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Title - The
Perfect Distraction (Book #1)
Author -
Melissa Rolka
Genre - New
Adult Romance
Release Date
- October 1, 2013
Hosted
by - Love Between the Sheets Promotions
Synopsis
When Katherine “Kate” leaves for her freshmen
year at college, a grounded and stable piece of her is missing. She pushes away
the ghosts of her past, determined to start her college life single, carefree and
distracted.
Throughout high school Kate was reserved and shy,
with little experience. Now, on her own, with little holding her back, Kate is ready
to branch out. She bonds with a tight knit group of friends and even starts casually
dating. What starts out as innocent flirting on the tennis courts slowly turns into a
friendship and eventually something more complex. Reed comes into her life giving
her the distraction she craves more than anything; but is she ready to give her heart
away so easily?
Things get complicated when Kate’s ex-boyfriend
and first love continues to pursue her. Kyle deeply regrets breaking her heart when
he left for college the year before and is now on a mission to reclaim her. Kyle’s
persistence and relentlessness is nothing short of obsessive. He will stop at nothing
to win her back and prove his love.
Kate finds herself torn between her past and the
unknown of the future. Her determination to stay distracted may just be her
downfall or the beginning of something new and wonderful.
Exclusive Excerpt
Chapter 16 – Kyle
I’ve latched onto Kate’s hand softer than I would like, but I strain my hand
to comply. Even though I’ve told her I’ll wait a little while longer for her to make a
decision to try again with me I know that I won’t let her make any other decision. It’s
inconceivable to me. We make our way into Johnny’s house passing through a couple
messing around on the washing machine. The house is packed with people I’m mostly
familiar with. I glance around and see a couple guys eyeing Kate’s entrance and I can no
longer restrain myself from gripping her hand tightly. Like always though, she doesn’t
notice. It’s part of her innocence that I’ve missed. And just like always, it drives me
mad with instant jealousy. I remind myself though that I have to show Kate that I’m
different. Quickly, I skirt us around the predators to the counter with the hard alcohol.
After I make Kate a Captain and Coke I reach for the whiskey. Ah, whiskey, this will
calm me.
As soon as we hit the basement I see Johnny and some of the other guys. These
are the guys I grew up with in high school. I’ve known Johnny since grade school though
and we are closer than the others. One thing about Johnny is that he always has my back,
but even I don’t trust him with Kate. I know if he was ever given the chance with her
he’d jump on her in two seconds flat. Selfish bastard. Every chance he gets he’ll push
my buttons and that means flirting with Kate. As expected, when he sees Kate he encases
her in his arms with his hands roaming too much for my liking. I try my best to brush
it off, but I pull Johnny off her before he even says hello. The guys all laugh and Kate
releases from my grip locked hand to make her way over to the girls she played tennis
with. I mumble, “fuck” because I hooked up with one of those girls during the summer
I was trying to get Kate back. She looks my way and I don’t give her a second glance.
She had a tight body, but nothing compares to Kate, as I’m well aware of.
Then Stacy a girl that was in my class comes over to say hello. She’s hot with
long brown hair, but it doesn’t distract me from keeping one eye on Kate. When Kate’s
eyes hit mine I see something that I don’t usually see from her. She shows me her cup
is empty and I make my way to her. I’ve never really seen her like this. She’s usually
right at my side and she never used to drink. I’m not sure if I like it or not, but I have to
go with it. I can’t risk pushing her away when I almost have her back. The change in
her is evident, but I’m just praying this change still includes me. As I reach for her cup I
kiss her cheek. I hesitate for a moment because she’s already engrossed in a conversation
with the girls from tennis. That doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that a few guys
that I don’t know have joined the conversation. I practically growl at the sight of them,
but instead I force my legs to make their way upstairs to fill her cup.
Once upstairs I set the cup on the counter and shake my hands out before refilling
them. A rage starts to boil in me at the thought of any guys even talking to her. I can’t
loosen up though. If she sees me resembling my old self she’ll run. I’m still pissed that
I have to even work this hard to get her back, but it’s my fault and I know it. How I ever
thought going away to college single was a good idea is beyond my rationalization now.
