Rising Summers (Pucking Unbelievable Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Series Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Epilogue

  Become a Fan of Garnet Davenport!

  PUCKING UNBELIEVABLE SERIES

  Rising

  Summers

  GARNET DAVENPORT

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

  Copyright © 2019 by Garnet Davenport

  Cover design by Fantasia Cover Designs

  All rights reserved.

  Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  To all the girls who crushed on their

  best friend’s asshole brother.

  P.S. Sometimes the asshole isn’t a complete asshole.

  Prologue

  Chloe

  Age Eight

  Twisting my hips from side to side in front of my long mirror, I tried to see how my new My Little Pony outfit looked on me. I thought I looked good. Hopefully, Phoenix would too. Fashion had always been high up on the priority list for me—I wanted to look cute. My mom once said she had to be Jackie O all the time for my father’s senatorial candidacy. I had put on a My Little Pony shirt and blue leggings to match Rainbow Dash. It wasn’t the warmest outfit, but I figured I would grab a coat before I left the house. Phoenix, my best friend’s older brother and quite possibly the love of my life, was supposed to be on his way to walk me back to his house. I was so excited for that one-on-one time with him. I already knew I was going to marry him one day. I just needed to get him to notice me. Notice me the way his father looks at his mother. I longed for that kind of love.

  He was so cute. Jet black hair just like his mom’s and his sister’s, the brightest blue eyes that anyone had ever seen, and did I happen to mention he is six years older than me? Probably not, it always sounds so bad. Six years is a long time for someone my age, and we are only six years apart for about three and a half months.

  The intercom went off by my bedroom door. I hopped over to it and pressed the button. “Hello?”

  “Miss Chloe, Mr. Phoenix is here to walk you over.” Our maid, Matilda, said through the speaker in the thickest Romanian accent. I’ve had so many maids that I don’t even notice the accents anymore. The only reason I know she’s Romanian is because I overheard my father saying something about it. I always thought it sounded like a really cool place, so I looked it up, and learned as much as I could. I’ve even learned a few other languages from the maids.

  “I’ll be right down,” I said into the intercom.

  I was supposed to spend the night with my best friend—Brooklyn Drayden. Phoenix had been assigned the job of walking me from my house to theirs from the time he turned thirteen. Now that he’s fifteen and I’m almost nine it’s like I’m non-existent.

  Our land backed up to theirs. Brooklyn and I had some great times. Her older brother, Phoenix—yes, I just like saying his name—hated to do anything for us. Probably because he was so much older. He didn’t want to be seen with little kids. As I said, six years is a big difference when you’re eight. Even though Brooklyn’s birthday is in November and she’s already turned nine, I’m still awaiting the time until my birthday in March. With Phoenix’s birthday being at the end of June it made us six and three-quarters years difference between us—not seven. Trust me—I’ve done the math down to the day. I probably could get you the seconds. I get a full three and a half months being one year closer to his age—and I’ll take it. He was that much a part of my world ever since I was six, and his gorgeous blue eyes hit me straight on. Which would have made him twelve at the time. At least for a few months. See what I’m saying? Why would a teenage boy be interested in a little girl who had just learned to read chapter books?

  I hurried down the stairs with a happy bounce in my step to the kitchen. When I see Phoenix, my heart beats just a little faster. That’s why I had to plan for when I see him. Everyone calls him Nix—except me. I couldn’t wait until I felt like I could call him Nix. Come to think about it, his mom calls him Nixy. Which I thought was completely cute. When he was with his friends, he always blushed when she called him that. It probably annoyed him. I looked up and saw Phoenix standing by the door looking down at his cell phone. He was perhaps texting one of his jerk friends. But I really wanted him to look up and notice me.

  “You ready?” He asked. When I hadn’t said anything, he looked up without really seeing me. “Let’s go,” Phoenix said, not even give me a chance to reply. In fact, he barely took any notice. My heart dropped when he didn’t say anything. He purposely looked away from me. Reminding me, I was almost sure he overheard Brooklyn and I talking about him last week. We were talking about that stupid crush I have on him a while back. It’s not like it’s not obvious. I’ve overheard his friends making fun of him about my crush on him all the time. It hurt hearing them tease him about my crush. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it. And it’s not like I could do anything either. Stupid boys.

  Before I could tell him I needed a coat he had taken off out of the back door. I knew he didn’t want to wait for me. I rushed after him, not thinking it would take too long to get back to his house, and if it is a little cold, it wouldn’t be too bad. I was wrong.

  I could barely see him weaving between trees and over logs. He was so fast. Too fast. I tried so hard to push myself forward. But I just couldn’t keep up.

