Page 23 of Why We Break

“Yeah, that’s right. We have that away game at North Hill, then Senior Night, and then another away game to finish out the season,” he says before asking, “your squad has a competition coming up too, right?”

“Yep. Regionals are in two weeks, and if we get a bid to state, we’ll compete there right before Thanksgiving.”

“Oh, y’all will get a bid,” he declares confidently just as Margaret motions that she'll be back, leaving the two of us alone. We make more small talk for a few minutes until I feel a chill run through me now that we’ve moved away from the fire.Ugh, I knew this crop top was a mistake.

“It did get a bit chilly, didn’t it?” Kent asks, noticing my discomfort. “Here, you can borrow this,” he adds, pulling off the jacket he had on and handing it to me.

I take it, thanking you, and after I’ve pulled it on he reaches out and pulls the sides of the jacket together before saying, “Yep, it looks better on you anyway.”

I smile at the compliment and will myself to feel some sort of attraction toward the man across from me. He’s certainly attractive and I know we’d have a lot of fun together, but just like all the other times I’ve tried to date in the last few years, there’s nothing there.

CHAPTER 17

HANNAH

SEVEN SUMMERS AGO

“Okay, come on,” I tell Will, leading the way through the trees to one of my favorite places.

“Would you please just tell me where we’re going?” he groans, but the smile on his face tells me he isn’t upset, despite the fact that we’ve been walking for the last few minutes.

“I told you it’s a surprise. Come on. We’re almost there.” I laugh, already recognizing the familiar sight of the entrance of my creek tucked into the woods ahead of us.

We walk along in silence for a moment until we break through the clearing, and I smile as Will’s jaw drops. “You definitely left this place out of the tour.”

I grab his hand and pull him with me toward the water. “Yeah, I did. This place is mine, and I didn’t know if I wanted to share it with anyone.”

He raises his eyebrow at me before asking, “I guess you changed your mind then, huh?”

I pause for a moment before nodding. “I guess I did.”

Neither of us moves for a moment until I gesture at the huge blue pond in front of us. “You want to get in with me?”

Will’s eyes widen before he responds, “Uh, heck yeah. But unfortunately, I left my emergency swimsuit at the house.”

I giggle before shrugging. “Yeah, me too… That’s too bad.” I give him a mischievous smile, and before he can say anything else I splash some water at him, soaking the front of his shirt before whipping my sweaty tank off and throwing it at him.

His surprised expression makes me laugh until he finally snaps out of the daze he was in and dashes after me, taunting, “Get back here, Scott. You’re gonna pay for that.”

I let out a squeal as I dash away, moving deeper toward the water. Before I get too deep, I pause and drop my jean shorts, throwing them to the shore, leaving me in my sports bra and my underwear. Still hurrying away from Will, I bob deeper in the water, waiting to see what he’ll do.

I tell myself that my strip show doesn’t have anything to do with the man across from me, clinging to the excuse that I’ll have to walk back to the farm after we’re done, and there’s nothing worse than going anywhere in wet jeans. But as Will strips down to just his boxers before jumping in the water, I know that’s a lie. The truth is, after spending the last few weeks together, I’m desperate to find out if Will’s as attracted to me as I am to him. I’ve gotta say, if the new hunger in his eyes is any indication as he makes his way toward me, I’d say we might be on the same page. And sweet baby Jesus, the man is freaking ripped, I note, taking a moment to check out his muscular bare chest.

Shaking myself, I squeal again, looking for an escape route, but before I can go anywhere, Will launches himself at me, wrapping his muscular arms around me and pulling me into the water with him. I try to pull away, but his arms wrapped around me prove how useless my attempts are, so I allow my body to relax against him.

He hums and pulls me closer to him before shifting me around until I’m facing him. “This place is incredible, Han. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

We both go silent for a moment, each of us waiting for the other to say something before I can’t take it anymore. I lean in and press a tentative kiss to his mouth.

For a minute, I worry he’s going to push me away, but instead, his eyes widen, and he grabs my head, pulling my mouth back to his. He kisses me hard, and I let out a whimper of surprise, before threading my fingers through his hair.

I wouldn’t say I’ve kissed a ton of boys, but I’ve had my share of hot make-out sessions and hookups in college, and I’ve never been kissed like this in my life. It feels like both of us have been determined not to cross the line with the other, not wanting to make the other uncomfortable, but now that we’ve started, we don’t know how to stop.

“God, I could do this all night,” Will growls, pulling back slightly and kissing down my neck, causing me to gasp as he nips at the sensitive skin below my ear. “I’ve been going out of my mind wanting you since you came out in those jean shorts my first day.”

His confession sends a thrill through me, and I groan, pulling his face back to mine and teasing his mouth with my tongue. I don’t know if we kiss for minutes or hours, but all I know is I don’t want to stop. Will must agree with me, because by the time we pull away, the sun is setting, and the hot summer air is starting to cool.

“So much for swimming, huh?” I ask with a laugh.

---