Ridgewood

Ryder Thompson is the quarterback of the football team. The star of campus. Everyone wanted to be him, be friends with him, or sleep with him. Unfortunately, I was no exception to that rule. The problem? I was the nerdy girl who he didn’t know existed—or at least that’s what I thought, until his actions showed me otherwise.

Taunting him was a game I had become all too good at playing, although neither of us ended up being a winner when we played it. Our game was frustrating, heart-wrenching, and wicked, but one I couldn’t force myself to walk away from.

Whoever said, ‘words can never hurt me’ was wrong. Words cut deep. Especially floating past the lips of the man who always felt like home. Cain Michaels. My ex-boyfriend’s brother. The only man who could make me feel deeper than I ever thought possible. My worst nightmare and most vivid dream. Six years ago, he shattered my soul and left a hole in my heart. Now, I’d moved on. I’d healed.