Kennedy Harrison, as reckless with life as Annabel is obsessed with order, never could commit to anything—not to a person, not to a job, not to a path. But he’s got a history with Annabel, and for once Kennedy doesn’t want to run. Determined to spend time with her before she leaves for college, Kennedy dares her to join him on a road trip to a music festival.
And neither of them could ever say no to a dare.
But Annabel’s got a plan. She’ll complete seven dares in seven days—if Kennedy applies for one writing internship per dare. Because Kennedy needs to be pushed just as much as she does.
What follows is a dizzying week of music, shady hotels, comical dares, and a passion neither one knew existed. But when it ends, Annabel and Kennedy will realize the biggest dare of all might just be falling for each other.
“You haven’t drowned in there, have you?” I yell to Annabel, noting that the sound of running water stopped about fifteen minutes ago.
“No, just relaxing,” she calls back.
Just relaxing. Naked. In a bath.
I scramble from the bed and knock gently on the door. “And would you like some company to help you, you know, relax?”
“Did you finish?” She sounds more like a scolding teacher than the girl who ravished me last night. But this is Annabel Lee we’re talking about. It’s all about priorities.
“Yes, I finished. Now, can I come in?” I ask, pulling off my shirt in anticipation.
“Read it to me.”
“Huh?” I ask, my shirt not completely removed from my head yet.
“I want you to read it to me.”
Of course she does. Why did I expect any less? I pull my shirt the rest of the way off on my walk back to get my computer. When I go to open the door, her voice halts me.
“I didn’t say come in. I said I wanted you to read it to me.”
“And may I come in when I’m done?”
“Only if it’s good,” she sings. She’s enjoying every bit of this torture. The lovable vixen.
And so I read it to her sitting on the floor outside the bathroom door. Even I have to admit it’s good. It’s, like, fucking fantastic. When I get to the part about us dancing up there together, the whole crowd making us feel like gods, she makes me read it again, and I smile knowing it meant as much to her as it did to me.
“You can come in now if you want,” she says, sounding a little shyer than I expected to hear. Gone is the bravado of the schoolteacher, replaced again by the girl who still doesn’t know the power she has over me. How does she not realize she’s had power over me since that first dare when she made me switch out Mrs. Peterson’s peanut butter sandwich with kitty litter?
My heart starts beating a little faster, knowing what’s waiting for me on the other side of this wall. My breath catches in my throat when I open the door and see her sitting there, staring up at me, and waiting.
“No, just relaxing,” she calls back.
Just relaxing. Naked. In a bath.
I scramble from the bed and knock gently on the door. “And would you like some company to help you, you know, relax?”
“Did you finish?” She sounds more like a scolding teacher than the girl who ravished me last night. But this is Annabel Lee we’re talking about. It’s all about priorities.
“Yes, I finished. Now, can I come in?” I ask, pulling off my shirt in anticipation.
“Read it to me.”
“Huh?” I ask, my shirt not completely removed from my head yet.
“I want you to read it to me.”
Of course she does. Why did I expect any less? I pull my shirt the rest of the way off on my walk back to get my computer. When I go to open the door, her voice halts me.
“I didn’t say come in. I said I wanted you to read it to me.”
“And may I come in when I’m done?”
“Only if it’s good,” she sings. She’s enjoying every bit of this torture. The lovable vixen.
And so I read it to her sitting on the floor outside the bathroom door. Even I have to admit it’s good. It’s, like, fucking fantastic. When I get to the part about us dancing up there together, the whole crowd making us feel like gods, she makes me read it again, and I smile knowing it meant as much to her as it did to me.
“You can come in now if you want,” she says, sounding a little shyer than I expected to hear. Gone is the bravado of the schoolteacher, replaced again by the girl who still doesn’t know the power she has over me. How does she not realize she’s had power over me since that first dare when she made me switch out Mrs. Peterson’s peanut butter sandwich with kitty litter?
My heart starts beating a little faster, knowing what’s waiting for me on the other side of this wall. My breath catches in my throat when I open the door and see her sitting there, staring up at me, and waiting.
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Besides traveling, Tiffany has always been an avid reader. The earliest books she remembers reading belong to The Little House on the Prairie Series. First book she read in one day? Little Woman (5th grade). First author she fell in love with? Jane Austen in middle school. Tiffany spent most of her high school and college career as a literary snob. She refused to read anything considered "low brow" or outside the "classics."
Tiffany began teaching middle school in 2006. Her students introduced her to the wide, wonderful world of Young Adult literature. Today, Tiffany embraces popular Young Adult literature and uses it in her classroom.
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♥ 3x signed copies of Seven Ways to Lose Your Heart
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i love the book and would be reading
ReplyDeleteWhich will they run out of first, dares or writing internships?
ReplyDeleteI loved the excerpt thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance!
ReplyDeleteSounds so good.
ReplyDelete