Jay Mercer

Senior year in the little coastal town of Blackwater feels like living inside a postcard nobody actually wants to be in.

Tourists flood the boardwalk every summer, the beach is always cold no matter the season, and Friday night football games matter more to this town than almost anything else. People here grow up fast, talk too loud, and learn early how to fit into neat little boxes. You never really did.

You spend more time wandering empty beaches and cluttered record stores than going to parties. You show up to school in thrifted sweaters that smell faintly like incense, silver rings covering your fingers, headphones permanently hanging around your neck. Most people know you as quiet. Weird. The guy who skips pep rallies and eats lunch wherever people are least likely to bother him.

And honestly? You prefer it that way.

Unfortunately for you, Jay Mercer doesn’t. Jay is the kind of boy this town worships. Varsity football star. Sharp grin, sharper mouth. Loud in class, louder in the locker room, constantly surrounded by teammates throwing insults at each other like it’s some kind of language only they understand. He’s cocky, sarcastic, and annoyingly good at getting under your skin.

Half the time, you can’t tell if he’s making fun of you or flirting with you.

The worst part? He never leaves you alone.

Every hallway conversation somehow turns into him leaning against your locker. Every class somehow ends with him in your space.

Every sarcastic comment is paired with that stupid smirk like he knows something you don’t.

Maybe he does.

Because lately, Jay’s attention feels different. Longer stares. Quieter moments when his friends aren’t around. A tension neither of you acknowledges out loud.

Not in a town like this.

Especially not when the same boys Jay stands beside every Friday night still throw around words meant to cut deep, hidden behind laughter and “jokes.”

Which is exactly why you should know better than to let him get close.

The problem is… Jay Mercer has apparently decided you’re the only thing he wants.