I Kissed Her First: A BOUND TOGETHER NOVEL Read online

  I Kissed Her First

  A BOUND TOGETHER NOVEL

  Lindsay Becs

  Contents

  Playlist

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Part II

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Part III

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books by Lindsay

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright ©2021 Lindsay Becs

  All rights reserved

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without prior written consent of the author except for the use of brief quotation in a book review.

  The characters and events depicted in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover Design: Amanda Shepard, Shepard Originals

  Formatting: Marley Valentine

  Editing: Tricia Harden

  Proofreader: Mercedes Velez

  Playlist

  5 Seconds of Summer - Ghost of You

  Andy Grammer - Don't Give Up On Me

  Lauv - Modern Loneliness

  Niall Horan - Still

  James Bay - Let It Go

  Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me

  Louis Tomlinson - Too Young

  Harry Styles - Falling

  James Arthur - Falling Like the Stars

  Julia Michaels ft. Niall Horan - What A Time

  Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi

  The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun (2019 Mix)

  Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag

  Ashe ft. Niall Horan - Moral of the Story

  Chantal Kreviazuk - Leaving On a Jet Plane

  Harry Styles - Sweet Creature

  Lewis Capaldi - Before You Go

  Ed Sheeran – Kiss Me

  Ron Pope – A Drop in the Ocean

  Never give up on happiness.

  Don’t be afraid to reach for it. Hold on tight, and never let it go.

  You deserve it.

  Part I

  Chapter One

  Harper

  Age 12

  “My dad said there’s some new kid I have to be friends with moving here next week,” Teddy, my best friend, tells me as we sit in the weeded sand, looking for crabs while our parents are inside.

  Every Saturday, our families have dinner together. Sometimes it’s at one of our houses; sometimes it’s at a restaurant. Tonight, Teddy’s parents and little sister came to my house.

  Most girls at school think it’s weird that my best friend is a boy, but I don’t care what they think. Teddy and I were born to be best friends. Our parents grew up together, we live on the same street—three houses down from each other. Teddy and I were born only weeks apart. Our two little sisters are the same, born within two months of the other.

  Call it destiny if you want. But the truth is that our two families are woven together in more ways than one. You can’t have the McCarthys without the Tomlins, and you can’t have the Tomlins without the McCarthys.

  But like I said, Teddy is my best friend. I don’t mind.

  I shrug a shoulder. “Maybe he’s nice.”

  “I guess,” he grumbles, moving his flashlight around to find another crab to add to our bucket. “His name is Jett.”

  “Like a plane?” I ask. Who would name their kid after a plane?

  Millionaires, that’s who. Because that’s the world we live in. One with mansions with private beaches and boats bigger than most people’s homes. Where you can name your kid after strange things and no one thinks it’s odd because you could just buy new friends.

  “Who knows. I just hope he’s not weird,” Teddy adds.

  “Where are they moving from?”

  “California,” he answers, still sounding annoyed by the whole thing. “Got it!” he whisper-yells, finding the crab he was following.

  “Well, maybe he’ll fit in and be fun and we can all be friends together.” I don’t mind meeting new friends. I don’t really have many other than Teddy. It might be nice to have one more.

  “I guess,” he says again.

  * * *

  The next week, at the usual Saturday night dinner, my family arrives at the Tomlin house at exactly six sharp. One of their house maids answers the door and shows us to the stuffy room where we always start. It’s where our parents begin to drink while my stomach growls, waiting for us to start dinner.

  My mom made my sister, Violet, and I dress in fancier clothes than normal. Since Teddy told me last week about the new boy moving here, I have no doubt it’s because of him and his family that we have to ‘dress to impress’ the new people in town tonight since they’re joining us for dinner.

  As I walk to where my friend is usually waiting with a Shirley Temple for me, I stop moving when I see the new boy. Jett. His name suits him with his jet-black hair.

  Teddy sees me and waves me over with a smile. The new boy is taller than Teddy, which means he’ll probably tower over me since I’m always the shortest girl in our class.

  Jett follows Teddy’s line of sight to find me, and when he does, I halt again when he ducks his head and smiles shyly. He doesn’t seem stuck-up like some of the boys around here. Smiling big, I pick up my pace and make my way to them.

  “Hi! I’m Harper,” I say right away to the new boy with the dark hair, excited to get to know him.

  “I’m Jett,” he says in a much softer tone than the one I just used. His voice sounds gruff, like I sound when I have a sore throat, but I don’t think he has a sore throat. I think that’s just his voice.

  His head is still dipped low, but when he looks up at me, his piercing green eyes shine bright with mischief. That’s when I know for sure that the three of us are going to be lifelong friends.