Quickly, I fill the cups. God knows who’s hitting on her down there right now. When
I turn around though I run into a friend of my brothers. He’s here with a couple other
guys my brother knows. They are older, but if I know them they are here to check out the
younger hotter ass floating around.
“Kyle, Kyle Ross, what’s up, little man?” Doug says with a stumble in his step.
I laugh as I shake his hand. Doug has definitely had more to drink, which is making
the conversation a strain. He starts talking about the old days and I’m stuck here longer
than I would like. All I can think of is Kate down there with some tool hitting on her.
Eventually, Doug gets pulled over towards another group and I tell him that I’ll catch him
later.
I walk through the crowd towards the back and the first thing I see is Johnny
grabbing Kate from behind by her waist. Red. I see Red. My fists ball up and my jaw
clenches. Kate swats Johnny away and then her eyes see me. I can see her fear and it
reels me in sharply. Still I don’t stop myself from ripping into Johnny, really the bastard
is lucky I don’t give him a blow and leave him with a shiner.
“What the fuck, Johnny? I can’t even get her a drink without you trying to molest
her!” My tone is clipped, but really it’s much more calm than it should be. Kate’s
presence is enough to keep me in check. I know she’s grading me, waiting to see how I’ll
handle this.
“Chill the fuck out, Kyle. It’s your own fault for leaving her unattended looking
like she does. Plus, looks like someone beat me to the punch.” Before I even glance in
the direction Johnny is gesturing I look at Kate to see she’s embarrassed. I’ll give Johnny
this much that he is right that I should have made Kate come with me upstairs. She’s
hot and everyone notices, but she’s mine. Or I hope that by the end of the night she will
concede.
She whispers, “Will you two stop it, please.” She sees her drink in my hand and
grabs it. She swiftly takes a swig and holds a confidence to her I’m not used to seeing.
Her eyes stay focused, challenging me to step over the imaginary line.
I move around Johnny, who is already heading over to some other girl. Stepping
closer to Kate I keep my hands to myself because the urge to grab her and move her
away from this dick across the pool table is fierce. I practically spit out, “What are you
doing?”
“Just playing a game of pool with Joe. Is that a problem?” She raises her
eyebrows challenging me again. It’s become a test, a game. She’s forcing me to play
and I’d prefer to force her to do what I want. This is new because I have to check myself.
I never used to and it always went my way. But I love her and want her all to myself
again, so I comply to her challenge. Back in the day I would already have been in that
guys face.
“Ok, let me know if you need me. I’ll be right over there,” I say and start to make
strides in the opposite direction towards my friends. I put both of my hands up palms
facing her to show her she wins. Before I turn around, I say, “Kate, please don’t give
me a reason to be jealous.” I’m trying my best to be cool and carefree, but the tension
running through me has a grip on my emotions.
I’ve latched onto Kate’s hand softer than I would like, but I strain my hand
to comply. Even though I’ve told her I’ll wait a little while longer for her to make a
decision to try again with me I know that I won’t let her make any other decision. It’s
inconceivable to me. We make our way into Johnny’s house passing through a couple
messing around on the washing machine. The house is packed with people I’m mostly
familiar with. I glance around and see a couple guys eyeing Kate’s entrance and I can no
longer restrain myself from gripping her hand tightly. Like always though, she doesn’t
notice. It’s part of her innocence that I’ve missed. And just like always, it drives me
mad with instant jealousy. I remind myself though that I have to show Kate that I’m
different. Quickly, I skirt us around the predators to the counter with the hard alcohol.
After I make Kate a Captain and Coke I reach for the whiskey. Ah, whiskey, this will
calm me.
As soon as we hit the basement I see Johnny and some of the other guys. These
are the guys I grew up with in high school. I’ve known Johnny since grade school though
and we are closer than the others. One thing about Johnny is that he always has my back,
but even I don’t trust him with Kate. I know if he was ever given the chance with her
he’d jump on her in two seconds flat. Selfish bastard. Every chance he gets he’ll push
my buttons and that means flirting with Kate. As expected, when he sees Kate he encases
her in his arms with his hands roaming too much for my liking. I try my best to brush
it off, but I pull Johnny off her before he even says hello. The guys all laugh and Kate
releases from my grip locked hand to make her way over to the girls she played tennis
with. I mumble, “fuck” because I hooked up with one of those girls during the summer
I was trying to get Kate back. She looks my way and I don’t give her a second glance.
