Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22029 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22029 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
I had my life planned out. I was going to marry my high school sweetheart and be by his side when he was drafted into the NFL.
One moment and everything changed.
He may be gone, but I'll have a part of him forever.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
chapter 1
. . .
“I’m going to miss this,” Liam’s voice cracks as he inhales the scent of my hair. Last night, after I washed and dried it, I purposefully left it down for this reason. Feeling him nuzzle the side of my neck, his scruff gently scratching my skin, is something I don’t want to forget.
Every day, since Mason told Liam he wasn’t going to the University of Texas with him, I wake up and wish like hell Liam was staying here or I was going with him. I’m jealous of Katelyn, and I’m pissed off at Mason. If it wasn’t for Liam, Mason wouldn’t have had the offer to play at UT.And then he bails on Liam, like it’s no big deal. Did Mason even think about Liam and how he’d feel? How I’d feel?
I hold Liam tighter, not willing to let him go. He’s leaving a day early because he doesn’t want to be at the party tonight. Everyone is gathering at the water tower—Liam’s water tower—to say goodbye and what not. He’s afraid people will say shit about him and his football career. Mostly, even though he won’t say it aloud, he doesn’t want to see Mason, and I don’t blame him. I don’t either but he’s my best friend’s boyfriend and I have no choice unless I ditch Katelyn.
Without her, I’d have no one. I’d be all alone. I suppose this is what happens when you have a tight foursome and the future gets in the way. Once Liam leaves, I won’t see him until Thanksgiving at the earliest, but I’ll definitely see him at Christmas. The next five months are going to be hell. Tortuous. I don’t know how I’m going to survive. He’s been my life for the past couple of years, and now I won’t see or talk to him every day.
Liam doesn’t let me go.
Maybe I should’ve asked him to take me with him. Do to Katelyn what Mason did to Liam. I don’t care if men are supposed to be more resilient, stronger, and not as emotionally charged as women. Mason did his best friend dirty and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive him.
I know Liam won’t.
“I wish things were different, Jojo.”
My fist grips his shirt tighter. Is he going to ask me to come with him? God, I hope so. All he has to do is ask and I’ll run home right now and grab my stuff. I don’t even care about school. I’ll get a job and work while he kicks ass as QB1. We could get an apartment off campus and live together and really be free to start our lives without his parents or mine being in the way. It could just be us and I know we’d be happy.
“How so?” I don’t try to look at him and keep my head on his shoulder and my lips near his neck because I know if I look into his eyes, I’ll be done for. I’ve already dampened his shirt with my tears and know they’ll come in full force if I chance a single look at the man I love.
“I wish you were going with me, or we had chosen a school together.”
“Me too,” I whisper as I pray with all my might that Liam asks me to go with him. Wishing and asking are two different things, though. You make a wish when you blow out your birthday candles, but when you want something, you ask.
Please ask me.
Liam adjusts and my head moves just enough for the sun to temporarily blind me. We’re parked at the water tower—the place where he told me he was going to marry me someday—and right now I wish someday was today and not in four or five years.
All night, our moods have been somber. It’s hard to be excited when you know you’re not going to see the love of your life for a while. Five months feels like five years, and I don’t even want to think about the exact number of days, hours, or seconds it will be until I’m in his arms again. Everything is marked on my calendar. Every moment we’ve shared together. I can’t wait for the day when my mom finds it and asks why there are hearts on certain days. I’ve practiced my answer so many times, “Those are the days Liam and I made love.” When I say it in my head, it’s cheesy. Do teens “make love” or do they bang, fuck, screw? Or maybe it’s just sex. To my mother, it’s sinful.