Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
It was supposed to be a one-time thing. Nothing more than a momentary lapse in sanity with my best friend’s stepbrother that we agreed to never speak of again.
Simple. Or at least it should’ve been, considering we didn’t even like each other.
But the universe has a sick sense of humor, because after avoiding Holden for the better part of a year, we both end up at Hadley University.
To make matters worse, he lives right across the hall from me. He’s everything I shouldn’t want.
Arrogant. Reckless. Crude.
An obnoxious playboy who only wants what he can’t have.
And worst of all? He wants to finish what we started a year ago.
Unfortunately for me, time has done nothing to dull my inconvenient attraction to him.
What’s the worst that could happen? I’m heartless and he’s empty.
But the more time we spend together, I realize there’s more to him hidden beneath all that debauchery.
Loyal. Protective. Broken.
Maybe we’re not so different after all.
And just maybe he is capable of breaking my heart.
If the ghosts of our pasts don’t destroy us first.
*Break Your Little Heart is book 2 in the Heartbreak Hill series, but can be enjoyed as a standalone.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Valen
One year ago
This was a bad idea. I’ve had my fair share of them in the past, but showing up unannounced to meet my boyfriend at a college party on a Friday night in my cheer uniform tops the list. He’s in town this weekend, and since I had an away game, I wasn’t going to be able to see him until tomorrow night. That was, until half the basketball team turned their bus ride into a puke fest thanks to bad sushi from last night’s dinner. Needless to say, the game was canceled.
I reach into my cheer bag on the front seat, grabbing my sweatshirt and throwing it on over my uniform. Stepping out of my car, I rub my arms against the chilly night air. I hate the cold. Why couldn’t my mom have gotten engaged to some rich man from somewhere with a more tropical climate? Massachusetts winters almost have me considering taking my dad up on his offer to spend the summer with his relatives in Spain. Almost. Not that he actually wants me to take him up on his offer.
Giggles that come from a group of drunk girls that I don’t recognize snap me from my thoughts as I approach the white three-story apartment building. Two are blonde, one is a brunette, and all three are gorgeous and wearing the typical Massachusetts college girl uniform of black leather pants and black crop tops.
“Are you looking for the party?” Drunk Girl Number One says, clumsily throwing an arm over my shoulders, not waiting for an answer before she steers me inside with the other girls following behind. “It’s this one,” she explains needlessly, seeing as how the door she’s pointing to practically shakes with the bass of the music coming from the other side. “Also, you’re really pretty,” she says, moving her mouth closer to my ear as the music grows louder.
“Thanks.” I laugh under my breath, peeling her arm off of my shoulder.
I follow her inside the packed apartment, wondering how the hell they haven’t gotten shut down due to the noise yet. Then again, I bet most of the tenants are other students since it’s so close to the community college.
“Drink?” the girl tosses over her shoulder, leading me to the kitchen.
“I’m looking for my boyfriend,” I shout over the noise. I see a few people I know—some from school, some who graduated before me—but it’s dark and there are so many bodies here that it’s hard to tell who anyone is. I spot Holden Ames, my best friend Shayne’s stepbrother and perpetual pain in my ass, sitting in a chair while some girl dances and grinds on his lap. Typical.
“What’s his name?”
“Liam.”
She shrugs her shoulders, looking at her friends who have apparently adopted me for the time being. “Big dude? On the rowing team at Northeastern?” the brunette asks.
“That’s him.”
“Ooooh, he’s hot. Congratulations,” she remarks. “He’s around here somewhere.” She stands on her tiptoes, scanning the room.
An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach. I told Shayne just last week that I thought Liam and I were done. My first clue that things weren’t quite right was the fact that I didn’t miss him a single time after he left for college. He became busier. I became even less interested. We’ve slowly drifted apart, but any time I try to talk to him about it, he finds a way to avoid the conversation.
“He was with Tobin earlier,” the other girl says. Tobin’s the guy who lives here and I know he’s friends with Liam, so that makes sense. “I think a few of them went to his room to smoke. They got in trouble for the smell last time they did it out front.”
The first girl finds a bottle of vodka on the table cluttered with alcohol and Solo cups and beer cans. “Shot?” she asks, holding up the bottle in offering.
I shake my head. “No, thanks. I’m going to go find him,” I say. After I say bye to my new friends, I push through the throng of bodies, making my way to where I think the bedrooms might be. I turn down the hallway, trying the first door I see. The room is bathed in a red glow from the LED lights lining the perimeter of the ceiling. The second thing I notice is a very un-rhythmic sound of skin slapping against skin. Jesus Christ.
Just as I start to close the door, I hear, “Fuck yes, baby.”
I freeze, recognizing that voice all too well. I don’t know how I imagined this night going, but walking in on my boyfriend balls deep inside someone who isn’t me definitely wasn’t it.
Neither of them seems to notice my presence. This is what shock must feel like. I should be raging right now. Screaming, yelling, storming out. Something. Yet, all I can do is frown, cocking my head to the side as I take in the scene playing out in front of me.