A Piece of Heaven (Allendale Four 1)

Oliver and I were friendly, sort of like me and Anderson. School only. I think mostly because I was quiet, didn’t flirt with them or make any efforts to break into their little circle.

So when he asked, I told him the (vague) truth about my weekend. “It was interesting.”

He cocked his head and smiled in amusement. My heart twisted a little like it always did. “Interesting good, or interesting bad?”

“You know, I’m not sure yet.”

Mr. Baker walked down the aisle, ending our conversation while he passed out lab sheets and began discussing our assignment. Anderson placed the paper between us and leaned over. “Well, let me know when you figure it out, okay?”

I nodded, inhaling his intoxicating scent. I knew there was no way Anderson would ever figure out what I was referring to and I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him. I may be a sucker, but I wasn’t a fool. The only reason I was even considering it was the fact that Justin went to another school and had an entirely different set of friends. What happened at the beach stayed on the beach. That was the rule.

Chapter 1

“Okay so, once we get inside, I’m going to kiss you.”

I scrunched up my nose. “Really?”

“Oh my god, Heaven! Do I repulse you that much?” Justin actually threw his hands in the air. Fucking drama queen.

I groaned and pressed my face into my palms. “Of course not. But give me a chance to freak out a little. I’m only going to lose my fake virginity once.”

Justin leaned his head back and smiled. “I love you.”

“You better. Now, let’s get inside and kiss. And then, you better get me a drink to go through with the rest of this.”

Justin followed my directions, helping me from my side of the car, holding my hand on the way to the front porch and pushing me against the door, his lips firmly pressed against my own the minute we saw a couple of his friends. The good news is that Justin really was pretty hot. He was tall and worked out a lot. His muscles seemed to have muscles so yeah, not repulsive. Just weird.

I wrapped my hand around his arm, feeling the hard, tight muscles under his shirt. His dark hair and eyes made his teeth white and pretty. If I turned off my brain, it wouldn’t be so bad. Right?

My thoughts were interrupted by Justin’s tongue pushing between my teeth and I pinched his side. “Watch it, okay?”

“Just trying to keep it real.”

I gave him my best bitchface. “Go get my drink.” With a slap on my ass, he ran off.

“Heaven!” I turned and found myself face to face with Sarah and Emily, girls who went to school with Justin. Emily assessed me, obviously taking in my ratty jeans and Allendale High sweatshirt. Yeah, I got dressed up for the event. She asked, “Since when are you two a thing?”

“Oh, you know us,” I laughed. “We just, you know, thought after all these years we would give it a shot.”

“Really?” Sarah asked. She had the most beautiful cheekbones. “I kinda thought he was gay.”

I laughed loudly. Too loudly. “Justin? Gay? Did you see that kiss? No way, girls. Boy has skills,” I purred.

I. Purred.

“Heav?” Justin emerged, holding up my drink and gesturing to the stairs that led to the second floor.

“Oh! Better go see what my man needs. He can be a little demanding, if you know what I mean,” I said, waving a hand at the two girls and giving them an exaggerated wink as Justin pulled me up the steps.

Emily’s jaw dropped and Sarah leaned in to whisper in her ear. And that’s how gossip works. One flirty kiss at a time. Familiar anxiety rose in my chest but it was met by something else. I kind of liked being noticed for once in my life. No one was ever jealous of Heaven Reeves.

No one.

But we weren’t done. Not by a long shot. Justin didn’t just want to prove he kissed a girl, no, he wanted to prove much more, so we wove through the throng of students, stopping only to take a swig of our drinks and for me to get my neck mauled by his hot mouth.

Playfully, I pushed him away. “Don’t make me explain a hickey to my mom, got it?”

His eyes widened. Yeah. Neither of us wanted that.