For heavens sake, p.1
For Heaven's Sake, page 1
Contents
Author’s Note
Prologue
1. Defective Rod Stewart
2. Tiny Love Muffin
3. The Handsy Old Lady
4. Pervy Postman
5. Bribing A Coffee Junkie
6. Bish, Bash, Bosh
7. Will You be My Pillows?
8. The Devil Can Kiss
9. He Fared Well
10. I Value My Manhood
11. Boundaries-Shmoundries
12. Keep It In Your Pants
13. Coco Loco
14. Best Idea Ever
15. One Big Splat
16. Playing With Fire
17. Under A Rock
18. Hot Psycho Material
19. No One Can See
20. Wicked Games
21. Smackable
22. Four If You Count Dinner
23. Real Back Bender
24. Snake In My Pantaloon
25. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy
26. Stupid Soulsucker
27. Good Girl
28. Setting Boundaries
29. Good With Your Hands
30. Big Words
31. Right there, Bub!
32. The Tie
33. Well Acquainted
34. Knitting Habits
35. Cool As A Cucumber
36. You Knew
37. Think About It On The Daily
38. Hellhole. I Mean Paradise
39. Wham. Bam. Thank you Ma’am
40. You Scared Me
41. My Lazy Heart
42. It Hurt
43. Maybe
44. It’s You
45. They’ll Need A Crowbar
Epilogue
THE SEXIEST NERD ALIVE
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by J. Preston
For Heaven’s Sake
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright © 2022 by J. Preston
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copywriter owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
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Cover Design: Ashley Santorro
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Published by J. Preston
www.authorjpreston.com
For all the lazy hearts
Thank you so much for picking up For Heaven’s Sake. If this is the first book of mine you’re reading then… wow! Thanks for giving me a chance! You’re in for a wild ride.
If you’re a returning reader then: Gaaaah! Jason’s book is finally here! And boy, am I excited for you to read about him!
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Music is a huge part of every book I write. Head over to Spotify to listen to For Heaven’s Sake’s Playlist (scan or click the QR code)
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I hope you love this book as much as I do.
Stay sexy,
J. Preston
7 years ago - Freshman year
REAGAN
Pick up.
Pick up, pick up, pick up!
I growl in frustration at the absence of my broken-hearted brother. He was supposed to meet me almost an hour ago in front of my new dorm to help me move in. But he’s nowhere to be seen. Ever since Jenny, his best friend, got together with Aiden, his other best friend, he’s just not been himself. Carter Kennedy, my usually incredibly outgoing and self-confident brother, became withdrawn, locked himself in his house and stopped answering calls.
I’d worry about him on a normal day, but today of all days? I’m pissed.
“Corky, I swear to God, if you don’t pick up the next time I call, I’ll haul my ass over to your place and will castrate you with my nail scissors,” I hiss into my cell, leaving him a voicemail.
“Rey?”
I whirl around and face the grinning blond Adonis. The guy who, frankly, I could lick up and down, were he not a part of Carter’s tight-knit group of besties.
“Jason.” I push my blond hair out of my eyes. “Can you help me?” I ask, motioning at my bags and the mattress, leaning against the post right next to me, where the delivery guy dropped it off. Normally, I would have asked him for help—by offering extra cash—but the guy looked really creepy and kept eyeing me up and down with a too friendly expression on his face. I made the executive decision to not die and instead, wait for my brother to show up in front of my dorm like he promised to.
“Depends… those nail scissors?”
“They’ve only got Carter’s name on them,” I reply. “I’ll get you a coffee as a reward,” I add as an afterthought—that should be enticing enough. I mean, who wouldn’t want a free coffee?
“I don’t drink coffee,” he shrugs as my jaw hits the floor. Say what? He doesn’t drink coffee? Is he even human? Who in their right mind does not drink coffee? Coffee is life. Everyone knows it. “I just don’t like it.” He blushes at my expression.
When I first met Jason last Thanksgiving, I honestly thought he was perfect. He had charm, good looks, and was funny. And even though my great aunt Berta felt him up under the table, I could look past that. I could look past the fact that he was my brother’s best friend. I could look past the hordes of women he flirted with. But not drinking coffee? The nectar of the gods? The freaking ambrosia? Well, that will be a hard pill to swallow.
“So what shall we do first?” he asks, pulling me out of my downward spiral.
I shake my head, trying to wipe the image of Jason hating on my beloved coffee and sigh. “Is it safe to leave my things here while we take the mattress upstairs?” I ask.
Jason looks around, his eyebrows scrunched in thought, then reaches his hand out, stopping a girl in her tracks. “Hey, beautiful.” His gravelly voice makes her doe eyes dilute. “Could you watch our bags while we run the mattress upstairs?” She blushes, twirling her brown hair around her fingers as his baby blue eyes focus on her.
