Synopsis

What do you do when everything you had planned out for yourself gets changed in one summer? Do you embrace the new or fight to keep things the same?

For seventeen year old Kinzleigh everything was going just as she always planned. She had great friends, went to a school she loved, and always knew she was destined for greatness. One step already completed towards acquiring the job she has forever dreamed of, a pro football cheerleader. Nothing and no one was going to stand in her way, especially not love. What she doesn't expect is for her parents to suddenly change everything and send her spiraling into a life she didn't want for herself, especially after meeting one blue eyed boy she can't stop dreaming about. Her life is changing at every turn. She is learning that sometimes life has different plans than our own. When she finally accepts the hand fate has dealt, everything is ripped from her once again. Can she accept the ugly fate that was chosen for her or will she fight to once again accept it.

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Excerpt

I finally reach the end and sit, placing my legs over the side, but because of my height they do not reach the water. The night begins to replay through my thoughts. I can't believe everything I've worked so hard for is crashing down around me. Being squad captain of one of the top 5 squads in the country guaranteed me a spot on almost any college in the country. Even if this Hicksville town, Mississippi has a cheer leading squad, will they even have room for another cheerleader? Do they even compete? Now, I'm going to have to work harder just to get a tryout at the colleges I'm interested in.

Why would my parents just pick up and move us when I have one year of high school left? How do they expect me to just leave everything I know behind and start over? I have friends here, family, that has to mean something to them. This isn't fair. Maybe I can think of a way to stay behind. I just have to. My parents have got to understand what this will do to me. I just want to wake up and realize this is all a dream. All I can do is stare out at the ocean, lost in thought.

All of my emotions finally catch up to me and the tears start to fall, heavier this time. I can't stop them anymore. I don't know what to do. Everything was going great in my life and now the misery is about to begin. I don't even try to wipe the tears away anymore, I just let them flow. I don't understand out of all the states in the continental U.S., why my parents have to choose some po-dunk town in Mississippi. I can't imagine the kind of people that reside there. After that big hurricane, Katrina I think, they had people walking around barefooted and missing teeth. Do they even have shopping malls and designer clothes, I wonder, or is it full of trailer parks and cow fields. My stomach turns at the thought. I'm not sure how long I've been sitting there, staring at the water, but my back is beginning to hurt and I'm growing tired from crying, but the tears continue to fall. I should just go home and go to bed, but I'm not ready to face my parents yet. I lay back against the pier, looking into the sky. Its dark, but the sky is clear. There is not a cloud for miles. It's beautiful glancing out at all the stars, shining brightly. It's also a full moon tonight. A strange peacefulness begins to wash over me, causing me to close my eyes. Clearly my mind is not in normal territory, because I would never close my eyes late at night on a public beach. There are too many creeps out there.

I couldn't have been laying there but what seemed like a few minutes. I must have dozed off when, "Mind if I join you," flows through my ears in a deep, raspy voice. My eyes pop open and a tall familiar face is standing over me, looking down, with a smile on his face.

I begin to panic and sit up in a hurry, embarrassed. Embarrassment is a rare trait for me and this guy has brought it out twice in one day. "I'm sorry, I don't usually do this, it's been a bad night." I look back out at the water, gripping the side of the pier, as if the most beautiful boy isn't standing behind me. Right then, I can feel his breathing on the back of my neck, quickening my heart rate. In the short time, he has managed to squat behind me, the inside of each knee resting against my side.

He begins to whisper in my ear, "May I keep you company for a while? I'll be quiet if that's what you need." His breath is so light, it tickles my ear. I can barely breath, let alone speak, so I just nod. My head is fuzzy and I can't think when he's this close.

