Love and Other Unknown Variables
Release Date: 10/07/14
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Summary from Goodreads:
Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck.
The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy.
By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).
The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy.
By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).
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EXCERPT:
Midway through the second movie, Becca
pauses it to use the restroom, leaving Charlotte and me sitting in the dim
light of the frozen television screen. My sister sure is a sucky chaperone.
Doesn’t she realize how dangerous it is to leave me unsupervised around
beautiful girls with infinity tattoos?
Charlotte nudges my shoulder with her
own. “This is fun. Admit it.”
“This is a total chick-fest,” I say
motioning toward the TV. “I don’t get what you guys see in these movies. That
last one had a terrible ending, and I can already see this one’s going down the
same path.”
“I admit that Romeo and Juliet are not
my favorite couple. Being in love for three days is an easy gig.”
“Exactly. They’d probably realize that
they hate each other if they spent more time together.”
“Or worse,” Charlotte says, hugging a
pillow, “they’d grow indifferent and their love would waste away. Nothing lasts
forever.”
“That’s bleak. Maybe you shouldn’t hang
out with me so much. I think I’m rubbing off on you.”
Charlotte smacks me with the pillow she
was holding. “Shut up, Hanson.”
“Now you sound like your sister.” I
chuckle and toss the pillow back at her. She retaliates by crashing two pillows
around my head like cymbals.
“Game on,” I shout, grabbing as many
pillows as I can and lobbing them at her one after the other.
“Uncle! Uncle,” she squeals, lying
buried on the couch.
Laughing, I clear away the pillows. Her
dark curls are sticking up at odd angles, and I reach out to smooth them back
into place. Charlotte catches my hand in hers, and I cup her cheek.
It feels as though someone has turned an
electromagnet on inside of me. There is a force out of my control pulling me
in. Charlotte’s eyes flick to my lips, and I’m undone. I may have been able to
resist before, but now I give in to the pulling and press my lips to hers. They
are soft, softer than I imagined—better. Her hands are suddenly at my waist,
one finger dipping under the edge of my shirt. One finger and I groan like
someone is lifting a one hundred pound weight off my chest.
My tongue laps at her bottom lip, the
one she bites on so much, and she parts her lips just enough for me to taste it
myself. A string tightens from my chest to my groin—so taut I can barely
breathe. She tastes like sugar, so soft and warm in my mouth, I ache.
Her hands slide up my sides and to my
chest, where she gently pushes me back as she pulls away. “Wait. We can’t do
this.”
Without her lips on mine, my body
loosens and I catch my breath. “Sorry. Charlotte, I’m so—”
“Don’t. But we can’t. I can’t lose—”
“What are you guys doing?” Becca calls,
walking in through the kitchen. “I heard screaming from the bathroom.”
Charlotte’s cheeks darken in the dim
light from the TV. A worry flickers across her face. Becca. She can’t lose
Becca.
Now
you’ve done it, Chuck, the Greta in my head snarls. I’ve
got to fix this.
“Help, Bec,” I shout, jumping away from
Charlotte. “Charlotte attacked me. I was just sitting here saying how much I
loved this wonderful, romantic film, and WHAM. Pillow to my head.”
Charlotte runs a hand through her curls
and bites that lip of hers, making me want to groan all over. My expression
must be a sight, because she takes one look at me and laughs before smacking me
with a pillow.
“See? You gotta save me, sis.”
Becca chuckles. “You guys are lame.” She
takes her seat on one side of Charlotte, who smacks Becca in the face with
another pillow before linking their arms.
Becca turns the movie back on. And I
wonder what might have happened if she’d stayed away just a little longer. The
thought of kissing Charlotte again makes me feel like I’m being sucked away
into the vacuum of space. Which, if you’re wondering, is painful and scary and
leaves me almost breathless.
Through the darkness, Charlotte’s hand
works its way into the crook of my arm, too. I don’t move for the rest of the
movie, afraid that if she lets go, I’ll float away again.
~~~~~~
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Grand prize: Signed bookmark, tissues, temporary tattoo, science/math book page rose ring (made by Shannon), infinity charm bracelet (made by Shannon).
Grand prize: Signed bookmark, tissues, temporary tattoo, science/math book page rose ring (made by Shannon), infinity charm bracelet (made by Shannon).
Four runners-up
prizes: Signed bookmark, temporary tattoo, science/math book page rose pin (made
by Shannon)
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