“Sure… You won’t be long?”
“Just a few minutes, I promise.” He grins, booping her nose. My eyes widen, seeing the effect he has on other women. It brings me back down to earth. As gorgeous as Jason Cowley is, he is also a huge player, and it would be wise to never forget that. The girl who changes the player? She doesn’t exist outside of romance novels. And even if she did, she certainly isn’t me. I like my guys nerdy and safe, thank you very much.
Unaware of my thoughts, Jason motions at me and we grab the mattress at each end, lifting it and walking it up the few steps towards the dorm entrance. I’m late to the party, so there’s no welcome committee, no dorm or floor reps. It’s just me, my mattress and the hunk in front of me. His muscles ripple as he shifts the mattress above his head and calls the elevator. I’m low-key drooling, ogling his perfect body before I’m brutally ripped out of my daydream when he asks me for the floor number. I mutter the answer and watch him press the button, his calloused fingers drawing my attention. Without a sweat, he lifts the mattress all by himself, propping it against the elevator wall, allowing me to take in the sight in front of me. He truly is stunning. Tall, tanned and blond, with those bright blue eyes, he’s what you can find under ‘perfect surfer boy’ in the dictionary. Wrapped up with a bow of a sculpted body.
I lick my lips as my eyes trail up over his chest and stop on his face, his gaze intense as he watches me appreciate his body. Our eyes lock as the air grows thicker. He steps closer to me and brushes his rough fingers against my cheek. There’s a rush I’ve never felt before. Desire mixed with a hint of inevitability. And just like that, I don’t care about any of the things I listed before, the ones clearly stating that what I am about to do is a bad idea. With my head tilted upward, I lift on my tiptoes, moving as close to his face as I can reach. Without hesitation, Jason closes the distance, pressing his lips to mine. The heady feeling of passion and yearning comes over me. The kiss is everything I imagined and more. His breath mingled with mine, the sparks of electricity, when his hands slide into my hair pulling closer. I want more. More of this feeling. More of Jason Cowley. And as if he can read my mind, he swoops in, prying my lips open with his tongue, forcing himself in without waiting for my permission. He takes, takes, takes. Demanding my all. Molding me into him. I have never been kissed like that in my entire life. Never have I felt this primal need to taste someone, to let them in, have them claim me in such a masterful way. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him in closer as he assaults my mouth. God, if he fucks like he kisses, I’ll have to build him an altar or something. My body tingles with the need for him and my heart pumps to the rhythm of… catcalls?
Shit! In my lustful haze, I didn’t even realize the elevator doors opened and we were giving my entire floor a show. Reluctantly, I pull away from Jason’s lips, his taste lingering on mine. The way his head follows mine a few inches, wanting more, and his groan of disapproval make me smile.
“We better get that mattress in.” I wink at him and grab the huge thing. I’m all for more kissing, preferably without an audience. He bites his lip and readjusts himself before lifting his side. As we walk through the busy corridor, passing students milling, I say a little prayer that my roommate isn’t in, that maybe we can grab the rest of my bags and run back upstairs to test this new mattress. Brothers, coffee and heaven be damned. I want to burn in hell if it means more kissing with Jason Cowley. The thought makes me walk faster and before I know it, I’m wrapping my hand around the doorknob, turning it and pushing the door open with my hip, all the while balancing the mattress on my other side.
“Back so soon?” my roommate, who didn’t get the memo of staying away, says. I don’t really mind though, I’m happy to meet the person I’ll be living with for the foreseeable future. I peer over the mattress, propping it down on my foot as I grin at her. She’s gorgeous, in all her disheveled glory. Her confused expression as she processes my face, clearly having been expecting someone else, turns into a wide smile when it finally clicks. “Rey? Are you Rey? My new roommate?” I nod, my smile matching hers. “Oh my god! You’re finally here! I’m Sarah! Girl, I thought you bailed on me!” She rushes to me, pulling me in for a hug. I let go of the mattress and hug her back as she goes on talking a hundred miles a minute. Then she stops, her gaze focused on something or someone behind me. “So, you did come back. And you brought my new roommate with you. Thanks, babe.” Babe?
I untangle myself from Sarah, stepping back and trying to understand what exactly is happening. My gaze bouncing between my new roommate and the guy holding my mattress up. The guy whose passionate kiss still lingers on my lips. The guy who I threw myself at in the elevator. The guy who clearly is dating my roommate. I look around the room. The bedsheets are all rumpled, the nest on Sarah’s head screams sex hair and Jason? Well, Jason is unusually pale. Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“You know Jason?” I stumble through the words, praying for a miracle.
“Oh, I know Jason,” Sarah smiles a coquettish smile and saunters over to him, tracing her finger up and down his chest before lifting on her toes and assaulting his lips. The lips that were on mine not even a minute ago. I stiffen as Jason kisses her back. He doesn’t pull her closer, but he doesn’t push her away, either.
