Titolo: Choosing you
Autore: Allie Everhart
Genere: New adult contemporaneo
Trama: When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But her plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a rich prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.
Jade tries to push him away, but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.
As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.
Trama: When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But her plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a rich prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.
Jade tries to push him away, but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.
As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.
Allie Everhart writes about dating, love, and romance. She’s also a freelance writer for magazines and websites. Before freelancing, she was a book editor for a publishing company where she worked on several NYT bestselling nonfiction books. She loves to read as much as she loves to write. And when she’s not reading or writing, she’s outside running, which is when she gets her best book ideas.#1
As soon
as I start running, I feel the calmness I was craving. I get lost in the
repetition of my movement around the oval track and I lose all sense of time.
After a while the sun is really hot and I realize that it’s probably way past
noon. I take a break and sit at the side of the track, completely soaked in
sweat.
“Have a
good run?”
I turn
to see Garret walking toward me in navy athletic shorts and a gray t-shirt. It
looks like he’s been running, too, although he’s not nearly as sweaty as
me.
“It was
all right,” I say. “I don’t usually run on a track.”
“You
should’ve come with me. I ran a couple miles around campus.”
I shake
my head, sweat dripping off me like a wet dog. “That’s not far enough. I
usually run 8 or 9 miles.”
He sits
down next to me. As in right next to
me. Can he not see how sweaty I am? I’m sure he can smell me from 10 feet away.
I can’t even stand the smell of
myself.
“Eight
or 9 miles? You must be a serious runner. I’m a swimmer. I only run to improve
my cardio for the pool. I do a couple miles at a normal pace and then I do
sprints on the track.”
So
that’s why he has that body. He’s a swimmer. That explains the broad shoulders
and narrow waist V shape he’s got going on.
“Go
ahead.” I point to the empty track. “It’s all yours.”
“Why don’t
you do them with me?” he asks in a challenging tone. “Let’s race.”
I never
turn down a challenge. Well, sometimes I do, but it’s rare. “I’m a distance
runner, not a sprinter. But a distance runner can beat a swimmer any day. This
should be easy.” I stand up, stretching my legs which are stiffening up after
my short break.
“You
think you can beat me, huh?” He stretches as well. “So what’s with the insults?
You don’t like swimmers?”
I shrug.
“Swimmers are okay. I just don’t think they have to work that hard. I mean, the
water makes you basically weightless. It’s easy to go fast when you don’t have
to drag your body weight around. You don’t get that benefit with running.”
His jaw
basically drops to the ground. I’ve just insulted both him and something that’s
near and dear to his heart. Apparently this has never happened to him before.
Pretty boy must be used to only getting compliments.
“Are you
shitting me? Did you just say swimmers don’t work hard?”
“Yeah,
why?” For some reason, I’m really loving insulting this guy.
“Game
on, Iowa girl. Get your ass in position.”
He sets
himself up in lane one of the track. I take my sweet time walking over to lane
two, yawning just for added effect.
“Do you
need a head start?” I ask him, stretching my arms behind my back.
“Damn,
you’re annoying.” He smiles when he says it. “We do one lap around. Ready?
Three, two, one. Go!”
I take
off down the lane, my eyes straight ahead pretending he’s not there. I quickly
round the first end of the track and hit the straightaway. I imagine myself
running far away from that place. Running back home and seeing Frank and Ryan
again. I round the next end and keep running.
“Stop!
We’re done!” I hear Garret’s voice and slow down, noticing that I’m already
halfway through a second time around the track. I finish the loop and meet up
with him again. He’s bent over, hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.
“Okay, I
admit it. You’re fast,” he says, panting as sweat drips off his face.
“Fast?
That was my normal pace.”
He
glances up at me, trying to figure out if I’m kidding. Then he stands up
straight and wipes the sweat off his forehead. “Remind me never to do that
again.” He walks over to the edge of the track and gets his water bottle. “You
should sign up for cross country or track. You’re really fast.”
“Nah. I
ran cross country in high school. Now I just run when I’m stressed.” It’s true,
but I wish I hadn’t said it. It makes me sound weak and I hate sounding weak,
especially around a guy.
#2
He puts
his phone away. “Can I come in? I’m kind of a target out here in the hall.”
“A
target for what?” I ask, moving aside to let him in.
“Girls
fondling me.” A smirk crosses his face as he waits for my reaction.
“Please
tell me you’re kidding. Because if you’re not, then I need to start upping the
insults again to bring you back down to earth.”
He’s
trying hard to keep a straight face. “You saw Ava just now. Girls just
can’t help themselves. What can I say?”
I shake my head and start rummaging through my drawer for
a shirt. “I can help myself. I’m
completely immune to whatever you think you’ve got going on over there.”
“Yeah, I know,” he mumbles. “You need some help?”
“Why? You think I can’t dress myself?”
He stands next to me, staring down at the open drawer.
“Everything in here is black.”
“Yeah.” I close the drawer and open the one beneath it.
“And everything in here is white.”
“Where are your other shirts?”
“That’s it. Well, I have a few in the closet.”
He walks over to look. “You only wear black or white?”
“Uh, yeah. Are you just getting that? You’ve seen me how
many times and you’ve never noticed that?”
“Huh. I guess not.”
“It’s just easier that way. Black and white go with
everything.” I take a black t-shirt from the drawer.
“You should wear purple sometime.”
I almost choke laughing. “Purple? Are you joking?”
“What’s wrong with purple?”
“I’ve never worn anything purple in my life. I’ve never
even considered it. It’s one of those weird colors that old ladies wear.”
“Lots of people wear purple. And with your green eyes,
you would look great in purple.”
“I hate my green eyes. The last thing I want to do is
draw attention to them.”
He comes closer and lifts my chin up with his hand. “How
could you hate your eyes? They’re the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. Why
do you think I’m always staring at them?”
“Yeah, that’s hilarious.” I push him back. “Now get out
of here so I can change. Wait in the hall. I’ll be like two seconds.”
“Jade, you know I’m not safe out there.” He says it as if
he’s really in danger. “Did you see all those girls running around in towels
and robes?”
I roll my eyes. “I swear. The insults are coming, my
friend. So tell your ego to get ready.”
He stands there.
“You’re really not leaving? Fine. Then turn around.”
I change into my jeans and black shirt. “Okay, I’m
done.”
He inspects me. “Yeah. You definitely need some color.
The black and white thing is getting old.”
“Well, I’m not planning on buying new clothes so you’ll
have to get over it.” I search through my desk drawer for money. “How much are
movie tickets? I haven’t been to a movie in years, so I have no clue. Six
bucks? Seven?”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”
“Garret, you’re not paying.”
“You just saved me from being man-handled by Ava.
That’s at least worth the price of a movie ticket. Maybe even some popcorn,
too.”
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