Free Bad Impressions (Revive Me #1) by Franca Storm

the neighbors saw her leaving my house looking the mussed up way she did, like she’d been treated to the fucking of her life, word would’ve spread like wildfire. It would’ve got back to Ollie in a flash and shit would’ve hit the fan big time.
    She stretched onto her tiptoes and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Bye.”
    I slapped her ass as she brushed past me and she yelped. Smiling, I told her, “Twenty minutes and it’s a date, darlin’.”

Chapter 12
    ~Sophie~
     
    “I’d forgotten how beautiful this place is,” I breathed as Brad and I made our way down the dirt path towards the lake. I kicked up my feet at the piles of fallen leaves from the age-old trees looming either side of the path as I took in the beauty all around us. It was as though the trees were protecting us and enveloping us in our own secluded bubble, impenetrable to the outside world.
    Brad squeezed my hand and smiled.
    He hadn’t stopped touching me since I’d climbed into his truck.
    As he’d driven us up here, his hand had been fixed firmly on my thigh. When we’d arrived, he’d hurried around to my door and taken my hand to help me out. And it hadn’t left me since.
    It was as though he was afraid I’d blink out of existence if he didn’t have some sort of physical hold on me. It was odd, because I’d never pegged him for an affectionate guy. He’d always seemed to have some sort of wall up around everyone—even my brother who was the closest person to him, as his best friend. He’d always stood at a distance.
    But something had shifted in him since last night. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it and I didn’t understand it. All I knew was that I liked the new side of him. And so, I’d decided not to say anything. I’d just let it be.
    Things between us were very new. Too new to have the where-is-this-going talk. Besides, I didn’t care about the future. I liked where we were. And I wanted it to continue exactly the way it was. I knew it was more than sex and that was enough for me. I’d been so shocked when he’d asked me out on an actual date and, judging by the look in his eyes when he’d asked me, so had he.
    “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” he asked, eyeing me curiously.
    “Nothing. I’m just happy…with you .”
    “Yeah?”
    “Definitely.”
    He planted a chaste kiss on the top of my head. I titled my head up, wanting more, but he quickly pulled away. What’s that all about?
    Before I could ask, he said, “I come up here a lot to clear my head when Marsden gets a little too suffocating.”
    Is this him trying to open up to me? “Just like we used to as kids?”
    An awkward silence fell between us for a moment and I realized why. Ollie. The three of us had come up to the ravine a lot together when we were kids. Ollie had started a competitive rock-skipping game that we used to play for hours. He and I would end up driving Brad crazy with our sibling rivalry. Brad hadn’t cared about all of that. He’d just been there to enjoy himself and to pretend, for those few hours, that his hell of a home didn’t exist. The cloud that had always followed him everywhere back then had disappeared on those days.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
    “No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it, darlin’. You don’t need to censor yourself around me.”
    He wrapped his arm around me and I melted into him. “Okay,” I murmured.
    I gasped as we finally reached the lake. It was gorgeous, surrounded by the heavy foliage of the fir trees standing at attention and safeguarding the crystal blue waters. Very few people knew about the little lake. It was hidden well. It had taken the three of us hours of exploring before we’d stumbled upon it one day.
    “Thank you for bringing me here,” I exclaimed, flinging my arms around his neck.
    He leaned down to meet me and our lips locked in a soft kiss.
    Instantly, I was overcome by the feel of him. It was like an addiction that I couldn’t control