by Amy Brown
“Don’t do that. Mrs. Dunbar won’t like it. She might make you write ‘I’m a bad boy.’ on the dry erase board a hundred times.” She sips her hot chocolate again.
I didn’t think she’d have much of a sense of humor, but apparently she does. Good, that will make the time I spend seducing her more pleasant. “Have you read this book before?”
She frowns. “If I had, I wouldn’t be bothering you.”
Duh.
“I thought maybe you just wanted to hang out with me because I’m so amazing.” I make a joke to cover my dumb question from earlier.
Her face tenses. “No.”
She really is a closed off little bitch, isn’t she? I can’t even flirt with her without her insulting me. How the hell am I ever going to get in her pants? “How far have you read?”
“I read really fast.” She sounds defensive.
“That’s not what I asked.” I’m not sure why she isn’t just answering my question.
“I’m halfway through.” She picks up her drink and her hand trembles.
“Me too.”
Her expression is blank.
“Do you identify with the character Kya?” I ask.
She scowls. “Do I identify with a girl who is illiterate, wild, and unkempt?”
I hadn’t meant it literally. I forgot about her trailer park living situation. “I simply mean do you feel sympathy for her?”
She relaxes slightly. “Oh. Of course. How can you not? She’s abandoned by her entire family.”
I nod. “I think it’s weird that her mother and father would just leave her.”
“Yes.” Her jaw clenches.
“It seems a bit unrealistic.”
She narrows her eyes. “Why?”
“I find it hard to believe her Mom and Dad just left her behind.”
“Sometimes parents do leave.”
She speaks so passionately, I have to wonder if she’s speaking from experience. I don’t know her well enough to pry though. I can’t just come out and bluntly ask if her parents abandoned her. It wouldn’t surprise me though, considering that shit hole she lives in. “How old are you?”
She looks thrown by the question. “Why?”
I shrug. “I’m seventeen.”
“How nice,” she snaps.
Why is she being so defensive about her age? She seems to be cagey about everything. “Is your age a secret?”
She shakes her head.
“Then why won’t you tell me how old you are?” I frown.
“I don’t see why it matters.”
I laugh. “Yeah, it doesn’t. Which is why it makes no sense that you won’t answer.” If she’s this prickly about her age, how my ever going to get any closer to her? If she won’t tell me her age, odds are she won’t sleep with me.
“I suppose I’m surprised you want to know personal things about me.”
“Your age isn’t really that personal. It’s basically public record. I didn’t ask your bra size.”
She widens her eyes. “Excuse me?”
I laugh again. “My point is, asking your age isn’t really that personal of a question.”
She studies me with that odd intensity she has. “I guess I feel defensive around you.”
“Why?” I frown. She can’t possibly know about my plan to seduce her. Right? There must be some other reason she’s uptight around me.
“You’re all rich. I can tell none of you want me at your school.”
Her bluntness catches me off guard. What can I say? None of us want her there, including me. But saying that won’t get me where I need to be with her. I need to be her friend. I need to make her think I accept her. Other than Travis and Jeremy, I’m the only person at school who knows she lives in a trailer park. Maybe she’s worried I’ll spill her secret. Maybe she thinks I already have.
I decide to put her on the defensive. “It’s not like you’ve exactly been warm and friendly to us either,” I say sharply. “When I delivered those pizzas to you, you were actually pretty rude.”
She winces. “I wasn’t sure you recognized me.”
Is she nuts? She’s way too uniquely gorgeous not to recognize. “I definitely recognize you.”
“God.” She sighs. “I was having a bad day.”
“There was no reason to take it out on me.” I could let her off the hook, but it’s good having her on the ropes. It makes her more pliant since she’s obviously guilty about her behavior that night.
“I was embarrassed. The pizzas were supposed to be paid for, and I didn’t have any cash in the house.” Her eyes glitter as she makes her confession. “Sometimes I get mean when I’m embarrassed.”
“Sometimes?” I smirk.
