Page 1 of Bless My Body

Prologue

Ezra

T he sun burns into my back as I sit on my beach towel. It’s the middle of summer, and the heat is

at its highest here in south Georgia, but I wouldn’t change it. Summer has always been my

favorite season.

Since I graduated from Brunswick University, I’ve been spending as much time at the beach as I

can before I have to pack up and head to Jacksonville in two weeks. Today is just like every other.

My friends and I have our towels set up, with a cooler filled with beer, water, and food. We’ll spend

the whole day out here and love every second of it.

Celine sits on the towel in front of me. Her long red hair is twisted up on top of her head, and

she’s wearing the little black bikini I love so much. The only bad part about this bikini is that every

other guy on this damn beach seems to like it too. My stomach twists in knots every time someone

looks at her. Each time I wonder if this is the guy she’ll end up with when I leave.

I shake the bitterness from my mind and focus on our card game. Celine flips her card.

King.

I flip my card.

Jack.

I move quickly trying to slap the card, but Celine beats me to it, my hand landing right on top of

hers. She jumps up from her towel in celebration.

“Face it, Sanders. I’m the best at Slapjack. You’ll never beat me,” she taunts. We’ve been playing

Slapjack almost every day since the semester ended, and she’s won 80 percent of the time. I don’t

know how she gets her hand on the cards so damn fast.

I stand from my towel and bend, grabbing her waist and throwing her over my shoulder in a

fireman carry. My feet sink into the sand, but that doesn’t stop me from running to the ocean.

“Ezra, put me down right now!” Celine yells, but I can hear the laughter in her voice. She pounds

on my back like that will make me put her down.

“Nope,” I tell her. I can hear her best friend Stella laughing somewhere near me, and then a baby

cry, which I can only assume is from Wes and Hazel’s baby.

I run Celine right into the water, and we both splash down into a wave. I finally let her go, and she

stands just as another wave crashes into us. The water is warm, but it still cools my skin.