Chapter One
Parker
The room was a cacophony of voices and music, and I rubbed my ears, thinking I’d made a mistake coming to the party.
It was the last day of exams, and those who remained on campus were partying.
That included me and my roommate along with the other hundred people in the off-campus house we had crammed into.
Someone bumped into me, causing the beer in my cup to slosh precariously.
“Watch it,” I muttered, holding my cup out so it wouldn’t splash on my pants.
The guilty party paid no attention as he continued across the room with his date. Or maybe his hookup for the night. Who knew and who cared? She threw me a quick sorry, her long brown hair flipping over her shoulder and hitting me in the face when she turned back around.
“Why did I agree to come to this again?” I asked my roommate, Greg. “It’s mostly underclassmen, and they’re annoying me.”
“I came to get laid,” he replied, gesturing to the gaggle of girls across from us. “Maybe you should try having the same goal. You’ll have more fun.”
He nudged me with his elbow and sauntered off to the unwitting victims. Usually, I would have joined him, but I had other things on my mind.
Home and my older brother. I was set to head home in a few days, even though my parents had leased my apartment for another full year.
Every summer I returned and worked for my mother in the city.
It was something I had always enjoyed, but that had been before Hudson, my older brother, had left for Montana.
Moving across the country. Escaping his past and the girl who had left him devastated.
He would never admit that was the reason he’d run so far from home, but I knew him.
Using the pretense of buying a farm to cover the hurt he’d never shed.
Being home without him there sucked. We had always been close, and it was like a part of me was missing.
Now it was just me and my parents. My mother, who would never admit that she missed him, that she had been too hard on him when he said he was leaving.
And my father, who hated riling her up, so walked on eggshells around the subject. Not the kind of summer I wanted.
Greg had his arm around two girls now, and I knew if I joined, I’d be going home with one, but I wasn’t in the mood. I left the room and headed to the kitchen on the hunt for the keg so I could refill my cup. Turning the corner, I slammed into a cute redhead with shimmering green eyes.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry,” she said, her smile beaming and highlighting her dimples.
“No, that was all my fault,” I told her, shaking the beer off my hand.
“Come here.” She grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen, past a couple making out against the refrigerator and over to the sink. Turning on the water, she shoved my hand under it.
It was completely unexpected, and I pulled it back, saying, “I’m fine.”
“But that will be sticky and gross in minutes.” She tugged it back and rinsed it before grabbing a paper towel and drying it off. I didn’t know what to say, so I let her.
Satisfied that my hand was clean enough, she turned to me.
“I’m Elsie.”
“Parker.”
“Oh, I like that name.” She leaned against the sink just as the guy picked the girl up and slammed her into the fridge. “That’s entertaining,” she joked, watching them.
“I guess so. If you’re into that.”
She laughed, and I took the moment to glance over her.
She was cute with a curvy figure. Not that super-skinny type that seemed to be everywhere on campus now.
Her T-shirt was tight, emphasizing her chest but not showing any of it.
Her jeans had rips and sat low on her hips, leaving a glimpse of her stomach.
It almost looked like she’d been hanging out and just decided to go to a party.
Unlike the other girls, whose makeup and tight skirts suggested they had expected to be there.
“I was thinking of getting some fresh air. Wanna join me?” she asked.
I peered out of the kitchen. Greg was still lost in girl attention, and I doubted he even knew I’d left the room.
“You know, that sounds fantastic.”
She snatched my hand and led me out of the kitchen. I had expected we’d go out back and hang out on the porch, but she led me through the living room and up the stairs, past the groups talking and the couples who didn’t notice they weren’t alone.
My body was a rush of hormones as it went through all the possibilities that explained why she would lead me up toward the rooms of a house that wasn’t hers.
And all of them ended with an extremely satisfied outcome, so I didn’t argue as I took another sip of my beer and stepped onto the second-floor landing.
When we walked past all the bedrooms, my confusion grew.
“I’m all for hooking up, but I’d prefer not to do it in front of everyone,” I said. I had my morals.
She turned around, walking backward past another door and giving me a smile. I walked her into the wall and put my arm up, leaning over her, thinking she beat out any of the girls Greg was flirting with.
