He grinned. There was a devilish gleam in his dark eyes, and I hated to admit that it sent thrill through me.
Chapter 10
I dropped my bag off at my place and quickly changed into some comfortable clothing. Wherever we were going apparently casual wear was the way to go, so I opted for the typical jeans and t-shirt. Mom wasn’t home but had left a message that she’d be home around ten. It was her first day of her new job. Well, good for her, I guess. Though I still couldn’t see the point since she really didn’t need to. She was in the prime of her life and she could do anything or go anywhere.
It was as though we were sharing some sort of mental link; as I stepped out onto my front step, Jaxson was exiting his place.
“Hey neighbor.” Jaxson waved from his front step and I watched him as he jogged across the street, cutting off one car that blared its horn at him. As he approached, I took a good look at the tattoos on his arms.
“What’s tattooed on your arms anyhow?” When I first met him I’d immediately noticed the black and gray, but I was now seeing the slashes and blotches of red mixed in. I had to admit it was pretty cool looking.
“Oh those.” He pulled back the sleeves of his shirt so I could get a better look. “It’s called trash polka.”
“Any significance?” Both arms were fully sleeved out. One arm had a dragon wrapping around it. The other arm was some sort of war scene.
“Nah. Just wanted something that looked good. There doesn’t have to be a meaning behind tattoos. Sometimes you can just appreciate the art.”
I grabbed his arm and twisted it. Every inch was done. “That must have been painful and taken quite a while.”
“It took a lot of hours yes. And painful…” He made a face. “Depends on which part of the arm. If you want we can book an appointment with my artist and you can find out for yourself.”
“Hell no!” I immediately dropped his arm and backed away. “I’m not too keen on unnecessary pain.”
“But it is necessary if you want something beautiful inked on your body. And pain is a part of life. So why hide from it?”
Okay, he had me there. “Still, I can’t get around the idea of bringing it onto yourself on purpose. I’ve never been in a fight in my life. I meet you and boom! A fight.”
Laughing, he took my hand and began to lead me down the street.
“Where are we going anyhow? Where’s your driver?”
“Considering you love to shit on me about always having a driver I figured we’d take the subway like the commoners.”
“Jaxson Weiss on a subway. Who’d have thought, and I was the one to make it happen,” I teased. I shouldn’t be forgiving him so quickly. He was bad for me. But at the same time, being around him excited me. I’d never been around a guy that made my entire body tingle just by being next to him.
“Babes, I might be privileged, but there’s more to me than just a pretty face.”
“What are you into drag racing or something?”
“Drag racing?” He threw his head back and laughed. “Zipping down a street hoping not get caught by the cops and lose my driver’s license? Or hit a car or person? Nah, thanks. I have other interests. If someone is going to get hurt over my activities, it’ll be the idiot that is stupid enough to take me on.” That devilish gleam that made me tremble inside appeared in his eyes again, piquing my curiosity.
“What are you into then, Mr. Weiss?”
“If you prove yourself to me, maybe you’ll find out.”
“Prove myself to you? I got into a fist fight with another girl over you!” I was only halfway joking. I got it: I wasn’t part of him or his crew. We didn’t know each other, but it seemed that he knew a hell of a lot more about me then I did about him. I was going to need to fix that.
“Here we are. The grand old New York subway line. This train will take us right to where we need to be.”
“I haven’t had much time to do a lot of exploring.”
“I know.” Keeping my hand is his, he guided me down the stairs and into the dank looking station.
Crinkling my nose up a him, I gave him a peculiar look. “How do you know?” Was he stalking me?
“You live across the street. I make a point to get to know my hot neighbors. Besides, with all the moving vans that came and went and from what I can tell you have no servants so…. I did see you coming home with your mother a couple times with some Gucci and Chanel bags so I’m assuming you’ve embraced the finer things in life.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say embraced. And I gotta say, the sales people weren’t all that nice to us at first, what with us wearing beat-up clothes and accessories. They always got really nice fast though.”
“Welcome to the Upper East Side, babes. Money talks and money is power.” Standing in front of the ticket dispenser Jaxson released my hand and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. Pulling out a credit card he purchased four tickets and passed me two.
“If that’s the case then why in the hell do I need you? I’m hardly poor.”
“’Cause you haven’t proven yourself. Everyone in that school has money, perhaps not as much as you do, but they also have family status. Which, unfortunately, you don’t. A legacy of power means a lot.” Nodding toward the entryway, we scanned his ticket and he pushed his way through, with me following suit.
“So, that means you need me.” The train came screeching to a stop in front of us, as if it were waiting for the great Jaxon Weiss to arrive.
“I see.” Chewing at my lower lip, I followed him onto the train and sat down next to him on a blue thick hard plastic seat with striped ugly fabric covering it. “What makes your family so powerful then?”
“You asking why I’m so special?”
“Something like that.”
“My mother is a socialite. But she does have a side job. My father buys stuff.”
“Stuff?”
“He’s a venture capitalist. He buys struggling companies and either breaks them up and resells them or builds them to where they need to be. He keeps some, sells others.”
