by Amanda Heath
Natalie walks in on Bryson cheating on her. One month after catching him in the act, she finally decides to make an escape by leaving for Florida.
She wants to start over, have fun, and be free while also finding a way to mend her broken heart but when she meets Nolan Young, her single-life escapade doesn't last for very long. She tries to stay clear of Nolan and his desires but it's impossible for her. Nolan will do everything that he can to have her as his own, but will Natalie accept Nolan along with the problems of his past? Will she let someone else into her heart that may be even worse than Bryson?
For Natalie, Nolan will be something completely new to her. And for them both, their desires will be completely hard to resist.
Chapter One
Graduation Night
“Are you ready?”
Sighing, I reached for my clutch to pull out some of my best lip gloss. I bought it every time that I would go to Victoria’s Secret. It tasted just like peppermint and the only reason that I kept buying it was because Bryson loved to suck it off of my lips. I shivered just from thinking about Bryson and his velvety tongue. Whenever he would tease me, use his tongue to trace my lower lip, it would be to die for. When he used to use that same velvety tongue to caress it against my ear lobes—oh, God . . . I was in heaven.
I smeared some gloss on my lips then turned to look at Gracey as I pushed the visor of the car back up just as she was pulling hers down. “You’re asking me if I’m ready but you keep checking your face,” I teased, my lips hinting at a sneer.
“I know, I know.” She sighed then reached to fluff her glossy black hair. “There’s just this guy that’s going to be here. I met him at a party last week. He’s really hot—but I forgot his name.” She stole a glance at me, her eyes lost for a moment.
“Does he just want your thong?” I asked.
She grinned. “I don’t know. Maybe I just want his dong!” We both burst into a fit of giggles, clutching ourselves but making sure that we didn’t destroy our makeup with our tears. “But at least you won’t have to worry about that.”
She was right. I didn’t have to worry about sex that night because Bryson was there. He was my boyfriend and, technically, I could have sex with him whenever I wanted and not feel guilty about it. Just thinking of him made me grin.
“Gah, you look like a love-struck idiot when you smile like that,” Gracey muttered beneath her breath before pushing the visor back up and pushing against the passenger door of the car. She shut it behind her but I continued to grin as I climbed out of the driver’s seat. Placing my lip-gloss in my clutch, I turned to face Gracey in her bright orange, skin-tight mini dress. She could have passed for a stripper (especially since her breasts were extra perky and her make-up was a bit dramatic) but she was still gorgeous. Gracey’s skin was flawless with a beautiful light-brown tint to it. Her complexion could have been compared to the color of mocha. She had brown freckles, beautiful hazel eyes, and a body that she loved to work out with.
I locked the car up then walked around the hood to meet her. She studied my creamy white mini dress briefly before turning to face the large mansion that was just a few yards ahead of us, surrounded by cars. “I envy you tonight,” she hissed as we began to walk for the house in our stilettos.
Chuckling, I asked, “Why?”
“Because, you look beautiful and if you want some, you can get some without even trying . . . unlike me, where I have to work for it, you don’t.”
I laughed again. “Oh, trust me, Gracey. It’s graduation night. I’m sure that whoever this guy is that you’re trying to sleep with will be drunk enough for you to drag upstairs and hump for a little while. He won’t mind.”
“Euch.” Gracey’s face pinched. “Don’t make me sound like a tramp.”
“I’d hate to burst your bubble but . . .” She scowled and I gave her a teasing grin. “I’m only kidding, Gracey. I love you and after these four years of working our asses off, we deserve a little fun. High school would have been hell without you.”
“Same here. I wouldn’t have survived biology or history without you as my study buddy.”
I nodded and began to smile but that smile faded as we approached the large oak door. Gracey looked at me, wide-eyed, and we both could tell that it was really going down inside. We could hear it, feel it. Most students of West Ashley High School of South Carolina were there. We had all graduated and we were all partying with no regrets.
