Chapter 1

• ***The First Story***
• Isabel
• I’m just settling down to demolish a giant bowl of pasta, and a glass of wine, and watch a documentary when my cell phone rings.
• Ordinarily, I’d let it go to voice mail, but when I check the caller display and see it’s my big sister, I pick up. “Hey, thought you were leaving to visit Mom and Dad today in California? What’s up?”
• I can tell by the sound of her rapid breathing something important has happened.
• “You need to sit down. I just saw someone walk through the arrival gate at the airport.”
• I slouch back and mute the TV. “I am sitting down. Who’s arrived? Is it someone famous?”
• She nearly squeals down the line. “No! Okay, I don’t have time for guessing games, my plane is boarding in twenty minutes.”
• I stare lustfully at my food going cold. “Just tell me.”
• She lets out a breath slowly as if she’s savoring the moment. “It’s Grayson. He’s here.”
• Heat blazes across my cheeks and I bolt upright. “What? Are you sure?”
• Her reply comes out muffled, and I strain to hear over the sound of my heart thumping. “Gretch? Are you sure it’s him?
• “Shit, sorry. I lost him. And yeah, it’s definitely him. I was going to give him a piece of my mind.”
• I can only imagine how that would have gone down. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. I’m totally over it anyway.”
• She snorts. “Oh, right. You didn’t want me to slap him for disappearing right after he popped your cherry?”
• I groan. “You make it sound so sordid. It wasn’t. It was...he was—"
• She cuts me off. “Bad. That’s what he was. I was the one who warned you the first time, this is me warning you to steer clear of him now.”
• I wince. She did warn me of him. And for an entire summer, I kept my distance, wondering why the aloof, and seriously mysterious Grayson would barely look at me.
• He’d just sit on the porch of his uncle’s beach house, looking broody, and glaring at everyone who walked past.
• Until the night he threw a party, and I somehow managed to get close enough to him to see he wasn’t what he appeared to be.
• I shake my head. “I’m completely in control of myself.”
• She sounds as worried as she always does when we discuss Grayson. “I highly doubt that. I know you still fantasize about him. One summer stalking him, and you turned into a slut the first opportunity you got.”
• I release a sigh and lean my head back on my couch so I can stare up at the ceiling. “I slept with him once, and you’re calling me a slut?”
• “Yeah, well, that’s why I’m calling. He looks incredible. But you cannot get within two feet of him, okay? I know you; you still think he’s salvageable.”
• I screw up my face. “I do not. I just want an explanation as to what happened. That’s all.”
• I can almost hear her rolling her eyes at me. “He was only there for the summer. And you had one night with him. What did you expect? A proposal? You need to stop thinking about him.”
• I growl down the line. “I hadn’t for months until you called to tell me he’s here! Now I can’t help but think about him.”
• She has the grace to sound sorry. “I know. But I needed to warn you. I don’t want you to get hurt again. You need to close the book on him. Once and for all.”
• I release a shaky sigh as memories I’ve tried to forget run on a loop. “He’s probably just back to see his uncle or something,” I mumble.
• “Yeah. But still. It’s a small town, and you’re bound to run into him, even if he’s just visiting for the summer again. If you do, just play it cool and whatever you do, don’t let on how much that night meant to you. Trust me, you’ll only set yourself up for disappointment if you do.”
• A wry smile tugs at my lips. “I know. You’re right. I do need closure. And if I see him, I’ll be the epitome of cool calm, and collected.”
• She near chokes on a laugh. “Three things you will never be around him. You’ll probably stalk him again, get drunk, and demand he tells you why he’s not on social media.”
• I frown hard; even though it’s always driven me insane I haven’t been able to track him down.
• In this day and age, everyone has a social media presence. “If I see him, I might slip that into the conversation,” I say.
• She sighs heavily. “Just don’t drop anything else into the conversation. And don’t for a second think you can pick up where you left off. Guys like Grayson never stick around. And temporary guys make bad boyfriends. Then and now.”
• I grind my back teeth together because even though I hate that I still think about him and what might have been, I know she’s right.
• I can’t pin my hopes on him even remembering the night we spent together. And I certainly shouldn’t expect him to offer me anything by way of apology.
• “I know and don’t worry, I’m totally over him.”
• “Ha! No, you aren’t. You’ve built him up to be incredible. And maybe it might be a good thing if you find out he isn’t all you thought he was. Hey, sorry. I gotta go. Love you.”
• “Love you too.”
• I end the call and close my eyes as my stomach twists into knots.
• I should be grateful I’ve gotten a warning he’s back. Gretchen knows better than anyone how long it took me to get over Grayson.
• But no matter how hard I tried, there’s a part of me that never really got over the rejection and hurt.
• Even though I knew he’d be leaving, I still got way too attached to the broody bad boy with the dimpled smile.