I jumped the curb in front of the Mill Street shops, realized how fast I was going, and started to slow down. Just as I got my ride under control, someone stepped out of the alley next to the general store, onto the sidewalk right in front of me.
“Shit!” I yelled, before the crash. All I saw was a flash of long red hair as she fell to the ground. I jumped off the board and squatted next to her. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
She sat up slowly, running a hand over her hair as she grimaced. “I think so.”
When she looked up at me, I almost fell down next to her.
There she was. Roxy. My Roxy. I hadn't been that close to her in five years. Not since that summer in Georgia at camp.
My palms sweat and my heart raced. She was as gorgeous as I remembered—those eyes, as green as the damn grass in the summer. Her freckles seemed to have disappeared under a mask of perfectly applied makeup. Her once wild purple hair was now red and straight.
Her gaze met mine briefly, before she broke eye contact and stood. Fidgeting, she looked down at herself as she ran her hands over her puffy pink vest and black pants. “Sorry,” she muttered, and started down Mill Street again.
Rogue Roxy. My first love.
I’d done a little investigating when I decided to come to college, and when I found out that she was at NJU, I wanted to be there too. The guys didn’t complain, since we were across the river from New York City. So I gave fate a little help, with the hope that Roxy would come to me. Unfortunately, for the past two years, Roxy didn't seem affected by my presence at NJU. Like, at all. I was findable, but Roxy, who called herself Rachel now, never tried to find me, so I’d let her go. Sort of. Even though I’d given up on the hope of us being together again someday, I couldn’t seem to move on.
Now, she was walking away. Maybe I wasn’t breathing. Had fate finally charted a course for us?
“Wait!” I yelled behind her. My board had rolled to the curb. I ran to the street to grab it, then dropped it and skated to catch up to her. Now that we’d made contact, I wasn’t going to let her run away again. We’d done that five years ago, and I’d been lost ever since.
She ignored me as I rode next to her. I studied her profile…that perfect nose, those sweet lips, her hair pushed behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re okay? We hit pretty hard.”
“I’m fine. Really.” She didn’t turn to look me in the eye. Why wasn’t she reacting to me? What was this game she was playing?
Curious, I decided to test the waters. “You could ask me if I’m okay.”
She stopped walking. I did the same, jumping off the board, kicking it up, and catching it.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
I shrugged, liking the reaction I was getting from her, and that she had stopped moving.
She spurted out a laugh. “You’re skateboarding in the dark, on the sidewalk, in snow. What are you, twelve?” Her tone was harsh but her eyes, soft.
“Sorry.” I looked at the dark sky, and then back to her. “Just feeling trapped and needed some fresh air.”
She took off down Mill Street, yelling over her shoulder. “Skateboarding down Mill Street on a Saturday night is reckless.”
I caught up with her again, walking next to her. “So is walking down Mill Street on a Saturday night alone. Want to go get a drink with me?”
“No.” She didn’t hesitate before barking the word. “I don’t even know you.”
Ah, so she was going to try to fake me out. Make me think we'd never met. As if I hadn't thought about those eyes every day for the last five years. As if I wouldn't remember the way she lifted an eyebrow when she was concentrating. Yeah, she’d changed her look, her name, but how could she think I wouldn’t recognize her… my first love, my first everything? “You don’t know me?”
With a dramatic huff, she turned to me again. “Look. I’m on my way to meet my boyfriend, and—”
I cringed. “Boyfriend?” Of course she had a boyfriend. She was beautiful. If she was still anything like the Roxy I knew, she was also smart, sassy, and fearless as fuck. Even so, I hated hearing the word from her gorgeous lips.
“Yes, boyfriend.” She stood tall, taking off again. Her long legs made her strides quick, and I skated at a decent speed to keep up.
“Doesn’t sound like he’s much of a gentleman.” I hated the guy already. “He could have come to pick you up. Danger’s lurking everywhere.”
“Yeah, like strange skateboarders barreling down the sidewalk and crashing into you.”
I tried to think of a snappy comeback but came up short. “You win that round.”
