Schooled by Piper Lawson ~ Excerpt

Piper Lawson's debut novel, Schooled, has just released her and you can pick it up for just 99c! After reading the excerpt I had to 1-click it... What are you waiting for? Go do it!!

Title: Schooled

Author: Piper Lawson

Series: Travesty #1

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Published: May 27th 2015

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Twenty-one-year-old Alexis Caine is so close to her dream she can taste it. And it tastes like validation and Häagen-Dazs.

In a few months the quick-talking redhead will graduate with a shiny new business degree and launch a fashion label with her best friend Ava. All the planning, dedication, and saying ‘no’ to everything - and everyone - distracting will pay off.

Then Dylan Cameron, Ava’s tall, dark and broody younger brother, returns from the East Coast to start sophomore year at Lex's San Diego college. Lex has hardly seen him in years and given his reputation for partying and girls, that’s just fine with her.

But Dylan’s all grown up. And a night of unplanned confessions for both of them threatens to tear Lex’s carefully constructed world off its axis…

Because one sassy control freak + one prodigal son = chemistry that refuses to be ignored.

“I am a woman of science,” I began, “and as such, believe an objective test is in order.”

Dylan raised his brows skeptically. He evidently didn’t know where this was going.

That made two of us.

“In English, Yoda.”

I ignored the age barb and instead stretched up and squared my shoulders, my chin jutting out. “Kiss me.”

What the hell did I just say? I was a girl who rolled my clothes for optimal packing and alphabetized my books, for starters. Asking for any kind of bodily contact with my best friend’s little brother, no matter what the circumstances, was completely off script.

Dylan was evidently as floored as I was by my proposal. In fact, he looked at me like I’d grown a second head. Which seemed a bit of an overreaction. I was pretty sure I wasn’t that hideous to look at.

“Listen, Lex,” he began as he started to get up, “I appreciate the effort to make up for my recently lackluster social life, but I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Besides, you’ve been drinking.”

The problem was that while alcohol changed me in some ways, like losing the filter, it didn’t in others. When I got an idea in my head I was just as tenacious as usual.

“And you haven’t?”

“No, actually.”

My hands grabbed Dylan’s arms—whoa, muscles—before he could rise and pulled him back down. “Stop. It doesn’t matter. I am not drunk.”

He looked skeptical but didn’t try to get up again right away.

“I’m not,” I insisted. “Try me.”

“Twelve times eighteen.”

“Two hundred and sixteen.” My response was a bit slow but I knew it was correct.

“The capital of South Africa.”

“Pretoria.” Faster this time.

“First Democratic president of the United States.” Dylan had leaned in and narrowed his eyes, sensing he had it in the bag. Dig deep, Lex.

“Andrew Jackson.” I put my elbows on my knees and rested my chin on my fists. “Serving from 1829 from 1837.” I smiled sweetly. “Any more? I could do this all night.”

Dylan looked at me with admiration and something I probably could’ve identified had I been completely sober. While I appreciated the win, it wasn’t clear where that left us. As he opened his mouth to no doubt cite one of a thousand possible reasons this shouldn’t happen, I pre-empted him, channeling my brief tenth grade stint on the debate team.

“Dylan, listen,” I started matter-of-factly. “First, it’s one little kiss. We’re both grown-ups. No big deal. Second, there’s nothing here.” I gestured to the air between us. “We’re practically family, minus the ick factor, and given circumstances that were admittedly beyond your control you are in desperate need of an unbiased third-party opinion.” He opened his mouth to talk and I clapped my hand over it. His mouth was warm under my hand, but I ignored it. “Third, I have no stake in this, so can be completely honest. If you suck, I’ll tell you.” That sounded way less harsh in my head. But if there were rules for what I was suggesting, I hadn’t the slightest idea what they were.

I dropped my hand from his startled face. Dylan Cameron probably wasn’t used to being told to shut up.

But I was getting impatient. Life had been playing roulette with my emotions all night, and I was sick of being on the receiving end of whatever was handed down to me. I wanted to decide something for a change. The exasperation lit a fire under me and I threw up my hands, literally. “Oh come on, Cameron, it’s one stupid kiss. To cap off one stupid, heinous night. What are you so afraid of?”

Not one of my finest debating moments. But something sparked and the caramel fired in the depths of his eyes. My words had landed—evidently the boy couldn’t resist a challenge. I had this.

“One kiss?” he asked warily. I nodded. Dylan’s eyes scanned my face, though I hadn’t the first idea what he was looking for. “Fine.” The word sounded tight, like he wasn’t entirely convinced, but at least he’d said it. I wanted to crow in victory, though it still wasn’t obvious why it mattered.

Because of the way we were sitting, our faces were only inches apart to begin with. Looking over the planes of his face, dark obscenely long eyelashes hooding chocolate eyes, his full lips barely parted, awareness suddenly ran through me. It felt like we’d gotten closer together, though I was pretty sure neither of us had moved.

Suddenly I was less sure of myself. The kiss was a dumb idea, but it had seemed harmless enough when I proposed it. But with Dylan looming larger than life in front of me, all rebel-without-a-cause, broad shoulders and tanned skin and unreadable eyes, things weren’t so black and white anymore.

Dylan inclined his body toward me slowly. He paused with his lips a couple of inches from mine. Through partly lowered lashes I could see the skepticism etched on his defined features. What the hell was he waiting for?

Impatient to get it done—I needed to get studying if I was going to salvage anything of this bizarre evening—I closed the space between us until we were breathing the same air, a millimeter apart. He had no out. The smallest twitch would bring us into contact. Dylan smelled like mint and something else, something headier. Based on the challenge I’d seen in his eyes earlier, I was willing to bet he wouldn’t back out now.

And he didn’t.

Schooled is Piper Lawson’s debut novel. Piper loves reading and writing stories about sassy girls and the guys who fall hard for them.

Piper’s main household expenditures include books, shoes, and chocolate, not necessarily in that order. Coffee = life, and she’ll defend it accordingly. Piper has two business degrees, neither of which she’s leveraged into a fashion label (unlike her smarter, younger protagonists).

Home is Canada plus occasional sunny winter escapes.

She would LOVE to hear from you on Goodreads or Twitter @piperjlawson.