“You ready?” I asked, glancing at Gracey who was tugging her dress down.
“Been ready.” Reaching for the door knob, she finally swung it open and it was just like a jungle-gym inside. As soon as we stepped in, people were making out, red cups were spread all over the floor. The lights were dim and the thick stench of sweat and beer filled my lungs. I tried my hardest not to breathe it in as I shut the door behind us while looking up at the spiral staircase that was on my right. There were couples on the stairs, too. They were making out and some I would have thought were having sex by the way their legs were intertwined and their tongues were lodged down each other’s throats.
“I see him!” Gracey yelled over the music. The song changed and as it did, the lights went out, the room grew darker, but the flickers of rave lights began to shine. “I’ll find you later, kay?” she called, already drifting away from me. Nodding, I watched her meet a tall, fair-skinned guy with cropped hair and his lip pierced. He had on a tight black T-shirt, skinny blue jeans, and his arms were toned, as if he worked out every day. He really was hot and now I can see why Gracey was so ready to be all over him.
I pulled my phone out to text Bryson immediately. I knew he was around because he’d told me that he was going to help set up the DJ stand. The guy hosting the party was Bryson’s best friend. Bryson was always at that exact mansion whenever he wanted to make an escape.
I waited ten minutes. I’d even grabbed a drink. But I didn’t get a text back. It wasn’t like Bryson to hold off on texting me—although lately he’d been drifting away from me more and more. Looking towards the spiral staircase, I figured that if he wasn’t downstairs, he was most likely upstairs with his best friend, Mark. I pushed through the thick sea of the crowd, passing by people with their plastic red cups in hand, until I was near the staircase. I hopped up the stairs quickly, stepping between the couples having make-out-sex until it was clear. The music had grown quieter up there but the bass was thumping against the soles of my feet. I passed by the first four rooms until I reached the last one. The last room was Mark’s room and if Bryson wasn’t in there, I didn’t know where the hell he could have been.
I knocked on the door and heard stumbling of some kind. They’re in there. I knocked again but no one answered so I twisted the knob, stepped inside, but as I did my heart failed to beat.
Clutching the door knob, I stared in horror while choking on my next breath and wishing that I had never gone upstairs. My hands began to tremble but I couldn’t pull my sight away from it.
Bryson hopped from the bed quickly, reaching for his jeans to tug them over his legs. “Nat,” he said while staring at me with wide eyes.
I remained speechless, looking from him to the blonde bitch lying on the bed with a smirk. It was Sara Manx. I hated her with a passion. She’d always been trying to find a way to get between Bryson and I and I guess she’d found a way because there he was, just lying on top of her, sweating like he’d just ran for an hour on a treadmill.
I couldn’t even speak. I didn’t want to. I wanted to pretend that none of it had happened. I spun around and began to march down the hall but he caught me by the hook of my arm. I shoved him away, feeling my chest tighten. Tears pricked and stung at my eyes but I wasn’t going to let Sara get to me. She wanted this. She wanted to see us fight and to see us unhappy. And, to be honest, she’d won.
“Nat, please,” Bryson begged but I pushed him against his sweaty, bare chest harder.
“Fuck you, Bryson! How could you do this to me—with her?” He clutched my wrist
s, forcing me to eye him but I couldn’t. He had the most beautiful emerald green eyes ever but I began to hate them. I began to despise everything about him. I told myself that he wasn’t worth the tears and that I didn’t need him, but it was a lie. Bryson and I had promised to grow old and happy together. To have children and to raise them correctly. He’d promised me so much. A beautiful wedding, a romantic honeymoon—all of it. But that had gone down the drain. That was no more.
“Let go of me,” I growled through my teeth.
“Nat, I’m sorry!” He removed one of his hands from my wrist to cup my jawline but I pulled away.
“Don’t touch me!” I scowled, feeling the tears ride along my cheeks.
“What the hell is going on?”
