"I told myself quite sternly that I wouldn't be doing this, dancing with you tonight."
Weston's voice was soft against the pounding of the rugged, obscure music that filled the club they danced in.
"And why's that?" Celeste tried holding his eyes in an effort to study the emotions they held in the dim light- to no avail. His expression was completely unreadable.
He stopped dancing and stiffened abruptly as he slowly wrapped his arms around her, placing his head in the crook of her neck.
"Somehow, I thought I'd be able to handle it. Now, I'm not so sure of myself."
---
While staying the summer with her best friend in her old childhood town, Celeste realizes that the quaint little lake town has more secrets than she ever would've thought-especially about Weston Granstone, whose name had become synonymous with 'a bad idea.' One night two years ago changed his life completely, and nothing had been the same since.
Everyone has an opinion on what happened with him, and none of them are good.
But when Celeste encounters him in a moment of vulnerability, she decides to do the last thing anyone has done in a while: give him a chance, and attempt to get to know the town pariah and what he's really like. He invites her into his world and learns that there are always two sides to every story.
But when more surrounding his enigmatic past comes to light that could prove dangerous, Celeste may be in for more than she can handle.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]