Stalk Me (48 page)

   But I had no idea
he
would be here! 

   The way he’s looking at me is sorta unnerving but, at the same time, like the kiss, it electrifies me. His face is close to mine, but not so much that he is, like, blurry to look at. I figure if he can stare at me, then I can stare back. 

   And I take in every curve and angle of his face. 

   The way his jawline is flexing slightly. How his eyelashes are a dark, dark brown and curl upward. How he has a sexy teeny freckle just to the side of his left cheek. How his textbook lips are the exact color of the pale pink roses Tommy gave Mom for their anniversary, and how the sides of his mouth are turning up, starting to smile at me. He blinks slowly. When his eyes open, I study the emerald green of his irises, how they have little flecks of blue in them and maybe even a little golden around the edges. I feel like time is standing still again. 

   He slides his hands up into my hair and leans in to kiss me again. My body is trying to be good, but I can’t stop it from leaning into him. Melding to his. I could stay this way forever. 

   He stops kissing me, looks deeply into my eyes again, and tells me he loves me. 

   Oh, wait.

   He didn’t say that.

   I just thought that. 

   Well, I thought his eyes told me that. 

   Shut up! It’s what it felt like. 

   And what the hell is with the going so slow? Does he not want to make out with me? Is he gay?

   Finally he says, “You should probably go back and check on your friend. Those guys will get her drunk and take advantage of her.” 

   “We didn’t drink before we came. She can’t be drunk yet, and you promised me a drink.”

   “Also, I don’t want people to notice we’ve been gone very long. They’ll think we’re having sex. We don’t want to ruin your reputation on your second day.”

   “I think maybe you just don’t want to be alone with me. I don’t understand. You act like you’re all into me, but then we barely kiss.”

   I get irritated and frustrated by this, but no way am I going to be the one to move things along. 

   And I thought he was a player. 

   So why isn’t he trying to play me? To use me? To take advantage of me? 

   I shoulda pretended to be drunk, maybe?

   He doesn’t really say anything to me, just shakes his head and says, “You just don’t get it, do you?”

   And I’m thinking, no, I’m obviously not getting
it
tonight.

   “Apparently not,” I say. Then I storm past him, across the hall, and back into the party.    

   But I don’t really feel like partying anymore. I want to go home and cry. And what the hell don’t I get?! I mean, besides a good make-out session with the god of all Hotties. 

   I look around for Katie, find her swigging whiskey straight from the bottle and sitting on Tyrese’s lap.    

   They start to make out. 

   Oh, sure. 

   Dawson gets up off his chair, practically knocking the girl that was sitting on his lap onto the floor, stalks over toward me, grabs me, and pulls me into a kiss. A big, sloppy, wet kiss. An all-sorts-of-tongue kiss. A kiss I was totally not prepared for and am not enjoying in the least. 

   I pull away from him and run out the door. 

   Then I sit out in the hall and start to cry a little.

   What am I doing here? I just want to go home. But I can’t. Maybe not ever.

   Aiden slides down next to me. “Why are you crying?”

   “Because he ruined my lips.” Oh. Why did I say that? 

   “How so?”

   And I can’t lie to this boy. “They don’t taste like you anymore. They taste like whiskey and cigarettes. He’s a horrible kisser.”

   “He’s drunk and sloppy.” 

   “You’re not.”

   “Let’s get your friend, and I’ll walk you both home.” He seems like such a gentleman.    

   Or does he want to get me back to my room? Sneak in with me? No. We were alone. And he didn’t try anything. I don’t think he likes me.

   He just wants me gone.

   I guess he figured it out quick, like he said.

   “You don’t have to do that. I can get us home. Plus, I get it. You already figured it out, right?”

   “Figured what out?”

   “You know. What you were saying about the one.”

   “You’re so cute, and you’re making no sense. Come here.”

   And I do. Straight to his lips. And get another long, slow, delicious kiss.

   “Better?” 

   “Much better.”