  “Phoenix! You’re going too fast! Don't leave me!” I cried out, but it was too late.

  I felt myself falling. I rolled to my back, and I saw I had tripped over a branch. When I composed myself I looked up he was nowhere to be found. Listening, I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. Everything was silent except for the cold winter’s wind and some wildlife that had started to make the hairs on my arms stand on end. The sun had begun to go down, and it was getting dark. He had left me. I had tried so hard to keep up, but I just couldn't. He was older, taller, and my little eight-year-old legs couldn't keep up. I regretted not grabbing my coat while I sat in the cold, wet snow.

  “Don't go.” My voice was lost in the wind. I had sat there on the gro
und, pulled my legs into me for warmth, and cried into my chest. I hadn’t known what to do. I wanted Phoenix to come back and find me.

  As I got colder, I felt the regret again—that I didn't grab my coat. I should have worn my coat. I hadn’t put it on because I wanted him to see me in my new outfit. Which he couldn’t have cared less about. I felt so stupid. He hadn’t even looked at me. He took off into the woods, ready to get back home, and he assumed I would keep up. There wasn't a clear path between our houses. Our parents knew that. Even though they could have cleared it—they never did. Phoenix was always mad when he had to walk us back and forth through the woods. That was the problem. Every time he walked us through the woods, he swirled around different trees, and never showed us the same way to go. He just wanted to get back to either his video games or his friends. It wasn’t cool to be seen with an eight-year-old that you weren’t related to when you’re fifteen. Everything you do as a teenager was on display for the world to judge. And everyone knew it wasn’t cool to escort your baby sister’s best friend through the woods. I didn’t want to think about what he would have said to his parents when he was pulled away from what he wanted to do for Brooklyn and me. But because he was my best friend’s brother, he knew he had to do it for us. It was some unwritten rule of the older brother code. No matter how much he moaned and complained.

  I couldn’t figure out which way Phoenix had gone. A fresh layer of snow was coming down heavier. I was alone in the woods. No one around to help me. It was even colder then. My fingers and toes felt like they were burning. He had to have noticed I wasn't behind him. Right? Wouldn't he? He complained he would be late getting over to his best friend’s house. Phoenix and his best friend, Brock, were close. They had been for years. Played on the same hockey team for most of their lives. Which just made him faster. 'So fast that I couldn’t keep up,' I thought to scold myself. I focused on all these reasons to not be mad at Phoenix for leaving me.

  I started to think about going back to my house, but I wasn’t sure which direction we had come from. There was nothing to indicate which way to go now. I’m looking everywhere but knew I needed to give up. I laid down next to the tree I had tripped over.

  I don’t remember how long it took, and I don’t know who came for me, but when I woke I was in the hospital. My nanny, Doreen, sitting in a chair next to my bed. Her head crooked in a weird direction. She was fast asleep. How long had I been asleep?

  My mom and dad wouldn’t be there. They were somewhere in Aspen. I think. Or maybe France. They liked it there this time of year. Where had the last postcard come from? I was still so tired. It didn’t take long before I had drifted back to sleep without any other thought in my head.

  Chapter 1

  Pucking Confusing

  Chloe

  Age Seventeen

  I woke to a horrid sound coming from my cell phone. I had programmed the most annoying ringtone for my mother. Which seemed fitting. The first time she called after I set it I was in the middle of a science test. I had to answer it in the middle of class, put it on speakerphone, and talk to my mom while everyone snickered at me. Mom wanted to make sure I was going to a dress fitting after school. I, of course, had already planned to do it. That was the time I would have never gone against what she wanted form me—It’s not that way any longer.

  But now, too early in the morning, my mom was calling. “Warning… warning… your mom is calling.” My phone is essentially warning me not to answer. I should have listened to my own preprogrammed warning. But no. I apparently enjoy being a masochist.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have downloaded that ringtone.” I scolded myself as I slid my finger across the screen to answer my mother.

  When I placed my cell next to my ear, she was still talking to someone else. I just waited. She’d eventually remember that she had called me. Or called someone.

  I audibly yawned.

  “Oh. Hello? Chloe? Chloe?” She sighed frustratedly, “Chloe Marie Summers? Are you there?” Her voice made me wince. It was too early to deal with Marie Summers.

  Mom didn’t even give me a chance to answer before she was already going.

  “Mmm.” That's all she got in response. I was too tired to answer correctly, and it’s the closest she will get to a yes at this point.

  “You should be up by now. What time is it there?…” I laid on my back staring at the ceiling. “Six. It’s six there. Are you working out yet? You’ve got to stay in shape.”