“He’s pretty good at it?”
“He’s the best there is. He was asked to go on that Shark Tank show but declined. He’s not a celebrity type. And it would eat up too much time for real business acquisitions.”
“Does he own any companies that I know about?”
He grinned. “Probably.”
To my dismay he didn’t go into further detail, but what it did do was make me even more curious about his family. Realistically, I could have easily found out about his family—Google was a wonderful thing. If I hadn’t been so caught up in the whirlwind that had been my life lately, I would have searched him up already. So why was he insisting on keeping me in the dark?
“Are your grandparents wealthy?”
He grinned. “They are. A long line of overachievers.”
Even though I was now rich as well, knowing his family was a legacy made me feel insecure. “I come from a long line of waitresses,” I joked.
His grin widened. “And that is your aspiration as well?”
“No, smart ass. I want to be a lawyer.”
“Ohhh. Lawyer. Hmmm. Told ya you were as tough as balls.”
“Well if Trina presses charges that won’t be a good thing.”
“You’re still technically a minor. Don’t worry about it, babes. Sometimes you just need to punch someone in the head.”
Grinning, I bumped my shoulder against his. “Sounds like you’re familiar with the concept.”
“I’ve been in a fight or two in my life.”
“Bad boy of Greisbach Academy, I bet ya have. I’m surprised you’re not a smoker or vaper as well.”
He groaned, rolling his eyes. Standing, he motioned toward his body. “This babes; is a temple. I work out a couple hours each day and make sure I’m properly nourished. There’s no way I’d put that crap in my body. Besides, it makes you look like a douche.”
“Oh God.” Grabbing his hand, I pulled him back down to sit
beside me. “Standing there saying your body is a temple out loud in itself makes you look like a douche. Or a nutjob. Either way you’re making me look bad.”
We chatted for the rest of the nearly-an-hour ride, until finally the train began to slow. I could barely contain my excitement when I realized where he’d taken me. “Coney Island!” Wrapping my arms around his neck gave him a big hug. I went to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he moved his head at the last second and our lips connected.
I was momentarily frozen, but as he cupped my cheek with his palm, I melted. I moaned softly against his lips as they brushed across mine—tempting and teasing mine. My lips parted, and just as our tongues touched—sending a surge of excitement through me—a loud voice boomed over the speaker.
“Final stop. Please depart the train,” a voice boomed over the overhead speakers.
Pulling away from him, my eyes went wide as my breath caught in my throat and I stared, heating rapidly rising to my cheeks. “We need to get off,” I managed to gasp, my lungs finally finding air.
“We definitely do babes. Later.” Standing he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet and practically dragging me from the train. “Time to have some much-needed fun.”
Exiting the station and stepping out onto the street, the first thing I noticed was the smell coming from the famous Nathan’s restaurant. My stomach grumbled as my eyes stared at it from across the street and I remembered that I hadn’t eaten yet since my lunch had been left behind on the cafeteria floor.
“Hungry?” Jaxson asked, leading me across the street and toward the take-out restaurant.
“Famished.”
“Nathan’s has the best hot dogs and fries.” As we approached the counter Jaxson pulled out his wallet. “But your choice.”
I scanned the board and all its offerings. This was the real New York experience and being here, with people who weren’t putting on airs—it felt really nice. Like I could relax and be the person I’d grown up to be and not the girl who was trying to fit in. And don’t get me started on the smell and sound of the ocean. If it wasn’t for the cool breeze that would hit us from time to time I’d think I was back home.
“What are you thinking?”
“I was just thinking that the beach and people, reminds me of home.” I looked from the menu board to my fake boyfriend and smiled.
“Well that’s good to know, but I was asking about what you wanted to eat. The guy’s waiting.”
“Oh.” Embarrassed I looked up at the menu and choose the hot dog and fries with a Coke to drink without really examining the options. “Sorry. I spaced for a moment.”
“I noticed.”
We pushed over to the side as we waited for them to deliver our order so the person behind us could order.
“You miss the trailer park, do you?”
I laughed, waving a dismissive hand at him. “No. I just.” Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. “It’s just stupid. You know.”
“Order up.” The clerk behind the counter placed our order on a tray and slid it to us.
“It’s not stupid.” Jaxson grabbed the tray and began walking to the outside, expecting me to follow.
I hoped that by the time we got to the tables and settled in, he’d have forgotten my little mind fart. I couldn’t have gotten that lucky.
“So tell me about Florida. Why do you miss it? I’d have thought that you’d be excited to get out of there and never look back.”
“I don’t miss it.” Pulling the paper wrapper off the straw, I stabbed the plastic top and took a drink.
“You’re a liar.”
“Fuck you!” Grabbing my container holding the hot dog and fries from the tray I set it in front of me and grabbed a fry.
“Whoa now. Just chill out a little bit.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You’re lying right this very second.”
I groaned, rolling my eyes. “Fine. Okay. There are some things I miss.”
“Like your boyfriend?”
“What?” Making a face at him, I couldn’t help but wonder where that came from. “You’re reaching.”