I spun around to face Mark who was looking at us both with wide eyes. I jerked away from Bryson while his guard was down and stomped around Mark, the one who had hosted the party. I figured that Mark knew something about this whole ordeal. He had too. They’re best friends. Bryson tells Mark everything.
“Natalie,” Mark called after me as I clambered down the stairs. I ripped my clutch open to pull my keys out. Pushing through the crowd, I searched for Gracey who I’d found on the dance floor. I gripped her wrist and drug her out of the room.
“Hey—Natalie! What are you doing?” she whined over the music but I ignored her. I continued to push through the sea of bodies, not caring about who I’d hit or what elbows I was throwing to get them out of my way. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. And fast.
I finally reached the door and stepped out into the night air. I continued to drag Gracey down until I was at the last stoop. But as I reached the bottom, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I fell against Grace’s shoulder and her whole body tensed before she wrapped her arms around me.
“Hey, Nat, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice lowering to a coo. She pushed me back by the shoulders to take a look at my face. She studied the grief in my eyes, the hurt taking over every single one of my features. “What did he do?” she growled.
“I caught him cheating on me . . . with Sara Manx.”
She gasped, her eyes wild with bewilderment. “Sara Manx! What the fuck is his problem?” She pulled her hands away from me to turn around and march up the stone steps. She gripped the door knob, pushed in, but as soon as the door was open, Mark was stepping out, his eyes still wide and confused.
“What the hell are you doing? Move,” Gracey scowled, trying to push Mark aside.
“You’re not going back in there to cause drama, Grace.” Mark’s voice was humble. He looked up from her eyes and spotted me, the helpless, idiotic girl that’d just been cheated on. He shut the door behind him but gripped onto Grace’s wrist and dragged her down the stairs.
Mark, let go of me,” she grunted as she struggled to pull her arm free. He ignored her with his eyes still on me. There was no point for Grace to fight. Mark was like a brick wall. He’d finally decided to release Grace as he stopped less than an inch away from me.
“Did you know about this?” I asked before taking a step back.
“Natalie, I swear to you that I didn’t know,” he pleaded. “Bryson is a fucking idiot. He knew that if he would have told me I would have told you so he kept it to himself.” He reached for me and pulled me in by the shoulders for a tight hug. Mark always did have comforting hugs. “Nat, you’re my best friend. I would never allow anyone to cheat on you. I promise I didn’t know.”
I nodded against his chest, feeling the tears building up within me. My throat scratched for tears and I released them. I choked on each sob, still disbelieving that he’d really done that to me. Four years with him, and that’s how it had ended? Four years and this is how I’m paid?
For a very long time, I knew that my heart would remain shattered. And for a very long time, I was going to stay clear of falling in love.
Chapter Two
One month later
Shoving the last suitcase into the trunk feels unbelievably odd. I sigh, glancing down at the trunk of my white Camry. Things after dumping Bryson have never felt so bad. Mom says that I’m running away but I don’t think of it that way. I think of it as getting a new start. Leaving has to be the best thing because at least when I leave, I’ll have many things to do to occupy my time. My mind will be distracted and living with Harper will be a blast.
Harper has been my best friend since we were younger. She’s two years older than me and we’re like sisters. She moved to Miami, Florida during my senior year to go off to college and I haven’t seen her since. Her parents have rented her a condo down there and I’m beyond ready to see her. I told her about Bryson and she immediately told me to come down. I’ll be staying with Harper for a few months—until I can find a job and arrange enough money to live on my own. I may even go to a community college down there. I just can’t continue to stay with my parents in South Carolina and that’s mainly because Bryson tries to come to my house every day just to apologize.
Nothing that he says can make up for what he did to me. I will never trust him again. Ever since the night of that graduation party, I’ve shut my emotions off. I’ve stuffed them in a jar and sealed that jar tight. I won’t be opening that jar for a very long time. Maybe never again.
