8 years ago...
Dear Diary,
The new boy's so cute.
But there's a sadness about him that makes me even more curious about him.
He's too young to have that sort of darkness floating around him, and I can't think why that would be.
He looks about the same age as me—maybe a year older. So fourteen, maybe?
He's at that stage where he's a boy just about to transition into a man. His arms already look strong.
And the look on his face—it's way beyond his years and sometimes makes him seem much older than he probably is.
What could possibly be so bad?
I have this crazy thought that if I mustered up the courage and actually introduced myself to him, he might lighten up a bit.
If I smile at him in greeting, he'll have to smile back, right?
And even if it's a fake one, if he does it long enough or often enough, he'll start to feel it, and his sorrow might be temporarily lifted.
'Fake it till you make it,' my mom says sometimes—when it's obvious her smiles aren't real and don't do a whole lot to mask the terror in her eyes.
I know she thinks she's going to die after all, despite everything...
YOU ARE READING
Penalty: A New Adult Sports Romance (Excerpt Only)
RomanceOnce superstar jock Abraham Stone notices shy Madison Mills, all hell breaks loose. He is determined to have her, finally deciding to shed his longtime gold-digging girlfriend, Bethany, in favor of the quiet, unassuming nerd. But with Abe's determin...
