Falling Like Leaves (Bramble Falls, #1)

by Misty Wilson

YOU ARE BEAUTIFALL, SPICE, SPICE, BABY, and YOU’RE THE APPLE OF MY PIE.

“Of course I remember you,” my mom says as two pairs of footsteps grow closer. “Ellis talked about you for months after we last left here. I think it was the best summer she ever had.” “Oh yeah?” a deep voice full of doubt says. Oh no. No, no, no.

I shrug. “Fine. More for me. What kind of cookie am I about to eat?” “Red velvet marshmallow,” Cooper answers as I take my first bite. It’s possible I moan. Cooper laughs. “You like it?” Okay, yeah, I definitely moaned. “ ‘Like’ doesn’t cover it,” I say after I swallow. “This is the sexiest thing I’ve ever eaten.” Cooper’s eyebrows draw together, but he wears an amused smile. “Did you just call food sexy?”

“I called this red velvet cookie sexy, yes. Try to tell me I’m wrong.” He laughs. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Cooper shifts in his seat. “I don’t hate you.” “Please.” I lick the marshmallow off my finger. Cooper’s eyes track it, and a strange warmth floods my cheeks. I put my hands in my lap. “You’ve made your feelings clear.”

“Really,” he says. “The idea of being able to cast a spell so you don’t fall in love? If only.” I tilt my head, trying to make sense of his comment, when the blonde clears her throat.

I shrug. “Yeah.” I get how shocking it must be for Sloane, a girl with a plethora of friends, but I’m used to being alone. I don’t mind it. Usually, anyway.

“I remember all your details, Cooper Barnett,” I whisper. “They’re my favorite thing to memorize.”

Cooper’s eyes widen. I step toward him, and his sharp intake of breath seems to echo through the silence.

The air between us is thick and heavy and charged. “Earlier, at the end of the race,” I say nervously, “were you… were you going to kiss me?” In the distance, someone calls Cooper’s name. Everyone’s waiting on him—on us—but I started this, and I need to know how it ends. His voice is raspy and quiet when he replies. “I shouldn’t… It doesn’t matter.” “Maybe it does,” I say. “Tell me.” “But Jake…” He shakes his head. “I can’t do this.” “What about him?” I ask, confused. “He likes you.” “Okay, but I don’t like him.” “You haven’t made that particularly clear,” he says. “Actually, I have. I pretty explicitly told him we’re just friends.” He frowns. “Well, he’s still holding on to hope.” A beat of silence passes between us. ...

I open my mouth, then close it, unsure how to respond even though I asked for the answer. He looks as if he’s organizing his thoughts before he looks at the ground and continues. “When I told you I was hurt because you stopped talking to me after you went back to New York, that was the truth. But it wasn’t that simple.” He presses his lips together, like he’s warring with himself over saying more, and my pulse quickens. “I know we were young, but I fell for you that summer.” His eyes raise to mine. “You were the first and only girl who’s ever broken my heart.” The woods suddenly seem darker, quieter. “What?” I breathe. “I fell for this gorgeous, funny, laid-back girl who always wanted to try new things, and you made me feel like I could do anything. Be anything. But also like I didn’t need to be anything other than who I was. I always felt l...

“Of course.” I’d felt like I was the only girl in my school who hadn’t been kissed. I’d wanted to be able to go home and not have to lie about it anymore. “You said you just wanted to see what kissing was like before going to high school, what all the fuss was about. I knew it didn’t mean anything to you. But I also already knew I’d never feel the same way about any other girl, so that kiss meant everything to me.” He draws his eyebrows together. “Even after you stopped responding to my texts, I thought if I just waited until you came back the next summer, things would go back to how they were. We’d spend another summer together, and then I’d tell you how I felt and hope like hell you finally felt it too.” “But I never came back,” I whisper. He nods. “Until now. And you’re different, but you’re still the girl I knew in a lot of ways. Too many ways, if I’m being honest.” I step forward until we’re toe to toe. Slowly, hesitantly, my hand reaches out to trace the detail...

“I got over you, Ellis,” he says, h...

