Erik Draxton fell hard for Brit the moment she walked into the art room. With vibrant purple hair, music in her veins and a rebellious flair, she’s all he’s ever wanted.
While Jaime shrouds himself in secrets, Brit finds herself longing even more to be a part of his world. Unable to watch the girl of his dreams get tossed to the side, Erik decides to take matters into his own hands. But when Erik crosses a line, Brit feels backed into a corner, and discovering Jaime’s secret leaves her devastated.
With a shattered heart from Jaime, and the risk of losing Erik on the horizon, she knows one thing: navigating the social circles can be a suicide mission.
“So, you must have been really busy, huh?” Erik was washing the charcoal off of his hands. I was covered myself and needed the sink.
“What do you mean?”
“Well I thought over the week you’d find the time to text me once.” He ripped off a paper towel and stepped to the side so I could use the faucet.
“I forgot.”
Erik looked at me, unable to hide his disappointment. “I guess I’m not that memorable.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to explain, “No, I’m just really busy.”
“Oh yeah? With what?”
“Studies and stuff… ” I didn’t sound very convincing. I dried my hands in a hurry, hating being put on the spot.
“All the more reason to take a break.” He smiled warmly. He was clean shaven tonight.
“Yeah, I probably should.” I tossed the rest of my supplies inside my art portfolio and zipped it closed.
“Cool, so you want to go out sometime? See a movie or something?”
“Like a date?” I said with far too much alarm in my voice than was at all necessary.
“Wow.” Erik raised his eyebrows, his eyes wide. “Don’t sound so horrified.”
“I’m not. I just, um… I never really thought about it before.”
He held the door open and allowed me to walk through. We walked down the hallway to the stairway when he attacked again.
“So?”
“What?”
“Have you thought about it yet?”
I let out a nervous laugh. “Wow. You’re relentless aren’t you?”
“Well, I can rattle off a list of my qualifications if you’d like.”
“I have a feeling you’ll tell me even if I say no.” We were on the first floor, and made our way outside. It was dark already, and the night air felt crisp and cool.
“Why yes, I will. Let’s see… I have a clean bill of health, no weird diseases.”
I laughed. “Well now you’re really wooing me, go on.”
“I also drive a very sleek, uber sexy, ten-year-old blue Ford Taurus. Turned on yet?”
I fanned my neck. “Keep talking, baby.”
“I have not one, but two older sisters who have trained me in how to be a perfect gentlemen.”
“You do open doors for me…” I conceded. Not many guys did that on a regular basis anymore.
“And… you think I’m kinda cute.”
“Actually, you’re not my type.” I giggled to weaken the blow, but I was being truthful. I liked guys with dark hair, a few tattoos and a brooding disposition. Erik was blond with blue eyes. He was too salt of the earth for me. But, he was cute. I’d give him that much.
“What? I’m exactly your type, here look.” He pulled me under a lamppost and took my portfolio and laid it against the post beside his. He held out his hands palm up.
“What do you see?”
“Charcoal stuck in the crevices, you didn’t scrub hard enough.”
“No, it’s a sign of how artistic I am. What else do you see?”
“I don’t know, let’s go.” I turned to leave, but he caught my arm and tugged me back.
“No, I’m serious… look harder.”
I did. I stared at his hands but just saw apricot skin, lines, and calluses. “Erik, I’m sorry, I’m tired and just want to take a hot shower and go to bed.”
“You can in a minute. Look.” He grabbed my left hand and turned it to so it was also palm up. He ran the pointer finger of his right hand over the calluses on his hand, and then the calluses on mine.”
“How long have you played for?” he asked.
I swallowed hard, watching how he continued to trace the rough spots on my fingers. “Since I was thirteen.”
“I started when I was six,” he said as he continued to hypnotize himself with the swirls of my skin. Not gonna lie, it felt pretty nice.
“That’s a long time,” I answered, my voice cracked.
“Yeah, I really love it. My guitar is a part of me.” He broke his gaze away from my hand and focused instead on my eyes. Oh shit, he really was kinda cute. “I’d love to hear you play, Brit.”
I pulled my hand away. I had only ever played for Jaime. Yeah, my parents heard me practicing in the house, but private concerts belonged solely to him.
“How did you know I played guitar?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject.
