Free Pivotal Moments (In Time #1) by Trinity Hanrahan

dimmed and his eyes darkened. He lowered the beer and breathed deeply, running a hand through his hair for a long, silent moment. Then, meeting my gaze, he said, “I know how to fake it, Aislinn. This?” He nodded at the groups of people scattered around. “This used to be me every weekend.”
    “So, what’s different?” Penny asked the question before I could.
    “Things change,” he replied, never taking his eyes from mine. “And they change you.” Breaking our stare, he smiled wryly and looked around before shaking his head. “Anyway…wanna go for a swim?”
    I squirmed. I would rather have my teeth removed without Novocain than swim, if it meant getting out of these clothes. All the girls here were gorgeous—tall, thin, perfect hair, perfect skin…it was enough to make even Miranda Kerr self-conscious. But me…
    “Aislinn?”
    I blinked. Teagan was waiting for an answer. “Uh…” I struggled to produce a reply that wouldn’t show how uneasy I was.
    “We’d love to go!” Penny exclaimed. “C’mon, Ash.”
    I glowered at her. She glanced back at me, and flattening my lips, I narrowed my eyes at her; we were so not done with this conversation.
    I admit, I seriously considered punching my best friend. But that was out of the question. I shuffled through my brain, trying to think of anything that would keep me out of the water. If Teagan hadn’t been there, I would’ve considered using my period as an excuse. With him…I wouldn’t go there.
    I finally exhaled—harder than necessary—and nodded. Penny gave me a triumphant smile and stood up, collecting her trash. I shoved myself up and snatched my plate off the table.
    I was about to throw away the food when Zver stood and blocked me, prancing in place, tail wagging. I rolled my eyes at the dog’s antics and bent down, placing the paper plate on the ground. At his happy little grunt, I giggled.
    A warm breath against my ear made me start. “I told you, you shouldn’t give him scraps, Aislinn.” The way Teagan murmured my name sent shivers skipping through me. My throat went dry, and I swallowed hard. God, this man was endangering what little self-control I possessed.
    He shot me a Teagan grin, took me by my wrist, and led me over to where Penny and Connor were standing by the dock. The way he kept looking back at me, he could tell I was less than thrilled. But Teagan was one step away from holding my hand. A girl could die happy from that alone.
    We were about halfway to Penny and Connor when Tracey’s voice soared out over the crowd.
    “What the hell do you mean, ‘He left me here’?” she shouted. “Where is he?”
    All around, people were finding their cups, plates, or shoes fascinating.
    Tracey marched into the center of the picnic area and planted her hands on her hips. “Well?”
    Scott Jacobs piped up. “Well, he probably went wherever your drunken whore ass isn’t, for starters.”
    There was a collective gasp, but I wasn’t shocked. Scott was another friend of Connor’s from school, and I’d known him since the first grade, and even then, if the thought entered his brain, it exited his mouth. Blunt didn’t begin to describe the dude.
    This wasn’t going to be pretty.
    Long, deadly silence. Then Tracey went for blood. She laid into Scott, screaming, calling him every name in the book. What she apparently hadn’t counted on was Scott was more than her match. Every volley she fired, he returned. Not only was his vocabulary equally as extensive—it also seemed he knew a great many of Tracey’s secrets. They came to light. All of them.
    Teagan placed a hand on the small of my back, gently nudging me away from the drama and toward the others. Penny had already stripped down to her sapphire-blue two-piece, and Connor’s shirt was off. I didn’t miss the appreciative glances they were giving each other.
    Reaching them, I bit my lip. How long could I stall? I started to swallow hard, only to choke. Teagan pulled his t-shirt up