Prologue
Danika
“Youknow,it’sdangerousto sit by the train tracks.” His voice hits me like an electric bolt, the shock coursing through me. I don’t turn to face him as he squats next to me.
“This train hasn’t run in years.”
“Still.” He sits, his legs dangling over the edge, his thigh a breath away from mine. “You should go home, Dani.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I hold in the tears threatening to fall. I turn my head to let the hair fall over my face as a cover. I hate showing vulnerability. Especially to people who could exploit it. My best friend’s brother, who never truly treated me like more than an extension of his little sister, could very well be one of those people who hold my faults against me. I can’t have that.
“Just leave me alone, Arden.”
He sighs, settling in closer to me, his rough voice hitting my ear. “You’ve got glass in your hair.” I whip around in surprise, bringing us nose to nose. Arden gasps slightly but keeps his composure. His dark green eyes bore into mine as he searches for a brief moment before turning his gaze to my hair, pulling out a couple of small pieces of glass.
I must’ve been closer to the bottle than I thought. I swore I ran out the door before it shattered.
Arden’s fingertips touch my ear and an involuntary shiver escapes. I look down to hide my embarrassment but Arden, having already tossed the glass onto the train tracks, uses the same hand to lift my chin up to face him again.
“Of all people, don’t hide from me.”
I narrow my eyes slightly. Why is he so concerned for me? He sees me as nothing but an annoying little sister to him.
His gaze darkens.
Or maybe not.
Licking my lips nervously, I watch Arden look down at the action. He’s going to kiss me. Oh my god, I’m going to have my first kiss.
Just as I predicted, Arden leans in, placing his lips very gently on top of mine. I freeze, caught between wanting to completely melt into him and wanting to pull away and bolt. Before I can choose either option, Arden leans back, a shy smile across his beautiful face.
“Let’s go,” he says, pinching the top of my thigh and standing up. I look up, dazed, to see his hand reaching out for me to grab. When I do, Arden pulls me up hard, my body falling into his from the impact. He grips me tightly, holding me like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever held, and then lets me go just as quickly. “Oh,” he says, grinning down at me. “And happy birthday, brat.”
I’m feeling a bit of emotional whiplash, but I don’t let it sink in until we’re walking toward his car and he’s holding my hand and he opens my door and then it closes behind me.
I’m sitting in my best friend’s older brother’s car on my sixteenth birthday after we just kissed and he hugged me like I mean something to him.
What the hell is going on?
Chapter One
Danika (5 years later)
“Shots,shots,shots!”
The crowd cheers as I down not one, not two, but three shots of tequila. Knocking them back like water, not a lick of salt or squeeze of lime in sight.
“Woo!” I shout, wiping the liquid off my lips with the back of my hand. My roommate Sydney hands me a cup of water and I could kiss. She rolls her eyes but smiles at me as we make our way toward the dance floor.
“So, how does it feel finally being twenty-one?” she asks as we shake our asses to Missy Elliot’sWork It.
Grabbing her hand, I spin her around. “It feels amazing to not have to sneak into the bars with you guys anymore!” I giggle, swaying my hips back and forth with the music. My roommates and best friends Sydney and Margot both turned twenty-one over the summer before our senior year but being an early December baby didn’t help me at all growing up. Now that we’re all of legal drinking age, this last semester of college together is going to be absolutely unreal.
Sydney glances behind me just as I feel a pair of arms snake around my waist. Whipping around, I come face to face with Margot who looks windswept and snowy from her walk to the bar.
“You made it!” I cry, pulling her in for a bone-crushing embrace.
“Of course, Dani. Have I ever missed your birthday?” Margot grins.