My mouth dropped open as I stared up at him. Giving my head a little shake, I stepped back from him and out of his reach. “Are you saying you’re going to out me if I don’t sleep with you?”
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” He took a step back and put his hands up and giving a little chuckle. “Jaxson Weiss does not have to blackmail women into sleeping with him.”
“Good ’cause it’ll never happen.” Despite my words, my body was telling me otherwise. Just being in his proximity made me weak in the knees.
“Fine.” He huffed as if it were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard, “It’s not like I was wanting to fuck you anyhow.”
Ouch. I won’t lie, that stung a little.
He continued, “But I do have a little business proposition for you.”
“This oughta be priceless.”
“I have a little problem, and considering I’m sure you already did the tour of Greisbach Academy, you’d have already met Trina.”
Just hearing her name made me cringe. She was one person I’d been hoping to avoid. “Yes, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her. Wonderful person.” Sarcasm dripped from my tone.
He chuckled. “Newbs, you’re an awful liar.” Slipping an arm over my shoulders, he began to guide me toward the park and with my interest piqued, I let him.
“Okay. What about her?” Fine. I’d play his game and find out what the scoop was.
“See, she’s a bit of a problem for me and my social life, which is where you’ll come in.”
“Will I?”
“You will. See, you’re going to pretend to be my new girlfriend. Once she realizes that I’m no longer up for grabs and shifts her attentions to someone else, your job is done and your secret is safe.”
“And what if I don’t care if people know? I’m still richer than a good chunk of the people who will be attending that school and I didn’t need hand-outs from my mommie and daddy to become that way.”
“Oh, newbs newbs newbs. You have so much to learn about the Upper East Side.” We crossed the street and entered the park. “See. People here can be stuck-up assholes. Old money rules and new money takes a second place. You can only imagine how someone who stumbled into money and moved here from a trailer park in Florida would come off? You didn’t even earn it, you just got lucky. Outsiders to the extreme. I’ll tell you this much: outsiders are never really welcome.”
“And what makes you think they won’t find out on their own?”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. There’s a lot of advantages to being my girlfriend, Keira.” His hand ran up and down my arm and shoulder.
“Fake girlfriend,” I corrected him, hating that I loved how it felt his have his arm around me. He was straight-up blackmailing me and I was getting turned on? What kind of messed-up shit was this?
“Don’t be so negative.”
“Why me? You’re not completely hideous looking. There must be a number of girls who’d love to be the other half of Jaxson Weiss.”
He grimaced. “You are right. But as I said Trina is the problem. None of them want to cross her and deal with her wrath.”
A roar of laughter erupted from me. This guy was unbelievable. “And you think I want to.”
“I think you have what it takes to take her on, yes.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze as we came to the duck pond. “Besides, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
I huffed. “What makes you think that I can take on the queen bee of the school?”
He looked down at me. It felt as though he were looking deep into my soul as our gazes locked. “Let’s just say it’s a hunch. Believe it or not I’m pretty good at judging what people are capable of.” He gave me a wink and looked away.
Looking up at him I couldn’t help but wonder if this was some sort of set-up. A hazing for the new girl type of deal. This was just so bizarre. “Why does she want you so much if you don’t want her?”
“A variety of reasons. She has it in her head that we make the perfect power couple. We were only together for a few months, but she liked being on my arm and liked that the other girls were envious.”
“And what exactly makes you so special?” The words were out of my mouth before I even knew what was happening. “You’re just some hot guy. News flash for ya: there’s tons of hot guys out there.”
He chuckled. “You’ll find all of that out in due time newbs. Being with me has advantages.”
I stopped walking and flung his arm off my shoulders, not able to contain my annoyance with his little pet name any longer. “If I’m going to go along with this social suicide then we’re going to get a few things straight. First, no more of this newbs bullshit. I have a name. It’s Keira.”
His expression became unreadable as he stared down at me. “Okay. I suppose I can live with that.”