She had a tight body, but nothing compares to Kate, as I’m well aware of.
Then Stacy a girl that was in my class comes over to say hello. She’s hot with
long brown hair, but it doesn’t distract me from keeping one eye on Kate. When Kate’s
eyes hit mine I see something that I don’t usually see from her. She shows me her cup
is empty and I make my way to her. I’ve never really seen her like this. She’s usually
right at my side and she never used to drink. I’m not sure if I like it or not, but I have to
go with it. I can’t risk pushing her away when I almost have her back. The change in
her is evident, but I’m just praying this change still includes me. As I reach for her cup I
kiss her cheek. I hesitate for a moment because she’s already engrossed in a conversation
with the girls from tennis. That doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that a few guys
that I don’t know have joined the conversation. I practically growl at the sight of them,
but instead I force my legs to make their way upstairs to fill her cup.
Once upstairs I set the cup on the counter and shake my hands out before refilling
them. A rage starts to boil in me at the thought of any guys even talking to her. I can’t
loosen up though. If she sees me resembling my old self she’ll run. I’m still pissed that
I have to even work this hard to get her back, but it’s my fault and I know it. How I ever
thought going away to college single was a good idea is beyond my rationalization now.
Quickly, I fill the cups. God knows who’s hitting on her down there right now. When
I turn around though I run into a friend of my brothers. He’s here with a couple other
guys my brother knows. They are older, but if I know them they are here to check out the
younger hotter ass floating around.
“Kyle, Kyle Ross, what’s up, little man?” Doug says with a stumble in his step.
I laugh as I shake his hand. Doug has definitely had more to drink, which is making
the conversation a strain. He starts talking about the old days and I’m stuck here longer
than I would like. All I can think of is Kate down there with some tool hitting on her.
Eventually, Doug gets pulled over towards another group and I tell him that I’ll catch him
later.
I walk through the crowd towards the back and the first thing I see is Johnny
grabbing Kate from behind by her waist. Red. I see Red. My fists ball up and my jaw
clenches. Kate swats Johnny away and then her eyes see me. I can see her fear and it
reels me in sharply. Still I don’t stop myself from ripping into Johnny, really the bastard
is lucky I don’t give him a blow and leave him with a shiner.
“What the fuck, Johnny? I can’t even get her a drink without you trying to molest
her!” My tone is clipped, but really it’s much more calm than it should be. Kate’s
presence is enough to keep me in check. I know she’s grading me, waiting to see how I’ll
handle this.
“Chill the fuck out, Kyle. It’s your own fault for leaving her unattended looking
like she does. Plus, looks like someone beat me to the punch.” Before I even glance in
the direction Johnny is gesturing I look at Kate to see she’s embarrassed. I’ll give Johnny
this much that he is right that I should have made Kate come with me upstairs. She’s
hot and everyone notices, but she’s mine. Or I hope that by the end of the night she will
concede.
She whispers, “Will you two stop it, please.” She sees her drink in my hand and
grabs it. She swiftly takes a swig and holds a confidence to her I’m not used to seeing.
Her eyes stay focused, challenging me to step over the imaginary line.
I move around Johnny, who is already heading over to some other girl. Stepping
closer to Kate I keep my hands to myself because the urge to grab her and move her
away from this dick across the pool table is fierce. I practically spit out, “What are you
doing?”
“Just playing a game of pool with Joe. Is that a problem?” She raises her
eyebrows challenging me again. It’s become a test, a game. She’s forcing me to play
and I’d prefer to force her to do what I want. This is new because I have to check myself.
I never used to and it always went my way. But I love her and want her all to myself
again, so I comply to her challenge. Back in the day I would already have been in that
guys face.
“Ok, let me know if you need me. I’ll be right over there,” I say and start to make
strides in the opposite direction towards my friends. I put both of my hands up palms
facing her to show her she wins. Before I turn around, I say, “Kate, please don’t give
me a reason to be jealous.” I’m trying my best to be cool and carefree, but the tension
running through me has a grip on my emotions.
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