Choosing You [The Jade Series #1] by Allie
Everhart Publication date: September 23rd, 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
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Synopsis:
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.
Excerpt
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.
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.
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