Free Burnout (Jack 'Em Up Book 0) by Shauna Allen

well-earned . . . but with every sweet glance, every exquisitely soft touch, every word he spoke, he was showing me his true heart. And I loved him.
    I loved him.
    And it was the most exhilarating thing that I’d ever experienced.
    When we parted ways at the pier, I could feel him wanting to say something. Maybe he felt some of this strange, beautiful love. I could only hope. But I settled for one more hot kiss before I climbed back into my car and headed home, feeling strangely empty without him.
    I snuck back into my house at midnight as silently as possible and slipped off my shoes to pad up the stairs. I tucked myself in the bathroom and clicked the door shut before flipping on the light. Getting ready for bed, I wondered how things would be between Blake and I once we were back in school. The same? New and exciting?
    “Oomph!” Ducking out toward my room, I slammed into a body in the dark hallway.
    “Hey!” my sister stage-whispered.
    “Sorry.” I side-stepped her and moved for my bedroom door.
    “Where’ve you been?” Her question was laced with suspicion.
    I took a breath with my hand pressed to the door then spun around, searching the darkness for her face. “Please don’t tell,” I urged, my voice low and urgent.
    She didn’t say a word, just stood there staring at me. I could just make out her frown in the light from her bedroom window.
    “Danielle. Please.”
    She thrust a hip out and crossed her arms across her chest. “Why? Where were you?”
    I sighed. There had been a time when my sister and I were best friends. We shared Barbies and books and little girl secrets. But all that changed as our family started to morph into this Stepford version. Could I trust her again? “I was with . . . a friend.” My voice shook and I swear I could still taste Blake on my lips.
    “A friend?” She clearly didn’t believe me. “A boy friend?”
    I rushed toward her, desperate for her not to ruin this. To not tell our parents. “Please. Don’t tell. I’ll do anything . . .”
    “What’s his name?”
    I couldn’t read the tone of her voice. She was either going to keep my secret or tell our parents everything. I was already busted, so I had to take a chance. “Blake.”
    “Do you love him?”
    I sucked in a breath. What to say? Lie? I hadn’t even told him how I felt. But it was obvious that Danielle wanted the details if she was going to keep this to herself. “Yes,” I whispered.
    I could feel her gaze hot on my face, then she nodded once and moved toward the bathroom.
    “Danielle?”
    She stopped.
    “Are you going to tell on me?”
    I could hear the smile in her voice, “Tell what?”
    I was grinning when I closed myself in my room.

    The next morning, I felt like I was floating on a cloud as I glided into school ten minutes early and headed straight for Government. I had spied Blake’s car in the parking lot already, its brand new, shiny quarter panel in place. How had I missed that last night? Probably too preoccupied with a certain car owner. I grinned that it looked so good, and that I’d remembered what it was called.
    In class, he was seated, his eyes glued to something on his desk. As I approached, he didn’t glance up from the notes in front of him.
    I dropped my book bag on the ground and faced my desk, puzzled. Then I saw it.
    The most perfect white rose lying on my chair.
    Something warm unfurled in my chest as I bent and picked it up, bringing it to my nose. I glanced around the nearly empty room, then I realized I didn’t care what everyone thought. I leaned over and kissed his cheek.
    “Thank you.”
    Twinkling brown eyes met mine. “For what?”
    I twirled the rose between my fingers. “For this. For being you.”
    His gaze dipped down to the flower in my hand. “Who says I left that?”
    “Ah . . .” I sniffed. “Then I have another admirer? Who should I thank?”
    A frown touched his mouth. “No one.”
    Impulsively, I leaned down again and kissed his lips this