He loosens his grip from my waist and I begin to slip under. My faces scrunches up in discomfort, and he grabs a hold of me. He pulls me closer to him, our faces inches apart. "So you can't swim." He says, grinning. "No. I can't." I say. My eyes wander down towards his chest. I just now notice that he isn't wearing a shirt. I refocus my eyes back to his face, my cheeks getting hot. "We live in California. How do you not know how to swim? There are beaches everywhere." ___________________________________________ It was the last summer before college. For Rae, this meant making memories with her best friends and vacationing till she forgot the last four miserable years of high school. After taking school too seriously and planning all the right steps for college, Rae takes advantage of the time off. For Grayson, this last summer meant deciding if he really wants to spend the next four years being a star-athlete swimmer in college to please his overbearing father, or pursue his true passion of wildlife and spend the next year traveling the world. He takes a vacation with his friends to get away from it all, hoping he will get lay back and relax. When a boat ride and a crazy storm leave the two stranded on a deserted island, everything takes a turn for the worst. Rae and Grayson must adapt to the island around them and depend on each other for survival. Rae and Grayson always knew of each other, being friends of each other's friends, but never about each other. With Rae's panic and paranoia and Grayson's laid back outlook they might seem like an unlikely pairing, but the blazing sun and time away from the outside world just may bring them closer together. Started: May 30th, 2019 Completed: June 18th, 2020

Emilia I was so sure I'd never see him again. Not that I didn't want to. But not that I did. After all, he was the one that bailed on me. The one who threw away all those years we had for his own future. I shouldn't have been the one left feeling hurt. Yet somehow, I was. Seeing my best friend now, five years later, at my sister's wedding was the last thing I expected. But I never imagined I'd relive the heartache he left in his wake. And I never imagined falling for Adam Blackwell. Adam I wasn't supposed to see her again. Not that I didn't want to. A part of me did. A part of me always will. Emilia Feye was my best friend. Until I left her in my past and threw our friendship away. It was a mistake that haunts me every single day. It was between my best friend and my career. But I'm not the only one guilty. She did the same thing as me. Seeing her now, five years later, at my brother's wedding was unexpected. I never thought I'd have to suffer the consequences for the mess I made and the friendship I shattered. But I never imagined falling in love with her this time. I never imagined falling in love with Emilia Feye. ... Emilia and Adam meet again, five years after parting and going separate ways for college. They're not eighteen anymore. They're not so selfish anymore. And they're not best friends anymore. They caused each other heartache and now it's time to right their wrongs and make up for those mistakes. Now, in Marbella, Spain. Now, at her sister and his brother's wedding, the two meet again. Except this time, things are different. This time there's anger, frustration, pain, and regret. This time, they're not friends, they're a complicated mess. They call it friendship. We all call it love. . . . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED