Breakaway: A New Adult Anthology Read online

  Breakaway

  A New Adult Anthology

  Jay McLean

  Ilsa Madden-Mills

  Penny Reid

  Pam Godwin

  Missy Johnson

  Dawn Robertson

  Linda Barlow

  Alana Albertson

  Carly Carson

  Farrah Farside

  Nicole Blanchard

  Cherie Blakeley

  M-E Girard

  Bolero Books, LLC

  POWAY, CALIFORNIA

  Copyright © 2014 by Alana Albertson.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

  Bolero Books, LLC

  11956 Bernardo Plaza Dr. #510

  San Diego, CA 92128

  www.buybolerobooks.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Cover design by Cover It! Designs: coveritdesigns.net

  Book Layout ©2014 BookDesignTemplates.com

  Breakaway/ Jay McLean et all. -- 1st ed.

  Table of Contents

  Confessions

  Jay McLean

  Spider on a Plane

  Ilsa Madden-Mills

  Bunsen Burner Bingo

  Penny Reid

  To Steal a Kiss

  Pam Godwin

  Ricochet

  Missy Johnson

  This Girl Stripped

  Dawn Robertson

  Color Me Bad

  Linda Barlow

  Invaluable

  Alana Albertson

  Bling Ring in Mexico

  Carly Carson

  Contacts

  Farrah Farside

  Unbreakable

  Nicole Blanchard

  Rained In

  Cherie Blakeley

  In a Daze

  M-E Girard

  JAY MCLEAN

  Confessions

  SCOTT

  Every year it was the same thing; Crystal's mansion of a cabin out in the middle of nowhere. That's what spring break meant since we were sixteen. Too loud music. Too much alcohol. Too many girls. It was perfect.

  Was.

  Now we're twenty and shit like that gets old real quick.

  My gaze moved to the front passenger’s seat of the Brad's car. Trent was turned around, facing me with his tongue out, pretending to have his way with the seat. Maybe this shit never gets old for him.

  "You know it's funny, asshole," Trent said. I tried not to smile. "I see you trying to hold back. Your face is as red as your mother's ass when I get done with her."

  That got laughs—even from me.

  I sat back in my seat and faced the window, watching nothing but grass for miles and miles. The only thing that broke up the scenery was a minivan broken down on the side of the road—and a girl leaning against it with her head down and her phone in her hand. I had to do a double take—the girl looked familiar. She looked like…"STOP!"

  Brad hit the brakes so hard Trent went flying back. His ass landed on the floor of the car, his legs on the seat, and his head against the console. I didn't have time to laugh. "Go back!"

  "What?" Brad eyed me in the rearview mirror.

  "Go back. We should help that girl out."

  "Girl?" Trent tried to sit up, but it was physically impossible from his position. "What girl?"

  "Just go back, Brad."

  So he did. In reverse. For over a mile.

  Trent never got up.

  "You're gonna ask her what's up and then we're gonna go. We're not hanging around to help her if it's more than five minutes."

  "Whatever." Honestly, I just wanted to make sure it was her, and not just my eyes fucking with my head.

  Brad hit the brakes just as hard when we got to the minivan.

  She looked up from her phone with her eyes wide. Winding down the window, I tried to act cool when I offered, "Do you need any help?"

  The guys groaned in their seats.

  Our eyes locked before she chewed her lip and twisted a strand of her. It was that one mannerism—that one movement—and any ounce of doubt fled, it was definitely her. If she recognized me, she didn't show it. But I wasn't a surprised; she didn't pay much attention to me back then. "Um, I've got a flat," she said quietly. "I'm just waiting for tow."

  "A tow?"

  She nodded, but she was unsure.

  "You don't need a tow for a flat." I opened the door and hopped out of the car. My feet were on the ground for no more than second before Brad's tires spun and he was gone.

  "Good friends," she mused.

  "Yeah." I scratched my head. "The best." Then I straightened up and took a step forward with my hand out ready. "I'm Scott."

  A slow smile developed as she took my hand. "I know who are."

  TRICIA

  I know who you are. What the hell kind of response was that? I rolled my eyes and mentally kicked my ass.

  The instant the window lowered and I saw it was Scott, my heart started to race. It was like high school all over again. He hadn't changed much. He still had those big brown eyes and perfectly messy dirty blond hair. It wasn’t until he stepped out of the car and that I saw the change in him physically. He was better built now than he was in high school. Much better.

  "You do?" he asked.

  I inhaled deeply and tried to level my thoughts. "Yeah, we uh…we went to the same high school."

  "I know," he replied, like I was stupid for bringing it up. My expression must have shown my embarrassment because he quickly added, "I mean, I know that we did. I'm just surprised that you do."

  "Huh?"

  "That we went to high school together…"

  "Why would I not know?"

  "I didn't think you noticed me."