“And second, if things get heated, you’re going to have my back. Girls can be bitches when they feel like they’re being screwed.”
“Okay, I’d always have your back.”
“And finally, and this is a big one, don’t get it in your head that we’ll be sleeping together. Cause I’m not a whore. You can’t fuck me unless you love me. Are we clear?” I waited on bated breath for his response, it kinda felt like I was making a deal with the devil and I suppose on some level I was.
He clucked his tongue off the roof of his mouth and after what felt like an eternity, a smile cracked his unreadable expression. “Is that all of your demands?”
I hesitated a moment, searching my brain. “Oh and you need to do boyfriend stuff with me. I have a feeling I’m going to be pretty untouchable for quite some time after this fiasco is over and so if I want to do couples stuff then you’re on the hook for it.”
He nodded. “I accept your terms…babes.”
I groaned as I rolled my eyes. “Not much better.”
“Babes is non-negotiable.” He grinned and I felt like I was going to melt. This could be very dangerous. Not just because I was about to make enemies on my first day of school, but because there was a very distinct chance I’d get my heart broken playing this little game of his.
But I extended my hand to him anyhow, which he accepted, solidifying the deal. I was down the rabbit’s hole now.
Chapter 6
The uniform we were required to wear was more provocative then conservative if you asked me. There were too many perverts with schoolgirl fetishes to make wearing the uniform completely comfortable for me. The uniform consisted of a red and black checkered skirt that fell to just above the knees, a white blouse, tie to match the skirt and a red blazer. We also had a pair of black pants we could choose to wear instead of the skirt. Today I opted for the skirt, pairing it with a pair of black flat penny loafers.
After applying my make-up with more time and care then I really should have needed to, it was then time for my hair. Running a hand through my hair, I grinned. If I was going to wear a schoolgirl get-up then why not go balls to the wall and put my hair into pigtails.
Once done, I gave myself an inspection. My blue eyes locked onto those of my reflection. I barely recognized the girl staring back at me in the mirror. To my surprise I was hit with a jolt of regret. For what? For leaving my shitty trailer-park life behind? This was everything I always dreamed of so any emotion aside from excitement made no sense.
“Hey sweetheart,” my mother said as she knocked on my bedroom door before opening it.
“I’m in the bathroom,” I called out into the other room.
“Jaxson is downstairs waiting for you. He looks really cute in the uniform.” She came to stand next to me at the mirror and immediately frowned. “What’s the matter?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Scared. Maybe I’m a little concerned that I’m going to lose who I am.” I motioned to the uniform. “It’s getting so real. And what if this all blows up in my face?”
“What blows up in your face?”
Closing my eyes, I silently cursed. I didn’t want her knowing about my
deal with Jaxson. I knew without a doubt she’d disapprove. She’d think I was already getting wrapped up in what she referred to as “society bullshit.”
Forcing a smile to my lips, I laughed. “Nothing. Just me being silly and scared—that’s all.” Turning to face my mother, I gave her a hug. “It’s going to be a great day, I just know it.”
“That’s the spirit, honey.”
Pulling away from my mother, I left the bathroom with my mother in tow. My old backpack that I’d planned on using until I graduated hung off the corner of my desk chair, but I didn’t grab that one. Instead, I had a new Louis Vuitton monogram backpack, filled with school supplies and ready to go.
Slinging the backpack over one shoulder, I slipped on my penny-loafers and hurried down the staircase. Five floors. My mother’s bedroom was on the fourth floor. I’d offered to give her the top floor, but she insisted I take the top so I could have easy access to the roof. She felt it would be a great place to sit and study.
“Why do you always take the stairs?” Jaxson asked, as I came barreling down the final set of steps.
“Exercise. I’ve got to keep in shape for the volleyball team.” My mother was right. He did look hot, but I preferred to see him in short sleeves, showing off his tattoos and chiseled muscles under the tight cotton.
