fuonlyknew

 

A Blessing and a Curse

by Anna Campbell

 

Publication date: October 31st 2023
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Blessing Savage barely remembers who she was before the unexpected death of her father, Pastor Savage. These days she clings desperately to the party girl persona she’s created for her second year of college, living with a new group of friends, joining their sorority, and partying non-stop. There’s only one thing that can kill her perpetual buzz, and his name is Camden Holbrook, the boy she’s pined for for nearly a decade.

Camden credits Blessing’s father for saving him when he was a child, giving him a place to stay when his mother abandoned him and setting him back on the right track. So when Pastor Savage asked a promise of Camden before dying – to look out for Blessing – he made a vow and meant it. Protecting Blessing has always come easily. Loving her has not. Not for someone who’s learned time and time again that love and loss are intricately interwoven.

After years of Camden keeping her at arm’s length, the last thing Blessing wants is him barging into her life. But new Blessing refuses to let Cam play knight-in-shining-armor, not when she knows – from one starry summer’s night slip-up – how he really feels about her. This time around, Blessing’s intent on pushing Camden’s limits, and she’s got some sexy new tricks up her sleeve to take him past them. Then maybe he’ll admit the truth of his feelings. Maybe the person who’s always known her best can help her find a way back to herself. Maybe she can prove to Camden that love doesn’t always destroy a person. Sometimes, it’s the only thing that can start putting them back together.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Homecoming (Now)

 

We follow her lead through the throng of people and around one large, chunky pile of pink-tinted vomit – eww – back toward the legitimate Homecoming festivities. We’re walking away from the tents, and suddenly Campbell is running toward them, eyes flashing with mischief, waving at us.

“Oh hey, girls!” she calls. “Look who I found at the game!”

The crowd parts, and I stop in my tracks.

So much for Camden not being at Homecoming.

There he stands, looking like a member of the student body, in sneakers, jeans, and a hoodie, except, of course, way hotter. There’s another guy with him – shorter, with red hair, eyes looking like they’re about to pop out of his head as the scores of scantily clad sorority girls walk past, occasionally bumping into him.

Camden looks me over from head to toe, my braided pigtails tied with red ribbons, the school shirt that’s been cut and tied so it sticks to my torso like body paint, the tiny shorts. His eyes flash with something – disapproval, frustration, want… maybe all of the above. Maybe none of the above. Then he forces his eyes away from me, though I see them jumping, trying to betray him and return.

Bella squeals. “Camden! Yay! What are you doing here?”

Campbell winds her arm around his bicep. I stare at it – it reminds me of a snake – and I really, really don’t like it there. “So I went back inside to get a slice of pizza, and guess who was right in front of me in line? I told him he had to come back with me, that that’s where the real party is.” She points to the other kid. “This is his friend. Jace, right?”

Jace nods like a happy puppy.

Camden clears this throat. “Couple of the other guys we work with are here, too.” He glances back toward the stadium. “The guy we’re working for gave us the tickets. I mean, obviously we don’t go here, but everyone said it was going to be a good game.” He carefully extracts his arm from Campbell’s grasp and stares at the ground.

I follow suit, feeling like a horrible person.

Remembering what I’d said to him when I discovered him working on campus, about how he didn’t really belong there. Now he feels the need to explain his presence, like he’s embarrassed about being at Homecoming. And suddenly, more than anything, I want to be the girl who gave him the Nike bag again, the girl who assured him of his worth rather than stripped him of it.

Campbell’s damn voice interrupts my thoughts. “Camden said he used to play football.”

Bella chews her lower lip and narrows her eyes. “I’ll bet. You lookin’ for a wide receiver these days, Camden?”

I look away, biting my cheek to keep from laughing. These girls are shameless. Good thing Camden’s well-versed in girls throwing themselves at him. I stop feeling bad for him. He can handle himself.

“Oh my gawd,” Alyssa shoves Bella. “Anyway, party’s over for us. We have to meet Maggie.” She pushes onto the balls of her toes. “We’re all going to get tattoos!” she tells Campbell.

I wince, anticipating the reaction before I even see it, or hear it.

And yup, there it is. Camden, suddenly right in front of me like a member of the King’s Guard, blocking our collective path. “Umm, Blessing’s not getting a tattoo.”

I snort. Because 1) Camden just told everyone what I was or wasn’t going to do and 2) he talked about me in the third person, like I wasn’t standing right there.

And suddenly? That girl who was caught between old Blessing and new Blessing? Jumps straight over to Team New Blessing.

My hands go to my hips. I toss my pigtails. “Yes, I am.”

“No, I don’t think you are.”

“I don’t care what you think. You don’t have jurisdiction over my body.”

That one really lights a spark. His eyes flash, and he takes a step closer. “Party’s over is right. It’s all good fun when you want to take your shots, and make your quippy little comments, but you’re not running off and getting a tattoo right now.”

I stab my index finger into his chest, right over his heart, right where I imagine its location to be. My voice is low and ferocious. “Really? You think you can fucking etch my father’s words into your skin and stand there and tell me I can’t do the same?”

Campbell lets out a low whistle. Alyssa grabs Campbell’s arm and gives her a tug, pulling her a few feet away. Bella’s watching the exchange with wide eyes, but catches on to their movement and joins them. “Yeah, I’m gonna just…”

Cam lowers his head toward mine, maybe an attempt to keep this a private conversation, but it ends with our foreheads practically touching, his eyes a mix of furious and pleading. “How far are you going to take this, huh? You’re going to do permanent damage to yourself?”

I glance pointedly at his forearm, at his tattoo. “Is that what we’re calling it these days?”

“You know what I fucking mean. A year from now, two years, whatever, you’re going to be in a different place. Hopefully. And I’m just trying to stop you from making a decision you might wish you’d made differently then.”

“It’s a tattoo, Camden. I’m not selling my soul to the devil.” I take a step back. Cross my arms over my chest. “You can’t physically stop me. You won’t go that far.”

I dare you…

He looks at me for a long time, assessing. Then he steps back. “Okay.” He nods, slowly. Then he calls to Alyssa, eyes on me. “What studio are you going to?”

“Wizard’s World.”

Camden groans, mutters something under his breath like “of course you are.”

“I’d recommend Stone’s Throw.” He’s still watching my face. “Blessing’s made up her mind, and I feel better about the safety measures there.”

I’ve made up my mind?

Shit. I swallow hard, hoping he doesn’t notice.

“In fact…” Now Camden’s digging around in his pocket. “You’ve all been drinking. How are you getting there?”

“Uber,” Bella answers.

He extracts his keys from his pocket. Throws me a challenging smirk. “If everyone’s minds are made up… I’ll drive you myself.”

Fuck. My. Life.

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About Author Anna Campbell:

Spend more time with Anna Campbell and her stories on Instagram: @annacampbellstories

Anna Campbell has traditionally published several stories for teens over the years under a different pen name. Anna Campbell stories are mature YA/NA angsty stories about beatiful broken people who love hard and still believe in happy endings.

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