Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Out of all the guys at school, why did he have to be the one that both my best friend and I liked?
Then again, I wasn’t the only one who had a crush on him, and I couldn’t blame any of us poor souls. He had that carefree, warm soul that attracted girls like bees to honey, and he didn’t lack charm at all. Just a smile could have someone wrapped around his finger.
And he almost had me wound up pretty tightly last night, if I was being honest. There were fleeting moments when my hardened resolve started to wear away. When he reached out and touched me. When he smiled so brightly that it illuminated the room. Damn it. No wonder Rachel was enamored with him until they broke up during senior year.
There was no bad blood. The spark fizzled, and Rachel was planning to go to college out of state. I even attended her wedding a few months ago, so she still found true love outside of the charming Matty Grady. Meanwhile, I’d had a few flings that always left me feeling even more alone than before.
I refused to let my world revolve around one person. I was my own person outside of a relationship. Between my job, my family troubles, and my personal goals for happiness and health, I spent a lot of time trying to improve myself and heal myself. Those guys weren’t willing to share me with… myself. They didn’t want to wait for me to bloom, so they left me to wilt.
Love just wasn’t on the radar for me yet.
So, no matter how attractive Matty was, I hadn’t come to town to get caught up in burning desires. I came here to put out fires and make Rockview safe again.
But I did expect to be a little distracted, especially since Gabe and Garrett Wallace were also firefighters. It wasn’t like I hated them or anything, but they’d made things tough for me in high school. We were at odds for nearly our entire high school career.
When I was a junior, I led a group called “The Radiant Rebels” with my closest friends, Rachel and Daisy, and fought against certain rules and traditional high school norms that were outdated and ridiculous. I wanted to change the dress code rules, add healthier options for school lunch, and have the library be open for thirty minutes before the first bell so that students actually had time to browse and pick out books to read.
You know, totally valid suggestions, given the common complaints I’d heard around the school.
Truthfully, the group wouldn’t have even become a thing without the encouragement of my mom, though. As an opinionated teenager, I made it known what issues I had with my school. Instead of merely complaining, my mom told me to actually do something about my complaints.
To take action and dig deeper like she did as a criminal behavior researcher. Criminal behavior was far from surface level, which pushed her to poke at boundaries and go above and beyond to get what she wanted. She fostered such a determined spirit in me.
But whenever there was change, there was opposition. That came in the form of the Wallace brothers and some other popular boys in their own club called “The Eclat Crew”. That club had no purpose other than to make themselves more popular and to distract people from my efforts with their charm, popularity, and seamless camaraderie. It sucked that they could flash their bright smiles and flirt their way around the school to get what they wanted like more vending machines and more privileges for athletes.
Whether they intended to or not, they became my enemies.
When they tried to saunter up to me and use their charm on me to get me to relax, I quickly shut them down. That added a spark to our rivalry that lasted all the way to senior year. They made sure that they were front and center, overshadowing me and telling people to ignore me.
Just the thought of all that drama made me grind my teeth, but that was all years ago. As Matty had said, we had all grown up. So, what were the brothers like now?
I would find out soon.
I parked to the side of the fire station and got out of my white Honda Civic, a soft breeze blowing my hair behind my shoulders. My eyes shifted down as I smoothed down the dusty rose sweater with a white collar that I chose to wear this morning. Paired with a patterned skirt and ankle boots, it made up one of many business-casual outfits that I packed for this trip.
I wasn’t a fan of monotone colors or typical blazers with buttoned shirts. I liked a little bit of flair, and I added the same attitude to my writing.