  “No Mom. I’m not working out.” I groaned, “I’m actually planning on eating carbs as soon as I get off the phone with you. I’m almost certain some pancakes are calling my name. ”

  She gasped. “Chloe Marie, you will not eat any carbs. Go have a non-dairy yogurt and get on the treadmill.”

  “Did you know there’s a bunch of carbs in yogurt?” I wanted this moment to hurt just a little.

  “There is not. You liar.”

  See, isn’t she a lovely mother? I sighed heavily, “I’m not lying Mom. Go actually look at the package.”

  “I don’t need to see the package. I know it’s protein.”

  “Whatever. Did you need something?”

  “I did. Your father is going to be having a fundraiser on the twentieth. He expects you there. We will send over a few appropriate gowns.”

  She’s the one that expects me there. Dad could have cared less. He’s been busy since before I was born. He only got the name dad for being a sperm donor. He’d never once been a real dad. “I’ve got a busy month, Mom. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to make it.” I didn’t want to go. It was the last thing I wanted.

  “You will do this for your father. It’s not optional. You owe this to him.” She commanded. “I will send a car to pick you up at five. Be ready. Do not make the driver wait on you.”

  I groaned in frustration. “Can I bring a date?”

  “Are you seeing someone?” She had a spark of interest in her voice.

  “Kind of,” I said, mumbling slightly.

  “Well, there will be not ‘kind of’ boys. We need to be able to do a background on him and his family before we show him off in public.” She said it like he would be an accessory—like a purse or a pair of earrings.

  “If you make him an actual boyfriend and we have a chance to do the background, we might allow him to escort you. What is his name?”

  “Never mind. He’s probably busy anyway.” It was all too much. I wouldn’t want to expose anyone to my mother. She would chew him up and spit him out like a piece of bad meat.

  “If he likes you… he will figure out a way to make himself not busy. I will need to know ahead of time if you decide to invite him. And make sure he wears appropriate attire.” Someone called for my mom—probably her personal assistant. “I’ve got to go. Places to be, people to see.” She hung up without allowing me to say anything else, and I continued to stare at the ceiling until my alarm actually went off.

  My mind went back to my dream. I haven’t had that dream in a long time. I was starting my last semester of high school, and I was so excited to be there with my best friend, Brooklyn. Her parents allowed me to move in at the beginning of last summer. After being separated from her on and off during the previous five years, I was just happy to be so close to her now. I pulled out a pair of black leggings and a cream sweater. I’ve got some cute knee-high brown boots that would look perfect with my outfit. After combing through my wavy blonde hair and applying enough mascara and eyeliner to cover my blonde lashes and bring out the blue of my eyes, I made my way out of my room.

  I walked downstairs only to be caught off guard by the raven-haired god sitting at the table in the kitchen. I had stopped literally in mid-step. I swallowed hard. Phoenix Drayden. My best friends older brother. The only boy I’ve ever loved. The only boy that I’ve ever wanted attention from. Anything from.

  “Good morning, Chloe.” Mama Drayden said, cheerfully. Carolina Drayden was the sweetest woman I’d ever met. She treated me like one of her
own. Which I appreciated more than she would ever know. Especially since my parents could have cared less about me and what I’m doing. Too busy—off in their own world. I think the only reason why I’m even here is that the voters wanted a family man as their congressional figure. Which was what they did. Although, they probably should have just adopted.

  Phoenix looked up, our eyes meeting, he swallowed his cereal in his mouth and gave me a head nod. A freaking head nod. I inwardly groaned. I’ve known him for more than half my life, and he gave me a head nod. I’m not one of the guys. I don’t burp in public or scratch myself. I don’t want to be one of the guys. I’ve always wanted him to see me as something more.

  “Morning,” I said. “Have you seen Brooklyn?”

  “No, sweetheart. She must still be in her room. You know she can sleep like the dead.” Mama Drayden swayed around the kitchen with ease. She’s not the typical mom type but she does have her moments—and she’s better than those typical moms. “Do you want some scrambled eggs?”

  “No, thank you. I’m going to go get her to hurry up. We’re going to be late.” I replied.

  “Okay, well, grab a granola bar.” Mama Drayden said plating the eggs and putting them in front of Nix.

  I walked back up the stairs and opened Brooklyn’s bedroom door. She was still asleep in her bed tangled up in the covers. Whenever she gets a guy, he’s going to have to fight with her over the blankets. “Brooklyn!” I shouted, overly excited. She would know I was there just to get her up, but she wouldn’t be able to ignore me.

  She spiked straight up in bed. Not completely alert but trying to figure out what was going on. “What?” She realized it was just me and laid back down pulling her pillow over her head.

  “We’re going to be late. Get your sexy ass out of bed.” I said smacking her on her butt to get her up.