Some people wait
decades to meet their soul mate. Courtney Kaufman suspects she met hers in high
school—only to lose him at seventeen. Since then, Courtney’s social life has
been a series of meaningless encounters, though she’s made a few close friends
along the way. Especially her roommate, Max Cooper, who oozes damaged bad-boy
vibes from every pore.
Max knows about
feeling lost and trying to move beyond the pain—he’s been on his own since he
was sixteen. Now it’s time to find out if he can ever go home again, and
Courtney’s the only one he trusts to go with him. But the trip to Providence
could change everything…because the more time he spends with Courtney, the
harder it is to reconcile what he wants and what he thinks he deserves.
It started out so simple.
One misfit helping another. Now Max will do anything to show Courtney that for
every heart that’s ever been broken, there’s another that can make it complete.
He didn’t speak until I was strapping on
the helmet. “It’s weird how nervous I am. I was going for original but I hope I
didn’t cross into cheesy.”
“I love cheese,” I told him.
“That makes me feel marginally better.”
Max got on the bike and I climbed on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. The motorcycle zoomed off, warm wind rushing against my skin. At first I wasn’t sure where we were going, but then I started recognizing landmarks. Each turn brought us closer to the private place Max had shared with me before, the spot that offered him respite from the world. Like before, we parked and walked in, but when we pushed through the bushes to the small clearing overlooking the river, everything was different. He’d set up a red and white blanket, complete with picnic basket. Overhead, the sky was darkening to a shade of bruised plum, and the moon cut through in a crescent of silver. Glimmers of starlight caught the water, just a hint now, though it would be a flood of brilliance in an hour or so.
“I want to give you the world,” he said. “But for now, will you settle for a corner of it?”
In answer I sang the chorus of I Only Want to Be With You. At every bar
mitzvah I ever attended, the terrible DJ always played this song, and I never
imagined I’d have reason to sing it. But from Max’s grin, it was a good choice.
Obviously relieved at my reaction, he set out the food carefully packaged in
plastic containers: cheese, fruit, cold cuts, and crackers. There was also a
bottle of wine with plastic glasses.
“Ten points for pure ambiance,” I said.
“That’s not all.”
Max delved in his pocket and came up with an Ipod, which he connected to a small flexible speaker. In seconds, the soft strains of my favorite song filled the silence—Big Strong Girl by Deb Talan. It was incredible to realize all the nights we’d hung out, talking music, hadn’t rolled over him like ocean waves, leaving the sand fundamentally unchanged. No, it was more like Max had been soaking me up like a sponge.
“You are killing me,” I whispered, oddly on the verge of tears.
“In a good way?”
I managed a nod. “The best. Thank you for all of this.”
“So you like it?” Tension seeped out of his shoulders as he offered his hand and pulled me down onto the blanket beside him. It was thick and plush but I could still feel the blades of grass prickling through. Judging by the pile of stones nearby, he must’ve spent at least an hour clearing the area.
“This is perfect. I’m not much for consumer culture anyway.”
“I figured I needed to do something special—and memorable—for our first date.”
“Mission accomplished. You hungry?”
“Starving,” he admitted, but from the look in his eyes, he wasn’t entirely talking about the food.
All in due time.
About Ann Aguirre:
Ann Aguirre is a New
York Times & USA Today bestselling author and
RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full
time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens,
not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a
cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and
various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all
kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin,
Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.
No comments :
Post a Comment