Collide: The Collide Series, #1

By Nicole Sobon

Three simple words were all it took to change their lives forever.

Losing a loved one is hard. Learning to survive in their absence? That’s even harder. For Gemma Michaels, life had become difficult following her brother’s death, but the one thing that kept her afloat was the one thing she knew she shouldn’t have desired – her best friend, Ben.

He’d made a promise to her brother – to protect her, no matter what. For Ben, that had meant that she was off limits. But then she slips and tells him the three words he’s been waiting to hear.

Love happens when you least expect it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
• Release date: Sep 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781945910418

Nicole Sobon

Nicole Sobon is the author of The Emile Reed Chronicles (Young Adult Science Fiction), the Outbreak duology (Young Adult Dystopian), and various other stories. Her novel, Program 13, was quoted on an episode of Criminal Minds (season 8, episode 13, "Magnum Opus"). She is currently working on Deprogrammed, the second book in the Emile Reed Chronicles, which is set for a late May/early June release. She will also be releasing Collide, a New Adult contemporary romance, in July 2013.

Book preview

Collide:

Episode One

Nicole Sobon

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, places, or events is coincidental and not intended by the author.

If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher. In such case the author has not received any payment for this stripped book.

Collide: Episode One

Copyright © 2017 Nicole Sobon

All rights reserved.

ISBN Ebook: 978-1-945910-41-8

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Inkspell Publishing

5764 Woodbine

Pinckney, MI 48169

Edited By Rie Langdon

Cover art By Najla Qamber

You can visit us at www.inkspellpublishing.com

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TO MY BEST FRIEND,

FOR BEING MY LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS.

Some risks are worth taking.

Chapter One

Gemma

I ran my finger over the rim of my glass.

Sitting alone at the bar wasn’t exactly how I’d intended to spend my night. And I especially had not dreamed of being forced to watch as my best friend shoved his tongue down some random girl’s throat. If I’d had it my way, I would have been at home, in my bed, curled up with a swoon-worthy book.

Unfortunately for me, Ben wasn’t having any of my anti-socialness tonight.

You need to get out more, Gems, he’d told me. Next thing I knew, we were in his truck and on our way to the nearest hole-in-the-wall pub: Mickey’s Lounge.

It wouldn’t have been so bad, had the place not been filled to capacity. I wasn’t exactly a fan of being squished up against sweaty strangers, especially ones who could barely hold on to their alcohol. Thanks, but no thanks.

I knew I should have jumped back in his truck the moment I stepped out.

But I’d pushed aside my concerns like an idiot.

When we’d first arrived, we spotted two girls sitting on the curb. One of them had been crying hysterically into the other girl’s arms, mumbling something about ‘Fucking Johnny’.

The girl’s drunken spiel should have been my first clue the night was going to be a bust. I wasn’t the greatest in social situations as it was, and being around confrontation only made my anxiety even worse. But as much as I might have wanted to turn back around and run, I knew Ben had brought me there for a reason.

I did need to be more open to people. I could agree with that, sure, even if the thought alone was enough to terrify me. Heck, dragging myself to the store by myself was enough to make me sick to my stomach. As much as I wanted to be social, being around people tended to make things worse.

We were just making our way up to the bouncer when a boy—of whom I’d later learn was Fucking Johnny himself—had exited the bar with another girl on his arm. I shot Ben a holy-crap-what-the-hell-is-going-on look as I watched the drama unfold.

What the fuck, Johnny? Who the hell is she? The short brunette rose to her feet, struggling to keep her balance at she charged at the girl, an action I failed to understand. Why was it they insisted upon fighting each other, instead of ganging up on the guy who’d clearly played the two of them?

When the girl on Fucking Johnny’s arm got into the drunk brunette’s face, I wanted nothing more than to run and hide. Seriously, cheating was an ass move as it was. But to do it in front of the girl? And at a public place where alcohol was served and emotions were sure to take over? It all added up to a volcano waiting to erupt, and I wasn’t eager to be there when the lava spilled over, so to speak.

The angry confrontation between the two lovers should have been a good indicator of how my night was going to go. But I’d chosen to ignore the painfully obvious in favor of trying to have a fun night out. Trying having been the keyword.

I really needed to stop letting him drag me out of the apartment. Or I really needed to remember to keep my e-reader in my purse. At least if I’d had my e-reader on me, I would have had something to keep my mind off him and how much I wanted him to cross the line between friendship and lust.

When we’d first entered the pub, we made a beeline for the tables near the back of the pub, and for a brief moment, I’d actually thought the night might go all right. But then the girls started to come by, throwing themselves at him right in front of me. And well, it hadn’t taken long for me to grow tired of having the front-row seat to heartbreak.

I had tried to move away multiple times, but he continued to pull me back until a call from his sister interrupted him. He casually excused himself from Random Girl Number One as he hung up his phone.

Seeing him with other girls was enough to send me to the bar, in hopes of drowning out the longing feeling I’d felt toward him. Plus, honestly, with my emotions on edge, I figured it would be in my best interest to get away from all things Ben for a bit. I rose to my feet, excusing myself from the table as he glanced out over the crowd, no doubt in search of his twin