by Dean, Ali
“I’ll stay down here for a different angle,” Naomi offers.
And with that, we’re heading over, the momentum already moving me up the long staircase. My heart thumps like crazy in my chest, because I know I’m not going to change my mind. This is happening.
“We probably won’t use any pics for social media,” I tell Summer. “I’m going to go real conservative this time.”
Summer grins at me. “You don’t know how to ride conservative, Jordan,” she teases.
Yeah, probably true.
This time when I stand at the top, I only take a moment to look around as I tighten my helmet and double-check the laces on my shoes. With one deep breath and no warning to Summer, I drop in.
Damn, that feels amazing. The rush in my chest expands to my limbs. I’m zooming so fast I can feel the wind at my face. My legs are stronger now, my body more confident from months of skating hard alongside Beck.
This ramp isn’t nearly as intimidating as it was back in August. I can handle myself now. With confidence, I go up for a frontside air, basically just a 180, on the shorter wall. I can hear Naomi cheering for me. I take a couple steady carves up and down the steep ramp before I gather momentum and courage. This time, I’m going to do the same move on the other side of the pipe, the high ramp. It will be like flying in the sky, and I know that rush will get me through anything else I have to do today. If I can land a frontside air on one of the tallest ramps in the world, I can do anything.
Crouching low, I zoom up the vert at top speed and when my board hits the coping, I launch myself in the air. With one hand holding my board, the other goes out for balance, and I’m soaring. I’ve never launched so high in my life. I’m readying for the impact I’ll get when I land, bracing myself to get the board in position, hold firm and balance. Out of the corner of my eye, I register all the people below, and without warning, all the ugly messages I read earlier flash into my head.
Slut.
Skank.
You can’t have both. Which one is it?
Summer’s cheers fade to background and the only thing I can hear is gasps of breaths. Me, gasping for air.
You little slut, sleeping with skateboarding hotshots to get your own following? That’s pathetic.
If you couldn’t skateboard, he wouldn’t want you.
Another voice, from my own head or somewhere else, is shouting to bend my legs. Land on my knees. But it’s too late. My body crashes to the ramp at full speed before I even realize it’s about to happen. I don’t get a chance to brace myself for the fall. One minute the world is spinning, words jumbling and shouting above the sound of my gasps. The next, it all goes black.
About the Author
Thank you for reading Brazen Steele! Please consider leaving a review!
Brazen Girl, the third book in the Brazen series, releases in June. You can preorder it now HERE.
Ali is a USA Today Bestselling author of sports romance books. She has always loved to read, especially when there's a happily ever after, but found that there weren't enough books out there featuring girl athletes. So, she decided to work on that. Like the heroines in her books, Ali is an athlete, with running and skiing her favorite sports these days. Ali hails from Vermont and now lives in her own happily-ever-after in Colorado with her husband, boy-girl twins, and golden retriever Pancake. When she's not pursuing an outdoor adventure, Ali's less healthy passions include ice cream, coffee, and beer.
Get to know Ali Dean by following her on any of her social media and author links below.
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Also by Ali Dean
Pepper Jones Series
Pepped Up (Pepper Jones #1)
All Pepped Up (Pepper Jones #2)
Pepped Up & Ready (Pepper Jones #3)
Pep Talks (Pepper Jones #4)
Pepped Up Forever (Pepper Jones #5)
Pepped Up & Wilder (Pepper Jones #6)
Pepper Series Standalone Spinoff
Chasing Indigo
Stark Springs Academy Series
Black Diamond
Double Black
Black Ice
Spark Sisters Series
The Line Below
Kick
Defiance Falls Series
Defiance Falls
Defiance Falls Revolution
Defiance Falls War
Brazen Series
Brazen Rush
Brazen Steele
Brazen Girl
Brazen Tricks
Standalones
Elusive
Doubles Love
Sneak Peek
Continue reading for a Sneak Peek of Defiance Falls, the first book in the Defiance Falls Trilogy:
Dad walked by right as I was checking out how my ass looked in the mirror.
He had a beer halfway to his mouth but he paused and narrowed his eyes. Then he looked at his watch.
“Are you going somewhere, Hazel?” Dad didn’t hide his confusion. It was nine PM on a Monday night.
I took a deep breath and turned to face him. I had gone back and forth on this but decided I wouldn’t lie. I’d spent years building up trust with Dad.
“I’m going to a birthday party.”
Dad’s frown deepened. He took a sip of beer. I waited, my heart racing.
He continued studying me as he swallowed. “Whose birthday?”
Shit. I was hoping he wouldn’t ask that. “Cruz Donovan. He’s turning eighteen.”
Dad rubbed a hand over his face. His eyes met mine and I smiled, knowing it always made him soften. I looked into green eyes that matched my own, the color so deep it sucked me in, even if it was the same shade I saw in the mirror every day.
“Fine. Your cousins will be there then. They know you’re coming?”
I shifted, biting my lip. “Not yet. I’ll text them.”
Dad nodded. “I’ll text them too.”
Then he lowered his chin and put his hands on his hips, his signature dad-mode pose. His eyes skimmed over me. “You can’t wear that.”
“Dad!”
“Don’t ‘Dad’ me. You go to this party and these are my rules. One, change into something that’s…” Dad’s voice drifted off as he struggled to find the right words. He blew out a puff of air. “Can you wear your soccer clothes or something?”
I stared at him.
He sighed again, then walked down the hall and grabbed a flannel shirt from the clean laundry bin waiting by his bedroom door. “Just, wear this, okay? I know you’re going to take it off as soon as you get there but it will make me feel better. I can’t let you leave the house in that.”
I rolled my eyes but put on the flannel. It dropped to my knees. My outfit wasn’t that revealing. I mean, it kind of was, but whatever.
“Two, no drinking and driving. If you drink and need a ride, call me. Don’t get a ride with anyone who’s been drinking either.”
I nodded, trying not to grin.
“Third,” he said and then stopped. His shoulders sagged. “Never mind. You’re smart. Just, be smart, sweetie.”
My grin broke loose then. This was hard for him.
He shook his head at me and opened his arms. I went into them, resting my head on his chest. “Sorry, Dad. I was going to spare you the worry and lie about where I was headed. Or sneak out.”
I felt his chest rumble with silent laughter.
He patted my back before letting me loose. “Is this going to become a regular thing?” He crossed his arms, trying for a stern expression.
“I don’t know, Dad. I hope so? It’s my senior year. I need to get out more.”
“You’ve been on dates. You’re on a v
arsity team. You have friends. You’ve been to prom, homecoming. I don’t think you’re missing out on anything, sweetie.”
I gave Dad a sympathetic look. He knew what I was missing out on. Trouble. It was time to find some.
Keep reading HERE!