  Confusion was an understatement. "You noticed me not noticing you?"

  "What?"

  "Huh?"

  His eyes narrowed.

  I swallowed my nerves. "I'm Tricia," I said, just to avoid a loop in conversation.

  He smirked. "I know who you are, Tricia. We went to the same high school," he joked, but looked down at our still joined hands. And all of sudden it felt like a ball of fire had been lit in my palm. I swiftly released my hold and took a step back.

  His eyes widened, but he didn't mention it. Instead, he took a careful step closer and asked, "You have a flat tire?"

  "Yes," I confirmed. "Apparently there's a spare."

  He threw his hand out, palm up, between us. "Keys?”

  ***

  "So you called a tow company?" His head was bent, looking down at the spare.

  "I called the rental company, they said they would take care of it. I assumed that meant they were calling someone out."

  "So this is a rental?" He lifted his gaze and caught me watching him.

  I quickly looked away when I answered, "Yes."

  "Huh
," is all he said.

  A panic set in. "What do you mean huh?"

  He grimaced. "I mean that the tire in here isn't for this car. It has wingnuts, and it's supposed to have bladescrews."

  "What?" I almost shouted. "I don't know what that means."

  He shrugged carelessly and started to repack the spare. "I guess it just means that we have to wait for that tow truck."

  "Fuck!"

  "Whoa," he laughed out. "Am I that bad company?"

  "No." I couldn't help but laugh with him. "But now we're both stuck here on the side of the road in the middle of Hicksville."

  He shrugged again and took a seat in the trunk of the minivan with his legs dangling off the edge. "Could be worse," he stated.

  I rolled my eyes and took a seat next to him. "Yeah? How?"

  He turned to face me, licking his lips as he did. Then his gaze moved from my face and roamed down my body. "I don't know." His voice was rough. "We could both be naked, I guess."

  SCOTT

  We could both be naked? What the hell was that? I shook my head slightly and cleared the fog in my brain. Her cheeks flamed red, but she stayed quiet and looked at the ground in front of her. I tried to change the subject. "What are you doing renting a car like this if it's just you?"

  "It wasn't just me. It was full of girls, but then the flat happened and a bunch of guys drove past on their way to Crystal's…they picked up as many girls as they could fit…so that was that."

  "And your friends just left you?"

  "Uh huh." She nodded.

  "Good friends," I mused.

  She laughed and repeated my words from earlier. "The best."

  Minutes of silence past—the awkwardness of the situation getting heavier and heavier. She was the first to break. "You still speak to umm…" she trailed off.

  I was wondering if we'd talk about this, and I was kind of glad she was the one to bring it up. "Lisa? No. Not since that night. What about you? I mean...not Lisa, but…"

  "Chris?"

  I nodded.

  "No. Not since that night."

  "That was some night."

  She didn't respond, just continued to sway her legs back and forth.

  "You know I saw you at school afterwards. I wanted to talk to you about it. But I dunno…" I shrugged. I seemed to be doing it a lot—maybe because she made me so nervous. "It just didn't seem appropriate…given the circumstances and all."

  "Me too," she said quietly. "But I guess catching our other halves screwing around at their winter formal after-party wasn't a good basis to start talking to each other."

  I had to laugh at the bluntness of her words. My girlfriend and her boyfriend at the time went to a school in the town over from us. I'd seen her around at their school functions and parties, but even though we went to the same school, we didn't speak much. A single word greeting or a small wave here and there and that was it. That's not to say that I didn't notice her. I did. Even before I knew that the guy she was dating was secretly banging my girlfriend behind our backs.

  "Do you know how long it was going on for?" I didn't know why I asked that. It was a stupid question. One that I really didn't care about, but the words were out and I couldn't take them back.

  "Six months," she deadpanned.

  "Holy shit. Chris told you that?"

  She let out a bitter laugh. "Actually, more like bragged about it."

  My head whipped to face her. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

  Her lips pursed tight and she shook her head slowly. "No. He said that if I put out more and was as hot as her, he wouldn't be looking—"

  "The guys a fucking dick," I cut in. "You're way hotter than her. You always have been." I didn't regret saying it. It was all true.

  A blush crept to her cheeks, as she looked at me sideways. "You know, Scott, I always had a crush on you in high school."

  TRICIA

  I had a crush on you in high school? Who the hell says that? Apparently me. I say that.

  I tried to hide my embarrassment by squaring my shoulders and using all my energy to try to keep my breathing even while I waited for him to break this awkward silence, hopefully by changing the subject.

  He exhaled loudly. "Why didn't you say anything?" …or he could say that.

  Twirling my hair in between my fingers, I eyed my lap, too ashamed to face him. Then I felt him scoot closer until he was next to me. "Tricia," he whispered. Then moved my cheek with his finger so we were facing each other. Eye to eye. So close, our breaths merged. "You should've said something."