“Good. I wouldn’t have wanted you to be heartbroken forever,” I tell him. I lean in until our noses touch, the air between us shared, my heart thrashing like waves in a storm. Cooper’s breath hitches. “But are you still over me?” I maneuver my lips closer, sliding both hands around his neck as I press my body closer to his. He lets out a groan and backs away, the sudden loss of his heat leaving me cold, stunned, and baffled. “I’m not going to kiss you.” “Oh.” “Not because I don’t want to,” he clarifies. A humorless laugh escapes him. “I’ve wanted to kiss you again ever since the first time.” “But…?” “But it’s already going to be hard enough when you leave next month,” he says. His muscles are rigid and resolute, and I’d drop the subject if he said he didn’t like me back. If he weren’t interested. If I were reading his signals all wrong. But he’s just scared and trying to protect his heart. And I have no plans to break it again....

hand. He leans in slowly, and I close my eyes as he presses his lips to mine. The kiss is tentative, full of nerves and hesitance. But when I part my lips in invitation, Cooper groans, turning hungry and insistent, like he’s waited for this moment his whole life. His fingers slide into my hair, and he walks us backward until I’m pinned between him and a tree. When my tongue meets his, Cooper’s whole body sinks into mine, all of his solid muscles pressed against my soft curves, leaving both of us breathless—but who needs to breathe when a kiss is this magical? His fingers trail over the angles of my face, like he’s trying to memorize me the way I’ve already memorized him. They travel under my coat, then under my sweatshirt, and his cold fingers settle on my waist. A small sound escapes me at the feel of his skin on mine, and I try to pull him closer, as if that’s even possible. Eventually the kiss turns measured, deliberate, and gentle again. I could die happ...

“What’s wrong?” I take his hand. “I shouldn’t have told you all that,” he says. “And I definitely shouldn’t have kissed you.” “What?” He shakes his head. “It’s just so hard to be around you and pretend I’m still over you. I’m sorry.” I knit my brow. “What are you saying, Cooper?” “I’m saying that this”—he gestures between us—“can’t happen. We can’t happen.” “No.” My stomach knots. “Why?” “Besides the fact that I don’t want to hurt my friend?” he says. “I don’t trust you.” “What?” “You’re leaving soon, Ellis.” He focuses on the dark, leaf-littered ground. “I don’t believe you won’t move on once you’re gone again. Out of sight, out of mind, just like last time.” “I would never do that again. I swear,” I tell him, my chest tightening. He’...

There’s no way I can forget this happened. Kissing Cooper will be forever ingrained in my mind. An unshakable core memory I will dream about. It’s the kiss I’ll measure every other one against. But if he doesn’t want to be with me, what am I supposed to do? I can’t make him want me. “Please, Ellis,” he rasps. I pinch my eyebrows together, fighting off the urge to cry and instead letting my hurt fuel my anger. “Fine. Then stop being so damn nice to me.” “You want me to be mean to you?” he asks, confused. “I want you to stop bringing me cookies and lattes. I want you to stop saving me when I fall off ladders or taking horseback rides with me. I want you to stop pulling all-nighters just to help me. And I want you to stop making me bacon!” He tries not to smile, but he can’t suppress it. “No bacon. Noted.” “I’m ...

“Sloane, wake up.” My cousin grumbles as I shake her. Her eyelids flutter open. “What? What time is it?” “Three a.m.”

“Three a.m.? Go away, you psycho,” she says, throwing a pillow over her head. “I need you,” I tell her, trying to keep my voice from breaking the way my heart is.

She bolts upright, making me jump as she throws the pillow off her face and swings her legs over the bed, suddenly wide awake. “Let’s go.” “Um, what? Where?” “I googled how to get rid of a body years ago, specifically for this occasion. I’ve got you, girl. No questions asked.” Despite my shitstorm of a night, a deep laugh unexpectedly rumbles out of me. “Shut up.” “I’m not kidding. I’ve got three pretty legit ways and two questionable ones. I’m willing to try any of them.” She worries her lip. “One way might require more Mountain Dew than we have on hand, though.” I lay my head on her shoulder, unable to stop the embarrassing snort-laugh that escapes. “I don’t need to get rid of a body. Well, not yet, anyway.” “Okay… Then why are you waking me up at this hour? What do you need?” I lift my head and look at her. “Can I sleep in here?” “Um, okay?” She draws her eyebrows together as she scoots back into bed and pulls the comforter over her. I crawl in next to her. “Sorry. I just don’t really want to be alone right now.” “You gonna to tell me what’s wrong?”