Our protagonist, Merrilee Hennessey, in Chasing Stardust is caught up in stardust dreams and fairytale endings, so what happens when her teenage son falls hard for the “wrong girl”?
In this excerpt, Merrilee’s son Colin is walking on the wild side with “bad girl” Carly.
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In this excerpt from Chasing Stardust, Colin (the bad boy) meets Carly (the bad girl).
At sixteen, Colin looked much older than he was. His muscles were hardened by his compulsive workouts at the gym; he went there to escape the control of those in authority, especially his mother. Everyday, he checked himself out in the mirrors, flexing his muscles, taking his measure, so he knew that he looked every inch the Bad Boy. And he could tell that she wanted him, just by looking at her tight little walk as she tried to pass him by.
“Hey!” He reached out, lightly touching her arm.
“I’ve been watching you,” he continued, grinning charmingly, and running his other hand through the rakish curl that hung over his forehead.
“Are you some kind of creep?” She stared back at him boldly, but she didn’t seem offended at all.
“Yeah, right,” he laughed, matching her steps with a shorter stride.
He headed in the opposite direction, just so the two of them could walk side by side. “I’m Colin…Colin Winslow,” he offered suddenly, grinning again, and then blatantly stubbing out the cigarette on the wall.
Her eyes widened at his open gesture of defiance. And then she laughed. “Oh, I’m supposed to be impressed by how bad you are,” she laughed, and then stared straight at him as if wondering just how cool he really was. And then, as if satisfied, she grabbed his arm and leaned in toward him. “I’m Carly Santos,” she purred.
He didn’t need any more information than that. He’d heard the guys talking about this new girl, this Carly Santos; she was supposedly as wild as he was. She’d even been in the juvenile detention center a couple of times already. He also knew that she was only fourteen and a freshman. But despite that obstacle, there was no way that he would let this one get away.
They walked silently for awhile until they reached the chain-link fence surrounding the campus. “Got another cigarette?” She reached out, slipping her hand into his pocket. As she retrieved the pack, she let her hand linger there over his chest, slightly stroking him while gazing into his eyes. Her eyes seemed backlit, burning with a flame that could not be extinguished.
He grabbed her hand, and then held it while he flicked the lighter, leaning in to connect with the tip of the cigarette.
The gesture reminded her of a scene from a movie. She inhaled, and then blew the smoke into little rings, showing off, hoping he would be impressed.
He lit his own cigarette, and they silently smoked, leaning against the fence, barely touching.
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AN INTERIOR JOURNEY 