  My insides turned to dust. I pushed down my nerves and responded with a feigned calmness. "What would it have done? I would've just been one of the ninety-nine percent of girls that crushed on you."

  He pulled back, allowing me to catch my breath. "That's an over exaggeration if ever one existed. Besides, you were different."

  "Thanks," I scoffed.

  "Not at all in a bad way," he assured, but then he shook his head and chuckled lightly. "I can't believe this is happening right now."

  I let my body relax, thankful for the change in subject. "I know. I called the rental company two hours ago. The tow truck should be here soon. I'm sorry that you're stuck—"

  "No." he let out a laugh. "I meant that you're telling me you crushed on me back then."

  My head fell into my hands, trying to hide the blush that filled my entire face. "Oh my god," I mumbled.

  His chuckle would have grated on my nerves if it weren't so damn sexy. "Hey remember when I switched schools halfway through freshman year?"

  I nodded, lifting my head slightly. "Of course I remember, I was your buddy for the week, I showed you around."

  "Ooh!" he said dramatically. "So you do remember that? Here I was thinking you'd forgotten considering you never spoke to me again after that one week."

  My mouth dropped open. When I turned to face him, he was watching me, eyebrows raised. His fingers propped under my chin to shut my mouth. "But—"

  "But what?" He smirked, waiting for me to say something.

  "But you made friends so easily, and they were all the popular—"

  His eye roll cut me off. "I was butt hurt, Tricia." He sounded sincere. "I mean, I spent a week with you, I thought we were friends, or at least could be. I liked you. A lot. And then when that week was over you just disappeared."

  My heart dropped and I looked away. "You could have said something." I mumbled.

  "Like what?" he retorted. "Hey, Tricia. Thanks for that one week of faked, forced friendship. Nice knowing you?"

  I faced him again and pouted. "I'm sorry, Scott. I just saw that you'd made friends with other people and thought you wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore. I didn't think—" I blew out a breath. "I'm sorry, I just didn't think."

  "Yeah," he said. "Your apology doesn't make up for four years of me crying myself to sleep."

  My head threw back in laughter.

  "What?" He asked, watching me with a hint of a smile on his face. "You think I'm joking?"

  I laughed harder.

  "Pretty sure my diary entries went like this for the first year; Dear Diary," he mocked in a girly tone, "Why doesn't Tricia like me? I even made sure to shower every morning and wear my expensive cologne Aunt May got me for Christmas…"

  I lost control of my laugh and flung my entire body back, half leaning on the back of the seats, holding onto the side of my stomach. "Stop!"

  "Dear Diary," he continued, ignoring my plea, "Tricia walked past me today. I tried to sniff her hair, but she was too fast."

  "Oh my god." I could barely breathe. "Stop."

  He did what I asked, but his gaze never left me. Ever.

  My laughter became silent, as his eyes grew darker. And darker. "Tricia." Then he leaned in closer and my eyes drifted shut. His body covered my side. A moan escaped, the anticipation of feeling his lips on me was too much too handle.

  I held my breath.

  And I waited.

  And waited.

/>   And waited.

  Then my head started moving backwards.

  When I opened my eyes he was hovering above me, his arm outstretched and reaching for the lever to adjust the seat behind me. His eyes remained on mine, unblinking, unwavering. The power of his gaze was so intense I forgot to breathe. Then he blinked once, breaking whatever connection we had. His eyes narrowed as he searched my face. "What?" I asked.

  He shook his head. "You're even more beautiful than I remember you."

  SCOTT

  You're even more beautiful than I remember you. Fucking lame.

  I sat up and shuffled my way out of the minivan. The close proximity to her was making my head spin. It'd been years, years, since I felt like this around a girl.

  "Scott?" she said from behind me. I heard the crunching of gravel under her feet. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah," I lied. I wasn't okay, not even close. I spent years of high school pining over a girl that barely looked twice in my direction. Now we were here. Alone. And I couldn't get my shit together. "I just needed some air."

  "Okay."

  Then it was silent. No words. No footsteps. I turned to her, but she was looking down at her phone, her mouth turned down into a frown.

  "The tow-truck not coming?"

  "No—I mean, I don't know. It's not that…" she trailed off.

  I took the steps to cover our distance, hoping that I wouldn't freak her out like I did when we were in the van and I was too close to her. "What's going on?"

  Her eyes lifted from the phone but she wouldn't look at me. "I lied earlier."

  Confusion set it. "Lied about what?"

  "Chris."

  One word and my stomach dropped to the floor. I ignored the rapid thumping of my heart and asked, "What about Chris?" Just saying the asshole's name made me sick. Her eyes dropped back down to her phone. "Is he bothering you?" I took another step forward.

  "No." She quickly locked her phone screen and shoved it in her back pocket. "I lied when I said I hadn't spoken to him. I had. I mean I am…speaking to him."