Stripped by: Brooklyn Skye
Synopsis: “I like you.” His voice is low and soft, which I don’t deserve. I look away, down the rutted parking lot. “Don’t… waste those words on me.” He touches my cheek. “You just need someone to show you.” “No.” I ease back again. “I don’t. So please, Torrin, stop trying to swoop in and save me. I don’t need saving.”
College freshman Quinn Montgomery will do anything to avoid the mistake her sister made—killing herself over a boy. But when she is forced into nude modeling at a local college to support her family after a bankruptcy, she begins to crack, just enough to let Torrin, the university’s top varsity oarsman, see that the real Quinn is not as feisty and unapproachable as she wants everyone to think. But letting someone in comes at a steep cost and, it turns out, Torrin is connected to Quinn’s family in more ways than she could ever imagine.
Brooklyn Skye grew up in a small town where she quickly realized writing was an escape from small town
life. Really, she’s just your average awkward girl who’s obsessed with words. Her Best Selling New Adult debut, STRIPPED, is out NOW! Represented by Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary Agency.
I take another drag of my cigarette and watch him. Face completely relaxed, it’s obvious he enjoys the warm sun and rhythmic scuffling of shoes. After a minute, his lips twitch up at the corners.
“Get out your phone.” His voice is low, husky. I pull in a long drag, letting the smoke stream out of my nose.
“Why?”
He shrugs, eyes still closed.
“So you can take a picture.” He licks his lips, cracks a smile. “Then you can stare at me all night if you want. Fall asleep to the sight of my face.”
I duck my head, look away, “Wow. Pretentious, are we?”
“You know you want to.”
I snort. “Please.”
He sits up, laughing, and extends his hand to me. “I’m Torrin.” I just stare at it because people usually expect me to shake their hand and when I don’t they get this stupid deer-in-the-headlights look and I find that amusing.
“Quinn.”
Stupid look. One point for me. He scratches his temple.
“So, Quinn… is there a fashion trend I don’t know about?”
“Fashion trend?” There’s no way he’s talking about me. I’m dressed completely normal – dark jeans and a cute striped sweater I stole out of Nikki’s closet. So I glance at his outfit: faded jeans and a T-shirt with some undecipherable sports logo on the front. Typical guy outfit, same as Loyola boys wear when traipsing from class to class. I meet Torrin’s gaze. He grins and points at my chest.
“Your sweater’s on backwards.”
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Awesome excerpt. Thanks for participating 🙂
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Sounds fantastic! thanks for sharing!
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\”your sweater's on backwards\” — Oh God, I love embarrassing moments because they're so real. That made me cringe and smile at the same time 😀
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