Acknowledgements

If you are reading this book, thank you. The publishing industry has changed and readers are now the ones with the power. They have the power to take a self-published unknown author, like me a year ago, and turn her books into Amazon best sellers and a Top Rated Romance Series. I’m very grateful and can’t thank you all enough for your wonderful emails, messages on Goodreads, tweets, and facebook posts. And most of all, for telling your friends about my books. That is the ultimate compliment for an author.

A huge thank you to Tameri Etherton and Jessica Miremadi for spending a day exploring Malibu with me. We visited the places Keatyn would shop, ate at restaurants described in the book, got to see a few celebrities, snuck onto the beach in the private Malibu Colony, talked to surfers, and drank cocktails over looking the ocean. Jessica also gets special kudos for being an amazing beta reader and for becoming as obsessed with Polyvore as I am. 

Because this is the first in a six book series, I relied heavily on feedback from beta readers. Thanks so much to Jessica Miremadi, Jaymie Lynn McBryan, Beth Suit, Kelley Edler, Ellen Spivey, Judith Tanini, Mollie Harper, Heidi Bennett, Mom, Kenzie, and Chelsea Gurley. You helped shape this book into what it is today. Thank you.

I also want to thank a few groups that have been so supportive. You know who you are, and I can’t thank you all enough for your advice, support, hot guy photos, and love of reading: Destiny Makers, Hot Damn Sexy Authors, and Bookaholics Anonymous. I also want to personally thank authors Abbi Glines, Tammara Webber, Diane Capri, Steena Holmes, Lani Wendt Young, and Tracey Garvis-Graves. You are amazing women who I greatly admire. Thank you for always replying when I ask for advice! Y’all are rockstars! A big thank you also goes out to my writer’s group: Nigel Blackwell, David N. Walker, Tiffany A. White, Mary Morgan, and Charity Kountz. I love our laid-back Saturday mornings at B&N. 

And my support team: Rebecca Peters-Golden, I hit the jackpot on editors when I met you. Thanks for making this book professional and curbing my exclamation point and CAPITALS habits!!!!!!! Doug Henke-Miller, for fighting internet piracy and converting my books into e-formats. Steena Holmes for designing the pretty covers. And my daughter, Kenzie, who is the best assistant ever. My social media, blog, and life in general would fall apart if it weren’t for all you do.

And lastly, to my family. As always, you mean the world to me.

You know, being friends with two cute boys does have its benefits.

There's Danny. Danny is a golden boy in every way. He has dreamy blue eyes and blonde hair that always looks perfect. He's the boy every girl crushes on. The boy I get into trouble with and fight with. The hot quarterback no girl can resist. Being with Danny is like being on an adventure. He has a bright, contagious smile and abs to die for. He's pretty much irresistible.

Equally crush worthy is Phillip. Adorable, sweet Phillip. He has dark hair, a perfect smile, brown eyes, and the sexiest voice. He's the boy I talk to every night before I go to sleep. The boy who rescues me and tries to keep me out of trouble. The boy who irritatingly keeps getting hotter, and whose strong arms always seem to find their way around me. And when he gives me that grin, I can never say no.

One boy will give me my very first kiss.

One boy will teach me to make out.

One boy will take me to prom.

And finally, one boy will ask me to marry him.

They will both be my best friends.

But only one of them will be the boy I fall in love with.

Only one of them is That Boy.

Read That Boy

The gorgeous engagement ring on my finger mimics my happiness.

I feel so sparkly, glittery, and full of promise, because I absolutely know he's that boy.

The boy I want to marry. My prince. My happily ever after.

But then our pastor starts asking lots of questions.

His parents say I haven’t dealt with my past. 

I have horrible wedding disaster dreams.

I can’t find the perfect dress.

I have to manipulate him to get my way.

An old boyfriend asks me to run away with him.

My best friend says I'm going to ruin everything.

And forever starts to sound like a really long time.

Which totally freaks me out and makes me question everything I know.

Should best friends get married? 

Will my past affect our relationship?

Are my horrible dreams a warning?

Will I ever find a dress?

Could his sexiness be clouding my judgment?

Am I going to ruin everything?

Or is it just a case of cold feet?

And then I have to decide. Am I willing to give up on true love forever, or am I going to listen to my heart and marry him?