The Introduction: Undying Love #1 Read online

  Undying

  Love

  (The Introduction)

  Book 1

  Isabelle Connors

  Cover Art

  Cover Design: Fantabanner

  Copyright © 2015 by S.D. Jean

  All rights reserved. No Part of this book may be produced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  All rights reserved.

  This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever been told that you couldn’t do it. This book is for the underdogs. This book is for anyone who isn’t afraid to love. This book is also dedicated to my loving husband. You don’t even realize how much of Skylar I see in you. Thank you for not divorcing me while writing this book. You are the real MVP.

  Connect with me online:

  Facebook:

  https://goo.gl/2UV5NK

  Twitter:

  https://twitter.com/Izzyconnors1

  Website/Blog:

  https://isabelleconnors1.wordpress.com/

  Instagram:

  Izzyconnors1

  It’s so amazing when someone comes to your life and you expect nothing out of it, but suddenly there right in front of you is everything you need.

  Unknown

  Contents

  Prologue 7

  Once in a Lifetime Love 9

  Hello 13

  Confident 18

  Chains 21

  Running 25

  Unfaithful 29

  Take Your Time 33

  My Best Friend 35

  Leave Your Lover 40

  Good Kisser 45

  Crazy in Love 51

  Jealous 56

  Steal my Girl? 63

  Grand Piano 68

  The Heartbreak Excerpt: 73

  Thank You for Reading 80

  Acknowledgements 81

  Connect with me online: 82

  Prologue

  Life is so unexpected, especially when you’re a teenager. Nothing ever happens when or how you plan it. I never thought at seventeen I would fall in love. Not just any type of love either, I mean the timeless kind of love. Through thick and thin, through distance and time.

  I didn’t recognize it in the beginning. It came to me a little later in life. I guess I should have suspected how extraordinary our love was. We weren’t supposed to be, yet we inevitably became … “Us.”

  This wasn’t like those fabricated love stories in a romance novel. Particularly, because the girl I loved tried her hardest to persuade me that we weren't meant to be. Having lived through everything, you would think I wouldn’t do it again if given the chance. But, I would do it all in a heartbeat. Just so I would get the chance to hold her in my arms. She’s worth it. All the heartbreak and all the tears—she’s worth it!

  Fate brought us together, but life tried to keep us apart. I loathed moving to Gulfport. But now, I could not imagine not moving there, or else I would never have met her.

  ***

  It’s late January. I arrive home from school. I walk into the kitchen and drop my keys on the counter on my way to the refrigerator. I grab a bottle of water and I gulp it down.

  “Hey, honey.” My mom says while she breezes through the kitchen.

  “Hey, Mom,” I say as I throw the empty bottle away.

  She stares at me for a brief moment. “Sky honey, we need to talk.”

  The way she says, “We need to talk” makes my stomach drop.

  “Okay …”

  “Your dad called and he has some news …”

  “Okay, shoot.”

  She sighs. “Well, your dad is being promoted. But, if he accepts it, he has to move to Florida. Which means we’re moving …”

  My eyes bulge out of my head. “You’re kidding me. You realize that my whole life is here, right!”

  “Honey, I understand. I’m not happy about it either but what else can we do? We need the money.”

  I groan. “Come on. Let me at least finish the year.”

  “No, Skylar you move with us and that’s final.”

  I don’t utter another word. I walk out of the house and to my car.

  Chapter One

  Once in a Lifetime Love

  Skylar

  I'm in the backseat of my family's SUV with my headphones on. I’m trying my best to ignore them because I didn’t want to move. They ripped me out of my life all because dad got a promotion. Why couldn't they wait until the end of the year to move? Or, better yet, left me with my grandparents.

  My mom turns around and waves her hand to catch my attention. I slowly remove my headphones. "What?"

  She sighs, "It’s going to be okay. I promise you Sky. You don’t have to look as if we killed your puppy."

  I force a smile at my mom even though I still think this whole thing sucks. "Well, what do you expect? I didn't want to move. But I was forced so … I’ll probably look like this for a while."

  My dad sighs in the front seat. "I didn't want to move either, but it's my job; I don't have much of a choice, unless you would like to be homeless?”

  I roll my eyes and put my headphones back on, and close my eyes.

  ***

  "Wake up Sky. We're here." My mom says as she tries to shake me awake.

  I open my eyes and yawn, and I do a quick survey of my new home. It's a nice two-story house with ample yard space with a two-car garage. I turn to my left and I notice a few kids playing basketball, and a guy across the street washing his car. The lawns all appear well taken care of, and all the houses seem to have almost the same design. After I feel less like a zombie, I get out of the car and I take my bags inside.

  When I come back for the rest of my stuff, I notice the guy who was washing his car is heading straight towards me.

  "Hey man, I see you're moving into the old Sinclair house,” he says when he's a few feet away from me.

  I run my hand through my hair. “Yeah.”