As I came to the landing, Jaxson let out a low whistle, blatantly looking me up and down. “I like the pigtails, very sexy.”
“Shhh,” I hissed, scowling at him, though I couldn’t control the heat that rose to my cheeks no doubt coloring them crimson. I ignored the fluttering in my stomach that his compliment generated. “My mother may hear you.”
“Hear me what?”
“Just…. Ugh.” Grabbing his arm, I pulled him toward the door. “Let’s just go.”
“Your mom is pretty hot as well, by the way.”
Turning to him, I made a face, sticking my tongue out at him. “You’re disgusting.” Opening the front door, I exited with Jaxson on my heels. “Don’t ever talk about my mother like that again.”
“You don’t know the half of it, babes.”
“You were serious about the babes, I see.”
“Deadly.”
I turned right, intent on starting our walk to the school when I was stopped by his hand grabbing my arm. “We don’t walk to school. That’s a big no.”
“Then what?” I turned to face the street to see the black SUV parked at the curb, a uniformed chauffeur standing next to the back door. Looking up at him, I cocked a brow up at him. “Are rich kids that lazy?”
He didn’t hesitate in answering and nudging me toward the car. “Yes. You’ve got a lot to learn, babes.”
The chauffeur opened the door for us as we approached, displaying a black leather interior. Giving Jaxson a look over my shoulder, I slid into the vehicle, trying to make sure my skirt didn’t ride up too high and give him a display of areas I intended to keep concealed from him.
“If you don’t hurry, we’ll be late.”
“Wha—” I squealed as his palm came into contact with my bottom. Scrambling into the vehicle, I plunked my ass down on the far seat and glared at him as he slid in beside me. My left butt cheek stung—not bad, but it was the principal of the matter. “Excuse you!”
He grinned, his dark eyes twinkling with mischief. “You weren’t being fast enough. Besides, you’re my girl.”
The door slammed closed, giving us privacy. There was a privacy panel up between the front of the vehicle and the back two rows of seats, which I assumed was to keep the driver out of the business of the passengers.
“I’m your fake girl. And that still doesn’t give you the right to spank me!” The vehicle lunged forward into traffic.
“We have to make this look legit, babes. So if we’re going to make this look legit we have to be comfortable with touching and…other things.”
Other things? I subconsciously ran my tongue along my lower lips as my gaze lowered to his lips. He hadn’t kissed me the previous day when we arrived back to my house, though I’d halfway expected him to.
Was it me or was it getting warm in here?
Tearing my gaze from his lips, I made myself look him in the eye.
He took the hint. “But other things can wait. Right now, let’s just focus on getting comfortable together.”
“We’re well beyond that I think.” With each minute that passed, I became more nervous. By the time the school came into view, I had the nearly overwhelming feeling that I was going to puke.
“You okay?”
I nodded. “Just anxious. That’s all.”
“Okay. Here’s the plan. I arranged for our lockers to be next to each other, so we’ll be close. I’m not going to be around to protect you the entire day, but I have confidence you can handle yourself.”
At least one of us has confidence, I mused as the car pulled up to the curb. “You know what. I can’t do this. The deal is off.” I grabbed for the door handle to let myself out and get the hell out of the situation before it was too late and I committed social suicide, but he caught my hand, stopping me.
“Please Jaxson. Find someone else.”
“Sorry newbs, it’s got to be you. And I’m not going to let you back out. Trust me, I can destroy you far easier than Trina can. And I don’t mean just your social life…” The look in his eyes told me he wasn’t kidding around. Who in the hell was Jaxson Weiss? Was he just bluffing or did he have enough sway to ruin my entire life? That seemed like a serious overstatement.
I couldn’t let some bullies ruin my dream. But the question was, who was the biggest threat to me, Trina or the boy sitting next to me? “Fine,” I snarled through gritted teeth. “I’ll do it. But you owe me more than just protection.”
