##Chapter 42: Daisy"So," I tilt my head and squint. "You're not going to tell me where we're going?" Carter skewers me with a glance and shakes his head. A smile clings to his lips. Every so often, our eyes catch and hold, sparks of desire flaring to life, before he jerks them back to the road.This is a first for us. We never go out in public together.Sure, we walk to class and sit next to one another, but there's always a distance between us. Everything about our demeanor screams friend zone. Which is exactly why girls still approach him. They flick their hair and flutter their lashes. They press their hands to his chest or trail their fingertips along his bicep. I might be standing next to him, but it's like I'm wearing an invisibility shield. As much as I want to growl and tell them to back the hell off, I can't.What am I going to say?That he's my secret boytoy and to keep their sticky mitts off my man?Not going to happen.Although, Carter doesn't encourage their be

##Chapter 44: CarterAs I pull out of the state park, my phone dings with an incoming message. I don't bother checking who it is. I'm not ready for reality to rear its ugly head. Instead, I glance at Daisy. She's still slumped on her seat with one hand shielding her face from view.I laugh, and she lowers her hand enough to glare."There's nothing funny about what just happened. I've never been more humiliated in my life," she grumbles."Well, had he stumbled upon us five minutes later," I interject. "I think this moment wouldn't have felt so bad."Daisy groans and buries her face in both hands. "I'll never be able to show my face there again.""I doubt it's your face that he'll remember."That comment earns me a whack on the chest."Ow," I laugh and rub the spot with my fingers. It doesn't hurt all that much. I take a worse beating out on the field every day, but I have the feeling that she'll hit me again if she doesn't think I've been properly chastised."I blame you for th

##Chapter 46: CarterThis has been one of the strangest days of my life.How else do you describe a twelve-hour period where you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows?Throughout the whole damn thing, Daisy has been unwaveringly at my side. Somehow that made the worst of it a little easier to bear. The situation with my family has always been a dirty secret that I've gone to great lengths to hide. Having Daisy there as a silent onlooker, watching me as I subdued my father...that was beyond anything I could have envisioned. The hot licks of humiliation will forever be singed into my psyche. And yet, now that she knows the truth, it's like a crushing weight has been lifted from my shoulders.After all these years, I can finally suck in a full breath of air. Daisy's hand is secured in mine as we ride the elevator to the third floor. Today is a turning point and I want to get the rest of it over with. I want everyone to know that Daisy is mine.And that means shari

##Chapter 48: Daisy"You need to back this truck up and start over again," Olivia demands over the loud noise of the stadium. "I want all the details in slow motion, so I can savor them more fully. Plus, I want to make sure you didn't leave anything out.""That's not necessary," I chuckle. "You're totally in the know.""Likely story." She huffs and slaps my thigh. "I still can't believe you were holding out on me like that!" She pauses for a beat. "This is huge."Even though we're sitting in the tenth row of the student section, with people jam packed around us, she manages to throw her arms wide, narrowly missing the guy sitting next to her. "Bigger than huge. Mega-huge.""Yeah," I wince. "I know."I probably should have clued Olivia in to what was going on with Carter, but how could I do that when I didn't know myself? Olivia and I have always confided in each other. We delved headfirst into our friendship the first week of freshman year and haven't come up for air since.

##Chapter 50: DaisyAs soon as Olivia and I walked through the door of this party, some guy glommed onto me and I haven't been able to shake him loose. He's not getting the hint that I'm not interested. My guess is that his inebriated state has something to do with it.Ugh.Even if I were single and ready to mingle, drunk guys are never on my radar.For one thing, they have the tendency to think they're hilarious. As if everything that spews from their mouth is comedic gold. Let me tell you from experience, it's not. Far from it. Half the time, you can't make heads or tails of what they're slurring.Two, they're usually way too handsy for my taste. I'm not a girl who likes to be manhandled. Unless, I give you the green light to manhandle me. Then I love it. But otherwise, forget about it. I'm liable to deck you. And lastly, there is no such thing as letting them down gently. They get all offended if you're not interested and either end up calling you a bitch or a dyke.Wh