back.”
My head fell back in laughter. “Did you fail?”
“Hell, no! I rocked that shit. But seriously, worst movie ever,” he shuddered.
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him with curiosity. “Fine. Let’s say I take this bet. What do you want in return?”
“Ah, now that’s the easy part, Freya. All I want in return is your friendship.”
I gawked at him in bewilderment. I was so sure he was going to ask for something ridiculous like my first-born child or something. Once again, Parker had surprised me.
“That’s it? All you want is for us to be friends?”
He took a step closer. Only inches separated our bodies, and I couldn’t help but think about how easy it would be to just lean into him, to close the miniscule space between us and press my lips against his. Parker’s lip ring shined in the soft glow of my porch light, toying with me.
“That’s it. Everyone needs friends, Freya. Even you. You can’t keep everyone out forever.”
He was right. I knew that. And for the first time since moving to Sommerspoint, the thought of making connections didn’t seem so bad. “I think I can do that.”
A huge, beaming smile spread across his face right before he pulled me in for a bone-crushing hug. “I knew I’d wear you down!” he exclaimed as he let me go, startling a laugh from me. As he started down the driveway, I finally noticed his truck wasn’t parked in front of my house.
“Hey,” I called out. “Where’s your truck?”
“Just another benefit of being my friend, gorgeous,” he said as he looked back over his shoulder. “We’re neighbors.”
Halfway down the drive, he cut across the side yard into the wooded area that separated our house from the one next to us.
“See you tomorrow, friend!” he yelled as he disappeared between the trees and into the darkness.
Maybe being friends with Parker Owens wasn’t going to be so bad after all
As I walked into my house, a sense of relief washed over me. Ever since I stumbled onto that gorgeous, weird girl down on the beach, looking so sad and broken, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head. It had been driving me insane. She consumed my thoughts. Every time I saw her, I found myself unable to quell the urge to do anything and everything to get her attention, be it good or bad. I didn’t know what was happening to me. All I knew was after that very first moment, I’d become obsessed. When she told me she didn’t want to make any friends, I became hell-bent on changing her mind.
I didn’t know why. I had no clue what it was about that girl that had me chasing after her. But after watching the sunset together, I felt more determined than ever to get to the bottom of who the real Freya was. My gut told me that there was something special about her, that I was lucky just to know someone like her.
Maybe stumbling upon her that day at the beach had been destiny. I needed someone like her in my life. I felt a healing presence every time she was around, like she was a soothing balm to my soul. And maybe, just maybe, I would be able to help her heal, as well. I wanted to help push away whatever darkness she had inside of her simply so I could stand back and watch those brilliant blue eyes light up.
In the short time I’d known her, Freya had helped keep my own darkness at bay. She opened my world up to colors I hadn’t even known existed. With every passing day, I found myself desperate to do the same for her and after watching the sunset, I wanted it even more.
“Hey, sweetheart,” my mom called from the kitchen. I headed in there to see her standing over the stove, preparing dinner. Her eyes weren’t bloodshot or red-rimmed. The smile she graced me with was genuine. She was happy.
I walked over to her and bent to place a kiss on the top of her head. “Hey, Mom. How’s it going?”
“It’s going good, honey.” Her dark eyes met mine, narrowing slightly as she took in my huge smile. Her head cocked to the
My head fell back in laughter. “Did you fail?”
“Hell, no! I rocked that shit. But seriously, worst movie ever,” he shuddered.
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him with curiosity. “Fine. Let’s say I take this bet. What do you want in return?”
“Ah, now that’s the easy part, Freya. All I want in return is your friendship.”
I gawked at him in bewilderment. I was so sure he was going to ask for something ridiculous like my first-born child or something. Once again, Parker had surprised me.
“That’s it? All you want is for us to be friends?”
He took a step closer. Only inches separated our bodies, and I couldn’t help but think about how easy it would be to just lean into him, to close the miniscule space between us and press my lips against his. Parker’s lip ring shined in the soft glow of my porch light, toying with me.
“That’s it. Everyone needs friends, Freya. Even you. You can’t keep everyone out forever.”
He was right. I knew that. And for the first time since moving to Sommerspoint, the thought of making connections didn’t seem so bad. “I think I can do that.”
A huge, beaming smile spread across his face right before he pulled me in for a bone-crushing hug. “I knew I’d wear you down!” he exclaimed as he let me go, startling a laugh from me. As he started down the driveway, I finally noticed his truck wasn’t parked in front of my house.
“Hey,” I called out. “Where’s your truck?”
“Just another benefit of being my friend, gorgeous,” he said as he looked back over his shoulder. “We’re neighbors.”
Halfway down the drive, he cut across the side yard into the wooded area that separated our house from the one next to us.
“See you tomorrow, friend!” he yelled as he disappeared between the trees and into the darkness.
Maybe being friends with Parker Owens wasn’t going to be so bad after all
As I walked into my house, a sense of relief washed over me. Ever since I stumbled onto that gorgeous, weird girl down on the beach, looking so sad and broken, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head. It had been driving me insane. She consumed my thoughts. Every time I saw her, I found myself unable to quell the urge to do anything and everything to get her attention, be it good or bad. I didn’t know what was happening to me. All I knew was after that very first moment, I’d become obsessed. When she told me she didn’t want to make any friends, I became hell-bent on changing her mind.
I didn’t know why. I had no clue what it was about that girl that had me chasing after her. But after watching the sunset together, I felt more determined than ever to get to the bottom of who the real Freya was. My gut told me that there was something special about her, that I was lucky just to know someone like her.
Maybe stumbling upon her that day at the beach had been destiny. I needed someone like her in my life. I felt a healing presence every time she was around, like she was a soothing balm to my soul. And maybe, just maybe, I would be able to help her heal, as well. I wanted to help push away whatever darkness she had inside of her simply so I could stand back and watch those brilliant blue eyes light up.
In the short time I’d known her, Freya had helped keep my own darkness at bay. She opened my world up to colors I hadn’t even known existed. With every passing day, I found myself desperate to do the same for her and after watching the sunset, I wanted it even more.
“Hey, sweetheart,” my mom called from the kitchen. I headed in there to see her standing over the stove, preparing dinner. Her eyes weren’t bloodshot or red-rimmed. The smile she graced me with was genuine. She was happy.
I walked over to her and bent to place a kiss on the top of her head. “Hey, Mom. How’s it going?”
“It’s going good, honey.” Her dark eyes met mine, narrowing slightly as she took in my huge smile. Her head cocked to the
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