Consider Me (Playing For Keeps, #1)

by Becka Mack

“One day, some girl is gonna walk into your life and flip your whole world upside down and you’re not gonna know what the fuck to do with yourself except drop to your knees and beg her to never leave.”

“It feels like a lot of pressure.” “What does?” Everything. Pressure to give in, pressure to not give in. Pressure to fit the mold of all the women who’ve come before me, the ones that will come after me. Pressure to be different and unique while also fitting in.

I got my face painted. Honestly, I don’t want to talk about it.

“If I find something like you and Dad had, the last thing I’ll do is let it get away from me.”

I can’t think of a more awful, reckless, deliriously alluring idea. So naturally, I follow him.

Olivia’s got her hair piled on top of her head in a bun messier than the one my sister always wears, the one I tell her looks like a bird made a nest on her head. She’s wearing the rattiest hoodie I’ve ever seen, covered in paint splotches and holes, and she’s so fucking beautiful it hurts. Her wide eyes lock on mine, cheeks blazing, hand hanging there in midair, holding on to a … A goddamn Oreo. Woman’s my fucking soul mate.

“They say there comes a time in everybody’s life when you meet your soul mate, the person who will love and cherish you for the rest of your life, hold you close and never let you go.” The women in the crowd all aww and Emmett grins at Cara. “For Cara, that day happened at seventeen when she met me.” Emmett’s jaw drops and Cara smacks the table, hollering, “Hell yeah it did, baby!”

She’s like … waking up on Christmas morning when you’re three years old and you finally understand what it’s all about. She’s the moment the rain stops and the sun comes out, lighting up the sky with color, and everything smells new and fresh. She’s the first skate on a frozen lake, surrounded by snowy mountains and pine trees and the freshest breath of air. She’s rolling over in the middle of the night, pulling that warm body into yours and curling around it, and everything’s just right.