Heartbreaker by Melody Grace

Author:Melody Grace [Grace, Melody]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melody Grace Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Thirteen.

Outside, the air is still warm, and the blast of music and lights is softened, filtering into the dark. We walk in silence down the path behind the house, under the lanterns that are strung all the way to the dock. I expect him to sit on the end of the wooden jetty like we did all those years ago, but instead, Finn climbs down the rickety ladder, down to a row-boat that’s tethered there, bobbing gently on the water.

“Come on, I want to show you something.”

I carefully climb down and join him in the boat, my heart beating faster.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask, nervous. I take a seat on the narrow wooden bench opposite him, holding on to the side to keep my balance.

Finn gives me a wicked grin and reaches for the oars. “Someplace nobody can hear you scream.”

I laugh out loud, breaking the tension. “Way to sound like a serial killer!” I kick him lightly.

Finn gives a grin. “You know that’s what the French call it: le petit mort.”

My cheeks burn, and he laughs again. “You’re cute when you blush.”

“It’s dark out, you can’t even see my face.”

“I know you’re doing it anyway.”

He rows us down the creek with long, even strokes, until the bright lights of the house are swallowed up by the trees. Still, the moon is bright tonight, casting a silvery glow on the water and marshland as we glide on by.

“It’s so quiet out here,” I marvel, listening to the distant chirp of the crickets. “You must feel a long way from home.”

Finn shrugs. “LA isn’t home. Nowhere is, really. Even when I was here, it wasn’t about the place. Home is people to me.” I can’t see his expression clearly; I can only hear a note of emotion in his voice. Or maybe that’s just my mind playing tricks on me, because he barely skips a beat before adding in a teasing voice. “Now it’s just the two of us. You can’t bolt when you get self conscious.”

“But I can push you overboard,” I counter.

Finn laughs. “I could use the cold shower right about now.” My stomach curls. Me too. Finn looks around in the darkness. “Here we are,” he says, angling the boat off the main creek. “Watch your head.”

I duck just in time as we glide under an old cypress tree, the branches dipping heavily to skim the water. It’s like passing through a secret gate. Suddenly, the woods rear up, the creek collecting in a still, silent pool, fringed with trees and grassy riverbanks. Moonlight falls against the black ripples, and all I can hear is the hush of the forest and the trickle of water slipping over smooth, worn rocks. Everything is darkness, painted with silver reflections, private and alone.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathe, taking it in. There’s something almost enchanted about this hidden corner of the world, so secluded it’s like the rest of the universe doesn’t exist.

“I found it the other day.” Finn steers us to where the water gets shallow, then jumps out onto the shore.

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