Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
After my dad leaves my bedroom, I sit on the mattress and glance out the window. Mia’s room faces mine. I remember the first time I saw her as if it were yesterday. She was singing into a hairbrush, wearing nothing more than a yellow bikini with white polka dots. She’s so innocent and pure, with her pale skin and blonde hair that’s almost white, hence why she’s my little lamb.
Now, I have to break her heart along with mine. I have to say goodbye.
Sneaking out the back door, I hold my breath and hope for the best. I do the same thing every night. If my older brother ever finds out that I meet his best friend in our backyard, he will kill both of us. I’ve been hanging out with Ethan Waters behind my brother’s back for months. We wait until after midnight, when our houses are silent, and then we drink soda and eat junk food while we rehash our days.
It’s the only thing I look forward to anymore. Knowing that Ethan is waiting for me, my heart races so fast my head spins. Every nerve ending in my body comes alive in anticipation of seeing him again. We both know what we’re doing is wrong. But do we care? Not really. And it’s not like we ever crossed the line, despite the nagging desire I fight to kiss Ethan every time he’s within twenty feet of me.
If Will ever discovers our secret friendship, he will lose his shit. My brother has a strict rule about his friends doing as little as looking at me, let alone hanging out with me. Ever since Ethan moved from Boston to Lower Merion last year, we’ve danced around the idea of us being together. A few times, I thought he might kiss me. Instead, Ethan stopped, his lips inches from mine as his breath warmed my skin.
The closer Ethan comes to graduating from high school, the more nervous I am about our relationship. We’ve become friends, and some days, I need him a lot more than he needs me. I live for the nights when we have this special time to ourselves. With my brother always around, I can never get close to Ethan.
I shut the door behind me, doing my best not to make a sound. My parents turned off their light twenty minutes ago, forcing me to wait for Will. But he never sleeps. Once I hear his PlayStation turn on, and the sound of bombs penetrating the wall we share, I creep down the back stairwell. Almost every night I repeat the same routine.
A small part of me likes sneaking around with Ethan because of the risk involved. It’s exciting. Being with Ethan is unlike any other experience I’ve had with a boy. Well, he’s not a boy. Ethan is a man now.
Ethan never treats me like Will’s little sister. He knows better than anyone my brother is way too protective of me. The first time Will caught Ethan staring at my lips for longer than normal, he went ballistic. Ethan never looked at me again that way—at least not in front of Will.
When I reach the shed, Ethan’s on his usual swing, staring down at his feet. My heart aches at the sight of him. He looks so depressed. I instinctively crouch in front of him and wait for him to raise his head. Our eyes meet, the electric current flowing between us sends a chill down my spine.
“Hey,” he says under his breath. His eyes are red-rimmed and glassy.
“Hey, yourself.” I grab his knees to stabilize myself, and Ethan clasps my wrists with his calloused hands. A brush of heat dances along my skin, making me dizzy from the simple connection between us.
I take in his manly scent, a hint of laundry detergent mixed with cloves, and stare into his green eyes. A strand of shaggy brown hair falls over his forehead, giving him an unkempt look I have come to appreciate. He’s the hottest guy in the neighborhood. Hell, Ethan Waters is the hottest man in the city. And he’s here with me, of all people.
“Why do you look so bummed?”
He shrugs, still holding onto me. “My dad. You know, the usual.” Ethan turns his head to the side, the moonlight hitting his tanned skin just right. Ethan releases his grip on me and touches the scar above his left eyebrow. He winces, something he does all the time as if what gave him that scar still haunts him.
Ethan and his parents have issues, about what, I have no idea. He likes to make jokes about bad situations where I tend to shut down. Sometimes, my family can hear the Waters screaming at each other from the other side of the fence. Mr. Waters is an asshole of the highest degree. If Ethan as much as slacks off at hockey practice, loses a game, or gets less than an ‘A’ in school, he gets a lashing from his father. Anything less than perfect is unacceptable.