He’s honestly a fool if he thinks that I will talk to him. He blows my phone up constantly. He even tries to get Mark to speak for him but Mark is on my side. Mark doesn’t condone cheating and I hate that I blamed him for covering up for Bryson. Mark was furious, especially since Bryson had sex on his bed with Sara the Slut.
“You all set, Natty?”
I turn around quickly to face my dad. He looks like he hasn’t caught any sleep in days but that’s most likely because he and my mom have been arguing a lot lately and he’s been sleeping on the sofa. People tell me that my father and I look alike but I believe that they only say that because we have the same chocolate brown eyes. My mother on the other hand, we have the same button nose, the same plush, pink lips, the same almond-shaped eyes, and the same silky red-brown hair.
“Yeah,” I sigh, turning to face him. “I’m all set. I should get out of here while it’s still early, huh?” I ask, forcing a smile.
He nods with a sigh as well. “You should. Eight hours is a long drive. Might as well knock ‘em out.” He looks me over with worried eyes as I clutch my keys in my hand. I know that look very well. It’s the look that he always gives me when he thinks that I’m reminiscing or that I’m still torn. It happened a month ago but every day, he worries himself about it. “You go down there and have some fun with Harper,” he says, raking his fingers through his dark hair. A few streaks of grey fall against his forehead before he brushes them away.
“I’ll be fine, Dad. Promise.”
“I trust that you will. Your mother said to call her as soon as you hit Florida.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll call her. She should be off of work by then.” He nods as he looks me over again. He then stretches his arms outward, that being his signal for me to walk into them and give him a hug. I grip onto him tightly and he sighs as he rubs my back.
“I love you, Nat. Have a safe trip.”
“I love you, too.”
He releases me then presses his lips together. I head for the driver’s side of the car and he watches me hop in. “If you get lost, use the GPS!” he calls before turning for the house. “It’s a 2012 version with TTS and hands-free calling so if you get lost, call for help.”
“I will!” I call back, even though I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about. I peer out of the window and watch him nod slightly. I wait for a moment but he remains in the center of the driveway. I know he isn’t going to go in until I am out of the neighborhood. Cranking the car, I blow a kiss at him and then pull out of the driveway, making my way to a new destination. To a new place that I hope won’t linger on depression, heartbreak, and pain.
****
Eight hours later and I’m in Miami, Florida. I release a huge breath of r
elief as I cruise through the city. Nightfall has just hit and it’s a Friday night. The streets are far from clear but they amaze me. On every corner is a night club with lines that extend from the door to the end of the block. I pull my cell out and dial Harper’s number. She answers after the second ring.
“Natalie! Are you here?” she screams.
“Yes I am. I’m driving through the city right now. What road do I turn on?”
“At the end of the street, you’ll see a tall white building. My condo is in the Infinity Condominiums at Brickell. You can’t miss it unless . . . .”
Harper’s voice continues to ring but I slam on my brakes and my body jerks forward quickly. The wheels of my car come to a screech as I toss my phone to the passenger seat, breathing heavily and gripping the wheel with broad eyes. Staring through the windshield, I notice that someone tall and in a black muscle T-shirt is staring back at me with wide-eyes as well.
His hands are firmly planted on the hood of my car and, luckily, I missed him by what looks like almost an inch. My heart starts to settle but the beats are still heavy. Climbing out of the car, I rush to the hood but as he stands up and looks down at me with soft grey eyes, I gasp. He is beautiful. His face is . . . ridiculously stunning. Chiseled perfectly. His dark-brown hair is cropped and tousled yet it’s delicious.
“Are you alright?” His deep voice purrs, humming throughout me, making every part of me flutter softly like the wings of a gentle hummingbird. I continue to stare at him. His broad chest, his jeans that are fit to him snuggly. My gaze meets his again but this time there is a hint of a smile on his lips. Tilting his head lightly, he crosses his arms across his defined chest while continuing to look me over. He licks his bottom lip before speaking again. “Are you okay?” He narrows his eyes innocently.
