One Song Away Read Online Free PDF Page A

inane gesture can rewind this moment, or at least press pause on the nuclear meltdown I’m very obviously having.
    Be cool, Wright. Cool. Did you forget how entirely? It takes everything I have not to groan at myself. I never act this way, no matter how rattled I am. It’s like all the confidence I built in Nashville has vanished, and I know why. This isn’t just some sales clerk or acquaintance. This is Jake—the guy who once meant everything to me.
    Jake. Cooper. Here. In front of me. The boy who was in every one of my high school daydreams, who caught fireflies with me, and who broke into my ex-boyfriend’s car so I could get my favorite leather jacket back… here . Of all the people I imagined running into by moving back home, he was never one. I really had heard that he was off seeing the world, and I never knew whether I should be happy or crushed when I didn’t run into him on any visits here.
    “So you…heard things, huh?” His expression changes, his eyes dancing. “Any of these ‘things’ include the fact that I missed the hell outta you, Claire?”
    Truthfully, I figured he forgot about me when I moved. I thought of our friendship as one of those “shooting star” relationships, as Mama calls them. She claims some people are in our lives for a short time, for a purpose, and then no matter how amazing the relationship, they’re gone. I never let myself imagine that I’d see Jake again, and now that I am… it’s overwhelming.
    “No.” My voice is barely a whisper. “But I missed you, too.”
    He gently pulls me forward, and I stop talking. Even though it’s been years since my last Jake hug, I never forgot what they were like, and I give into this one completely. He used to hold me like he couldn’t get close enough, and the same is true now. He tightens the hug, resting his head on top of mine. I don’t let myself think of all the other embraces over the years. I stay right in the here and now. And I can’t help but notice how easy this is, all over again. I still fit perfectly against Jake. He feels the same, if more muscular. He even smells the same.
    Not that I really want him to catch me smelling him…
    Although I could stay like this all day, something tells me that would definitely get the tongues in this town wagging. I sit down, gesturing to the other seat.
    “So you’re home.” His smile is enough to make my heart—which just calmed down—start thudding like crazy again. “Are you staying this time?”
    “Yes. I moved back last week.” I take a deep breath, fiddling with my thumb ring. “What about you? Are you just visiting in between whatever it is that you do?” What is he doing now? Still seeing the world? Partying every night? Kissing people who aren’t me?
    Jake laughs, really laughs then. It’s loud, so we draw some stares, but he doesn’t care. He’s like me in that aspect. He’s always gone against the grain, always forged his own path if the existing one was too easy. Neither of us ever wanted easy.
    “You haven’t changed at all.” He reaches for my hand. I accidentally forget to pull it away. “I live here. I have for about six months.”
    “But what about traveling?”
    In this light, he eyes look more golden than brown, and I catch my breath. I know I’ll have to start tempering my reactions to him, but my system is still in shock.
    “Claire, I think you have the wrong impression of me. You left right after we graduated so you couldn’t have known, but…” He clears his throat. “I told my parents I wasn’t interested in my trust fund. I wanted to see the world instead of going to college. We had a huge fight, and I left.” He shrugs and smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I was a dick, but the time away did me a lot of good.”
    “So you’re… not rich.” I try to connect the dots in my mind, but he and his brothers were always the town golden boys. Jake never let his family’s wealth determine who he was, but he definitely