with Jeremy.” He closed his eyes, leaning his head back with a paled wince—not looking so amused anymore. “You and Jeremy—you had a lot of fun.”
I clutched my stomach feeling sick. “Why didn’t you stop me?”
Sawyer’s jaw muscles ticked. “I couldn’t. I mean it. I had absolutely no control over Kenzie. She broke up with me, by the way. She and Jeremy are a couple.”
I glared down at the ground. Shoot me. Shoot me now. “I didn’t kiss him, did I?”
Sawyer’s eyebrows went up. “Jodi, you were all over him—he had to like, fight you off.”
I groaned. “Next time don’t let me go near Jeremy—take me away.”
Sawyer shook his head. He ran a hand over his face. “Jodi, you don’t get it. I don’t have any control over Kenzie. None. She does what she wants. She doesn’t listen to me.”
Another excerpt from
THE STRANGER INSIDE:
Jeremy leaned his head back against the wall, looking tired. Exhausted. Yet he’d stayed up with Kenzie, took care of her with gentle attention.
I watched him close his eyes, then I got brave enough to ask, “You like Kenzie a lot, huh?”
“Well,” he kept his eyes shut, but a lazy smile crept across his lips, “She’s really good looking.”
I blushed, happy at his answer. Too happy. Using the sink for support, I rose to my feet. “I don’t suppose you’d tell me what we did tonight,” I said as I looked at my frightful image in the mirror.
Jeremy stayed leaning against the bathroom wall, making no move to get off
the floor. Or answer me.
I shivered.
“Could you do me a favor?” Really, I had a bunch of favors I wanted to ask him—the main being, could he stay away from Kenzie. But I couldn’t bring myself to actually ask it aloud. Instead I said, “Could you not let Kenzie drink? I mean, this is my body.”
Jeremy gave a small smile at that. “I’ll try.”
I got out Sawyer’s toothbrush, and brushed, and re-brushed my teeth, trying to get the awful taste out of my mouth. Jeremy sat on the floor watching me, and I wondered if he remembered that he brushed my teeth for me before. In eighth grade, I’d broken my arm when I accidently rode my bike into a ditch. The next morning, I was sore all over and couldn’t use my right arm. So Jeremy got me ready for school that day.
He’d washed my hair, brushed my teeth, and helped me get dressed. He even chose the clothes for me to wear. The memory made me laugh, and then cry. Still, he just sat on the floor, watching me. I think he knew all the strange, mixed up feelings he stirred in me. I think maybe I stirred the same confused feelings in him.
The Stranger Inside is available now
BOOKS By Melanie Marks:
The Dating Deal
Louder Than Words
The Stranger Inside
Griffin
His Kiss
High School Boys
(High School Boys contains book #2 of His Kiss)
Fall For Me
Fall Forever (Fall For Me #2)
Finn’s Fall (Fall For Me #3)
I Remember You
Always Hers
My Mushy Middle School Heart
Slumber Party Wars
Best Friend Wars
#Wars
Fake Boyfriend Wars
Don’t Make Me Read Your Mind, Matt
(Actually, there’s more)
http://www.byMelanieMarks.com
email:
[email protected]
THE DATING DEAL
“Come with me to the dance. Caitlin and I just broke up. I need a date, you need a date. Let’s just … date. This isn’t a noble gesture or anything. I don’t do stuff like that. It’s a deal. We’re making a deal.”—Trent Ryan.
Megan Turner thought her hard-drive was cleared before she sold her computer in a local online auction, but it wasn’t. Her journal was recoverable, and now it is in the hands of someone she really doesn’t want to read it—the boy she’s had a crush on for years.
Author Bio:
Melanie Marks was born and raised in California. She is married to a naval nuclear submarine officer and blessed with three amazingly terrific kids.
Melanie has had over sixty stories published in magazines such as Highlights and Teen Magazine as well as in various anthologies, many being Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She’s had nine children’s books published and twelve teen novels, THE DATING DEAL; I REMEMBER YOU; HIGH SCHOOL BOYS; THE STRANGER INSIDE; WHEN KYLE CAME BACK; HIS KISS; HER KISS; FALL FOR ME; FALL FOREVER; FINN’S FALL; LOUDER THAN WORDS; and A DEMON’S KISS. More teen novels are forthcoming this summer, 2014.
Melanie enjoys reading in the bathtub, writing in bed, and living in a house longer than two years. Visit her website at http://www.byMelanieMarks.com or email her: [email protected]
Her Kiss (Griffin) Page 13