She gives a grudging smile. “Shut up.”
I laugh. “You definitely have walls.”
“Yes. I’m… I’m sorry I was rude to you that night.” She takes a sip off of her beverage.
Her heartfelt apology gets through to me. Maybe it’s because she looks so demoralized. “At least you tipped well.” I glance around and lower my voice. “I dropped a pizza off to Sophia right before I delivered yours. She gave me fifty cents.”
She blinks at me, and then she smiles. “Really?”
I’m not sure why I admit that to her. I have some strange urge to comfort her. Judging by her smile, it was a good decision. She looks less uptight now that I’ve shared something negative about Sophia. “A lot of rich people are horrible tippers.”
“But why? They have money, so why are they bad tippers?”
“My guess is they’re fucking cheapskates.” I grin.
Her laugh is warm, but when she glances past me toward Sophia, her smile fades. “She seems to hate me.” She looks mystified. “Until a minute ago we’d never even spoken. Why would she hate me?”
It’s a simple question, but the answer isn’t one she’d want to hear. Truth is, most rich people don’t like poor people. They’re more comfortable with other rich people. Hanging out with people in a lower tax bracket can be awkward. My dad and mom don’t mingle with people who have less money. They’d consider that a waste of time. Dad expects me to marry into another rich family, so we can amass even more wealth. He’d have a coronary if I brought a girl like Charity home.
I obviously can’t tell Charity any of that.
“Sophia hates everybody,” I say instead.
She narrows her eyes. “She doesn’t hate you.”
No. Sophia seems to quite like me suddenly. I don’t really want to get into that with Charity though. Sophia is just the kind of girl my dad wants me to marry, and the thought of that makes my skin crawl. If that’s my fate, I plan on staying single for a long, long, long time.
“We’ve gone to the same schools our whole life.” I shrug. “Jeremy was friendly with you.”
Pink touches her cheeks. “Sophia tripped me. He was just being nice.”
Little do you know, Jeremy doesn’t do nice.
For some stupid reason, I say, “Be careful with him.” It just slips out, and I regret it immediately.
“Why?”
I try to laugh it off. “I’m just kidding. Jeremy is great.”
She lifts her chin. “Well, no need to warn me because I’m careful with everyone.”
I lean toward her flirtatiously. “But not me, right?” I give her my most charming smile, but it falters under her cool stare.
“Why would you get a pass?” she asks.
“Well, I’ve been nothing but nice to you.”
She studies me in silence for a moment, then she says, “You’re friends with Sophia, so that says something about you.”
Heat rises from my throat to my cheeks. Did she seriously just throw me shade? What a frosty little bitch. Here I am wasting my free time with her after school, and she’s giving me the cold shoulder? Girls usually melt when I turn on the charm. She looks like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth as she stares me down.
She puts her hand on the book. “We should be studying, not talking.”
I’m speechless at the nerve of her. Who the hell is this poverty stricken chick to try and put me in my place? She seriously thinks I don’t have better things to do with my time than try to get to know her on a personal level? She should be groveling on the ground with thanks that I’m willing to talk to her.
With great difficulty, I stuff down my anger. It isn’t easy containing the fury pulsing inside of me, but I bite the inside of my cheek to help distract myself. I’d love to put her in her place, but I think the long game will be best. It will hurt her more when I finally unleash my punishment on her. I can’t wait to wipe that frigid look off her face. I’m going to absolutely love humiliating her.
With Academy Award winning skill, I force a smile. My face feels like it could crack, but I do my very best to look unaffected by her rudeness. “Fine by me.”
“Good. I’m glad we agree. Now, where were we?” She sniffs, turning pages quickly.
The next hour is spent reading and discussing the book chapter by chapter. Her mind moves quickly, and she’s very bright. I have to work hard to keep up. Not because I’m not as smart as her, but because I’m rusty at studying with another person. Most of the girls who want to “study” with me, don’t really want to study at all. They just want to flirt, and then go back to my place to fuck. Charity is actually here to work. I grudgingly admire, but mostly resent, her for that.