“Because I pay attention to the details.” His gaze was locked on mine, like he was studying me. Not knowing what to say, I picked up my portfolio, and continued walking.
“So, will you go out with me?” he asked again, grabbing his portfolio and jogging up beside me.
“No.” I sighed.
“Can I walk you home to your dorm room?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well I thought over the week you’d find the time to text me once.” He ripped off a paper towel and stepped to the side so I could use the faucet.
“I forgot.”
Erik looked at me, unable to hide his disappointment. “I guess I’m not that memorable.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to explain, “No, I’m just really busy.”
“Oh yeah? With what?”
“Studies and stuff… ” I didn’t sound very convincing. I dried my hands in a hurry, hating being put on the spot.
“All the more reason to take a break.” He smiled warmly. He was clean shaven tonight.
“Yeah, I probably should.” I tossed the rest of my supplies inside my art portfolio and zipped it closed.
“Cool, so you want to go out sometime? See a movie or something?”
“Like a date?” I said with far too much alarm in my voice than was at all necessary.
“Wow.” Erik raised his eyebrows, his eyes wide. “Don’t sound so horrified.”
“I’m not. I just, um… I never really thought about it before.”
He held the door open and allowed me to walk through. We walked down the hallway to the stairway when he attacked again.
“So?”
“What?”
“Have you thought about it yet?”
I let out a nervous laugh. “Wow. You’re relentless aren’t you?”
“Well, I can rattle off a list of my qualifications if you’d like.”
“I have a feeling you’ll tell me even if I say no.” We were on the first floor, and made our way outside. It was dark already, and the night air felt crisp and cool.
“Why yes, I will. Let’s see… I have a clean bill of health, no weird diseases.”
I laughed. “Well now you’re really wooing me, go on.”
“I also drive a very sleek, uber sexy, ten-year-old blue Ford Taurus. Turned on yet?”
I fanned my neck. “Keep talking, baby.”
“I have not one, but two older sisters who have trained me in how to be a perfect gentlemen.”
“You do open doors for me…” I conceded. Not many guys did that on a regular basis anymore.
“And… you think I’m kinda cute.”
“Actually, you’re not my type.” I giggled to weaken the blow, but I was being truthful. I liked guys with dark hair, a few tattoos and a brooding disposition. Erik was blond with blue eyes. He was too salt of the earth for me. But, he was cute. I’d give him that much.
“What? I’m exactly your type, here look.” He pulled me under a lamppost and took my portfolio and laid it against the post beside his. He held out his hands palm up.
“What do you see?”
“Charcoal stuck in the crevices, you didn’t scrub hard enough.”
“No, it’s a sign of how artistic I am. What else do you see?”
“I don’t know, let’s go.” I turned to leave, but he caught my arm and tugged me back.
“No, I’m serious… look harder.”
I did. I stared at his hands but just saw apricot skin, lines, and calluses. “Erik, I’m sorry, I’m tired and just want to take a hot shower and go to bed.”
“You can in a minute. Look.” He grabbed my left hand and turned it to so it was also palm up. He ran the pointer finger of his right hand over the calluses on his hand, and then the calluses on mine.”
“How long have you played for?” he asked.
I swallowed hard, watching how he continued to trace the rough spots on my fingers. “Since I was thirteen.”
“I started when I was six,” he said as he continued to hypnotize himself with the swirls of my skin. Not gonna lie, it felt pretty nice.
“That’s a long time,” I answered, my voice cracked.
“Yeah, I really love it. My guitar is a part of me.” He broke his gaze away from my hand and focused instead on my eyes. Oh shit, he really was kinda cute. “I’d love to hear you play, Brit.”
I pulled my hand away. I had only ever played for Jaime. Yeah, my parents heard me practicing in the house, but private concerts belonged solely to him.
“How did you know I played guitar?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject.
“Because I pay attention to the details.” His gaze was locked on mine, like he was studying me. Not knowing what to say, I picked up my portfolio, and continued walking.
“So, will you go out with me?” he asked again, grabbing his portfolio and jogging up beside me.
“No.” I sighed.
“Can I walk you home to your dorm room?”
“Yes.”
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I love the blurb. Sounds like a great book
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me on the blog! ~Karen Ane
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! I LOVE the excerpt! Have a great weekend!!! ~Lauren
DeleteThis contemporary romance sounds really great. I want to read t !
ReplyDelete