I ran to the bathroom with my overnight bag in hand and changed as fast as I could. To keep with the Dancing with the Stars theme, I’d brought a glittery gold dress that came just above my knees and hugged my curves. I paired it with some strappy high-heeled shoes I’d borrowed from my mom. Then I touched up my makeup and hair, making sure the soft waves in my hair were perfect.
I definitely couldn’t do all the fancy moves the dancers on the show could, but thankfully I only had to keep up with seventy-year-olds. And whoever else showed up to pay a dollar to dance with me.
Heading back to the dance, I arrived there just in time to see my friends walk in. They saw me, waved, and came right over.
“You made it!” I said. They were in everything from sundresses and cowboy boots to heels and figure-hugging dresses. “You guys look great.”
“Us?” Lena said. “Look at you! You’re a doll, Harp!”
She spun me around, and I laughed. “Thanks.”
Tori winked. “The boys from school are totally gonna be lining up with cash in hand for a chance to dance with you.”
I shrugged. “Well, the school announced the fundraiser tonight, but I’m not sure that many people from school will be coming. They probably have more exciting things to do on a Friday night.”
Tori held up her phone. “I don’t think so. As far as I know, most of the cheerleaders and jocks will be here.”
Lena held up her phone too with a smile. “The soccer team too.”
Ella smiled. “We all texted everyone we knew.”
Rey nodded. “I hope you bought enough safety pins! But just in case…” She held up a little clear container full of them. Then she patted a small black bag at her side. “I brought my camera too.”
They were right. The first hour of the dollar dance was calm and quiet and mostly senior citizens dancing with each other, their families, or my friends, hardly moving from side to side. It was the cutest thing, and we couldn’t take enough pictures.
Mrs. Porter nodded in approval. “Those are going to be perfect for the website,” she said. “This was a great idea, Harper.”
Even Ms. Nancy was getting her groove on in one corner of the dance floor.
By six o’clock, though, the nursing home began to fill up with arrivals. Tons of people from school showed up.
And they were happy to donate a dollar or two for a dance with elderly neighbors or relatives.
Ella kept the music going all night, and she kept it interesting, even if I wondered what Emerson had originally put together.
After Lena led a crazy group dance where I could hardly keep up, I joined Ella for a few quiet moments, just taking it all in. Ms. Ellie hadn’t stopped dancing yet, and I was glad she was doing better since Mr. Roberts had passed away.
This dollar dance had turned out way better than I could have hoped for. But even so, something felt off.
Emerson should have been here tonight, and I was sad he was missing it.
This would be over in a couple hours, and then we’d be taking down decorations and counting money.
A group of guys from school made their way to the entrance, getting ready to leave.
Someone came in, holding the door open for them before turning in my direction. He had a small bouquet of flowers in his hand. Daisies. And a skateboard under his other arm.
His eyes met mine, and I froze.
Emerson.
He walked right over. I was speechless.
Finally, I opened my mouth and made the words come out. “What are you doing here?”
Ella played the next song and mouthed bathroom before heading off in that direction.
Emerson watched her leave then turned to me. He shrugged. “I just had to see you.” He glanced around. “See this before it was over.”
There was a hint of sadness in his eyes, and I remembered that the last time he’d been here was when we’d found out about Mr. Roberts’ heart attack.
He held up the flowers. “These are for you.”
I took them, not sure what to say. “I don’t understand,” I said. “Why—”
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t going to come tonight, but I know I promised I’d bring a sound system for the dance. Then Ms. Moreau came to my house today. She dropped this off.”
He set his skateboard down and pulled a folded-up piece of notebook paper out of his pocket. “It’s from Mr. Roberts. He had a few things he wanted to say to me, in case…” He exhaled, carefully opening the letter. “He wrote it the night he had his heart attack. Anyway, he reminded me how important you are to me.”
Emerson’s eyes found mine, and my breath hitched.
Then he stared down at the letter. “How important it is for me to finish school.” He shrugged. “So here I am, hoping you’ll forgive me for being a jerk to you. Hoping you’ll take me back. Maybe keep pushing me like you were in school.”
When I didn’t say anything, he looked down at me.
Was I hearing him correctly?
My hands came to my mouth for a second. Holding back tears, I took in Emerson, a part of me wondering if I should hand over my heart to him again.
I tried to read what lay behind those dark eyes of his. Maybe I wouldn’t always know, but right now, I had a pretty good guess.
Then I closed the gap between us, wrapping my arms around his neck.
I breathed in his scent, shutting my eyes so I could focus on the feel of him, on this moment. “What took you so long?” I said into his jacket.
