Discovering April
Sheena Hutchinson
(Discovering Trilogy #1)
Publication date: April 27th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance
April Landau thinks she has everything she’s ever wanted. Her high school sweetheart, a house she can’t afford, her bipolar tabby cat, and she’s all set to begin her Junior year of college. Just when she least expects it, her life gets thrown for a loop. When things between her and her long time boyfriend unravel, she becomes stuck in a downward spiral of emotion. Finally, opening her eyes to the fact that she may have given up more than she ever could have imagined in this relationship. She finds herself struggling to keep her head above water.
Enter April’s next door neighbor— Jared Hoffman. He’s her complete opposite. A high school drop out who was forced to take over his parent’s business after their untimely death. It’s no surprise this tragedy affected him greatly, causing him to recede almost completely from society.
But he has one secret. A secret he’s been carrying around for years.
What happens when their worlds collide? Can an old friendship be the one thing that brings these two back to life?
A New Adult love story filled with drama, sex, death, and the complications of all the above.
* This is the first book in the Discovering Trilogy (chronologically). Each can be read as their own novels with individual stories. But, the cast of characters will overlap throughout each book. *
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My head is still pounding when my eyes flutter open the next day. My brain is throbbing inside my skull and I punch the pillow underneath me, scaring Jinx out of his slumber. He meows in protest before hopping off the bed. Looking around, I’m in my bed. How did I get here? I groan in pain as I prop my pillows up and lean my head back against them. It’s then that I feel the eyes on me. Tilting my head straight again, I glance out my window. My eyes lock with those big brown eyes of Jared’s across the way. He looks down to his phone and back up again. My phone chimes with an incoming text.
“UGHHH!” I moan, blindly reaching for it. It slips a few times before I grasp it between my fingers and look down to read.
How are you feeling?
Closing one eye, I text back, Like someone ran over me with a truck, then backed up and ran me over again.
Lowering my phone, I watch as he smiles from my text and disappears from view. I’m trying to piece last night back together; it’s like a fragmented mirror that has shattered all over the corners of my mind. I remember laughing with Ro about her sexual conquests and then I remember red and blue lights and… Jared. Starting to feel hot, I throw the covers off of me and lay like a starfish, trying to get my mind to focus. Glancing down, I notice I’m wearing my pajamas. Before I can process any further, the door to my room creaks open. Jared walks in with a cup of water and a closed fist.
“How did you get in?!” I yelp, trying to sit up in bed, and pulling the covers back over my braless tank top.
“I left the back door open when I left last night,” he informs me as he opens his fist to show me he brought a hand full of Advil.
“You brought me home last night?” I rub my head before reaching for the pills and water.
“Yup, after you called me to pick you up from the police station.”
“I WAS WHERE?!” I scream as water comes spraying out of my mouth.
“Police station. Apparently, you popped a guy in the face.” He smirks.
I squint my eyes, vaguely remembering the heavyset guy that tried grabbing my ass in front of the bar.
“Whoa!” I have to lean my head back against my pillows when the information begins to become too much for me. “If you took me home, how did I get into pajamas?!”
The smile that crosses Jared’s face is a mixture of a blush and a sly smirk that makes my insides twist with anticipation and excitement. “Jared…”
“That… you did on your own. I had nothing to do with that!” He holds his hands up in surrender.
“What? I just stripped in front of you!”
“Well, once you got your shirt off, there was really no stopping you…” he teases and my eyes widen in embarrassment.
“Oh my God!” I slump down, pulling the covers back up to my face. “Did we… ya know…” I mutter, completely mortified now.
“Uh, that would be a no.”
“Oh, thank God!” I sigh.
“Thanks a lot!” He comes to his feet now, turning to look out the window.
“Not like that, it’s just … I don’t like to do things I’m not conscious for.”
“Yea, completely plastered girls that get arrested and throw up in bushes are really sexy!” His voice drips with sarcasm.
“I threw up?!” This just gets better and better.
“Twice.”
“Twice?” I’m mortified, staring at his amused face.
“Well, after the first time I thought maybe you needed something to eat.”
“Oh no…”
“Yeah… I’ve never seen someone eat a Big Mac that fast before…” He stares at the wall as if remembering my weak moment.
“Oh my God!” I groan, throwing the covers over my entire body. I curl up in a fetal position, planning to never come out again. The room grows silent. It’s starting to get hard to breathe under the sheets when I feel the mattress by my feet cave slightly.
“Come on, it’s not that bad. We all have our moments.” He pats my feet through the sheets.
“Just when I think I’ve reached rock bottom, things just seem to drops out from under me and I’m at an all new low!” I roll over, trying to pull the covers with me, but Jared’s weight prevents it. My head comes peeking out as I roll over, facing away from him.
“April, I think I just determined your major.”
“What?” I curiously twist to look at him again.
“Drama. You’re such an actress. Now, put your big girl panties on and get up!”
I stare at him for a second; did he just say what I think he said? He waits about two seconds before getting up and opening a drawer to my dresser. “Are they in here? Nope!” He closes it and opens another.
“STOP!” I scream, stumbling out of bed, horrified.
“How ‘bout this one?”
“Okay! Okay! I’m up!” I slam the drawer closed just in time to save myself further embarrassment when Jared eyes my plain old undergarments. I sigh when the pounding in my head launches my stomach into action and I collapse onto the corner of the bed.
“You okay?”
“I refuse to puke again!” I respond, taking another deep breath. “Jared…”
“Yea…”
“I could use some donuts.”
“Okay.” He pauses for a few seconds, looking down at his feet before adding, “I’ll be outside then.”
And he leaves me in my room, alone.
Sheena is a born and raised New Yorker, who followed her happily ever after to a much more rural town in Maine. When she’s not driving an hour to find a Starbucks or running from bugs that are way to big for her taste, she’s focusing on writing stories that empower and inspire.
Sheena always roots for the underdog, believes in love at first sight, and that everyone should have their happily ever after. For more on Sheena and her books visit her website: http://www.SheenaHutchinson.com.
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