Foto: Elle Kennedy
Če ste mislili, da se je Elle Kennedy s petimi knjigami v seriji Off-campus in s štirimi knjigami v seriji Briar U naveličala pisanja o študentih na univerzi Briar, se krepko motite. Ne le, da še naprej svoje zgodbe postavlja v okolje kampusa te (med bralci) priljubljene univerze, temveč nam v svojem novem romanu predstavlja naslednjo generacijo!
Najbrž se še vsi spomnite Hannah in Garretta in njunega ljubezenskega dogovora, ki se je končal tako, da sta se oba do ušes zaljubila drug v drugega? Če ste prebrali peto in hkrati tudi zadnjo knjigo v seriji Off-campus (tisti, ki je še niste prebrali, ne berite dalje, saj zapis vsebuje kvarnike), potem veste, v kakšnih skrbeh je bila Hannah, ko je izvedela, da je noseča, in kako zelo se je to novico bala predati Garettu.
No, pisateljica je že v veselem pričakovanju njenega najnovejšega romana, The Graham effect, ki bo izšel 31. oktobra, v vlogi glavne junakinje pa bomo tokrat spoznali Gigi Graham, hči Hannah in Garetta. Gre za prvo knjigo v novi seriji Campus diaries. Če sodim po tej prvi knjigi, lahko v nadaljevanju pričakujemo še več knjig, v katerih bodo svojo ljubezen na univerzi Briar iskali otroci glavnih junakov serij Off-campus in Briar U.
Foto: Amazon
Prva knjiga iz očarljive, ledeno-vroče serije Campus diaries, ki je sestrska serija BookTok senzacij Off-campus in Briar U, avtorice uspešnic New York Timesa Elle Kennedy.
Gigi Graham ima le tri cilje: uvrstiti se v žensko hokejsko reprezentanco, osvojiti olimpijsko zlato in stopiti iz sence svojega slavnega očeta. Zaenkrat kaže dobro, razen dveh malenkosti. V redu, ene malenkosti in ene velike, čemerne stvari. Izboljšati mora svojo igro za mrežo in za to potrebuje pomoč Lukea Ryderja.
Ryder je skoraj dva metra visok, lepo grajen, samozavesten, nesramen fant ... n seksi kot hudič. Ampak še vedno je njen sovražnik.
Briarjev novi hokejski sokapetan ima svoje razloge. Moška ekipa se je pravkar združila s konkurenčnim programom, zaradi česar je Ryder na nasprotnem polu, kjer se vsi medsebojno sovražijo. Da bi bile stvari še hujše, je mesto poletnega trenerja, za katerega si prizadeva pri legendarnem Garrettu Grahamu, nedosegljivo, potem ko je na svojega junaka naredil najslabši možni prvi vtis. Torej, res, ta dogovor z Gigi bo obema koristil. On ji pomaga pri reprezentanci, ona pa bo zanj zastavila dobro besedo pri njenem očetu.
Edina možna zanka? Ta, do kosti globoka in nevarna kemija, ki omrtviči telo in jo oba poskušata na vse pretege ignorirati. Igrata nevarno igro, toda tveganje je morda vredno tega.
EKSKLUZIVNI ODLOMEK
RYDER
Gigi’s white SUV is the only other vehicle in the parking lot when we pull in. It’s 9 p.m. and the building just closed to the public according to the hours posted online.
“You sure she doesn’t mind I’m here?” asks Beckett, running a hand through his blond hair.
“I texted her earlier to confirm. All good.”
“Texting with our co-captain’s ex-girlfriend. Look at you, living on the edge over here.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I’m not scared of Colson.”
We hop out of the Jeep.
“You got to admit, a bite of forbidden fruit always tastes sweeter.”
“I’m not looking to bang her. I said I’d help her behind the net. She said she’d talk me up to her dad. Win-win.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure that’s all it is.”
“Dude, this was your idea.”
“Actually, it was Lindley’s idea.”
“Whatever. You cosigned it.”
