Page 1 of Replay

Prologue

Even though the sun is disappearing past the horizon, the pool party surrounding me is still in full force. It's summer in Nori Beach, which means if we aren’t taking the boat out to one of the islands, we’re sipping by the pool.

But today feels different; I can’t shake the impending doom.

I place my beer on the small table beside my pool lounger and close my eyes, trying to drown out the noise. I thought alcohol was supposed to numb your emotions, but all it's doing is stirring up my fears and anxieties about Nate leaving for Texas.

Needing the reminder he’s still here, I open my eyes to find him.

There he is… We still have time.

Nate glances over his shoulder from where he stands a few yards from me with some teammates, giving me a wink like he has any time he’s far from me today. Most days this summer, we’ve tried to stay away from the crowd to soak up our time together. Being that he’s leaving for college sooner than most of us for football workouts, I pushed the selfish part of me aside and planned onelast hurrah at my condo’s pool. Especially since everyone wants to say their goodbyes to him…

The superstar.

The future QB for Texas Tech.

The boy I’m trying desperately to hang on to.

Something is off, though, and it’s worsening my anxious thoughts.

Chasity, my keep-at-an-arm’s-length friend, sits on the lounger beside me, along with Graves, who has his arm slung over her shoulder.

“Want to play flip cup with us?” Chasity asks with the typical mischievous look she has spread across her face.

“Maybe later.” I shrug.

“What’s wrong?” she pries, but she isn’t the type of friend I tell those things to.

God, I wish my mom was here. I know she’d reassure me that everything’s going to be okay.

“Yo, Nate!” I hear one of his teammates call out, causing my eyes to find him again.

“This is Nikki.” He points to one of the girls walking up with him, a gorgeous brunette. “She’s here on a family vacation, but she’s going to be a freshman at Texas Tech this year, too.”

His eyes find mine, likely knowing my insecurities are raging about all the girls who’ll no doubt flock to him in Texas, but I give him my best smile. A reassurance that I don’t feel one bit.

“You know good and well, that bitch only came because she heard he was going to be here.” Chasity sneers, and I wish she was sincere in looking out for me, but there’s no doubt, if given the chance, she would hop on the Nate train too.

The girl’s eyes light up when she sees Nate standing there in all his tanned, muscular glory, and my stomach sours.

Fuck this.Maybe I just need more alcohol to forget everything.

“Y’all still down for flip cup?” I rush out, trying to focus on anything else.

I see Graves’s eyes light up. “Yep.” Standing, he gives me his hand to take as he helps me up from my seat.

I don’t look over at Nate, not wanting to see him being polite to this girl who wants my man. In the next few days, when I stay here in North Carolina, and he moves to Texas, she will have much easier access to him. And if it isn’t her, there will be so many others falling at his feet.

Nate has never given me a reason to feel insecure, but I can’t shake my growing unease.

Whispered words skate across my neck. “You are too gorgeous to question your relationship. And you know it will be like that every night for him in Texas.”

I know Graves’s words are true, but Nate loves me. I try to remind myself again that he’s never given me a reason to question that.

A few minutes into our game, I feel Nate behind me. His eyes burn a hole in my bikini-clad body from where he stands with Graham Leblanc, one of our best friends who graduated last year.

I’m being toxic as fuck right now by feeding into the attention of the one person Nate doesn’t get along with, but for some reason, I can’t stop myself.

---