Readers have pushed back a bit on my toe-dip into the ocean of YA GENERAL HUMOROUS FICTION with my April 18, 2019 release with Duet Books, THE WEEKEND BUCKET LIST.
THIS. IS. NOT.A. ROMANCE. Yes, this is in BOLD PRINT on a pre-review. And it’s okay–I get it! TWBL is a different genre–GENERAL FICTION. ABOUT PASSIONATE FRIENDSHIP. I had some trouble with it myself. But if you like to laugh and you like real, imperfect YA characters….
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT (at this point) from my YA protagonist Cady LaBrie.
Cadence
Since it’s only Friday, we decide to start small. We have plenty of time this weekend to screw up our lives in monumental ways.
“You go first,” he says. “Ladies before gents.”
I’m a consummate eye-roller and I can’t hold back. But still I bend over, grab the hem of my denim skirt, yank it to my ankles, and then kick it into a pile of leaves. “And you’re such a gentleman.”
He stares at my bare legs. “Does this one count as facing a fear, too?”
“No—it only counts as skinny-dipping. Now take something off.”
Cooper whips his Mario Kart 64 T-shirt over his head. If a pale, freckled belly has the capacity to blush, that is what’s happening to his. “We been joined at the hip since freshman year, Cady, so how is it we’ve never caught a glimpse of each other wearing nothing but a smile?” he asks. He’s trying to distract me from accomplishing our list’s mutually agreed upon number one.
“Well, you’ve seen my boobs before—and don’t try to deny it.” I unbutton my plain white blouse. I’m not one for flamboyant patterns, lace, or frills. My twin brother Bradley labeled me a tomboy when I refused to put on the dress that Mom picked out for my first day of kindergarten. I won that standoff; the other moms at the bus stop thought Bradley and I were twin brothers until October. “Remember Halloween night of sophomore year, when we went trick-or-treating?” I shimmy my shoulders until the blouse hits the forest floor.
And he has the balls to laugh. “Yeah… your toga slipped.” Cooper hesitates, but finally pulls his shorts down without unbuttoning them. “For Sparta!” He tosses them high in the air and they get stuck on a low branch.
We gawk at each other. “Plain white boxers? How dull,” I say, although they work for me.
“Your bra doesn’t match your panties,” he counters.
“My underwear. ‘Panties’ is a porn word.” I rip them off quickly, before I have a chance to change my mind.
In a blur of sudden movement, Cooper’s boxers take a swift trip down his skinny legs to the forest floor. There follows a frantic scramble and a splash in the marshy part of Tamarack Lake, which is thankfully well beyond the public beach.
“That was graceful, Murphy.” Pale and freckled from head to toe, I think as I unhook my bra. “Good thing you’re gay, ’cause my boobs are going to underwhelm you.”
“Who says I’m gay?” Cooper corrects in a defensive tone. He takes me in from head to toe as I march my ninety-two-pound frame in the direction of the water—head held high. Not that he’s looking at my head. “And no worries, Cady, I don’t have my glasses on.”
I refuse to let him in on my intense relief—both at his insistence that he’s not necessarily gay and his serious nearsightedness—and I go with some distraction of my own. “I hope there aren’t any leeches in here.”
“Ewww…” I have a fairly good idea of his mental image.
TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS…. um, please….
Did you laugh? Just smirk? Do you like Cooper? Cady? (Cady’s name autocorrects to Cody, LOL. I wonder why.)
Are you caught? DO YOU WANT MORE?
DON’T HOLD BACK… I want to know and I’m willing to pay.
Amazon Gift Card comment raffle. $10.00 for your thoughts… <3
I’ll hold the raffle early next week.
THANK YOU, MY FRIENDS!!
<3 Mia