He chuckled, hugging me back and nuzzling his head in my shoulder, my neck. “I missed you so much.”
We pulled back, smiling at each other. I wanted to kiss him to so bad, but he walked over to the computer. He handed Ella a USB, told her something, and she nodded.
Then he glanced toward the door. He waved two guys toward us. I recognized his brothers, each carrying huge speakers and all kinds of fancy-looking equipment.
They got busy setting it all up, and in the meantime, a slow and romantic song came on. Ella winked at us, and Ms. Ellie’s voice called to us from the middle of the room.
She held onto one of her grown sons, and they looked adorable. She motioned for us to join them.
Emerson grabbed my hand, I put my flowers down, and he led me to where everyone else was dancing. My friends practically jumped up and down once they saw us together, and my smile couldn’t grow any bigger.
He turned around to face me, and we stood for a second.
I took him in. “I’m afraid a dance with me will cost you a dollar,” I teased.
He pulled several crumpled dollar bills out of his pocket. “Don’t worry. I came prepared.”
Rey rushed over with a handful of safety pins, and I laughed out loud. Then she went back to watch us from the sidelines with the rest of the #BFFs, linking her arm with them again.
Meanwhile, Emerson carefully pinned every single dollar bill plus a five-dollar bill he had to me.
“That is a very generous donation,” I said when he was done.
Emerson gave me a soft smile. “I’m hoping that covers the rest of the night.”
“I’m sure Ms. Ellie will insist on a dance with you, too. before the night is over.” I put my arms around him again, and his hands settled on my waist.
“As long as the last dance is with you,” he said into my ear.
Shivers ran down my spine, and I closed my eyes, taking in his smell, focusing on his touch, on the feel of his shoulders under my fingers.
We swayed together, and I wanted to lose myself in the relaxing music, but then the song was over.
The next one came on, and it was in Spanish. Now that Emerson’s brothers had finished setting up, the music was much louder. Ms. Ellie immediately began some kind of salsa dance move, and I stared back at Emerson. “I can’t dance to this kind of music,” I confessed, ready to take my place back at the sidelines.
But he took my hand before I could run away. “I’ll teach you.”
I bit my lip. “I’ll just make a fool of myself.”
Ms. Ellie danced right over to us. “Harper, just feel the music and let your body move!” She drew out that last word and let it course through the rest of her body. She looked toward Emerson. “By the way, we’re very glad to see you’re back, Emerson.” Then she winked at him and shimmied her way back to her current dance partner.
I giggled. “How does she have so much energy?”
Emerson turned back to me. “I think Ms. Ellie has more energy in her left pinky toe than I do in my whole body.”
We went back to the task at hand, and Emerson taught me the steps.
At 8:30, when the dollar dance came to an end, we were the last ones to stop dancing, even after the music ended and the lights came back on.
I didn’t want the night to end.
But it was okay, because this dance wouldn’t be our last.
Epilogue
After a crazy week of finals, summer school came to an end.
My friends took Emerson and me out for ice cream to celebrate.
Ella gave me a hug. “You did it.”
I looked to Emerson. “We both did it,” I said, squeezing his hand.
Emerson glanced down, but a grin played on his face.
“Congratulations,” Tori said, her arm around Noah.
“To both of you,” Rey finished.
Lena pointed her thumb at them. “What they said.”
Jesse joined us, an ice cream sundae in his hands. “Now you get to do it all over again in a few days when the school year starts.”
Lena groaned. “Don’t remind me.” And we all laughed.
We found a big table with an umbrella and sat down with our ice cream. Ella and Jesse shared their sundae. It was the cutest thing. Then Noah pushed Tori’s cone into her face, and we all burst out laughing. I handed her a napkin, and she chased after Noah.
Rey and Lena watched from their seats, egging on Tori.
Like the warm sunshine hitting my skin, I soaked in this perfect moment with my boyfriend and my best friends.
After a while, Emerson nudged me. “So, you wanna get outta here?” he asked quietly, a devilish grin on his face.
My smile reached my ears, and my stomach did several flips. “Okay,” I whispered.
He took my hand and led me away. I glanced back at the ice cream shop, where my friends continued talking and laughing. Then I followed Emerson to the park down the street.
With only a week of summer left, there was so much I wanted us to do together, and I didn’t want to waste a minute of it.
Under the shade of a tree, I watched him ride his skateboard. He fell a few times trying to land new tricks, but he got right back up and tried again. Unable to tear my eyes off of Emerson, I realized that life was just like that. Lots of falling and scraping of elbows and knees. Then getting back up anyway.
