Free Bad Moon (BBW Paranormal Romance) by Jackie Sexton Page B

over his eyes, giving
him that illusive hint-of-mystery vibe. It made me really
uncomfortable to admit it, but part of me felt like I developed my
"type" of guy completely off of him, which made a lot of sense
since I had known him for so long.
    Trent pulled away from his pouting fiancée
after what felt like an eternity, and he hopped into the
passenger's seat next to Nick who was in the driver’s seat.
"Alright, let's do this!" Trent shouted, looking back to the rest
of us and pumping his fist in the air. We all cheered in return,
except for Brandon who was in the very back, lying on the bench
seat with a blanket over his face.
    "Shut up!" he growled. We laughed at him,
teasing him and calling him names, and I took one last look out the
window, giving a weak wave to Jason as the van tore out of our
apartment complex, heading for the highway. He still had the stupid
phone glued to his hand.
    'If he doesn't change by the
time I get back, I'll dump him. I swear ,' I promised
myself.
    "Speaking of bad dates—" Martin cocked an
eyebrow up at me, as if he had read my mind. He more than anyone
knew how much Jason teased me about my weight, thanks to my
babbling drunk mouth at a party a few months ago.
    "Hey, if you're looking for one I'll set you
up," I said, giving him a warning glare. I didn't want anyone else
to know about my love life issues. Martin just shook his head and
scrolled through his phone, looking for someone else to bother, I
was sure.
    I watched the passing cars and smiled as the
guys blasted Fun Aim’s latest album. They were the headliners in
Orlando and they guys were stoked to be playing with them. Nodding
my head along to the energetic pulse of rock n’ roll blasting from
the speakers, I smiled to myself. This was going to be the best
summer of my life, and I wasn't about to let anything get in the
way of that.
     

Chapter 2
    We arrived in Orlando only several hours
after starting our trip, pulling into the grimy motel parking lot.
We were an hour behind schedule because Brandon’s GPS decided to
take us on some strange detour through the backwoods of
Florida.
    “It’s avoiding tolls!” Brandon kept
insisting.
    I winced at the broken sign of the motel,
hanging vertically instead of horizontally by the grace of a single
chain, and Martin nudged me, flashing a mischievous grin.
    "Great place you picked out, manager ."
    "Hey," I nudged back, slightly embarrassed.
The pictures online were way better. They must have been very
outdated or something. "You guys didn't give me a great budget to
work with or anything."
    "It is really gross," Brandon said, wrinkling
his nose at me.
    "God, stop being such a diva. It'll be fine!"
Brandon could be pretty high maintenance, but he was right. This
place was borderline decrepit, with dirt-covered walls and over
grown bushes threatening to consume the cars in the parking lot. I
had a feeling this would be the first of many creepy hotels we
would be staying at.
    “It’s chill,” Nick said, nodding his head as
he scanned the premise. Of course he would say that, Nick found everything chill.
    “Well maybe it’s just rough-looking,” I said,
trying to stay optimistic.
    Once we got out of the van it didn’t take
long for us to realize it wasn’t just “rough-looking,” it was rough
period. It turned out it was an extended stay type place, and we
could hear loud music and hints of weed wafting through the air.
Nick seemed to be in heaven.
    "You guys wait here," I said.
    "Where are you going?" Martin said, raising
an eyebrow.
    "Well all five of us can't go to check in. I
said it was a room for two. It's cheaper that way," I said,
frustrated. "Guys, I can do this myself it's not like I haven't
been to a hotel before."
    "Sweetie..." Brandon started. In the short
time that I knew Brandon, I decided he was the only person in the
world aside from my Aunt Cheryl who could call me sweetie. He was
just endearing that way. "You shouldn't be walking around alone in
this place