Hearts Attached
Authors: Scarlet Wolfe
Tags: #teen and young adult, #teen romance, #college, #pregnancy, #sports, #love, #Friendship, #coming of age, #Young Adult Romance
Hearts Attached
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Scarlet Wolfe
Copyright © 2014 Scarlet Wolfe Books
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
ISBN-13: 978-1499175424
ISBN-10: 1499175426
Notes
This novel is written from the point of view of
Luke and McKenzie
To Mom for keeping and loving me when you were practically a child yourself. Thank you for raising me to be the person I am today. I love you.
McKenzie
“R
emember when we would constantly play outside? We never wanted to be indoors,” I say, looking at Luke. He’s flipping through a hotrod magazine as he sits on his bed. His wavy, dark brown hair is pushed up in the back, from his head leaning against the wall above his headboard. It looks funny, so I fight a giggle.
“Yeah, just like we never wanted to sleep, and now we do it any chance we get.” He never looks up as he flips to the next page.
“We would get so dirty. Then Mom would make us take baths together. It was gross,” Liv says.
“You’re right; it was gross, and I don’t want to think about it,” Luke adds.
Liv Harris, short for Olivia, is my best friend. Her twin brother is Luke, and honestly, we’re closer, but I can’t tell Liv that or Luke either, so as far as they’re both concerned, I’m her best friend.
The three of us have been inseparable our whole lives. We’re seventeen now, and only one house has separated us since birth.
Our parents had to apologetically inform the three different families who have moved into the house between ours that Luke, Liv and I would be continually wearing a path through their yard.
Liv is stretched out across the foot of Luke’s bed, and I have my head on her stomach with my feet toward Luke. He looks up from his magazine with a smile on his face.
“Do you two remember how we used to play with those helicopter seeds that fell from the trees?”
“Yeah, I remember,” I reply.
***
A
ge 6:
“The hewicopters are falling again from the wind! Wook, Wuke,” I say, jumping around as they fall from the trees.
“Let’s see how many we can catch. Do you want to play, Wiv?” Wuke asks.
“It’s Liv, and when are you two going to learn to talk right?”
I watch Wuke frown. I go over and whisper in his ear. “Don’t wisten to her. I wike the way you tawk.”
“Our moms said not to tell secrets,” Wiv says, putting her hands on her hips. She’s bossy. “He’s my twin brother, Kenzie. Only I can tell him secrets. You should go home.”
My eyes get watery. She’s mean to me sometimes. Wuke takes my hand. “Don’t go, Kenzie. Wiv, we can aw pway together. Come on, hep us catch hewicopters,” he says, smiwing and taking howd of Wiv’s hand, too.
***
“B
ack to earth, Kenzie,” Luke says.
I glance up, and he’s smiling at me.
“Huh?” Why does he have to appear hotter daily?
“I often wonder where your mind wanders off to. Can you take mine with you? I’d prefer it over thinking about all the bullshit that goes on around here.”
“Please, what bullshit do you have to deal with?” Liv asks.
“Oh, I don’t know, Liv. How about all the people who are on my ass to make sure I keep my shit together? I’m not the only kid in this house. Someone else I know needs to have the heat put on them for a while.” He glances up long enough to glare at her.
“Poor, Luke. You’re the most popular guy at school because of how good you are at sports. I have a hard time feeling sorry for you.”
“I didn’t ask for your sympathy, and what’s your deal?”
Liv pushes forward, signaling she wants up, so I raise to a sitting position and cross my legs. I’m now at Luke’s feet.
“I have to listen to girls talk about you daily. They’re always using me to get to you, and I’m sorry if that becomes tiresome for me.
“You need to date one of them already. I’m going to see if Mom needs help with dinner.” Liv is off the bed in seconds, flipping her long, dark hair before she goes out the door.
Luke shuts his magazine and launches it across the room. “How have we managed to put up with her all these years?”
“Give her a break. She lives in your shadow, and it wasn’t like that before high school.”
“You’re too nice, Kenzie.”
It’s always awkward when he gives me compliments. I flip my hair, like Liv often does, and look up to the ceiling. She’s as prissy as it gets.
“It’s a gift. I can’t help it.”
He chuckles before his gaze averts to the other side of the room. “Um, I heard Stewart asked you out.”
“Yeah, he did.” My long hair is everywhere now, so I attempt to pull sections to their proper places.
“Well, did you say yes?”
“I told him I wanted to think about it.”
Luke nods his head thoughtfully but still doesn’t look at me. “So you like him?”
“I don’t know. He’s cute and has always been nice to me. I thought I’d see how he is at school, when we start next week. Do you think he’s only looking for one thing?”
Finally, Luke’s eyes meet mine.
“If you go by Stew’s history, then I’d say yes, but I’ll deny I told you that.”
“Maybe it’s time I did it.”
Luke pulls away from his wall and sits straight up.
“You’re considering having sex with him?” he asks, sounding surprised.
“Not him, necessarily. I meant that maybe it’s time period.”
Luke covers his ears. “This conversation is done. If you start doing it, then that means Liv is or will be shortly thereafter, and then I’ll have to kill someone.”
Grinning, I stare at his handsome face.
“It’s adorable when you get protective of your sister.”