  “My name is Abel by the way."

  "Skylar, but you can call me Sky for short."

  "Cool. So where are you moving from?" Abel asks.

  "New York."

  He laughs. "Oh! You must love it here already."

  With a sigh, I stick my hands in my pockets. "Right, what is there to do here anyways in Gulfport, Florida?"

  Abel smiles with a sinister look on his face. "There's always the beach, movies, parties … you know normal teenage fun. It may be on a smaller scale compared to what you’re used to, but it’s still fun."

  "Yeah?" I gaze across the street at his car and ask, "What kind of car is that, anyways?"

  Abel’s face lights up. "That is my baby. A 67 Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake."

  “It’s nice man. She's a real beauty." It's an all-black, two-door car and from what I can tell, it was painted not so long ago.

  "Yeah … so since you’re new, I can show you around and get you acquainted with everyone. That's if you want to."

  I rub my hand behind the nape of my neck. "Ugh … sure why not. Let’s say around six?"

  With an amused look on his face Abel says, "Yeah, that's cool."

  "Okay, I’ll s
ee you later then."

  He crosses the street back to his car and I continue to move my things into my new home. I’m kind-of nervous having to make new friends, but I’m not worried. This should be easy enough. Right?

  ***

  Around ten minutes after six I hear knocking at the front door. I run to the door and it’s Abel.

  "Hey man, you ready?

  "Yeah, let me grab my keys." I walk back to the foyer and grab my keys off the table. I shout, "Mom I'm heading out."

  "Okay, be safe honey." She shouts back.

  With a laugh I say, "I will." I walk back to Abel and say, "Okay let's go.”

  We head to his car and we drive toward the coast. As we pass the coastline, I notice that on one side there is nothing but the ocean. On the other side, there is nothing but green. It’s nature at its finest, and it’s calming. A lot different from what I’m used to.

  When we arrive at our destination, I see a group of kids hanging around the beach parking lot. In the distance, I can make out a bonfire burning brightly. Abel says hi to a few people as we head towards the flames. We're stopped on the way by a guy Abel calls Jimmy. He gives both of us a drink. When we get to the shore, I find a bunch of kids laughing and hanging out. It seems like a cool crowd.

  As we get closer to them, I scan the crowd and that's when I find whatever it is my heart has been searching for.

  Everything stops.

  I don’t hear the music, the laughter, the waves of the ocean, or even the crackling of the fire. Everything and everyone fades away into the background. The rate of my heartbeat increases. I've never seen such an angelic looking face.

  When she looks in my direction, I get a strange sensation. Something I’ve never felt before has awakened inside of me. My whole body tingles and I get this inexplicable feeling deep down in my soul. It’s as if I've been living all my life for this single moment, and it's solely to meet her.

  She's with the crowd, but she seems all alone. The way she’s staring into the fire it's as if she's waiting for someone, and I pray it's me. With the headphones on, she’s tuning everyone out. She seems preoccupied in her own little world, and because of this, I study her without abandon.

  She has the most beautiful honey brown skin I've ever seen. I can't tell what color her eyes are, and I'm dying to find out.

  When Abel sees me staring at her, he shakes his head. “No.”

  I sip my drink so that I don't tell him how stupid I think he's being. "Why? Is she your girl?”

  He looks away from me. "She's different … She's special and I care about her like a sister."

  "I can tell she's special, but why are you saying no?"

  "I've known her all my life. I don't want her to get hurt; she's been through enough already."

  I take a deep breath and say, “Abel I understand. But what makes you think I'll hurt her?"

  Abel clenches his jaw. "Who knows, but I'd prefer to not take that risk.”

  I press my lips together and narrow my eyes. I murmur, "I see."

  Abel looks me dead in the eyes. “We just met and you seem cool. But she’s been in my life way longer than you have. I look out for what’s mine, and she’s family. So let me introduce you to everyone, but you need to let go of whatever fantasy you have in your head."

  He goes around the bonfire naming everyone. When he gets to her he says, "And the object of your affection is Arianna. But we all call her Ari for short."

  From that moment on, the name is embedded in my brain and in my heart, forever.

  Chapter Two

  Hello

  Arianna

  I get a sensation … more like a tingle that begins from the base of my neck to the soles of my feet. I glance up to find the source of this electricity burning straight through me. Over the bonfire, I see someone I've never seen before gazing at me as if I'm the moon or some lost treasure. As we make eye contact, I scowl and turn away.

  I don’t scowl because I’m mad; it’s more because I’m terrified. I get up and grab Rachel's hand so we can go for the walk she's been pestering me to go on for the last ten minutes.

  "I'm ready to go, Rachel.”

  She stumbles. "Ugh! Now you want to go, when Abel walks in with the most prime piece-of-ass I’ve ever seen. He must be new."

  I roll my eyes. I love her, but she's a bit too boy crazy for my blood.

