||YA ROMANCE Book of the Month August 2023||
YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE!
Aurora "Rori" Callaway is starting her senior year in a new town, at a new high school. After all, after what happened at the beginning of her summer, a fresh start was the only way f...
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I was able to push the uncomfortable feeling I had about Terra and Chad out of my mind. It was only one comment after all and things seemed back to normal not long after. Chad as usual couldn't keep his hands off her and Terra was smitten. I also thought of Andrew and figured it was unlikely he would pick a scumbag as his best friend. Instead of focusing on Chad and Terra, I decided to put my energy toward Andrew and I.
Study dates turned to make out sessions.
Floats at the diner turned to long walks along the waterfront.
But my biggest surprise was how often Mom invited him over. Chinese New Year. Dinners. Tea. It wasn't what I expected. She welcomed my boyfriend, more specifically my non-Chinese boyfriend into my life and her home. Dad was equally as welcoming, although he was also the one who used to cut me slack when Mom was being particularly hard on me.
As the winter months slowly began their melt from raging cold winds and heavy snowfalls, I found myself falling deeper and deeper for Andrew.
One evening I was at Andrew's studying for a Biology test.
"Adenine goes with-" Andrew squeezed his eyes tight. "Guanine?"
"Thymine," I corrected.
Andrew slapped his book, "Darn it."
"We'll get there."
"I want to dedicate my life to biology and I can't even remember basic DNA."
"You're putting too much pressure on yourself."
"Or not enough," Andrew countered.
"Look, I wrote the class on overachieving," I reached out and took his hand in mine. "Trust me. You're putting too much pressure on yourself."
Andrew sighed as he gently stroked my hand with his thumb.
"You're one of the smartest people I know," I reassured him. "You'll be okay."
Andrew locked eyes with me. "Basic. DNA."
I rolled my eyes and closed my textbook.
"Let's focus on something else."
Andrew got a gleam in his eye.
"Like boyfriend-girlfriend stuff?"
I giggled. "I'm not even sure what that means."
Andrew slid a little closer. His arm wrapped around my waist as he closed the distance between us by pulling me right next to his body.
"Stuff like this."
He leaned in and gently kissed my lips. It was strange how much I craved the feeling of his lips on mine. I constantly found myself looking at them and hoping they would make contact. Then when they did instantly feeling self conscious that I'm not doing it right.