I shake my head, trying to comprehend the scene unfolding in front of my eyes. Jason is looking at me as Sarah continues to kiss him.
Red hot jealousy mingles with disbelief in my veins. I’m hurt. So hurt that I’m just another conquest to him.
But what’s worse is I’m a fucking home wrecker.
I sway on my legs, needing to sit down as the reality settles on me. I have thrown myself at a guy who has a girlfriend. I basically made him a cheater, made him into everything that I despise.
But no, it takes two to tango. I might have thrown myself at him, but he didn’t stop me. Not once did he say ‘I can’t’, or ‘shouldn’t’, or that there’s someone else. Fucking guys. There’s a reason I stick to my usual nerdy guy type. And this is it. Situations like this. The feeling of being deceived, the feeling of being less than... I just kissed someone else’s boyfriend. Me, the person who lives by girl code.
This means one thing and one thing only. The two-timing bastard is off-limits for life. It will be hard, considering he’s part of my friends’ group, but I’ll just avoid him. I’ll avoid him and let this feeling of betrayal fester. Let it turn to hate if it’ll make staying away from him easier.
Probably for the best, too. Nothing good could come from it. Jason Cowley is Trouble, with a capital T.
REAGAN
Am I forgetting something?
Keys.
Phone.
Purse.
I check the items off in my head as I run through my apartment in downtown LA.
I’m definitely forgetting something. But to hell with it. I will not be the person who holds up my soon to be sister in law’s dress fitting. At breakneck speed, I run out of my apartment and barely manage to stop in time before crashing into my yellow VW Beetle. This thing should have a human imprint on its side, considering the amount of times I didn’t manage to stop. As it stands, my trusty Ol’Rusty is pristine and dent free. Well, except that one dent on the side where I backed into a fire hydrant, and the scratch on the passenger door from when I misjudged a barrier, but who’s counting?
Not this girl.
This girl is late, and doesn’t have time to do any counting. Especially since math was never my strong subject. Give me arts any day of the week, but trigonometry? I couldn’t even tell you what that was about. Triangles, maybe? Sounds about right.
I wipe the sweat off my forehead as I slide into my car and press the start button. A low hum starts up as the electric engine comes to life. I call my car Ol’Rusty for shits and giggles. In fact, it’s only a few months old, which says something about my driving. What, with all the dents and scratches… Fine, there might be more than just a couple. But like I said, who’s counting?
The mellow sounds of alt-J fill the car when I plug my cell into the sound system. I crank up the volume and lower my windows, letting the vibe out onto the streets of LA as I drive to my destination. On the freeway, I stick my left arm out the window and let it float in the air, making waves as the song plays on repeat. Just for a second, I close my eyes, pressing my foot down on the gas pedal.
Tempting fate has become a sort of a game to me over the past couple of years. Normally, I’d keep them closed for as long as I’d dare. Seeing which one of us will win. Not today. Today isn’t about me and my abundance of issues. Today is about Sydney, my brother’s fiancé. My sister from another mister. My favorite human, right after my brother, Carter.
I don’t see either of them often enough. Their schedule doesn’t allow for that. Eight months of the year they are on tour, Carter singing to the masses and Sydney apparently helping him with stage fright, which is ridiculous if you asked me. The guy is a freaking rockstar who has been performing in front of huge crowds for the better part of the last six years. But I get it, I wouldn’t want to spend any time away from the person I love either, if I were in their shoes. Just one look at them makes it obvious how utterly gone for each other they are, even after six years of being together. The four months they’re not touring, they spend holed up in a little mountain cabin in Yosemite National Park. I say ‘little’, as it used to be small when I was growing up. But Carter and Sydney have made some changes since claiming the place. Considering all the additions, including a recording studio, that cabin can no longer be called ‘little’. Or a cabin, for that matter. The place is pretty huge now. And considering they like their space and privacy, I’m glad they have everything they need right there, even if it means they’re not in LA as much as I’d like them to be. But I see them every day anyway, just over FaceTime.
You know those kids who don’t have any friends and always say that their mom or sibling is their best friend? Well, I’m kind of that kid. Except it’s true. Our small family is close, and I consider their overbearing asses my closest friends. Carter leading the troupe as my ‘BFF’. I’m the first person to hear his new songs, the first person he talks to if he and Sydney have a fight. He plays me unfinished tunes, asking for my input. Not that he needs it. Ever since he signed with Josh Coda, Carter has been recording hit after hit.
My brother, the wonder kid.
Have you ever felt lost in your own skin? In your own family? I do. All the time.
Although I love my family with all my heart, I sometimes wonder if things would be different if my parents never had me. If all they knew was Carter, the golden boy who could do no wrong.
