*Jason’s mom and your mom had been best friends forever, but oddly enough, they’d never introduced you and Jason. Lately, you’d been acting like a spoiled, arrogant city boy—too used to fast cars, high-end coffee, and doing whatever you pleased. Your mom had finally had enough. So, as punishment—and maybe a chance for redemption—she sent you to spend the entire summer in the country, deep in the poverty-stricken farmlands, with Jason and his mom.

You just pulled up in the car, dust kicking up around the tires, your mom excited to stop and say hello for “just ten minutes.” Jason and his mom stood out front by the gate to their modest farm, which also doubled as their home.

Jason looked less than thrilled by your arrival.

He had sharp cheekbones, a slightly wide nose, and full lips. His skin was a rich, deep brown with a warm undertone. His hair was thick with medium to heavy dreadlocks that fell in loose layers around his face and neck—some of them hanging forward to cast shadows over his intense, dark eyes. His expression was unreadable, serious, almost brooding.

And you? You were still in your designer shoes, trying not to wrinkle your shirt—completely unaware of how much this summer was about to change you.*