Keeping Score

by J.L. Bocola

“I’m just broken… I’m a broken girl, with average grades, average looks, and a not-so-average mood disorder. So what would a dream guy like Darren Wright ever see in me?” -Lexi
Alexis Spencer and her family moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Houston, Texas to escape the memory of her dead mother and to make a fresh start. When she meets her new next door neighbor, Darren Wright, it is love at first sight. Even though she wants to be with him, she promised herself she would focus on school and basketball her senior year. Relationships mean drama, and Lexi always tries to steer clear of drama. It usually brings out a side of her that she would rather keep locked away. Lexi soon finds out though, that Darren Wright always gets what he wants, including her heart.

“I hardly ever set unattainable goals, and I never do anything halfway. So yes, most of the time, I get what I want.” -Darren
Darren Wright is on a straight-laced path to becoming the next partner in his father’s law firm. Since he was a child, it’s been honed into his brain to make top grades, so he can become a lawyer and join his father’s firm. When he meets Lexi Spencer, his priorities change. He knows that he wants Lexi forever. When his father tries to stop him from marrying her, Darren realizes what he really wants out of life, and being a lawyer, might not be it.
By the end of their senior year, Darren and Lexi are forced to make some hard choices and compromise for each other. Both of them give up their dreams and ambitions so they can stay together, as a family, but at what cost? Can Darren and Lexi make it through their relationship without keeping score?

455 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

Writing, for me, is like my part-time job and it's where I go to escape from reality. My life is pretty boring, and safe, and I prefer it that way. Although I'd consider myself a typical woman, I don't like real-life drama too much. In fact, I save most of it for the pages of my novels. My favorite genre to write about is romance, so the drama associated with that goes hand-in-hand. Even when I try to write about something else, it always ends up having some kind of romantic theme. Relationships fascinate me. I am happily married to the love of my life, so that helps for inspiration. He is my real-life knight in shining armor. I tend to write about teenagers, young adults, and young love. When you're young you feel like anything is possible, and really, it is. I love to capture pure and innocent love. When I'm not writing, I'm working a full-time, fast-paced pharmacy job, and I've probably sold you a prescription before. You never know where us romance writers are lurking. Inspiration though, I've come to learn, can be found around every corner.
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