Heat of the Moment (20 page)
Read Heat of the Moment Online
Authors: Lauren Barnholdt
ONE MOMENT IN TIME
READ ON FOR A SNEAK PEEK!
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HE TURNS TO ME. “DO YOU WANT TO GET OUT
of here?”
“What?”
“Do you want to leave?”
“With you?”
“Yes, with me.”
“I can't
leave
with you,” I say. “I just met you, like, five seconds ago.” I mean, how stupid could I be? Leaving a club with some guy I know nothing about? That's insane. It's how people end up disappearing and/or chopped up into a million pieces, just like my brother said.
“Five hours.”
“What?”
“We met five hours ago. On the beach.”
“I can't just leave with you,” I say again. “I don't know anything about you.”
“You know my name. And where I work.”
“But that's all.”
“True,” he says seriously. He cocks his head and pretends to think about it. “Actually, I think you're right. It wouldn't really make sense for us to hang out. Since I'm a stranger and everything.”
“It
wouldn't
make sense,” I say. “It wouldn't be
smart
.” I resist the urge to list all the reasons it's a bad idea, because I don't want to insult him by implying he could be a psycho murderer. Besides, it's really not something that needs to be explained. Is he used to girls just going home with him? He doesn't seem surprised I don't want to leave with him. But he doesn't seem particularly upset about it, either. Does he figure that if I turn him down he'll just find someone else to take home? I'm vaguely repulsed, but also slightly excited, like I'm going to miss my chance. Which is awful and against any kind of feminism, like, ever.
And then I remember that stupid email.
Before graduation, I promise to . . .
do something crazy
.
Yes, something crazy. But not something
dangerous
. Something dangerous like going home with a guy I just met. Something dangerous like going home with a guy I just met while on vacation in a strange place. He's cute, yes. And he seems harmless enough, albeit cocky. But still . . .
Don't overanalyze it. How are you feelingâwhat do you want to do?
I take in a deep breath.
And then, before I can change my mind, I turn and look at him.
“Okay,” I say. “Let's get out of here.”
DISCOVER
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LAUREN BARNHOLDT
is the author of the teen novels
The Thing About the Truth, Sometimes It Happens, One Night That Changes Everything, Two-way Street, Right of Way,
and
Watch Me
. She is also the author of the middle grade novels
The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney, Devon Delaney Should Totally Know Better, Four Truths and a Lie, Rules for Secret Keeping, Fake Me a Match,
and the Girl Meets Ghost series. She lives in Waltham, Massachusetts. Visit her online at
www.laurenbarnholdt.com
.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com.
The Thing About the Truth
Sometimes It Happens
One Night That Changes Everything
Two-way Street
Right of Way
Watch Me
The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney
Devon Delaney Should Totally Know Better
Four Truths and a Lie
Rules for Secret Keeping
Fake Me a Match
Girl Meets Ghost
The Harder the Fall
Ghost of a Chance
Cover art © 2015 by Oriana Layendecker/ImageBrief.com
Cover design by Annemieke Beemster Leverenz
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
HEAT OF THE MOMENT
. Copyright © 2015 by Lauren Barnholdt. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.epicreads.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barnholdt, Lauren, author.
      Heat of the moment / Lauren Barnholdt. â First edition.
            pages      cm. â (A moment of truth ; Book 1)
      Summary: “Before graduation, I promise to learn to trust” is what the email Lyla McAfee wrote to herself as a freshman, to be delivered right before graduation, saysâbut on the senior trip to Florida she discovers that what she now considers a silly sentiment may be a lot harder, and a lot more important, than she thinks.
      ISBN 978-0-06-232139-8 (pbk.)
      EPub Edition © April 2015 ISBN 9780062321404
      1. High school studentsâJuvenile fiction.   2. Electronic mail messagesâJuvenile fiction.   3. TrustâJuvenile fiction.   4. Dating (Social customs)âJuvenile fiction.   5. Best friendsâJuvenile fiction.   [1. TrustâFiction.   2. Dating (Social customs)âFiction.   3. Best friendsâFiction.   4. FriendshipâFiction.   5. EmailâFiction.]   I. Title.
| PZ7.B2667He   2015 |                                                                                    2014030712 |
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FIRST EDITION