Before I Loved Her (✔ Completed Book 1)

Kayla Albright

Matt

I was resting my head on my arms waiting for science class to begin so I could take a nap when a crumpled-up piece of paper hit me in the face. I shot my head up expecting to see Troy and Scott snickering at me from the corner of the room but instead, was greeted by the gag-inducing sight of Addison beaming at me.

"Rise and shine, Reaper," she called wiggling her fingertips at me.

Rolling my eyes, I placed my head back down being sure to turn away from her this time. I had been giving her the cold shoulder ever since the camping trip and had no intention of making today the day I suddenly decided to acknowledge her existence. She had proven to me what kind of a lousy friend she was and I was done listening to anything she had to say. I could no longer trust her.

She would be fine though. It wasn't like I was her only friend. She still had her bestie, Vanessa whom she could gossip with about what a fool I was to ever believe that a girl could be interested in me. I bet that was their plan all along, I thought bitterly. Convince me that I meant something to them and then when I finally showed that I actually cared, make a mockery of me.

Troy and Scott may have put me through hell's fire throughout the years with their pranks and slicing words but what those girls had done to me, had made the boys' cruelty look like an invitation to lunch. So no thank you, she could keep whatever she had to say to herself or spread it around the school like herpes for all I cared.

However, my insistence on ignoring her didn't deter her from opening her mouth to me. Like I should really be surprised. It was Addison after all. "So" she began as she took the seat next to me. "I've decided you need to get out of this funk you've been in."

"I'm not in a funk, Addie." I sat up and pulled a book from my bag, flipping through the pages until I found where I had left off.

Addison leaned over the desk snatching the hardcover from my hand and leaving several paper cuts on my fingers in its wake.

"Geezus! What, Addie?!" Turning in my seat, I gave her the most menacing glare I could muster.

Once again, she was unperturbed. She pressed her palm against her chest feigning indignation. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I bothering you?" She tossed my book back onto my desk, switching interest to her perfectly polished fingernails. "Fine, I guess I won't tell you who I heard has a huuuuge crush on you then."

I broke my no eye contact rule for the briefest of moments to toss a curious glance at her over my shoulder before quickly focusing back on my novel. No, Matt. It doesn't matter who it is. You already know how it will end anyways. It's probably another trick of hers and I'm not falling for that again.

Scoffing, I turned the page even though I hadn't been reading a word of the book I tried to appear so absorbed in. "Thanks but no thanks," I muttered. "The last time you got involved in my love life, I ended up rejected and mortified so forgive me if I'm not exactly interested in you playing matchmaker again."

Addison, completely ignoring me like always, spun around in her seat to excitedly face me. "What if I told you it was Kayla Albright," she blurted out.

I raised an eyebrow. This was new information to me. I knew of a couple of girls that had crushes on me but they were ones that I would have labeled to at least be in my league. Kayla on the other hand, was model level. While she was nowhere near my type when it came to her shallow and ditzy personality, I did have to admit she was smoking hot.

She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, California girl with a golden glow, who just so happened to live in Connecticut. She was more luxury obsessed than Addison and despite what her last name suggested, she wasn't bright but she would be a damn good distraction from Vanessa.

Clearing my throat, I dared to throw another look in Addison's direction fully expecting to see her green eyes sparkling and a barely-there smirk that indicated when she was up to no good but all I saw was an earnest expression. Maybe she's for real this time. "And how do you know this? I mean actually know and not just assumed like you did with Vanessa?"

She knocked the book from my hand. "I didn't assume with Vanessa, jackass. She just changed her mind." She stuck her tongue out at me. "And I'm starting to see why," she added under her breath.

"But if you must know," she continued. "I heard her gossiping about you with her friends, Sarah and Abby. She said now that you're 'single' again, "Addison made air quotes around the word single, "she was going to 'get with that' which is ew if you ask me but that's what she said and I just thought that maybe you would like to know."

I grimaced at the wording but considered this for a moment. Kayla already had multiple boyfriends starting from as far back as elementary school if the rumors were true so I knew she wasn't the kind to clam up if I so much as glanced in her direction.

In fact, I had looked in her direction once during History class when I was giving an oral presentation on World War II and she had batted her long sooty eyelashes at me, smiling coyly. It could certainly be a refreshing change of pace to try my hand at someone a little bit more experienced and confident than Vanessa. Although her flustered behavior was mostly adorable, it had gotten me nowhere. I needed someone who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to get it. Someone who left no room to keep me second guessing on whether I was that much of a loser that no one could ever love or if I was just dealing with someone who was too scared to admit how she felt.

Addison nudged me in the ribs and raised an eyebrow. "So? What do you think?"

"I'll consider it," I mumbled. And with that, I went right back to happily ignoring her and reading my book.

***

Matt

Kayla was alone at her locker flipping through her math textbook when I approached her a few days later. I had given it some thought and decided that a date with her couldn't hurt. I was eighteen years old and it was becoming downright embarrassing that I had yet to take a girl out. It was beyond time for me to start getting out there and exploring all that the opposite sex had to offer.

Sure, I still loved Vanessa but if she couldn't return my feelings then I was only screwing myself by staying stuck on her. Addison was right. It was time to move on. It seemed to be the only good piece of advice she had actually given to me.

After what happened with Vanessa, I would have expected to have sweaty palms and a racing heartbeat as I neared Kayla's locker but the truth was I felt nothing at all. I was as dry as the desert and if it wasn't for the fact that I was still standing, I wouldn't have even suspected my heart of performing any activity.

Even if Addison was wrong yet again and the blonde beauty standing before me didn't have a crush on me, rejection wouldn't really be that big of a deal. I didn't have any pride left and there were no feelings involved so therefore, what did I have to lose? It seemed like a safe enough gamble.

"Hey," I said leaning against the lockers as I folded my arms against my chest and gave her a nod.

Kayla raised her head from the page she was studying and looked around to see if I was talking to someone else. "Hey....," she replied giving me a questioning look when she realized I was the only one standing there.

Despite the confusion on her face, she looked damn good. Long blonde hair cascaded down her back in loose waves and her Caribbean blue eyes sparkled. She smoothed out the denim miniskirt she wore and despite the chilly weather, she donned flip flops and a frilly white top. Yup, she was definitely about as different from Vanessa as one could get.

"You going to the game Friday night," I asked coolly, referring to the homecoming football match with our rivals; the Westfield Walruses.

Kayla tucked a golden lock behind her ear, turning on those batting eyelashes and sultry pout. "Is that an invitation," she purred.

I raised an eyebrow. Vanessa she was not. "Is that a yes?"

She laughed and shut her locker before pulling out inky-black eyeliner from her Chanel purse. She grabbed my hand and wrote an address on it. Wordlessly, she began sashaying down the hall pausing just long enough to call over her shoulder, "Pick me up at 5:59. And don't be late. Tim Stevens is arriving at six."