  I cross my arms over my chest and scowl at her. "It's now or never. And if you don't go with me, I'll go by myself."

  She puts her hands on her hips and buries her feet in the sand. "Fine, I'll go. But promise me you'll help me get the dirt on the new guy."

  "Fine.”

  I'm just agreeing because there is no way in hell I'm going near him. He is dangerous to what little sanity I have left. I don’t understand how I can feel so much for someone I've never even met. But I don’t want to find out because I know it won't end well. That’s the only thing I’m sure of.

  As we get to the end of the beach, I stop and stare at the ocean. It can be so calm and serene, but at any moment, it can turn into a raging beast. Just like life.

  She touches my arm lightly. "Hey, are you okay?"

  "Yeah, I'm fine."

  She looks at me with soft, concerned eyes. "I lost you there for a minute."

  "Sorry about that. What were you saying?" I cross my arms over my chest and I begin to rub them.

  "I was asking if you saw the guy."

  "Ugh … yeah I saw him." I say carefully.

  "Do you think he has a girlfriend?"

  I shrug. That is the last thing I have on my mind right now.

  "Let's go back Ari, before he leaves."

  I sigh and accept my fate because I know she won't let it go.

  Rachel has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. Probably from birth. Our moms were best friends, so for as long as I can remember Rachel and I have always been together. I’m the yin to her yang.

  Five years ago she became more than my friend, she became my sister. My parents were killed in a plane crash on a trip from the Cayman Islands. It was their twelfth year wedding anniversary. They left me with Rachel's family and I've never left.

  As we arrive back to the bonfire, I notice that a few more people have arrived since we left.

  I hear someone call my name, and I notice it's Colin. He was my next-door neighbor before my parents died. We've been friends since kindergarten.

  "Hey, Ari." He says as he jogs next to me.

  "Hey, Colin. How have you been?" He looks nervous and it makes me feel anxious.

  "I'm good. I was wondering …"

  I raise my brow expectantly. "What?"

  He starts looking at the ground as if he found it interesting. “I was wondering if you weren't busy this weekend. If you wanted to catch a movie or something?"

  I'm gawking at him while he smiles shyly at me. Colin looks like the all-American boy next door. He is popular at school and smart, but he's my friend. I've never looked at him as anything else. I frown at him as I contemplate a reason to say no.

  "She'd love to,” Rachel hurriedly responds before I can come up with an excuse. I spin to stare at her, but she doesn't even look at me. She continues to stare at Colin and make plans that I could care less about. So I do the only thing I can think of without punching my best friend. I simply walk away.

  I return by the bonfire with fumes coming out of my ears as I fight with my headphones to put them back on. I key up my playlist on my phone and I start to feel the electricity pulsing through me again. I look up and see the new guy walking towards me with a swagger that would look so stupid on anyone else. But on him, it's perfect and for that reason, it pisses me off. He licks his lips as he whispers, “Hello.”

  "Hi."

  "What did your headphones do to you?" He asks with a smile in his voice.

  "Nothing."

  "Well, are they broken?"

  "Nope."

  He quirks a brow at me and says, "So you're mad at someone I presume
?"

  "Maybe."

  "Can you say more than one word?"

  I smirk at him. "Nope."

  He shakes his head. "Okay then."

  He laughs and sits next to me. He smells clean and crisp. He has on a cologne that's not overpowering. But, it gives you the sensation of burying your face in his chest. I slide away from him before I do something stupid.

  "So … my name is Skylar—Sky for short. I just moved here from New York."

  I don't respond. So he continues to talk.

  “I love to play soccer. I was a striker on my school's team. I also was on the swim team. I love soccer more than I love swimming, though. I didn't want to move here, but I didn't have a choice. I'm an only child and my favorite color is yellow."

  He raises a brow at me expectantly and grins. "This is the part where you start talking to me because I told you so much about me so that I wouldn't be a stranger to you anymore. You know that whole ‘don't talk to strangers’ thing? Now I'm not a stranger, so you can talk to me."

  I wrinkle my nose at him. "What are you talking about?"

  "Ah! See, you do know how to say more than one word at a time. I was beginning to believe you were slow or something."

  "Ha. Ha. Ha. Real funny."

  He laughs at me and I see the deepest dimples ever. I smile and stick my hand out to him. "My name is Arianna. You can call me Ari for short."

  He shakes my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Ari. So … I'm guessing you’re calm now; you won't be attacking your headphones anymore."

  I laugh. "No, I'm good now. Thanks."

  "You're welcome. But what was that all about anyways?"

  I sigh and say, "It's nothing important. Normal teenage problems."

  He stares at me as if he can see all my deepest secrets, and it begins to make me feel uncomfortable.

  "What?"

  "Nothing. I'm just trying to figure out the color of your eyes."

  "Oh!" Feeling shy, I turn away and stare at the fire.

  He chuckles to himself. "So how old are you anyways?"