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Release Day Blitz with Excerpt: Before you by Amber Hart

Excerpt:

“Hi, I’m Faith Watters.”

Those are the first words I speak to the new Cuban guy in the front office. He

grimaces. He’ll be a tough one. I can handle it, though. He’s not the first.

I can’t help but notice that he looks a lot like a model from the neck up—eyes

the color of oak, strong bone structure. Everywhere else, he looks a lot like a criminal.

Chiseled, scarred body ... I wonder for a second about the meaning behind the tattoos

scratched into his arms.

One thing’s clear. He’s dangerous.

And he’s beautiful.

“I’ll show you to your classes,” I announce.

I’m one of the peer helpers at our school. It’s not my favorite thing to do, but

it counts as a class. Basically I spend the first two days with new students, introducing

them around and answering their questions. Some parents with kids new to the school

voluntarily sign their students up, but it’s only mandatory for the international students,

of which we have a lot. Mostly Latinos.

This Cuban guy towers over me. I’m five six. Not tall. Not short. Just average.

Average is good.

This guy’s not average. Not even a little bit. He must be over six feet.

I glance up at him, kind of like I do when I’m searching for the moon in a sea of

darkness.

“Looks like you have math first. I’ll walk you there,” I offer.

“No thanks, chica. I can handle it.”

“It’s no problem,” I say, leading the way.

He tries to snatch his schedule from my hands, but I move too fast.

“Why don’t we start with your name?” I suggest.

I already know his name. Plus some. Diego Alvarez. Eighteen years old. Moved

from Cuba two weeks ago. Only child. No previous school records. I read it in his bio. I

want to hear him say it.

“You got some kinda control issues or somethin’?” he asks harshly, voice slightly

accented.

“You got some kind of social issues or somethin’?” I fire back, holding my

stance. I won’t let him intimidate me, though I’ll admit, he’s hot. Too bad he has a nasty

attitude.

The side of his lip twitches. “No. I just don’t mix with your type,” he answers.

“My type?”

“That’s what I said.”

“You don’t even know my type.” No one does. Well, except Melissa.

He chuckles humorlessly. “Sure I do. Head cheerleader? Date the football player?

Daddy’s little girl who gets everything she wants?” He leans closer to whisper. “Probably

a virgin.”

My cheeks burn hot. “I’m not a cheerleader,” I say through clamped teeth.

“Whatever,” he says. “Are you gonna give me my schedule or not?”

“Not,” I answer. “But you can feel free to follow me to your first class.”

He steps in front of me, intimately close. “Listen, chica, nobody tells me what to

do.”

I shrug. “Fine, suit yourself. It’s your life. But if you want to attend this school,

it’s mandatory for me to show you to your classes for two days.”

His eyes narrow. “Who says I want to attend this school?”

I take the last step toward him, closing the gap between us. When we were little,

Melissa and I used to collect glass bottles. Whenever we accumulated twenty, we’d break

them on the concrete. When the glass shattered, the slivered pieces made a breathtaking

prism of light.

I cut myself on the glass by accident once. It was painful, but worth it. The beauty

was worth it. It’s funny how the bottle was never as beautiful as when it was broken.

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