She glanced at me sideways. I skated a little faster to get the lead on her, then jumped off the board. My ankle screamed as I walked backward, in front of her. She was avoiding eye contact, her gaze set over my shoulder on the sidewalk. The fact that she was acting so weird made me positive that she recognized me. “You really don’t know me?”
She stopped walking, and her eyes met mine again.
Say something, I ached to yell at her. After two years at NJU waiting for her to seek me out, she was finally in front of me. How could she look at me and not feel that summer? Remember when you loved me? Bring us back. I swallowed the words and watched her, waiting for her next move as she lifted an eyebrow.
She teased a grin, the corners of her lips twitching upward a fraction of an inch. “My name is Rachel. Rachel Gallo. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Not at all.”
I nodded because it wasn’t entirely false. I didn’t know her as Rachel Gallo. But now that I knew her game, I could play along.
"I'm Sam.” I held out my hand. She took it for a split second, the jolt of her touch shooting straight to my damn heart. “Nice to meet you,” I said. “Also, I think I’m your new neighbor.”
Then she pulled her hand away.
I guessed she was a drama major because she certainly knew how to act. For a second, I almost believed that she and I were strangers.
Except we weren't. We were opposite of strangers. And now, we were officially back in each other’s lives, thanks to my favorite combination: fate and luck.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading MAKING THE MOVE, Book 2 in the Mill Street Series. I have way too much fun writing New Adult, I think, because this story was a pure joy to write. I hope you enjoyed reading it, too.
I’ve dedicated MAKING THE MOVE to Fiona Keane, a beautiful friend, author, and Josh mega-fan. Thank you, Fiona, for being there for me in all aspects of life and for sending me Tom Hardy GIFs and encouragement across all communication platforms on a daily basis! The fates are cruel for putting us on opposite ends of the country (time zones… grrr…), but someday I’m going to come visit you on the West Coast and hug the crap out of you, even though neither of us are huggers. I’m so happy that we’ve wiggled into each other’s lives.
As always, I owe any story success to Erin Rhew, my editor and friend. Your encouragement, knowledge, and funny quips in track changes keep me laughing and learning. Thank you for not getting sick of me and my awful punctuation habits!
Thank you to Heather Van Fleet and Larissa Weatherall, for reading Josh and Vi’s story out of the gate, and helping me get it primed for editing and publishing. I appreciate all that you both do for me, as authors and friends.
My writing life is filled with wonderful people, on and off-line, who keep me going and support me. I hope by now you know who you are. I appreciate all of the love and positivity you shine my way.
Finally, a special thank you to my husband, Joe, and my boys for giving me the space to breathe life into my stories. Even though you may not understand my need to write, I appreciate that you accept it and let me have my laptop time.
Happy reading, everyone!
About the Author
Jessica Calla is a New Adult, Contemporary Romance, and Women’s Fiction author, who moonlights during the day as an attorney.
If she's not writing, lawyering, or parenting, you'll most likely find her at the movies, scrolling through her Twitter feed, or gulping down various forms of caffeine (sometimes all three at once).
Jessica is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and the New Jersey Romance Writers. She's volunteered as a mentor to new authors, and loves helping out the writing community any way she can. A Jersey girl through and through, Jessica resides in the central part of the state with her husband, two sons, and dog.
You can learn more about Jess and her books at www.jessicacalla.com.
Also by Jessica Calla
In Romance
THE LOVE SQUARE
The Sheridan Hall Series
SHE LAUGHS IN PINK (Sheridan Hall Series #1)
SHE RUNS AWAY (Sheridan Hall Series #2)
SHE WANTS IT ALL (Sheridan Hall Series #3)
The Mill Street Series
BREAKING THE PLAN (Mill Street Series #1)
MAKING THE MOVE (Mill Street Series #2) (July 2019)
TAKING IT BACK (Mill Street Series #3) (TBD)
Short Stories
The One She Left Behind (in CRAVING: ONE NIGHT)
The Widow (in CRAVING: FORBIDDEN)
Elle is for Love (in LET IT SNOW: A HOLLY GROVE ANTHOLOGY)
In Women’s Fiction
MAPLE SUMMER WALLACE: a novel
Making the Move: Mill Street Series #2 Page 25