Free Riptide by H. M. Ward

the first place by punching Brie in the face.”
    Seth laughed and jumped from one foot to the other like a happy monkey. He pressed his palms together, “No way! Girl fight and I missed it? Little goodie-two- shoes took a swing at the slut?”
    Tucker opened his mouth to say something and then snapped it shut again. He shook his head and walked away.
    Seth turned to Trystan, “Ser iously? You r new conquest bitch- slapped your old girlfriend? Ha! I didn’t think Mari had it in her.” Suddenly Seth seemed more interested in Mari, which wasn’t good.
    “Brie had it coming, ” Trystan snapped. “A nd now she thinks she can screw everyone else by not showing up on Friday.” Trystan grinned , thinking about acting opposite Mari, and that kiss at the end of act 2. Oh God, he’d get to kiss Mari like that in front of everyone without anyone thinking anything was going on with them. “This is going to be awesome.”
     

 
     
    CHAPTER 12
     
    ~MARI~
     
    “I’m not an actor, Trystan. I can’t do what you do.” He asked me to take Brie’s role. Part of me wanted to, but the other part said there was no way I could pull it off.
    Trystan sat on the table in front of me. We were in the prop room under the stage . He waited to tell me until we had some time alone. Trystan’s hands found my shoulders and he gripped the m gently. “Yes , you can. You already have, and you did it a lot better than Brie.”
    My mind raced. If I said yes, t his would be the third time I’d pissed off Brie in a really short amount of time. It just wasn’t smart. “Trystan, I wouldn’t know where to stand or how to respond to the other actors. This isn’t my thing. I’d suck it up.”
    “Tucker said you have a C in his class right now. He wanted me to tell you that you’ll get an automatic A if you take her spot.” He watched my face as he spoke the magic words.
    My face pinch ed . I wanted to say no, but that was too tempting. “Damn him —Tucker, I mean . That C will cause as much trouble as Brie.” I started thinking out loud without realizing it.
    “What?” Trystan asked, confused.
    “The C. My dad is a psycho with grades. I’ll catch hell for it. But, if I take Brie’s place so I get the A, I’m going to catch hell from her. I’m already on her shit list.” I sighed and looked into Trystan’s face. “It’s not much of a choice.”
    “I can take care of Brie.”
    “Brie’s suing me, well, my Dad— ” I just blurted it out. I’d managed to leave out that part last night. The conversation skirted around it. I made it sound like a teacher tattled on me and not Brie’s father. Trystan’s hands slipped off my shoulders, as his jaw dropped open. “b ecause I punched her. That’s what caused the fight the other night with my Dad. It was Brie.”
    Trystan pressed his eyes closed and shook his head, like he couldn’t believe it. He stood and paced, thinking. The muscles in his jaw worked as he walked. Trystan crossed his arms over his chest. The dark blue tee shirt he wore showed off his sapphire eyes. I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was beautiful.
    When Trystan stopped, he said, “Brie is a pain i n the ass, but we have a shot at handling her. Your father, on the other hand, we have no control over him at all. I’d get the grade and deal with the Brie , if I were you.”
    I smiled at him. That was what I was thinking, I just wished there was another option. Standing , I walked over to him, “And this decision has nothing to do with the kiss at the end of the second act?”
    “Do you know how hard it is to stand in front of you and not touch you? Right now—” he shook his head, “I can’t even tell you what I want to do right now. It’s more than a kiss Mari. It’s more time together, more kissing, and more you. Of course I want you to say yes.” Trystan looked down into my eyes. He held my gaze making butterflies erupt in my stomach.
    “Yes.” My voice was light.
    Trystan blinked at me, like