Excerpt
On Monday morning, I find myself ripping off my clothes and
jumping in the shower like I’m going for the gold at an Olympic race. I crank
the nozzle as far right as it’ll go—the hotter the better, for the steam to
build quickly.
A prelude.
More than I want a cleansing, I want the hidden message—our
secret exchange of thoughts, belonging to only us—to appear.
But as the shower glass fogs, no words emerge. And the depth
of my disappointment is irrational; there should not be the sting of tears in my eyes right now.
Kingston is forbidden fruit in so many ways: he’s our
exchange student, my father has already warned him against me…and his departure
date is set and inevitable. So my anticipation of these messages is not only
foolish, but self-destructive. Because the more attached I get, the worse it
will hurt when they’re no longer even a possibility.
I hurry through my now-mundane shower with a heavy lump of
disenchanted sensibility in my gut.
But when I turn off the water and step out, every thought
I’d just told myself made sense is replaced with a swell of immeasurable bliss.
Guess what else fogs up in a steamy bathroom?
The mirror.
And on it is his message to me—the best one yet.
There was something in her movements
that made you think she never walked but always danced.
I’m instantly aware—this is bad, because once you think something’s gone and it comes back
better than ever, your craving for it reaches a whole new, dangerous level.
You only fully realize the depth of want and need
immediately after experiencing loss.
Too many emotions to name surge inside of me, my head a good
kind of hazy while the muscles around my heart cinch tighter. I know Kingston
and I are merely friends, albeit becoming better ones with every effortless
interaction. We’re just housemates who’ve found a clever, entertaining way to
match wits.
But if it was, if
it could be, more…he’d be damn good
at it.
I now understand how he’s able to bewitch girls by the droves.
It’s not just his strikingly good looks, or enticing accent…it’s him. Those girls are such simpletons, so
spellbound by the outside package that they don’t even realize the entirety of
his allure.
But I do. I see his invisible, inherent charm; the sheer
seductiveness that emits from his every smile and move; and his keen mind.
Shaking off the silly, romantic musings that have no place
in my life, I hustle to get ready for school.
But once I’m in the parking lot, ignoring the bell warning
me I’m about to be late, I throw caution—and my better judgment—to the wind,
and type out a text.
Me: You’ve read Anne of Green
Gables?
The second bell rings as I wait for a response, but for some
inexplicable reason, I simply don’t care. Then a different ding sounds—and with
it, my heart thrums an anxious beat.
Kingston: No, should I have?
Me: Yes, great books. But I asked bc
the quote you left me this morning, which I really liked btw… it’s from one of
the books.
Kingston: Ah, well they stole your
story then, Love.
I’ve definitely unfairly judged the girls caught under his
spell. The choice was never theirs. He’s that
good.
Me: How do you figure?
Kingston: I searched “quotes for
Echo Kelly” and that came up. As it should. Said it perfectly.
This—he—could get
addictive. And lines clearly drawn in my head and heart could easily become
blurry, if not completely obliterated, should I sit here any longer.
So I force myself back into friend mode and reply
accordingly.
Me: You’re on a roll this morning.
Better save some of those savvy lines for the tarts.
I hesitate before sending one last message.
Me: I’m late. Have a good day
playboy!
I run into school, out of breath for two reasons but
satisfied with myself for taking back control of the situation that was headed
in a direction I dare not explore.
First, you don’t leap from shy introvert who doesn’t date to
Kingston Hawthorne: a smooth-talker with a face made for dreams, a body of
unworldly men, and the entourage of a celebrity. He’s not the type of guy to get your feet wet with, or you’re sure to
drown on your first swim. And secondly, the detour I threw worked, because the
texts that continue the rest of the day are back on the track they need to be.
Temptation is ONLY a
room away….
Filthy Foreign Exchange
Releases April 24th!
Pre-order Exclusively on iBooks here:
http://apple.co/1R8c0wM
Add to your TBR at: http://bit.ly/223U4VV
Blurb
New York Times bestselling authors Angela
Graham and S.E. Hall have teamed up again to bring you a full-length, steamy
new romance.
Echo Kelly is loyal to her studies,
family, and aerial artistry. She has no time for or interest in anything else,
and is heartbroken when her oldest brother, Sebastian, gets accepted to a
study-abroad program— exchanging places with cocky, not-at-all-shy foreign
exchange student Kingston Hawthorne.
Kingston Hawthorne had the life every
twenty-year-old guy dreams of— endless cash, easy women, and fast cars— until
his father ripped it all away, shipping him off to the States and placing him
temptingly close to the underage virgin who fascinates him in the most
challenging of ways.
With Kingston’s bedroom just a connecting
bathroom away from Echo’s, the chemistry between them is even more enticing
than the notes he leaves for her on the shower door.
How long can you pretend you’re just
friends? About the
Authors:
S.E. Hall
Angela
Graham is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of the Harmony
Series. She spent a lot of her childhood hidden away in the aisles at her local
public library where she fell in love with reading. It was a home away from
home through her youth to her adulthood.
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