The Boyfriend Project Read online

  Dedication

  For every girl who has known the scary, confusing, wonderful,

  thrilling adventure of falling in love . . .

  And for every girl who hasn’t yet, but one day will . . .

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: Kendall

  Chapter 2: Jeremy

  Chapter 3: Kendall

  Chapter 4: Jeremy

  Chapter 5: Kendall

  Chapter 6: Jeremy

  Chapter 7: Kendall

  Chapter 8: Jeremy

  Chapter 9: Kendall

  Chapter 10: Jeremy

  Chapter 11: Kendall

  Chapter 12: Jeremy

  Chapter 13: Kendall

  Chapter 14: Jeremy

  Chapter 15: Kendall

  Chapter 16: Jeremy

  Chapter 17: Kendall

  Chapter 18: Jeremy

  Chapter 19: Kendall

  Chapter 20: Jeremy

  Chapter 21: Kendall

  Chapter 22: Jeremy

  Chapter 23: Kendall

  Chapter 24: Jeremy

  Chapter 25: Kendall

  Chapter 26: Jeremy

  Chapter 27: Kendall

  Chapter 28: Jeremy

  Chapter 29: Kendall

  Chapter 30: Jeremy

  Chapter 31: Kendall

  Chapter 32: Jeremy

  Chapter 33: Kendall

  Chapter 34: Jeremy

  Chapter 35: Kendall

  Chapter 36: Jeremy

  Chapter 37: Kendall

  Chapter 38: Jeremy

  Chapter 39: Kendall

  Chapter 40: Jeremy

  Chapter 41: Kendall

  Chapter 42: Jeremy

  Chapter 43: Kendall

  Chapter 44: Jeremy

  Chapter 45: Kendall

  Chapter 46: Jeremy

  Chapter 47: Kendall

  Excerpt from Trouble from the Start

  Back Ads

  About the Author

  Books by Rachel Hawthorne

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Chapter 1

  KENDALL

  I loved Jeremy Swanson.

  I loved his long, slow kisses, his dimpled smile. I loved the way one of his hands always came to rest on the small of my back when we walked.

  “I love you, Kendall,” he whispered breathlessly as he trailed his mouth along my neck before returning it to my lips for another searing kiss.

  I loved that most of all. That he loved me, quirks included.

  We were doing our contortionist impression, as we struggled to find a comfortable position in the cramped backseat of his car that was quickly turning into a sauna. Because of all the mosquitoes, we had the windows rolled up. Because of the price of gas, the car wasn’t running, the air conditioner wasn’t blowing.

  But neither of us cared about the discomforts. We were together. That was all that mattered.

  Jeremy shifted, lost his precarious perch on the edge of the seat and, with a yelp, tumbled the few inches to the floor.

  I laughed, held up a hand. “Sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” he said, moaning as he shoved himself into a sitting position. “I don’t know why my parents had to get me such a small car for a graduation present.”

  “Probably because they knew this is what you’d be doing with it.”

  He grinned. The shadows stopped me from seeing the little dimple that I knew had formed in his left cheek. “Probably. Dad worries that I’ll do something stupid before I even get to college.”

  “Like fall in love,” I teased.

  He leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss. “That’s the smartest thing I’ve done so far.”

  He tried to get up but he was wedged between the front seat and the back. “This is ridiculous. I’m glad you love me. These moves wouldn’t impress a date.”

  I placed my hand against his cheek, leaned in, and let my mouth play over his. “Your moves impress me.”

  They always had. We’d been together for nearly four months, longer if I counted the friendship phase that had begun at the start of our senior year just after his family moved to town. Over spring break when my best friend, Avery Watkins, hadn’t been able to go to a movie with us, Jeremy had kissed me for the first time. It had been a sweet kiss, a tentative brushing of his lips over mine as though he were afraid I’d take offense and slap him or something. I hadn’t taken offense. Instead I’d moved in to welcome his advance. He’d taken the kiss deeper and I’d fallen hard.

  Now, without breaking off the kiss, he tried to smoothly get back onto the seat. He grunted, shifted, pulled away, and sighed. “I’m stuck.”

  Ruffling my fingers through his short, blond hair, I laughed again. “And I intend to take advantage of that.”

  I kissed him again. He cupped my face, his thumb stroking the underside of my chin where the skin was soft and sensitive. Shivers went through me. He skipped his tongue over my lips before slipping it inside to dance with mine. He always took his time. He always went slow.

  Sometimes slower than I wanted.

  I tugged his shirt out of his jeans, glided my hand beneath the soft material, and skimmed my palm up his back. He groaned low, began pushing himself up—

  “Oh, God! Oh, God! My back’s cramping.” His hand flew to his side, his head reared back.

  “Okay, hold on.” I opened the door and clambered out of the car, trying to give him more room to maneuver. I pulled on his legs. He really was wedged in there. We’d already moved the seats up as far as they would go. “Here, take my hand.”

  Finally he was able to shift slightly so he could crawl backward out of the car. Arching with his hands pressed to his spine, he paced back and forth several times. With a look of contrition, he finally straightened and laughed with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “That car has got to go.”

  Although it was relatively new, it was the unsexiest thing I’d ever seen and looked like something my grandmother would drive to church. Walking over to him, I flattened my palms against his chest. “Maybe you could trade it in for a motorcycle.”

  “Where would we make out?”

  Good question. I’d have to talk to Avery about that. She pretty much became a motorcycle expert when she started dating Fletcher Thomas.

  I heard the beep of an incoming text on my phone. I opened the front door, reached in, and grabbed my phone from where it rested on the console. Speak of the devil.

  Avery:

  Going to B.S. Meet us?

  I almost said no but I was tired of the cramped backseat. I looked over my shoulder. “Want to meet Avery and Fletcher at the Burger Shack?”

  “Guess I kinda ruined the mood with my old guy, back-out-of-whack impersonation.”

  “It’s more the heat.” I slapped at a mosquito. “The bugs. And I’m a little hungry.”

  “Okay, let’s go.” He slammed the back door while I slid into the passenger seat. Then he closed my door before jogging around and slipping behind the wheel.

  He started off, slow and careful, backing away from the lake until we reached the road. I didn’t look to see what other cars were out there. This area was pretty much make-out central, but couples deserved their privacy.

  “You know,” he began, “you don’t have to say Avery and Fletcher. If it’s Avery, I assume it’s Fletcher, too, now.”

  Avery and Fletcher had started dating seriously just a few weeks ago. “I’m so glad she got a boyfriend,” I said. “I think she was starting to get a little uncomfortable hanging around with us all the time.” She’d been my best friend forever and Jeremy had always been good about inviting her to go places with us. I loved how considerate he was, but I had t