So Wrong (Boys of South Chapel, #1)

by Abby Millsaps

I always see him in those moments. Always.

I miss him. In my heart of hearts, in my deepest, most private moments, I miss him. So fucking much. Sometimes I can’t even look at him for more than a breath without feeling as though I’ll drown in my sorrow.

“You can just call me Hunter,” I suggest. One brow cocked, he scoffs. “No way. Levi calls you Hunter. Decker Crusade and his buddies call you Hunter. I’m sure all your friends call you Hunter.” “And?” I press. We’ve known each other for all of two hours. It’s not like he’s asked me out or made any real effort to get to know me. For him to presume— “We’re going to be a lot more than friends, you and I.”

“I don’t have a rich daddy or med school to fall back on, Garrett.”

Only I would accidentally stumble upon a book where one of the MMC’s is named Garrett

Something broke inside me when Hunter left. I didn’t have it in me to make the effort. But he changed, too.

And I’m really not ready to confess what happens on the darkest nights, when there’s no moon in the sky or hope left in my personal well.

My mother is a narcissist. For most of my life, I didn’t have the vocabulary or the understanding to comprehend that. But after years of counseling and some hefty healing on my part, I now see her for what she is. She’s poison. She should have never been a mother. My life is better without her. I have more peace without her. I’m a better person when she’s not around.

Heavy

He’s everywhere. He’s everything.

He’s a part of me. He’s the best of me.

But when it comes to my girl, I’ll take her any way I can get her.

But Hunter does what she wants. Always has. Much as I hate to admit it, she probably always will.

“Don’t catch real feelings for Hunter,” I warn him. Then, before he can interject, I add, “She’s mine.” His deep blue irises widen in surprise, then quickly narrow in what I assume to be challenge. “Does she know that?” he asks, lifting his chin in defiance.

Shooketh

“She’s mine,” I repeat, my voice thick and solemn this time. “And she knows it. She might not be ready to admit it, but she fucking knows it.” His glare holds more of a challenge than I expected. Softer, I add, “It was only ever her, Leev.”

“She’s the only woman I’ve ever been with. The only woman I ever intend to be with,” I add, my damn heart clenching like it does every time I think about her. “It was only ever her.”

“I love watching you run,” he repeats, his tone low, “because I get to fantasize about what it would be like to catch you.”

STFU

“And what would you do if you caught me?” My tone is sweet, but I scrape my nails against the short hairs at his nape. There’s no masking my eagerness as I inch closer to his mouth. He hums, then ghosts his lips along my jaw. “I’d hold on tight and keep you forever.”

UGH WE LOVE A GARRETT (no literally my boyfriends name is Garrett too lol)

“Be my girl,” he says. Brows raised, I give him a once-over, not bothering to tell him I already am his girl. That I’ve wanted nothing but to be his girl since the moment he kissed me in the woods last weekend.

I’ve never been quite as happy as I am in this moment. Next weekend and every day after, I want to be Greedy’s girl.

I can’t wait to be with you this weekend. And I really can’t wait to be together next year.

His tone brooks no argument. Personally? I’m not a fan.

“You can spare five minutes for a study break,” I murmur. She glances over my shoulder, then squints at me mischievously. “According to the timer, we’ve actually got six minutes.” Delight washes over me. “Six minutes? Sounds like the perfect amount of time for a dance with my girl.”

Ugh I love Lexi

There she is.

This line in a book will ALWAYS get me

“You light up every room,” I tell her, smoothing a hand up and down her back.

almost every inch of space is covered in built-in bookshelves and filled with books. My heart beats an erratic rhythm as I take it all in. Forget the soaking tub and the massive bathroom. This is my personal version of heaven.

“Life has a rhythm,” he whispers. “Everything happens for a reason, even if we don’t know what the reason is right away.”

“We don’t have to have sex tonight. We have our whole lives to do this.” With

Greedy looks at me like I’m worth being cherished. Like I’m a prize he can’t believe he’s won.

“No wrong moves, Temi. You’re my first and my last. I never knew what I was waiting for, but now I know it was you.”

“We could swap out some of these books. This room is special, but the books aren’t sentimental. I’ll fill every one of these shelves with your favorites. This could be your library.”

“I want to tell you something.” “What is it?” He doesn’t open his eyes, and he doesn’t sit up when he says, “I think I love you.” I freeze, even as my heart beats wildly in my chest. “Think?” He’s silent for a moment, then he turns his head in my lap and meets my gaze, his mossy-colored eyes swimming with confidence. “No,” he admits. “I know with every cell in my body that I love you, Hunter. I didn’t want to say it earlier and make you think I was just saying it because—”

Ugh this gives me high school feelings again and I love it

She’s beautiful. Effortlessly so. That’s nothing new, but there’s a lightness to her today that I especially love. A lightness I’ve missed. She looks truly happy for the first time since I moved in.

Brat Mode activated.

THIS

I love a man who understands and fully embraces consent. But yes means yes.

“Eyes on me, Daisy. I want to watch my girlfriend’s face when I make her come for the first time.”

WHO IS THIS MAN

This man just called me his girlfriend. And there was no mention of the fake part this time.

Magnolia is back, and Hunter was blindsided by her arrival, she’s a flight risk. Again. I refuse to let her disappear from my life. Not like last time. Not ever again.

He whispers my name like a prayer. But there’s no saving any of us now.

“This isn’t over,” he whispers, both palms raised in a temporary surrender. “It’s you and me, Tem. We’ll figure this out. I’ll stop at nothing. I won’t let them keep us apart.”

I sweep my gaze over the two people in his bed. Him and her. Her and him. I fucking told him where things stood with Hunter. I fucking told him she was mine. But I saw the way he touched her earlier. It was instinctive, like it was second nature to protect her. And I saw the way she looked at him. I recognized that look. It’s how she used to look at me, always. It’s how she still looks at me on the darkest nights.

She wants to forget. All I want to do is make her remember.

I want to be good for her. I want to be more than a friend, more than a best friend, more than she’s ever had. I want to be the one she relies on. The one who stays.

There’s a poetic tragedy to paper airplanes. No matter how much care and detail has been poured into them, they all fall eventually. They’re fragile and easily damaged. Their first flight is usually their one and only chance to soar.