Book Disclaimer
Copyright ©Horackova84 2022
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Welcome to "Reckless".
We are back in the Seabrook Series.
Please comment, vote, and add to your reading list.
❤️📖
This book contains subject matter dealing with mental health issues, substance abuse and explicit sex scenes. It's for mature readers only.
Henley
The day Marielle Eden came to Seabrook High School, I felt her before she was even near me.
I was on edge all morning.
Waking up before my 5am alarm, catching insane passes on the field during my morning football practice and outrunning anyone who tried to catch me.
I felt like I was soaring that morning.
A strange energy racing through me.
And I'm not a fucking morning person at all.
"What the fuck was that on the field Henley?! You were wildin' out there man."
I pull my t-shirt over my head and smile at my best friend Theo. He and I have been playing football together since we were kids and he knows what a slug I normally am at morning practices.
I shrug my shoulders, getting up and grabbing my bag. "I don't know. I just feel really awake today for some reason. Maybe I'll actually stay awake during first period today," I laugh.
Theo shakes his head at me. "Doubtful. Mrs. Baxter has a thing for you. She doesn't care what the hell you do in her class. If you fall asleep she probably tells everyone to be quiet so you don't wake up," he snides.
I run a hand over my damp black hair from the locker room shower. I can't even argue with him because it's true. In Seabrook I'm treated like a celebrity. I haven't just played football since I was a kid.
I've dominated it.
I've got colleges all over the country clamoring to have me accept their full-rides to come be a wide receiver on their team. I've worked my ass off for 4 years in high school to get to where I am, and Theo has too. We're hoping against all odds we might get to play at the next level together somewhere.
Theo gets a text on his phone and smiles as he reads it over, rubbing a hand over his short brown dreads.
"You're so damn transparent man. That must be Holly," I say motioning for him to follow me out of the locker room.
"You're too nosy," he responds, shoving the phone in his back pocket. I put an arm over his shoulder, "Don't be ashamed a girl finally has you by the balls bro. I mean, she's older than us, so I can see the appeal," I say as we make our way outside and head over to the main building of our school.
"She's literally just a year older than us man," he laughs. "Hey, but she's in college. College girls are totally different," I respond. "You would definitely know," he answers rolling his eyes.
I wrap my arm around his neck, playfully pulling at him and he shoves at me as someone calls out to us. "Theo! Henley! Wait up!"
We stop walking and turn to see our friend Peter jogging towards us. He smiles at us and we each slap hands. "What's good fellas?" He asks as we all turn to walk together.
People always joke that the three of us look like we could be on an Ad celebrating diversity. I'm white with blue eyes and black hair and come from British roots. Meanwhile Theo is first generation American with dreads and warm brown eyes, and his parents are from Nigeria. Peter is biracial, white and Filipino, with long brown hair and green eyes like his mom.
We come from different backgrounds and look drastically different, but we get along like brothers despite our outward differences.
"Nothin man. Just talking about Theos new girl," I say as we stop outside the front doors. Peters face lights up. "Aww, your summer crush? You sad she's back at college? Counting down the days to Thanksgiving break?" Peter teases.
Theo opens the front door flicking us both off, as I put my hand over my mouth suppressing a laugh. "I'm not telling the two of you shit about my dating life anymore," he mutters heading inside. We follow behind him and Peter pats him on the back.
"Oh come on. You know we're just fucking with you. You know we're jealous you found true love. Dating in Seabrook is lame as hell. Even more so when you're gay. I can't wait to go away to college where guys aren't such fucking closet cases," Peter says.
I give him a serious look, "Anyone who wants to keep you a secret isn't worth your time Pete," I say. He nods, giving me a sad smile. He dated a guy for half the summer from a town close to ours who wouldn't ever acknowledge that they were together out in public.
It was total bullshit and Theo and I encouraged him to break it off. I know he's still hurt by it. It took a lot for him to come out when we started high school, but he hasn't had much luck since.
None of us have ever been in serious relationships. We date, mess around and leave it at that. But this summer Theo and Peter both branched out and committed to people, but I still wasn't interested.
I'm too young to be tied down to anyone. The last time I almost went there with someone it went badly. She was practically planning our wedding by the end of our first date.
We get over to our lockers and see that some of our other friends are waiting there for us. We all stand around and talk about the weekend together, when I feel a hand tapping me on the back. I look down and smile seeing my friend Eva standing there.
"Sup short stack?" I tease smiling down at her. She pushes me on the arm and laughs. "Can you ever call me by my name?" She asks with fake annoyance. I shrug looking down at all 5 feet of her.
She's got big brown eyes, dark brown skin and nice curves that get her a lot of attention. She grew up in Seabrook with Theo, Peter and me. She's always shown interest in me and we've spent a lot of time together since our parents are friends, but I would never hook up with her. I have a good feeling she'd get super clingy if I did and I just am not willing to go there.
"It suits you," I respond tapping Theo on the shoulder and nodding my head towards the hallway where our first class is.
Eva, Theo and I all walk together as she talks to me about a party she's throwing Friday night to celebrate our first week of Senior year. We've been back in school for two days now and the vibe is definitely different this year being at the top of the food chain.
"Sounds like a good time. Thanks for setting it up," Theo says to Eva as we walk into class. We head towards the back and sit next to each other as the bell rings. Mrs. Baxter quiets everyone down and asks us to get out our textbooks right when the door to the classroom opens again.
I don't bother looking up, figuring it's just someone coming in late. But a few seconds later Theo kicks my leg, grabbing my attention. I shoot him a look and he returns it with a wide eyes, motioning with his head to the front of the class.
When I turn and see the girl standing by Mrs. Baxters desk, I know exactly why this morning has felt different from the very beginning.