  “Hey,” I punch Teddy in the arm. “Where’s my drink? You get a new best friend and forget about me already?”

  “Here,” he says, handing me a glass bottle. It looks like a bottle of beer, but I know it’s not. I take a sip and realize it’s cream soda. “My dad said that since we were adding another boy to the mix, it was time to have drinks that were less girly.”

  My mouth hangs open for a second, feeling offended, but then I realize that I like cream soda just as much. I guess the joke’s on Mr. Tomlin. Shrugging, I take another sip. “Fine by me.”

  “Told you she’s not like other girls,” Teddy says to Jett.

  “Yeah, I see that,” he says, tipping his bottle back with his eyes on me.

  “You know you aren’t automatically friends with us just because our parents are trying to be nice to yours,” I tell Jett with a hand on my hip and a pointed look.

  “Oh yeah?” he asks with a smirk still on his face that makes me want to smack it right off.

  My eyes roll. “Yeah.”

 
His smile grows wider as he shifts on his feet and crosses his arms across his chest, lifting his chin as he does. “What do I have to do to be part of your little…” He waves a finger back and forth from Teddy to me. “…Inner circle or whatever?”

  “You don’t have to—” Teddy starts, but I raise a hand to cut him off, not taking my eyes off of Jett. He smothers a laugh with his hand as he stands there, not letting his eyes fall from me.

  “You have to answer some questions.” I don’t know what I’m saying or why I’m fighting him on this, but I can’t make it too easy for him to just come in here and weasel his way between Teddy and me.

  “Alright. Ask,” Jett challenges.

  I hold up my finger. “One. Do you surf?”

  He scoffs like my question was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. “I’m from California. Of course, I surf.” He leans forward, getting in my face. “Probably better than you.”

  “Doubtful,” I mumble. “Two. Can you ride a board then?”

  “I just said—”

  I roll my eyes. “Skate. Can you ride a skateboard?”

  “Oh… Yeah.”

  “Good,” I say with a satisfied smile. “Last question. Do you like all these stuffy dinners and rich people things?”

  His smile begins to return. “Nope. I usually get in trouble for doing things that embarrass my mom.”

  I look at Teddy, who’s grinning behind Jett, giving me a thumbs up. My eyes shift back to Jett. “We’re going to get along just fine then. Welcome to Wrightsville, North Carolina,” I say with a face-splitting smile. “Let’s go find something to eat. I’m starving,” I add, taking Teddy and Jett’s hands in each of mine, pulling them behind me toward the kitchen.

  We fill plates with snacks and foods we know we’ll get yelled at later for taking and head out to the beach. It doesn’t take long for the three of us to begin laughing so hard we have tears falling down our faces from telling stories of different things we’ve gotten in trouble for before. It’s the most fun at a Saturday dinner we’ve had in a long time.

  When we hear our parents calling for us to come in for dinner, we take off running down the beach. We stop when we’re five houses down, out of breath and laughing. Teddy falls on his back in the sand, panting.

  “Let’s go swim,” I tell them. Teddy groans while Jett looks down at his dress pants and button-up shirt. “You never swim in your panties before?” I tease Jett.

  Reaching down, I pull my dress up and off over my head, leaving me in the two-piece swimsuit that I put on under it. You never know, right?

  I laugh when I see Jett’s eyes go wide as saucers before he realizes it’s a bathing suit and not my underwear. Running toward the water, I continue to cackle at the boys behind me, who are too chicken to join me.

  “Come on, Teddy bear! Jett plane, have you even gotten in the water since you’ve been here? You know you want to,” I taunt them.

  They both stare at me for a few minutes as I splash around like a crazy person. Then, they both pull off their shoes, socks, shirts and pants, running in to join me. Their laughter joins mine as they work together to push me under.

  I gasp when I reach the surface, knowing my mom is going to kill me for ruining my hair, but I don’t care. I was born to be a beach bum. A water baby. A sand monster. And it takes more than her warning and a nice dress to keep me away from the beach and the magnificent ocean it surrounds.

  When we’re sure dinner is over and our parents have given up on us joining them in the dining room, we climb out of the water and pull our clothes back on. Salt water still drips from each of our heads as we walk back inside the Tomlin house.

  Someone gasps, catching sight of us when we try to sneak by to get to Teddy’s media room. We turn toward the sound to see six sets of eyes on us.

  I feel my cheeks pink when I look at my mom and she raises a brow at me. “Sorry,” I mouth. Shaking her head, she fights a smile because, although she doesn’t always like the things I do, she knows this is me.

