Grayson Summers has loved Talia Chase since kindergarten-but while she barely remembers him, he's never stopped watching from afar. When fate brings them closer after a championship night, long-buried feelings begin to surface. *** Sometimes, the guy falls in love first. Deeply. In kindergarten, she gave him a flower. She forgot her kindness, but he would always remember. No matter how many girls Grayson Summers dates or hooks up with, he can never forget Talia Chase. Accidentally labeled as the high school's womanizer, he continuously collects more and more problems. Too scared of rejection, Grayson has never asked Talia to be his, and only spends his time hopelessly dreaming. Talia is confused. Her friends have told her Grayson Summers is not a guy who smiles or is kind, but Talia swears she has seen him act both of those ways before. The universe has plans. After the night of the basketball state championship, Talia finds herself questioning Grayson's true reasons behind his actions as the two grow closer together. *** Warning: this story contains strong language, alcohol and drug use, and sexual content

~ 2021 WATTY'S SHORTLIST ~ "I-well, I..." I hesitated with my response. I wanted to let go. To not worry about what would happen in the future. I'd always loved staring into fires. It hypnotized me with its beauty and danger. It was so tantalizing to look at, but one little touch could destroy. I knew the heat between Tyler and I was similar. It started off small but it had only grown in the weeks he'd been here. We'd fed it unintentionally, and it had gone from an ember to a crackling flame. Every nerve in my body wanted to reach out and touch it, even though I knew I'd get burned. *************************************************** Pia Callahan always lived a carefree life with no worries. Her only responsibilities were to attend her college classes (sometimes) and keep herself fed (on ramen). When tragedy strikes, Pia is all of the sudden thrown into a whirlwind of change. She has to grow up and take on more responsibility than she could ever imagine: the custody of her best friend's son. Pia may not believe she is the best person for the job, but she is determined to do it. She'll trade in frat parties for PTA meetings and beer-bongs for apple juice. But what happens when the ruggedly hot motocross athlete Tyler Westwood shows up in her small town? Tyler lives on the fast track, never caring too much about consequences. You can't when your job is to do backflips through the air. Sometimes, you just have to send it and hope for the best. From the second Tyler meets Pia, he knows he wants her. But she is determined to ignore their bubbling chemistry. She has priorities now and a summer fling isn't one of them. Will Pia be able to stay away from Tyler? Or will she decide to hit the throttle? ***************************************************

Josephine Pryce will do anything to get out of Lakeville even if it means simply tutoring her arch-nemesis Flynn Cauley. Except when it comes to him, things aren't always simple. *** Jo and Flynn couldn't be any more different than they already are. She's an uptight, type 1 diabetic and captain of the debate club and he's a notorious womanizer with a devil-may-care attitude and seemingly nothing to worry about. But now he needs help with English and she needs money for college. So regardless of the existent feud between them, she accepts to be his tutor in her school's online peer-tutorship program. But things aren't that straightforward when it comes to him. A misconception and desperation later, they decide to become a fake unlikely couple, solely because Flynn needs to make his crush jealous and Jo needs her ex to understand that it's over. Besides, she's partly in love with the hot, gentlemanly school paper president and the only way he'll notice her, is if she somehow becomes popular. Everything will be fine as long as they follow the rules. But then again, rules are meant to be broken. (UNEDITED) Most impressive rankings; #1 in lovestory #1 in enemies #1 in angst #1 in chronic illness #1 in fake dating #1 in diabetes #1 in YA #2 in heart touching #2 in love hate #3 in enemies to lovers #6 in high school #9 in teen romance #14 in humor #102 in romance

Mia Hill. College bound with an athletic scholarship. A go-getter with big dreams and a fully thought out plan to make sure they come true. But with her father's release from prison looming and the inevitable stresses of adulting, everything she was once so sure of seems to slip away. And it all begins the summer before college when she finds herself working alongside Grayson Adler, football hotshot and player extraordinaire. On his way to a bright future of his own, Grayson should be focused on two things as he heads to college. Football. And getting good grades so he can keep playing football. What he wasn't counting on is Mia. The girl who grates his nerves more than anyone else. But who's also captivated him like no other. They quickly find themselves fighting urges that they have absolutely no time for, and feelings that don't fit into their plans. But try as they might, they just can't seem to stay away from each other. Grayson has always loved a challenge but getting closer to Mia is a game he's never played before. And as her past resurfaces, all the rules begin to change for their eyes. But ready or not, it's time to start playing the game.