Emerson fell and got up again, brushing himself off. He was so much stronger and more resilient than he knew. Maybe he doubted it, but I would definitely remind him.
This summer, I’d tutored him through math and social studies, but in the end, Emerson had taught me to take risks with my heart.
After he finally nailed a new trick, he walked over to me. He held out his hand and helped me up.
“Come on,” he said. “You should give it a try.”
I shook my head. “You know I’m not very good at this.”
“I always wanted a girlfriend who could keep up with me on a skateboard,” he said, giving me a quick wink.
I laughed. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to keep up with you on a skateboard.”
“You won’t know unless you try,” he said with a smile.
It did look fun, even if there was a big risk I’d end up with a broken something.
Besides, it was an excuse to be close to Emerson.
So I put my foot on the skateboard and pushed off. I lost my balance, my arms flailing, sure I was going to fall. But then Emerson was there, his arms around me.
“I got you,” he said. “I won’t let you fall.”
I stepped off the board and turned to face him. My eyes settled on his, and he put his arms around me, coming in close.
I let myself get lost in his sweet kisses, realizing that my summer had been pretty great after all.
Will a game of truth or dare ruin their friendship—or turn it into something more?
Read Lena’s story, #TheBoyfriendDare, now: https://books2read.com/theboyfrienddare
Author’s Note
Hey :)
You made it! <3
I can’t believe I’m more than halfway done with this series. Time flies when you’re having fun.
When I found out that Harper’s story would be next, I’ll confess that I wasn’t sure how I felt about writing her story.
She’s probably the character I relate to the least, honestly.
Not because of skin color but because of personality. Harper is simply 100% kind at heart, and I’m known to just say what’s on my mind sometimes. Haha!
But her book has probably been the most fun for me to write up until now. Each book is, of course, in its own way, but this one just really got to me.
It ended up being so heartfelt and deep, and it was also incredible to write a good girl who falls for a bad boy! Talk about one of my favorite tropes.
Where did I get the inspiration for Harper and Emerson?
Harper and Emerson were in part inspired by Jess and Rory from Gilmore Girls!
While handsome Dean will always have a special place in my heart, Rory and Jess’s first kiss GETS ME EVERY TIME.
It’s seriously my favorite. I knew I wanted to create something like that with Harper and Emerson.
I also had a ton of fun researching skateboarding and parkour and finding out that skateboard parkour is a thing!
Next, I’ll be diving into Lena’s story, which…should be really interesting! ;)
If you want to know when that book is available, make sure you sign up for my newsletter and become a VIP reader :)
In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you thought of #GoodGirlBadBoy and which #BFF is your favorite.
Email me your thoughts and questions at [email protected]. You can count on me to reply!
Book 4 Available Now!
Read Lena’s story…
Will a game of truth or dare ruin their friendship—or turn it into something more?
Download #TheBoyfriendDare now!
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* * *
Yesenia
Acknowledgments
Thank you once again to all of these amazing people:
My two amazing little girls, whose kisses and hugs sustained me these past several months. They more than made up for the constant interruptions :)
My best friend and biggest fan, Zendy <3 Your never-ending sup
port and encouragement means the world to me.
My friend, fellow author, and editor, Kelsie Stelting, whose feedback and suggestions helped me level up this story (and continues to put up with my whining about not wanting to do edits).
My YA Chicks group of friends, including Sally, Cindy, and Kelsie. Thank you for all the feedback, support, and encouragement! And making Thursday nights fun :) Can’t wait to hang out with you guys in person again!
My Thursday Night Inferno accountability group. Your friendship, support, and encouragement means more than you know.
My cover designer, Jenny, who nailed this cover. Thank you so much for being a part of my team.
My VIP Readers and Awesome Review Team. Thank you so much for being patient, reading the story, and helping me spread the word about #GoodGirlBadBoy. You guys are my favorite :)
About the Author
Yesenia Vargas is the author of several young adult romance books. Her love for writing stories was born from her love of reading and books. She has her third grade teacher to thank for that.
In addition to writing and reading, she spends her time hanging out with her family, working out, and binge-watching Netflix. In 2013, she graduated from the University of Georgia, the first in her family to go to college.
Yesenia lives in Georgia with her two daughters. She also blogs at writermom.net
Check out what she’s up to at yeseniavargas.com.
Also by Yesenia Vargas
#BestFriendsForever Series
#TheRealCinderella
#LoveToHateThatBoy
#GoodGirlBadBoy
#TheBoyfriendDare
#AllIWantForChristmas
#BreakingTheRules
#MeantToBe
Boys of Summer
Falling for the Rich Boy
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#GoodGirlBadBoy Page 13