My rage slowly fades into intense dislike. I catch her watching me now and then. Her expression is thoughtful, and I hope I’m successfully hiding my anger. Even though her standoffish attitude grates on me, I find myself checking her out. She really does have amazing breasts. I can dislike someone and still think they’re hot. And she is hot. But she needs to learn her place. She needs to learn some manners.
I’m curious if she’s a virgin. Maybe that’s why she’s so aloof. Sometimes virgins are bitchy at first because they’re scared. When I finally do get her naked, will she be different in bed? Will she be warm and giving? Will she beg me to fuck her, or will she play games and pretend she doesn’t want me? I won’t put up with her frigid act once I have my dick inside her. I’ll make her feel so good she’ll crave more of me. She’ll plead for me to fuck her. Sweat breaks out on my upper lip, and I feel myself getting hard.
Shit. Calm down.
I drag my gaze away from her, and focus on the book. I don’t need to get a hard-on again just from being around her. I wish my dislike of her would quell my lust, although, if I ever get her in bed, it’s good to know I’ll be able to close the deal. I definitely won’t have any trouble getting it up.
Her phone dings and she jumps. “Oh. My Mom is here.” She stands and slips her phone into her back pocket.
“Already?” I pretend I’m disappointed our time is up. Truth is, I’m glad it’s time to part because my mind kept drifting to sex too much.
“We’ve been here two hours.”
“Really. The time went so fast,” I say smoothly.
She nods. “Uh… thank you for studying with me.”
“No problem.” I hesitate. “Maybe next time we can stay a little longer.”
“You want to study longer next time?” Surprise flutters through her clear gaze.
I shrug. “We covered a lot of ground. It’s nice to study with someone else. It helps keep me on track.”
“True.” She glances down at the wooden chairs. “But these chairs are torture after a few hours.”
She’s not wrong. My ass is numb after sitting here studying with her. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to get closer to her. If I invite her to study at my home, that will make me seem like a good guy. Plus, there’s no way I want to study at her place. I hope to never visit that dumpy trailer park again. “We could study at my place. If your mom drops you off, I could take you home.”
She frowns. “You want to study at your house?”
She has a way of always making me feel like a jerk, even when I’m trying to be nice. Well, fake nice. She rejects every kind gesture I make. I’m used to girls falling at my feet. Sophia is giving me a green light lately, and she’s way more popular than Charity. You can’t get less popular than Charity.
I keep my tone casual. “Why not?”
“Your parents wouldn’t mind you inviting me over?”
“Nah. I have friends over all the time.” I use the word friend on purpose. I don’t want her having any idea I’m sexually attracted to her. That can come later. Once she’s less guarded around me, I can take things to the next level.
“I see,” she says softly.
“I like having a study partner. We should keep it up even after your book comes.”
“Really?” She blinks at me.
“Why not?” It’s kind of fun manipulating her like this. She seems confused by how friendly I’m being. It’s hard not to laugh. “Let’s exchange numbers. We can work out the details that way.”
She looks like I asked for her social security number. “Oh, well, I’m not sure.”
I laugh gruffly, feeling a familiar nudge of anger at how guarded she is. “We don’t have to exchange numbers if you don’t want to.”
Putting her on the spot seems to work because she says, “No, it’s probably fine.”
Once we have that out of the way, I walk with her out of the shop. Sophia gives Charity a dirty look as we pass by, and I wink at her. It seems to satisfy her because she smiles at me. I hope it satisfies her. I don’t want to get on Sophia’s bad side. Sophia is well acquainted with the transfer student game we male Elites play. I’m not sure why she’s acting agitated, like I’m actually interested in Charity.
“There’s my mom,” Charity points toward a red Mercedes parked by the sidewalk.
I’m shocked at how nice her mom’s car is. “That’s your mom?”
“It’s her fiancé’s car.” Charity looks uneasy.