“Well, Parker. I’m all for hooking up, too, but I was hoping we could talk a little. Relax and get that fresh air, like I was saying.”
“Oh,” I dropped my hand, running it through my hair. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume.” But I had, like an asshole.
She reached up, pulled my face down, and kissed me. Shit, that kiss just about knocked me off my feet. It was like sparks snapping in every cell.
“Come on,” she said, pulling away and running over to the window. With a few hard tugs, it opened, and I moved next to her, seeing a small porch with two patio chairs.
“How the hell did you know this was here?” I asked as she climbed out the window.
I followed, shutting the window down to a crack as she answered, “I dated a guy who lived here when I was a freshman. I’m surprised no one’s out here, but really happy it’s empty.”
She flopped into a chair, tucking her legs under her.
“You dated a guy who lives here?”
“Lived,” she said as I took the other chair, sipping my beer before resting it on the deck. “He graduated that year. Total dick. I caught him with another girl a month after he sweet-talked his way into my pants.”
“Wow, that is a dick move.” I hated guys like that, and there were a lot of them. Cocky and thinking they were God’s gift to women, that they could play with them as if they were emotionless toys who were only there for their needs. I may have been a player, but I never cheated when I dated a girl.
“Eh, it was a learning experience.” She leaned forward, staring up at the sky. “So what year are you, Parker?”
“Junior. Well, I guess I’m a senior now that the semester is over.”
“So you have one more year?”
“Yup.” I leaned back, the thought giving me mixed emotions.
One more year of freedom before I was under my mother’s helm, taking my place in the company and letting her groom me to take over one day.
Now that Hudson had turned his back on that opportunity, it was mine.
Considering I’d worked for her since I turned sixteen, every summer, every break, it seemed a natural thing.
Besides, I liked the business, the challenge it presented.
Unlike my brother, who preferred to be out in the wild, the idea of life behind a desk didn’t worry me.
Not when it came with the life my mother led.
“What year are you?” I asked Elsie, turning my mind from the inevitable.
“I just graduated.”
“Congrats.”
“Thanks,” she said, giving me one of those gorgeous smiles. “I have another week here before I move home.”
“Another week? And what are you going to do during that week?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t given it much thought. My roommate moved out at graduation, so I have the apartment to myself.”
“Mine moves out tomorrow.”
“And you?” She looked over at me, her eyes contemplative.
I shrugged. “I don’t have a schedule. Was thinking I’d take another week or two before I head home.”
She was quiet for a beat before she said, “Tell me about yourself, Parker. But leave out anything personal. Don’t tell me about your family or where you live, anything that tells me who you are. Tell me what you like to do, your favorite things.”
I cocked my head, trying to figure out the request. Giving her another shrug, I started talking, finding it easy to talk to her and freeing not to have my family’s wealth or position be part of the conversation.
To not have to mention my brother and hide the emotion that bringing his name up caused.
We talked about our favorite colors, foods, movies, and books.
About our favorite sports teams, seasons, and animals.
Her laugh was loud and untethered, her smile bright as the stars, her eyes full of life.
She was so similar to me, so like the person I wanted to continue being.
Free of burdens and responsibilities. Not the person who was getting all the fun out of his system before he had to take on the mantle of the chosen son now that his brother had passed it to him.
The window opened, and I jumped, forgetting where we were.
“It’s taken,” Elsie shouted with a grin.
“Damn.” The window closed back up and we were alone again.
Elsie rose from her chair and came over to mine, slipping her legs around me and straddling me. I’d forgotten all about the fact that I’d originally thought she was taking me upstairs to have sex, lost in her company instead, but my body sprang to life.
“So, Parker who likes baseball, stormy nights, and has questionable music taste—”
“Hey, my taste in music is not questionable.”
“Agree to disagree,” she said, leaning closer to me as I laid my hands on her hips. “Are you a nice guy, Parker?”
My head tilted as I tried to figure out why she was asking. “Do I seem like a nice guy?”
“Yes, but you can’t always tell.”
“How’s this? I want to kiss you again, Elsie, and I’d seriously like that kiss to get heated enough that your clothes are on this deck floor and not on you. But only if you want to see where a kiss can take us.”