  “Jett Levi Leos!” a woman I’m assuming is his mom screeches, making me jump. “I told you no trouble tonight.” She hangs her head in her hands. “I asked you not to embarrass me for one night,” she adds quietly. So quietly that I don’t think anyone heard her. But I did.

  “I’m sorry,” I apologize when I feel Jett stiffen next to me. “It was my fault. I was trying to prove I was a better swimmer than the boys. I egged Jett and Teddy on. I’m sorry,” I say again.

  The man I haven’t seen before but looks like an older version of Jett cuts the tension in the room with his booming laugh. “Boys will be boys, right? I keep telling Camila that, but she doesn’t understand.” I lift a brow at him since I am, in no way, a boy. He coughs to cover his mistake.

  “I’m so very sorry. Harper is a bit of a free spirit. We’ve come to learn to let her fly a little,” my father says and then looks at me sternly adding, “but she should have asked before taking the boys into the water at night.”

  “Yes, sir,” I say, tucking my chin to my chest.

  “Teddy, dear, go find Jett some clean, dry clothes to wear,” Teddy’s mom, Adele, says with a wink, giving us a reason to leave the room.

  We all take the chance to leave and scurry off. I tell the boys I’ll meet them in the media room when they turn into Teddy’s bedroom.

  I’m looking through the massive DVD collection, searching for a good movie to watch, when I’m hit in the head with a T-shirt.

  “Thought maybe you’d want to change too, trouble,” Teddy says on a laugh, falling into one of the comfy chairs.

  “You know me so well, Teddy bear.”

  I run into the bathroom to change out of my wet clothes and into the shirt and sweatpants that Teddy threw at me. When I enter the hall to walk back to the media room, Jett is waiting there.

  “Oh, here, I’m done,” I tell him, turning the light back on.

  “No, I—” he starts but pauses, his head dipped low and his brows bunched together. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.

  “Taking the blame earlier. My mom, she’s okay, but she has these high expectations of how I should act and when I don’t…” he trails off.

  I lift a shoulder. “It was my fault. No sweat, Jett plane.” I smile.

  I see the tension from before slowly melt away. “So, what movie are we watching?”

  “I was thinking Jaws.”

  “You really aren’t like most girls, are you?” he chuckles.

  “Nope,” I say with a pop.

  Chapter Two

  Jett

  Moving across the country with no say on how I felt about it, leaving all my friends behind, was not at the top of my list of things to be excited about.

  However, I didn’t realize I’d meet someone like Harper McCarthy.

  She and Teddy have quickly replaced the friends I left back in California. When my parents told me I had to meet some rich kids of the men my dad was working with, I expected them to be snobby and mean. Truth is, they are anything but. They’re the exact opposite of both of those words.

  Teddy is easygoing enough but still has this little bit of refinement in him. He tries to muffle and hide it from his best friend since babyhood, but he’s not fooling me. I see right through it. He wants to keep peace and keep everyone happy, from his parents down to Harper. He’s the perfect son who always seeks to do the right thing, but he’d follow Harper into a burning building if she told him to.

  He told me before her family got there for dinner that she was his best friend. That she was chaos and always looking for fun and getting them into trouble. He said it with a laugh, but I didn’t miss the way he anxiously rubbed the back of his neck as he did. She makes him nervous and uncomfortable with her unpredictability. I couldn’t wait to meet this girl who he said wasn’t like other girls.

  And he wasn’t wrong.

  That little spitfire was everything he said and more. She was mesmerizing and intr
iguing, and I couldn’t wait to get to know more about her and become her best friend too.

  My parents and I moved to North Carolina during spring break, which meant I had a week to make the pair of them my new best friends before we all went back to school to finish up the school year.

  And I did.

  In the week we had off of school, Harper would knock on my front door with Teddy behind her, ready to show me the next best thing or challenge me to see how good at surfing or riding I was.

  By the next weekend, the three of us had inside jokes and mastered new tricks on our boards, both on the waves and on solid ground. I was feeling like I could be happy here.

  “I have to get home. My mom signed me up for tennis lessons,” Teddy grumbles. He gathers his trash from the table where we’d each devoured burgers and fries from a local place across from the pier that has homemade pickles and the best milkshakes I’d ever had.

  “Please send me a picture of you in your cute little sweater and shorts,” Harper laughs.

  “Shut up,” Teddy says, throwing a balled-up napkin at her, making her laugh harder. “You good to get home on time without me?”

  I picked up real quick this week that Teddy was always looking out for Harper. Where she was chaotic and impulsive, he was planned and responsible. They were complete opposites, and yet they were closer than any two friends I’d ever seen before.