Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“Well, your mother and I have discussed it, and we’ve decided it’d be best if you don’t see him anymore.”
I stood utterly still and stared at him, and the harder I looked, the more I saw the fear hiding in his eyes. He was scared about losing control of me the same way he’d done with Colin.
My lack of response unnerved him. “Did you hear me?”
“No,” I said.
“No, you didn’t hear me, or no—”
“No,” I repeated, putting all the force behind it as I would a slap in the face.
The conversation was over as far as I was concerned, and since there was nothing left to discuss, I walked into the kitchen, leaving him looking like I’d turned his world upside down. I dropped my box off and then made my way upstairs, and it wasn’t until I shut the door to my bedroom that I realized why.
It was the first time I’d ever told him no.
From the moment I slipped behind the wheel of my father’s Audi, nervous energy began to twist my stomach. Even though I’d gotten my dad’s permission to borrow his car, I’d done it under a lie.
I drove to the movie theater on the far side of town, parked in a spot, and then waited anxiously with my phone in my hand. It was only a few minutes before his text came through, but it felt like hours.
Preston: I’m here. Are you inside already?
I lifted my gaze to the entrance of the theater and saw him making his way toward it, so I pushed open my door and got out.
“Preston,” I yelled across the rooftops of the cars separating us.
His gaze scanned the parking lot, and when it landed on me, I gave him a wave, signaling for him to come over. Confusion crossed his face. Was he wondering why I was standing beside my car and not moving for the doors? He turned and headed my direction.
“Hey.” He pulled to a stop a few feet away, and I had the strange feeling he’d done it to avoid getting too close. As if to prevent me from enticing him into giving me a kiss hello. “What’s going on?”
I’d been kind of cryptic when I’d texted him this morning, asked him to meet me here, and said I had a surprise. My voice was tight with nerves, even as I tried to make it sound relaxed. “Hop in.”
He glanced at the movie posters and showtimes that lined the front of the theater, and even more confusion filled his face. “We’re not seeing a movie?”
“No.” I swallowed a breath. “I have something else planned.”
His gaze zeroed in, and as he studied me, I was sure he could see all the anxiety and excitement I was trying to disguise. His confusion was overridden by intrigue. “What is it?”
“Get in, and I’ll show you.”
It didn’t take him more than a second to consider it, and then he was moving toward the passenger side.
“Whose car is this?” he asked once we were both seated inside. “Your dad’s?”
“Yeah.” I buckled my seatbelt and started the engine. “He let me borrow it when I told him I was going to the movies with my friend Hailey.”
A sly smile edged his lips. “Because he wouldn’t let you borrow it to see me?”
“No.” I reversed out of the parking spot. “They’ve said I’m not allowed to see you anymore.”
“Is that so?”
Even though I was watching the backup camera, I could hear his wide smile from his tone, plus the thoughts in his mind. He took my parents’ demand as a challenge. A rule he was happy to break.
“And yet, here we are,” he teased. “Bad girl.”
I switched the car into drive and glanced at him for a moment, just long enough to show him the thrill his words caused.
Preston was quiet as we exited the parking lot, and he didn’t say anything either as I rounded the side of the enormous theater, but his confusion returned when I wove around a dumpster and then on to the alley at the back of the building. The wide lane of pavement was sunbaked and had seen better days, and I dodged large potholes, cracks, and puddles of gravel as we crawled along.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
Ventilation and pipes snaked across the back of the theater, and on the other side, the alley gave way to a heavily wooded area. It looked like no one ever came back here—at least, not unless something broke and needed repair.
I tucked the car in beside the center of the building, beneath the ancient-looking fire escape stairs, which seemed to be more rust than anything else, and put the car in park.
“Do you remember Sabrina Farrell?” I turned in my seat to look at him. “She was a sophomore when you were a senior.”