Tommy Sallow is onto better and brighter things. After working a small hometown beat in upstate New York, he's finally in sunny California. As expected, it's the same shit in a different town. Except, you know, now he's near the ocean and miserable NY winters are a thing of the past. So, it's cool. He thought finding love would be simple. The guy who's always there for everyone else just wants someone to meet him halfway and things are looking grim, to say the least. Never one to believe in fate, what he definitely didn't see coming was Amber, a small and complicated piece of home he's never quite been able to forget about. ~♡~ Amber Hill always dreamt of having the perfect family. She thought marrying her college sweetheart and starting a family with him would be her happily ever after. But when that picture perfect family breaks, she's forced to move back to her hometown in California with her daughter, Mia. Riddled with uncertainty over the future, Amber hopes to regain a shred of normalcy for her daughter and reclaim the pieces of herself that she's lost along the way. But starting over is never easy, especially when a familiar face from the past shows up. When fate seems to lend a hand after all, Tommy and Amber's worlds collide, challenging them both in ways they never imagined. Can they learn to walk through life together and find what they've been looking for? Or will it all fall apart?"

Like most people, Lauren had a celebrity crush. Unlike most people, she got to meet hers - Axel James, THE Axel James, one of the most sought-after male models of all time and a prince charming on the big screen. But as it turns out, he's a complete jerk. Talk about never meeting your heroes. Statistically, the chances of running into someone you've only seen once in your life are slim, especially if they're not part of your social circle. But there Lauren was, on her first day at her new job, being called to an initiation. The rules are simple: ask out the next guy who'll enter the room. If he is married, ask the next one. If he is in a relationship, grab a coffee with him. Maximum twenty minutes. If he is single, five dates. And last, but most important, he must be willing to go on a date with you. Little did she know that Axel James would be the one who'll walk through that damned door next - he is single, and he is absolutely willing.

[actively editing] With her nose in books and his brawn getting him nowhere on or off the ice, they find themselves drawn together, sharing their baggage and learning what it might mean for each of them to love again. Jake Bryers is no stranger to the pressures of being a professional hockey player. It's something that he's dealt with consistently for the past fifteen years. Throughout his career, he's experienced it all-the electric thrill of winning divisions and conference titles, and even making it to the Stanley Cup Finals on more than one occasion. His dream was always to skate the cup at least once, but as he enters the late stage of his long, tumultuous career, he finds himself struggling to perform like he once had as a younger, inspired player. Harper Clark has been proficient at one thing throughout her life-constantly moving forward without really going anywhere. After having moved to the Big Apple to pursue a better life outside of the dangerous one she found herself leading in the Midwest, she finds herself stagnating after getting her degree from Columbia. She quietly enjoys her job at the public library, treading water while the undeniable feeling of discontent grows stronger within her. It's nothing short of fate when Jake and Harper happen to cross paths at the library, and though their lives couldn't be any more different, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another as they try to navigate mending each other's wounded hearts.

breakaway series - book one CHASE MITCHELL He's hockey's golden boy with a reputation both on and off the ice. When a brutal knee injury threatens his shot at the Cup, his comeback depends on one person: his rival's little sister-the last woman he should want. EMMA ANDERSON She walked away from skating after a career-ending injury crushed her Olympic dreams. Now she's back as the Bears' physical therapist, ready to face her cheating ex-but not ready for Chase Mitchell. Especially when he makes her an offer: fake date him to keep his obsessive ex away, and in return, he'll help her get revenge on hers. Their on-camera chemistry was supposed to be pretend. But when the cameras stop rolling, the heat between them is anything but. Someone's bound to get hurt. And in this game, love isn't just risky-it's a full-contact sport. ⋆˙⟡♡🏒 11/05/2025 #1 - Hockey

COMPLETED Penn State University. Home to the craziest sorority girls, most obnoxious football players, and a possible Vice President's son. Sloane Beck wants nothing more than to have her cheating ex-boyfriend crawl back to her. Blake Day wants nothing more than to live out the rest of his college life without the media's spotlight on his back. What happens when Blake throws a deal out to Sloane that's almost too good to not consider? But what if the deal that he was just throwing to her- isn't the whole story? What if the deal is somewhat the truth? The deal is in between the lines. Read to find out. BOOK NUMBER TWO IN THE PSU SERIES.

Summer Sanders is going through it. The pressures of school are mounting, and her home life is completely falling apart. Feeling bored and lonely on a Saturday night, she decides to get buzzed and surprise her hookup buddy with her best lingerie. The only problem? She stumbles into room 212 instead of 221. That fact wasn't apparent until the grumpy occupant, Carter Reyes, returns from his trip to the laundry room to more than an eyeful. Carter is the star basketball player on campus and has plenty of his own issue at hand. With one last shot to achieve their dreams, neither of them any distractions, especially not in the form of fickle college relationships, but for some inexplicable reason, entering each others' lives proves easier than leaving. Cover by @latoniamiller