Excerpt: 'The List' by Kate L. Mary

HEA shares an excerpt from The List, Kate L. Mary's new New Adult contemporary romance that comes out next week.

First, here's the blurb about the book (courtesy of Lyrical Press):

The List.

Twenty things every girl must do before she turns twenty. . .

Body piercing

Get drunk

First kiss

But thanks to her crazy, over-protective father, Annie Roth is way behind schedule. Good thing it's her first semester of college, because Annie is more than ready to start checking off items. . .

Fake ID

Skinny dipping

Road trip!!!

Where it gets complicated? Ryan and Chris. Best friends. Both sweet, funny, totally hot, and totally into Annie. But there are some things on The List that Annie only wants to do with Ryan. . .

Lose it

Get Heart Broken

Fall in love.

EXCERPT

Cami crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. She didn't look satisfied.

"Boyfriend?" I shook my head and she pursed her lips.

"What do you do for fun?"

"I told you, volleyball." I squirmed while I tried to figure out exactly what she wanted from me. No matter what I said, her lips got tighter and her eyes more narrowed until they were nothing but tiny slits.

She exhaled and puckered her lips before saying, "What else? I like to go shopping and to the beach, hang out with friends."

"That sounds like fun." What did she want me to say?

She was staring at me like I didn't speak English, shaking her head. "Are you shy?" I shrugged again and Cami nodded. "We'll work on that. I plan on having an awesome time in college, and I'm taking you with me. Got it?" She tilted her head and grinned at her plan. Then went back to organizing her things, which were still strewn all over the place.

My stuff was neatly put away, and it suddenly occurred to me how grungy I was. I'd taken the red-eye from California. Spent the whole night either on a plane or scrunched up in airport chairs.

"I think I'm going to take a shower."

Cami shrugged, but didn't look up from organizing her massive earring collection. "Just be ready in two hours. We're going out."

My heart jumped and my stomach dropped, but I kept my mouth shut. The idea terrified me, but at the same time I was more than ready to do something. For once.

Cami was already primping when I stepped out of the bathroom. She paused long enough to flash me her movie-star smile before going back to her mascara. "Ryan is going to be here in thirty, so you better hurry."

My hair was dripping; it was going to take me thirty minutes just to get it dry. "I thought you said we had two hours?" Why was that my only question? Shouldn't I have been asking where she planned on going?

She shrugged and I tried to get a closer look while she expertly curled her eyelashes. How did girls do that without poking themselves in the eye? "He called and said they were going out earlier. They want to catch dinner first."

I ran a comb through my hair and did my best to calm my pounding heart. It didn't work. "Where are you going?"

Cami giggled as she put a tissue between her burgundy lips and smacked them together. "We, and who cares? Anywhere Ryan will take us! It's our first night as college students and I want to have fun! " She turned the music up on her iPhone and bopped across the room. My heart pounded harder. I wasn't sure if I'd ever really had a day of fun in my life. Not real fun. Not the way other teenagers did.

I got busy blow-drying my hair, trying not to think about the night ahead. Thinking about going out made my stomach twist into knots, but I was determined to go through with it. Whatever it was. I'd chosen a school far away from home so I could experience life, and that was what I was going to do.

Find out more about Kate and her books at www.katelmary.com.