Page 32 of Forgotten Rules (Rules 4)

I zoom in on the old, cracked ladder. The whole place looks like a dream. An old, faded, abandoned dream. My guess is it’s been a hot minute since Will was here.

Fascinated, I move close—

“Careful!” he blurts, gripping my waist and yanking me backward so fast the breath is knocked out of me. Sagging against his chest, I screech and gape at my feet, realizing I almost stepped into some sort of ditch. It’s covered in dead leaves, just about impossible to see. Looks deep, too.

“You good?”

I hear his question, but all I can think about are his hands on my waist.

“Kass?” he asks again.

“I-I’m sorry?”

“I said are you good?” He lets out a quiet laugh, so close the warmth of his breath tickles my ear.

“Uh, yeah, I-I’m good, great, fantastic.” I clear my throat.

He releases my hips.

“Come on. View’s better up there,” he says, as cool as a freaking cucumber, and as I watch him climb up the ladder…

I can’t help wishing I felt that way, too.

“Is this yours?” I ask, hair waving in the wind, feet hanging in the emptiness. We’re both sitting near the edge of the open tree house, staring at the horizon.

The sun will be rising soon.

“It used to be. My dad and I built it when I was a kid,” he explains.

“Oh, you live in the neighborhood?”

“Not anymore. We moved.”

Well, duh. It took us a while to get here. He’d be way too far from school. I’ve never cared to find out anything about Will’s life before, convinced he was nothing more than Kendrick’s clown friend. But now? I wish I’d bothered to listen when my brother talks. Just so I would know a thing or two about the blue-eyed mystery next to me.

“Yeah? How long ago was that?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Like ten years.”

“No way you haven’t been here in ten years.” I scrutinize the cabin. Barely any leaves lie inside. This definitely isn’t a decade’s worth of dirt. Not to mention the foundation of the tree house feels rock-solid.

“I still come here from time to time. To clear my head.”

“Let me guess, I’m the first girl you brought here?” I huff in expectation of a major cliché.

“Please,” he scoffs. “I lost my virginity right where you’re sitting.”

Annnd there he is.

He laughs. “Look, if it makes you feel any better, you’re the first girl I brought here with no intention to shag.”

I force a smile, nibbling at the inside of my cheek. Is he saying he doesn’t want to shag me? As in ever? Not that I want him to want to shag me but…

Oh my God, Kass, shut the fuck up.

“Thanks. I feel real special.” I cradle my legs to my chest, hugging them to my body and resting my chin on top of my knees. It’s getting chilly out. “How is that a good hookup spot though? What’s your line? Hey, want to go fuck in a tree?”

“Who says I need a line? Chicks get all mushy when you show them your childhood tree house,” he jokes—I think?