Laughing, he took a bite off his hot dog. “Just checking.”
“Do you care if I did? It’s not like you’re really into me.” I waited on bated breath to see if he took the bait.
Chapter 11
The silence that ensued was deafening, and as much as I hated it, my heart sank a little bit. But why would he want me for anything more than our deal? I may have been rich, but I didn’t come from a legacy like he or Trina did. I was still Keira Rigby.
He leaned across the table and took my hand. “What if I was into you? Would that be so bad?”
My sinking heart began to soar once more.
“Now since I just told you the truth, how about you hit me with some.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to know about your life before here.”
Taking a large bite from the hot dog I gave his request some thought. How much did I really want to tell him? I didn’t want to come off as some sort of victim. “There’s not much to tell. My mom and I grew up skimping and saving every dollar I could get. We played utility Russian roulette.” I shrugged.
“What about friend, boyfriends. Those things.”
“Never had any serious boyfriends and most of the kids in the park liked to drink and get high. I’m not really into that type of stuff so I studied and dedicated myself to getting top grades. Course that only made me more of an outsider.”
“So you’re an outsider here in New York and an outsider back in Florida.”
I sighed. “Thanks for reminding me.”
He gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m only fucking with you. You’re strong and that’s what you need to survive here. No one has ever punched Trina before and believe me when I say tons of people have wanted to.”
“And look what it got me…. Suspended.” I was suddenly filled with rage. “And to make it worse she put on this little show, tears and all, and all she got was a trip to the nurse. Can you believe it! Back in my old school they’d see right through her drama and games.”
“It’s because she’s Trina Kayne. She doesn’t have power with the school, but her parents do. And need I remind you that Greisbach Academy isn’t your old school. As for your suspension, don’t give it too much thought. I’ll have my father make a call and you’ll be back in school before the week is over. And I’ll be having a little chat with Trina tomorrow at school. I’m going to set her straight that you’re not to be touched—once and for all.”
My first reaction was excitement, but that died off quickly. I couldn’t just hide behind Jaxson, even though that was the original plan. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t want your help for either of those things.”
“Don’t be stupid. Why not?” He finished off the last bite of hot dog and waited for my response.
“If you interfere with the school then I’m no better than her, pulling strings just to get out of trouble. If you interfere with Trina then I look weak. Neither of those things I want. If I’m going to be taken seriously then I need to be strong, without my boyfriend’s protection.”
A big shit-eating grin spread across his lips.
“What’s that grin about?”
“You said boyfriend without putting the word fake in front of it.”
I snorted. “Slip of the tongue.”
~*~ TT ~*~
By the time Jaxson walked me to the door I was riding cloud nine. I’d never felt this way before and even though we weren’t really a couple, I could live with feeling that way for now. It made me feel like things were going in the right direction despite that morning’s hiccup. It was close to 10pm, but what did it matter really; it wasn’t as though I had school in the morning.
Walking into the townhouse, I pulled my phone from my purse, where it had been sitting all day on silent mode. Turning it on I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath. I had ten text messages, eight cal
ls and voicemail all unanswered—all from my mother.
“Mom!” I called out. She should be home by now. “Mom!”
My mother came barreling down the staircase as if she were being chased by hellhounds. Her face was contorted in rage and she was still in her waitress uniform. I’d seen her angry, but never this angry and never with me.
“Mom, I can explain.”
“Explain. You can explain.” She hadn’t even reached the floor before she started ranting. “My first day at work I get a call from your school. Suspended for fighting? What in the hell is wrong with you?”
“It wasn’t my fault. She started it.”
“Regardless of who started it, there is no excuse for punching a classmate. No excuse. I’ve always taught you to walk away. You come here and only at the school two days and you get suspended!”
“Please. Let me explain.”
She reached the landing and nodded. “Fine. Let’s go to the kitchen. I’m starving and this had better be a good story or it’ll be a grounding of a lifetime.”
Grounding? I’d never been grounded in my life.
“Okay mom.” Stuffing my phone in my purse, I followed my mother into the kitchen, head bowed like a chastised puppy.
“Take a seat while I make a sandwich. And this had better be good.”
“Well Mom, there’s this bitch at school. Her name is Trina and she’s jealous and angry that I’m dating Jaxson and so she tripped me in the cafeteria. Then she slapped me because I wouldn’t cower to her. She attacked me first to make a point. It really pissed me off so I retaliated. I was just sticking up for myself. That’s all. She was being really rude, Mom.” My rambling barely made sense to me, so I doubted it would make sense to her.
“I see.” My mother didn’t look as sympathetic as I’d expected.
“You don’t understand, Mom. Greisbach Academy is ruthless. If you don’t stand your ground then you’ll get eaten alive. Trina didn’t even get suspended—just me. It’s not fair.”
The anger slowly faded in my mother’s eyes, but disappointment remained. It killed me to know that she was disappointed in me. “I don’t care about Trina. She’s not my daughter—you are.”
Outsider: Upper East Side (Greisbach Academy #1) Page 8