Page 1 of Coastal Runaway

prologue

Keegan

“Keegan! Are you ready? People are starting to show up!” Nolan, my twin brother, shouted from downstairs.

Adjusting my glasses, I took one last look in the mirror. I decided to end my high school career by putting more effort into my appearance, just this once— a very subtle suck it to everyone who underestimated me for the last seventeen years. I enlisted the help of my younger sister to do my hair and makeup; Maeve was more of a girly-girl than I ever was.

Thanks to her efforts, I was sporting a very tasteful smokey eye and perfectly bouncy curls. I wore a pair of skin-tight jeans that frayed at my ankles and a cropped t-shirt that my older sister, Ryleigh, made for me. The shirt was split— half Coastal Crest University and half Columbia University—since it was tradition in the Kelly family to rep the school that you planned to attend in the fall for part of your party, and I was still undecided.

“Coming!” I shouted back and headed downstairs.

Our entire high school was here; every kid I had ever seen in my life was currently in the backyard of our Hartford, Connecticut home. My dad went all out for the party—as he did for every celebration. There was a big main tent set up with various sizes of tables and chairs. A full buffet was on the right, and a full bar was off to the left side.

Servers with hors d’oeuvres were moving around the yard in a coordinated rhythm, ensuring our guests were constantly supplied with options to soak up the vast amounts of alcohol being consumed. The sun was starting to set and a DJ was currently setting up in front of a black-and-white tile dance floor that my dad had laid out.

I confidently walked around the party, mingling with family members and friends over the course of the evening. I dodged questions about my half-and-half shirt and looming college decision. When the adults had all but filtered out, it was late, but it was time for the epic, albeit cliché, end-of-high-school rager to begin.

I snuck back into the house to change. Despite reservations that everyone had only ever seen me in oversized t-shirts and hoodies that usually belonged to my brothers or Luke, but tonight, I planned to Laney Boggs the shit out of this party. Maeve convinced me to wear contacts that I bought but rarely wore. She also spent a whole month pressuring me to finally wear a very scandalous corset top that I bought after it went viral on TikTok.

I changed into the cute corset top and put in my contacts, careful not to ruin any of Maeve’s hard work on my hair and makeup. I took a deep breath, stole one more glance at myself in the mirror, and then went back downstairs.

When I stepped back out onto the patio, I was suddenly very aware of the way that the stiff lace fabric felt against my skin. My thoughts raced.

What a stupid idea this was.

Why do I even care what these people think?

Swallowing some of my fears, I held my head up high and continued into the party.

Much to my horror all eyes were suddenly on me, and my very well-displayed cleavage. I made my way over to a bar nestled between two overly tall shrubs. The bartender winked as he passed me a cute pink drink with a sugar rim. That first sip of liquid courage relaxed my shoulders as the music picked back up.

Everyone seemed to lose interest in my new appearance with the start of the next song. While most of this party was underage there was an understanding between the kids and parents; they didn't ask, and we didn’t cause any property damage.

I moved to step away from the bar but, over the music, I caught the sound of my name coming from behind me. I slowly turned and noticed some junior girls were huddled in a group nearby. Casually, I brought my drink to my lips and bobbed to the music. Using the tall shrubs to my advantage, I inched close enough to eavesdrop without being obvious.

I heard one of the girls ask, “Who does she even think she is?”

The girl to her right spat, “A loser never loses her stripes, or whatever.”

A girl who was clearly a little too addicted to lip filler snarled, “If she thinks that she is suddenly going to nail down Luke Cavan, she’s going to have to fight me first. I am next in line for a dance.”

The first girl spoke again, “I heard that Luke is actually contemplating deflowering her out of pity as a favor to her brother. A bitch would be so lucky.”

They all burst into laughter and continued gossiping about how embarrassing this was for me but I had heard enough. I turned on my heel. I thought I was strong enough to do this, but apparently it wasn’t possible to overcome my old reputation. I was mortified at the possibility that I wasn’t as subtle about my crush as I initially thought.

I began spiraling as I questioned if Luke knew how I felt this whole time. My eyes stung as I replayed all the moments where he joked at flirting with me, and I wondered if Luke was just mocking my feelings the entire time.

Hiding my tears, I put my head down and made a beeline for Maeve. She was dancing with some random guy who was looking down at her like she hung the moon. I was about to enter the dance floor when someone stepped in front of me and halted me in my tracks. I glanced up into a very familiar set of icy blue eyes and my racing thoughts stopped.

“I’ve been looking for you, Tig. Where have you been hiding?” Luke asked, making my stomach flutter. The question hung in his eyes with an intensity that made me nervous.

Luke was Nolan’s best friend, meaning he was also mine. We have known Luke our whole lives because our dads met in college and founded a tech empire together. Nolan and I were inseparable, as most twins were, and when Luke’s dad relocated them from California to Connecticut when we were five years old, he fit in with us seamlessly. The trio was born out of nothing less than the forced proximity of our families and my sheer refusal to not be included. Eventually, Luke caught on that I was always around my brother and was unlikely to go away.

“Just got myself a drink.” I answered, glancing up at him and then quickly away as I sipped the sugar rim.

“I wanted to tell you how great you look tonight. I haven’t gotten a chance to say how much I love the new look.” He breathed, and his eyes traveled up the length of my body.

“Thank you, Luke,” I smiled at the compliment but squirmed under the weight of his gaze; he’d never looked at me in this way.