“You’re calling me adorable? How girly is that? I think it’s tickle time.”
Luke
McKenzie is only in a tank top and shorts since it’s August, so it takes only a second to get to her armpits. I tickle her there before moving to her waist. She falls back on my bed and attempts to pull her knees up.
It’s her signature move, but I’m on to her tactics, so I put my left arm across her thighs as she begins to bring up her legs. She works to remove my right hand from her waist, giving me no choice but to bring her wrists together and wrap my hand around them.
Moving them above her head, I hold them there snugly, but this causes me to fall over on top of her. I’m struggling to keep her legs down when it hits me that my left arm is stuck between us, somewhat across her ... you know and her smooth thighs.
Ah shit. Now that we’re older, it’s different when I tickle her. I mean, her body keeps changing. Kenzie is still laughing and breathing heavily.
I stop moving, so she slowly does, too. Trying to get her breath, she turns her head to cough before swinging it back and looking at me.
Her light brown hair that’s woven with golden strands is pretty, and blue eyes that I swear couldn’t get any lighter gaze up at me. Will the day come when she stops getting prettier?
“You’ve figured me out. I need new moves,” she says, appearing nervous.
I can’t stop staring into her eyes. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this close to them. I feel her breath on my face, her body pinned beneath me, and I want to cover her mouth with mine. Why the hell is this happening again? I buried that feeling a year and a half ago. Well, I tried to, anyway.
Ah, shit
, I feel an erection coming on, so I fly off of her. “Kenzie, I–I’m sorry.”
She sits up and quickly straightens her clothes and hair. Right after, Liv comes in the room and eyes us suspiciously.
“Dinner’s ready. What’s with the serious looks?”
“Oh, um, Luke was making me spill the beans about Stewart asking me out.”
“I can’t believe you’re telling him,” Liv says before shooting daggers at me. What’s new these days? “Leave her alone, Luke. You’re friends with Stew. You’ll probably go tell him everything she says.”
“Liv, give me a little credit. Kenzie’s more of a friend than any of those guys. I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“I have to go.” Kenzie jumps off the bed.
“But you said you were staying for dinner,” Liv says, noticeably irritated.
“Sorry. I forgot that Mom was going to be home this evening. I never get to eat with her since she works so much.”
In a split second, Kenz is running out of my room faster than I can do the hundred yard dash.
“See, Luke. She doesn’t want to talk to you about guys. We’re getting too old for that.”
I scowl at her. My sister is on my last nerve, but I actually owe her one for walking in when she did. I have a feeling the situation would’ve been even more embarrassing had I been left alone with Kenzie any longer.
McKenzie
C
lasses only started yesterday, and I’m already sick of it. It’s also hot outside, and I guess the school wasn’t expecting it, so they don’t have the air cranked up like they should. It’s not typically this warm in Hanover, New Hampshire in late August.
Liv and I sit together at lunch with our friends, Amanda and Shelby. I glance over at Luke as he sits with his buddies. He’s been distant since the incident in his room, and I don’t know what to make of it.
He has spoken to me but hasn’t made eye contact once. I would know since he has the most unique eyes. They turn from shades of blue to green depending on the color he’s wearing.
It’s been impossible to miss how much cuter he’s become over the last several years, too. Even before he was tickling me, I was admiring him from the other end of the bed.
He’s all I’ve thought about since, and I don’t know what the hell to do about it. One time last year, I mentioned to Liv that he was hot, and she completely freaked out on me.
She said it was disgusting that I was even thinking it since he was her twin and a good friend of mine, so after her outburst, I knew she’d never accept Luke and me being together. Besides, he made the decision not to let that happen a year and a half ago.
She gets jealous if she even thinks I’m enjoying myself more with him. She’s matured some, but she’s not where she should be for our age. I swear I felt him getting a boner while he was on top of me.
I guess that’s a natural thing to happen to a guy when pressed against a girl, so I doubt he likes me. He’s probably avoiding me because he’s embarrassed. I need to find the key I obviously lost and lock those feelings right back up.
“Kenzie, I heard you turned Stewart down for a date. Are you insane?” Amanda asks. She’s pretty and the only girl I know who can rock short hair that good.
Her eyes are as dark as her hair, giving her a sort of mysterious look. The guys love it. She’s also ... how can I put this nicely. Easy. Yeah, that’s the nicest word I can find.
Amanda is the friend who has educated us on sex. She’s had it with four boys already. I personally think that’s a lot for seventeen. There are also a few different guys who she’s done other things with.
“He’s too intimidating. Even if I didn’t sleep with him, everyone would assume I did just from dating him,” I reply.
“Would that be such a bad thing? You’re kinda considered a prude around here,” Shelby says.
“Well is
that
such a bad thing? I haven’t met a guy yet that I’d like to lose my virginity to.” That’s not true, but I can’t share that with them. Luke. No, McKenzie, get the thought out of your head.
“What about you, Liv? When are you crossing over to the wild side?” Shelby asks with a smirk.
Shelby is pretty, too, with her shoulder length, light brown hair. Her eyes are hazel and remind me a little of Luke’s. There I go again. Maybe it’s because I have a perfect view of him from where I’m sitting. I’m blaming it on that.
“I’ve come close,” Liv replies.