He sits beside me and removes his shoes, placing his feet in the water. I'm finally able to exhale the breath I've been holding. "How long have you been here?" I turn and glance at him, to find that he's staring at me. I don't know where this guy is from, I don't really care, but he's gorgeous. I never take an interest in a guy, it's one of my few rules, but following rules have gotten me nowhere, obviously. I'm not thinking clearly anyway, I guess I can break my rule and enjoy his company for a while. He is leaving soon anyway and right now I need a distraction from all this bad news.

He reaches out slowly, as if he's afraid I'll run away, placing his hand over my cheek, rubbing his thumb underneath my eye, freeing it from the wetness of the tears. Great, I have no idea what I look like right now. "I needed to clear my head and came to the beach, I saw you standing by the water earlier, are you okay?"

My eyes close at the warmth from his hand. I should be mad he followed me, but I can't. I just want him near me, but no personal questions. I don't need him to know me or what makes me tick. I don't need any complications. I open my eyes to him staring at my lips. "Can we just exist together without trying to obtain personal quota? Let's just enjoy casual company, two people needing nothing from each other. Clearly you're not from here, meaning you'll be gone soon. I'm not one of those girls that needs or wants to know everything about you nor do I want to spill my entire life to you. We don't have to pretend with each other, lets call this what it is. Can you do that?"

He just stares at me as if he's trying to figure me out, like I'm a book full of secrets. He seems lost in my eyes, amused, confused, I don't know. We sit there staring at each other as if we can't pull away. He doesn't say anything, just bites his lip as if he's trying to answer his own question, or to make a decision. I'm about to get up and walk away, when his other hand reaches behind my neck, pulling me closer. His lips stop in front of mine, close enough to touch, when he whispers, "Beautiful," and crashes his lips to mine.

His lips are so soft and full, but needy. His warm tongue slips through the opening of my lips, requesting entry. Our tongues taste, touch, and dance together. A moan, barely more than a whisper, escapes my lips. I run my hands across his arms and up his neck, into the back of his hair. My heart is beating wildly. Foreign emotions are running through my body. I have never felt this need before, but it's as if my body needs more. Suddenly, I feel like I need to cross my legs from the spasms down below. What is he doing to me? What does this mean? He turns, laying me against the pier. He has one hand on my waist, the other beside my head, holding his weight above me, like when we were at the beach. He continues to kiss me, taking my bottom lip into his mouth, lightly sucking. He makes a low growling sound from his throat. I'm not sure why until I feel his need pressed against the bottom of my belly, making my eyes go wide from surprise. Oh no, I can't go there. As if he can sense my panic, he stops. He kisses me one last time softly and releases my lips.

He looks me in the eyes, a smile growing across his face. He brushes his fingers through my hair, down my arm and grabs me by the hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. "Nothing personal huh, I think I can do that." His lips brush mine quickly before he moves back to his spot of the pier, pulling me by my hand to sit between his legs. "I promise I'll be good for the rest of the night. I've just wanted to do that all day."

I'm completely and utterly speechless. I have no idea what I'm doing. I never do reckless or unplanned things like this. I have no idea who this guy is, really, and now I'm sitting on the pier making out with him. I really need to get my head back in the game. I always think everything through before I make a decision. Being around him takes away my ability to process. Right now there are so many unknowns, but what I do know is that I'm not ready for it to end just yet.

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Meet the Author

Facebook / Goodreads

Charisse Reid lives in the small town of Purvis, Mississippi. She is married with a four year old daughter. She developed a love for reading through iBooks and Kindle app, on her iPad, a year ago she never would have imagined. She loves to escape for a while through the characters of a good romance. Any romance will do, but she has developed a passion for indie authors. They seem to usually develop the best stories in her opinion. Her personal favorite is Young Adult and rocker romance. Got to love those tattooed bad boys right? She never would have dreamed of writing until a fellow author friend mentioned she should try it through editing a work in progress for her. At first, she thought it was funny because editing was as close as she thought she would get to the creative side of book writing, but then came up with a storyline and decided to give it a shot. Now she absolutely loves to write and has several books lined up that she cannot wait to share with the world.

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