Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“What are you doing out here?” My fingers make contact with my glasses, and I put them on. What am I doing out here? Gritting my teeth, I stand. My bottom is so sore I know I’ll have more than just the bruise to my ego tomorrow.
“How long?” I look between the two of them while desperately trying to ignore the pain in my throat.
“Reese.” Kirk takes a step toward me, guilt written all over his handsome face. I look at Melissa. She doesn’t look guilty; she appears almost…victorious? I shouldn’t be surprised; she hates me, and I’m sure she feels like she just won some battle I didn’t even know I was in.
“How long?” I repeat.
“It just happened,” Kirk says quietly.
“So, tonight?” I look between them again, knowing in one glance that it’s happened before.
“Reese.” Kirk takes another step toward me.
Holding up my hand, I back up and then toss him the phone I somehow never dropped, turning on my slippers to head up the stairs—thankfully, staying on my feet.
“Reese,” Kirk calls, following me. “I’m sorry.” Sorry? Yeah, right. I’m sure he’s only sorry he got caught. “Please, just talk to me,” he pleads.
“No.” I shake my head.
“It just happened; I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“So, what? You just accidentally slept with her?” When I reach my door, I turn to glare at him.
“I just…” He drags his fingers through his long hair. “I just...”
“Come on, Kirk. Leave her alone,” Melissa calls. I look over at her. I don’t know why she hates me. I’ve never understood what I did to deserve it. I’m not competition. My mom loves her, maybe even more than she loves me. She’s the kind of daughter Mom always wanted, and they get along like best friends. I’m the outsider, the awkward one.
“It doesn’t matter.” I grab the door handle with a shaking hand.
“I know it does matter,” Kirk whispers, and I turn my head to look at him.
“You’re right.” I feel a single stupid tear trailing down my cheek. “It does matter because you’re supposed to be my best friend.” I turn the handle, push the door in only enough to get inside, then shut it behind me and lock it.
“Reese.” Kirk pounds on the wood.
Ignoring him, I kick off my slippers and crawl into bed, trying to wrap my head around what just happened and how I feel about it.
I’ve known Kirk since we were four, and we have been best friends ever since. Or at least we were nothing more than best friends until about two months ago when he told me his feelings for me had changed and asked me to be his girlfriend. To say I was surprised when he told me how he felt would be an understatement. He dated a lot—a lot, a lot—and I was not his type. All his previous girlfriends were cheerleaders and sorority girls.
And all those women made sense since he’s the quarterback for the University of Minnesota, where we go to school. He’s so good that he’s already been scouted to go pro. While I’m getting my degree in marine biology with plans to attend veterinary school when I’m finished. I’ve been his nerdy counterpart throughout our lives, and he’s loved me anyway.
A sob I can’t control climbs up the back of my throat, and I cry, not because I just lost my boyfriend, but because I know I just lost my best friend. Nothing between us will ever be the same. I cry until I can’t anymore, then lay there wide awake, trying to figure out what I’m going to do. When the sun comes up, I pick up my cell phone, ignoring all the messages on the screen from Kirk, and make a phone call.
Chapter 1
Reese
With the balcony doors open, I look out at the ocean and breathe in the sea breeze. Three months ago, I would never have imagined that this would be the view I’d be waking up to every day. Then everything happened with Kirk and Melissa, and I knew staying in Minnesota wasn’t an option. If I’m honest, I knew that long before all the drama.
Since our parents started dating, Melissa and I have had issues, but I always chalked it up to all the differences in our personalities. I’m more of a bookworm, and she’s more Barbie. I like to stay home. She likes to spend her days shopping and her nights partying. None of that would have mattered if my mom hadn’t had us move in with Richard and Melissa after Richard proposed. Or it wouldn’t have mattered if I weren’t stuck living in Melissa’s dad’s house while going to college, her in her second year, and me in my fourth and on the verge of graduating.
The morning I caught Melissa and Kirk together, I called my aunt Ileana—my dad’s sister—who lives in Florida, and asked if I could stay with her while I figured things out. Thankfully, she agreed immediately. After I talked to her, I called my mom to let her know I would be moving. To say she was upset would be an understatement, especially when I refused to give her a reason why.