The door opened on Jaxson’s side. He got out first and extended a hand to me. My heart was beating so quickly it felt like it was going to explode as I accepted his hand, forced a smile to my lips and got out of the vehicle. Had to look the part of happy girlfriend.
Jaxson refused to release my hand as I got to my feet and straightened. Before me was the school; unlike when I came to register the courtyard was bustling with activity. While the chitter-chatter was near deafening when I first got out of the SUV, it lowered to whispers as the other students began to notice us.
Leaning into Jaxson, I whispered. “Is it me or are they staring at us?”
“You’re not wrong. Get used to it.” He whispered back leaning into me, “Let’s go, keep your head high. Remember you belong here and to me. Don’t forget that.” Keeping my hand in his, he led me through the courtyard to the main doors.
I wanted to think it was just in my head, but I doubted it—people were taking pictures and texting as we walked past them. My brow furrowed as I looked up at Jaxson. He smiled down at me, leaned in and kissed my temple. I swear to God, I heard gasps among the masses staring at us.
Entering the school, he led me down a couple of corridors and finally stopped in front of a row of lockers. In contrast to the beat-up green metal ones at my old school, these lockers were a varnished mahogany wood.
Jaxson released my hand as he pulled his backpack from his back, unzipped it and searched for his lock. As he looked for his, I dug mine out of my bag and began to unload whatever supplies I figured I wouldn’t need for the first two classes. Unzipping the front pocket of my backpack, I removed my printed schedule and looked down at it.
“Okay, let’s see your schedule.” He snatched it from my fingertips before I could even get a look at it.
“Hey!”
“Oh, just simmer down a minute.” He pulled out his schedule and compared them. “We have our first class together, English lit, and then nothing again until math final period. You’re on your own for phys ed and chemistry.”
“I think I can handle it.” Grasping the edge of my schedule, I grabbed it back. I wasn’t as sure as I sounded, but realistically, I had to accept that I would need to stand on my own two feet. I couldn’t hide behind him 2
4/7 and I wasn’t overly sure I could trust him anyhow. Not until I knew more about him and Trina.
Slipping his schedule into his pocket, he gave me a wink. “I know you can. That’s why I chose you.” Draping an arm over my shoulders again, Jaxson directed me toward the theater room where everyone was supposed to gather before class.
We got lots of looks from students, but none of the students were Trina.
“There ya are man! We’ve been looking for you.” Fast approaching us were two guys. Both were nearly as tall as Jaxson and nearly as hot. One had shaggy cut blonde hair with pale blue eyes while the other was Latino with dark hair and eyes to match.
Jaxson pulled me a little tighter to his side. “Hey guys, I figured we’d catch up with you in the theater. Allow me to should introduce you to my new girl. Keira Rigby.” He motioned to the Latino boy first, “That is Gabriel Perez.” Then waved at the other boy, “And then we have Preston Masters.”
“And I am the master,” Preston took my hand and kissed the back. “If you catch my drift.”
“Fuck, dude. Get off her. What part of she’s mine didn’t you understand?” Jaxson growled.
Preston laughed as he released my hand and took a step back. “Sorry dude. Can’t help that I get excited to see there’s some fresh blood around that isn’t a freshman.”
Gabriel gave Preston an elbow saying, “Nothing wrong with some freshman blood. I like them nice and innocent.”
Preston chuckled. “Personally, I like them to know a little bit of what they’re doing.”
I couldn’t help but blush as I looked down at the floor between our feet.
“Disgusting, dude. Try to at least make an effort to show some class,” Jaxson growled.
“Since when have you been concerned about class?” Preston laughed again, giving Jaxson a playful punch to the shoulder. “Speaking of lack of class, I’ve yet to see Trina. She’s going to lose her fucking shit when she sees you two.”
My head sprang up and I looked at Preston but didn’t say anything.
“Nah. Don’t jinx it. If you say her name three times she’ll appear.” The guys laughed and I joined in, not sure how I felt with this situation.
Outsider: Upper East Side (Greisbach Academy #1) Page 5