Gigi is opening her trunk now. She’s in jeans and a tight white tank top, her dark hair arranged in a long braid down her back. She leans into the trunk and heaves out her hockey bag and a backpack. We do the same from the back of the Jeep.
“Hi,” she says at our approach. She casts a slightly wary look in Beckett’s direction.
He’s unfazed, flashing that obnoxious Australian grin of his. The one that utilizes maximum dimples. “Looking good, Graham.”
“Thanks.”
“What? Not going to return the compliment?”
She snorts.
“Wow, that hurts,” he says, slapping a hand over his heart in mock agony.
“Yeah, like you need me to stroke your ego.”
“My ego? No. But other things…” He trails off suggestively. And where it would’ve sounded slimy coming from any other dude, somehow Beckett pulls it off.
Gigi giggles, confirming my suspicions that Beckett Dunne can do and say no wrong when it comes to women.
Her laughter fades when our eyes lock. She bites her lip and I wonder if she’s thinking about the weekend. I know I am. For days I’ve been trying to make sense of the mountain of sexual tension that suddenly rose between us when we were hiding from the boosters.
When I almost kissed her.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around that one. Yes, she’s hot. I spent the whole night trying not to stare at her bare tanned legs. And don’t get me started on the rest of her body. Tight and sculpted. Hot enough to scald my blood.
Until the gala, though, I wasn’t thinking too hard about banging her.
Now I kind of am.
“Anyway.” She clears her throat. She has her bags over one shoulder, and a leather purse on the other. She slides a hand into the latter and pulls out a key ring. “Let’s go in.”
I raise a brow. “You got a key to this place?”
“I know a guy.”
“What guy?” Beckett asks curiously.
“My uncle. He grew up here.”
At the entrance, there’s a small gold plaque screwed onto the outer wall that reads:
IN RECOGNITION OF JOHN LOGAN
FOR HIS GENEROUS DONATION TO BETTER THE TOWN
OF MUNSEN, MASSACHUSETTS
“Your uncle John Logan,” I mumble incredulously.
“I mean, not by blood, but he’s my dad’s best friend. My brother and I grew up calling him Uncle Logan.”
I try not to dwell on the realization that our childhoods were so drastically disparate, we may as well have been raised on two different planets. But a pang of bitterness rises nonetheless. For all she wishes her family name didn’t follow her around, the truth is, it does. It opens doors for her that I could never dream of opening for myself.
My mind flashes to the fancy, well-kept neighborhood we drove through Saturday night on our way to the country club. Again, a whole other planet from where I lived as a child. First the small two-bedroom Phoenix apartment where I lived with my parents before my mother died. Then the run-down foster homes with overgrown yards and sagging chain-link fences. It’s almost impossible to envision the idyllic upbringing Gigi must’ve had.
“Damn, I want to be you when I grow up,” Beckett remarks.
“Anyway, I told Logan I needed a private place to practice, and he offered up this rink. I grabbed the keys from him earlier.”
“Nice perks you got there from Daddy,” I can’t help but crack.
“Hey, Daddy is the reason we’re here, isn’t he? So I can talk you up to him?” She offers a saccharine smile. “So I’ve either got a famous dad who can benefit you and you don’t complain about it, or I don’t and you’re shit out of luck. Can’t have it both ways, prom king.”
She has a point.
“Locker rooms are down here,” she says, leading us to the end of a fluorescent-lit corridor.
Her jeans are practically painted on, and I can’t help checking out her tight, perky ass. Beckett’s looking too. He catches me doing it and gives me a knowing grin. I scowl at him.
We reach the men’s change rooms, which are locked. Gigi stops and fumbles with her key ring. “Hold on. I’m not sure which one it is.”
As she bends forward to stick the first key in the lock, her purse slides off her shoulder and down her arm. She attempts to catch it before it falls, but to no avail. The bag tumbles to the shiny floor, its contents spilling out on the way down.
A giant box of condoms lands at my feet.
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