Blind Speed Dating #29 (NA)

Title: THE LIST

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Word Count: 84,000

Query:

Annie Roth is only a few weeks from her nineteenth birthday, but she’s never lived a day in her life. Raised by an over-protective father, Annie’s never gone on a date, had a first kiss or even flirted with a guy. Heading off to college means facing freedom for the first time, and she’s determined to have a few normal teenage experiences while she’s still a teenager.

With the help of her bubbly roommate, Cami, Annie makes a bucket list for her teen years. Twenty things she desperately wants to experience before she turns twenty. It starts off easy enough—getting her ears pierced, having her first date, going skinny dipping—but things get complicated when Cami’s cousin Ryan and his best friend Chris get involved. Chris likes Annie, but she can’t seem to shake the unmistakable pull Ryan has on her, and despite her determination to cross items off her list, there are certain things she only wants to mark off if Ryan is involved.

First 250:

Sweat trickled down my back and my stomach tensed when the cab pulled away. When I inhaled the air was thick and sticky. The South Carolina humidity was going to take some getting used to. My skin was moist just from standing on the sidewalk for a few minutes, and I could practically feel my hair curling—so much for straightening it before I left California.

I adjusted my backpack and my legs were so wobbly that the weight of it almost knocked me down. There was a knot the size of a softball in my shoulder, and all I wanted was to get to my room and unload my stuff. The exterior of College Lodge was bright, although a little outdated, and the multi-colored panels should have helped eased the knots in my stomach. How could anything so cheerful-looking be scary? But I was alone and facing the daunting task of getting my stuff up to my room on the third floor. All I had was my backpack and two large suitcases, but it was going to be a hassle.

I chewed on my lower lip while other students hurried by. Most were moving in like me, but everyone else seemed to have help. Parents, siblings, boyfriends or girlfriends. I had no one. I’d sworn to my dad that it was no big deal, but the thought of walking into the building alone made me want to throw up.