{Wattys Shortlist 2022}
A one night stand is turned inside out when two strangers discover their shared past.
After a skydiving excursion that ends in a whirlwind one night stand, Camilla writes off ever seeing her handsome instructor again. That...
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I was sitting in my car, hands gripping the steering wheel, feeling like a fucking psycho. And who knows, maybe at this point, I was crazy.
I was definitely crazy about Camilla.
The way I felt for this girl was so intense and uncontrollable, it made me do things I'd never done before—like follow her and Fitzpatrick down Broadway. Or sit outside the Yacht Club in my car debating whether or not I should go in.
My grip on the steering wheel tightened.
Last night, I'd endured a lot of things that turned my stomach. From my dad's comments to the sad look in ma's eyes, then Camilla's wild shock and West's rage.
I stared out the window. Confused and angry, and disappointed in myself all at the same time.
But most of all, I was fed up with the sick way my dad used our family's name and ma's reputation to silence us kids about his affair.
I'd grown up believing family was the anchor of life—that you preserved the family name at all costs—and that you never did anything to bring disrespect to your parents.
But after the shit show last night, I finally understood why West found conforming to the Tenney way so difficult. Everything I knew about my life—from my career to my place as one of the elite members of SEAL Team Six—had been chucked into a trash compactor.
It all came back control. To the right word in the right ear. Just so our family could maintain our status. I wasn't elite. I wasn't the best. I was just... a Tenney.
I didn't even know what that meant anymore.
I shook my head, wishing I had never brought Camilla to my parent's house last night. She hadn't called or texted me this morning, which wasn't surprising.
Why would she?
I didn't deserve a girl like Camilla.
But I couldn't let her slip away. I wasn't giving up. Not on her. Not on us. Not on a chance to build something better.
Camilla was real in a way I'd never been before.
I needed to earn her trust, and prove that I was worthy of her time.
So, I dialed Camilla's number and pressed the phone to my ear.
