Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
I’m standing at the water’s edge in a designer jumper that hasn’t even been released in stores yet, my face painted as flawlessly as my hair is curled.
They’re laughing and joking and playing around.
I’m sixty seconds from a nervous breakdown and might vomit on my toes.
I’m not a high school graduate on the cusp of college.
I’m not easygoing and free, and I don’t have my whole future ahead of me.
My life is over.
I close my eyes.
Girl, get a grip. You’re pregnant, not dying.
Pregnant.
Holy shit.
There’s a tiny little human growing inside my body.
What the fuck am I going to do?
My breathing picks up and my chest clenches, panic building in my gut. I can’t do this. I can’t handle it. It’s not just my life, but Deaton’s, too. He was offered a scholarship to wrestle at Penn State. He’s so excited.
My lungs shrivel, and I gasp. A baby will ruin everything. I ruined everything and I can. Not. Do. This. I—
“You know, pretty clothes and prettier hair won’t keep you safe out here.”
My head snaps left, finding the source of the teasing voice.
I should have recognized whose it was instantly, as he’s the one who’s spoken to me the most since I crashed their summer with my drama. He’s grinning playfully as he sweeps a hand through his hair, a darker shade of brown now that it’s dripping wet…as is the rest of his body.
It takes me a moment to realize what he means, and he knows the second I catch on.
That grin on his lips turns wicked, and he circles me like he’s found the perfect prey.
“Mason—”
“You say my name so pretty, Pretty Little,” he chuckles, and then he’s darting forward, his arms locking around my legs and hauling me into the air before I can even think.
A gasp escapes, and I wait for the annoyance and anger to hit, but it never comes.
A strange whirl of relief and excitement flits through me, and I laugh, closing my eyes and clutching on for dear life when suddenly both our bodies are dipping into the water.
I squeal, nearly giggling at the icy absurdity of the water temperature. “Oh my god!” My arms lock tighter. “Why is it so cold?”
Mason chuckles into my ear, spinning in circles and dunking me lower until I scream. “Hold your breath. One…”
“Don’t you—”
“Two.”
“Dare—”
My shoulders pop out of the water, and then we’re lowering again, and I gasp, pulling in a long breath. He submerges us both, but only for a split second before we resurface.
I shake from the cold, but an unexpected laugh bubbles up my throat, and I groan, blinking through the water in my fake lashes as he moves us back until my feet can reach the ground.
My hands unwind themselves, and I slap water his way, but I’m unable to wipe the grin off my face.
“How’s the hair now?” I mock myself.
“Still looks pretty perfect to me.” His eyes meet mine, and he quickly looks away, clearing his throat. Then he looks back with a smirk. “I gotta admit, I was only eighty percent sure you wouldn’t rage on me for tossing you in.”
“Yet you still chose to do so.”
“Hey, I can do about anything with an eighty percent chance. You should see my stats.”
“That’s right.” I nod, dipping low into the water until the waves are softly splashing against my chin. “Big bad football star, huh?”
“Damn straight.” His smile is as cocky as it is teasing. “You ever watch?”
“Not interested.”
He gapes at me, literally gapes, his head whipping around to see if his friends heard. I imagine he was looking for some backup, but they’re too far away, and now I’m laughing.
As my laughter settles, I begin to swim in place, and a long sigh leaves me.
My eyes find Mason’s, and this time, his smile is soft.
“That’s what I was waiting for,” he whispers, but a moment later, he starts to shake his head. “Don’t bring them back.”
Confusion draws my brows in, and he wades closer.
Reaching up, he runs his knuckle down the creases the frown I didn’t know I was wearing created on my forehead. “They only just disappeared.” His gaze meets mine again, and while I can’t quite read his expression, it has something in my chest tightening.
It’s almost like…like he cares. Likes he’s worried and he wants me to know everything I’m feeling is okay. That it will all be okay and my life isn’t over.
That I didn’t ruin everything by running away from home and that I’m not unjustified in hiding the pregnancy from the boy I love, if only for a little longer while I figure out what to do.
But that’s crazy talk, right?
I hardly know Mason, literally met him days ago.
Yet there it is, in the golden hue of his eyes.
A promise from him to me.
My bottom lip trembles, and he extends his arm yet again, the roughness of his knuckle sweeping along my cheekbone.