"Do you love me?", he questioned with hesitation. I looked up into his glittery emerald eyes and relaxed one hand onto the tree branch besides me, positioning myself to fit comfortably into the tree we climbed, and the other on his face, "I would be one stupid girl if I didn't", I answered in honesty. My world lit up as the next few words fell from out his lips so gracefully, "Ariana, I am so obsessed with you", Kalin announced with a ginormous, cheesy grin spread across his face. Contagiously, I felt a smile creep its way in as we moved in closer together, sparks flying in the air.
Two-inches away from me, yet he felt so far, "promise you won't leave me", I begged. Before his soft pink lips met mine he whispered, "not today, not ever baby".
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]]