Inside the car there’s a pretty, blonde woman behind the wheel. The woman looks a lot like Charity, only older. She’s friendlier than her daughter, and when Charity opens the door she calls out a warm hello.
I lean down so I can see her better. “Hi, I’m Mason Johnson.”
The older woman holds out her hand to me, and because Charity is already seated, I have to lean on her to shake her mother’s hand. I’m distracted by Charity’s perfume, and the softness of her body against mine. I force myself to focus on the older woman.
“I’m Gloria Ballard.” She flashes a huge rock on her finger. “Soon to be Gloria Ballard Cartwright.” She smiles.
“Congrats.” I’m wondering why the hell they live in a trailer park when she’s wearing a rock that big on her finger.
“We should probably go, Mom. I’ve taken up enough of Mason’s time tonight.” Charity sounds impatient.
Gloria gives her daughter a curious look. “I just wanted to say hello to your friend.”
I half expect Charity to announce I’m not her friend. But she doesn’t, she simply stares out the windshield.
“It sure is nice to meet you Mrs. Ballard,” I say cheerfully, emphasizing my Texas drawl. People from out of state just love a good Texas twang.
“Oh please, call me Gloria.” She’s so much friendlier than her daughter, I half wish she was the one I had to seduce. It sure would be easier to close the deal.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were Charity’s sister, not her mother,” I say.
Gloria laughs. “Oh, boy. You’re a charmer.”
I grin. “Yeah, Charity has been saying that to me all evening.” Charity looks annoyed when her mom laughs at my obvious joke. Maybe she should try being less of a curmudgeon. “It was nice to meet you, Gloria.”
“You too, Mason.” Gloria smiles.
Charity looks down pointedly at my legs. “You better move, I don’t want to hit you with the door.”
Apparently the bitch can’t get away from me fast enough. Am I that horrible to be around? Do I smell or something? What is her deal? “See you tomorrow at school,” I say jauntily,
stepping back from the car.
“Uh, huh.” Charity shuts the door firmly. I catch Gloria giving her daughter a quizzical look, but then they drive away.
I’m confused by why Charity seems warm one minute, and frosty the next. I’m equally puzzled by why I still find her so attractive. Maybe I’m secretly a masochist. As rude as she is to me, I still really want to fuck her. Perhaps that’s simply a desire to have her in a submissive role. I know how to pleasure a girl, and I doubt even Charity could be mean to me if I’m sucking her clit.
I decide not to worry about the future, and I head toward the parking lot. Tomorrow, when we meet to study together, I’ll be twice as charming. If I work my magic properly, I should have Charity in my bed in a couple of weeks. My cock stirs at the thought of that, and I decide to go home and play some Xbox.
Charity is definitely a challenge, but I like challenges.
Chapter Seven
Charity
So much for being nicer to Mason.
I think when Sophia tripped me yesterday, that ruined everything. Falling on my face definitely started the session off on the wrong foot. Plus, Mason makes me so nervous. He’s so attractive I feel stripped naked around him. My nipples even get hard when he touches me. I’ve never met a guy I wanted to sleep with before. I’ve met lots of guys I wanted to kiss, and some I wouldn’t have minded doing a little more with. But Mason is the only one I’ve ever fantasized about sexually. I can even imagine wanting to go all the way with him. It’s embarrassing, but also kind of exciting.
But if I can’t learn to be nice to him, he’s not going to see me as anything but a bitch. Even when he’s nice to me, I find myself blurting out rude things. I feel like I have Tourette’s or something when I’m around him. He’s not easy for me to read, and that doesn’t help any. I sometimes feel like he’s hiding something. Maybe he’s simply hiding the fact that he hates me because I’m so mean.
I groan, and walk downstairs, so mom can drive me to school. She gave me a hard time yesterday for being rude to Mason. I can’t exactly defend myself because I was rude. She’s already outside in the car when I exit the house. She dropped Luke off at school already today, since he goes in earlier than me.