Once the pizza has gone down and I have enough wine in my system to last me a lifetime, Nate scoops me off the couch and carries me down to my brand new bedroom. “Come on,” he says. “You need to sleep today off so you have the energy to pretend to be happy for your parents tomorrow.”
I let out a sigh. “I don’t want them to go.”
Nate deposits me down in my bed and reaches for my shirt before pulling it up over my head. “I know,” he says. “But your dad has no choice and your mom wants to be with the man she loves. Just like I’d follow you to the ends of the earth to be with you.”
I let out a breath and wind my arms around him. “You’re the best. You know that, right?”
I raise my chin and he brings his lips down on mine before pushing me back into the softest bed I’ve ever laid on. He comes barreling down with me, pressing his hard body into mine. “I know,” he tells me as he grins against my lips. “You’re one hell of a lucky girl to be with all this.”
I roll my eyes and kiss him back before letting him finish this day off right.
Some things never change and I hope to God that they never will. As frustrating as it can be having a guy like Nate Ryder teasing you and constantly pushing your buttons, I can’t help but love it and love him for it.
Chapter 6
I push through the big double doors of my English class with a groan. Nate only just stepped out of his Business class and asked me to go to lunch with him, and instead of being there, gazing into the deepest eyes I’ve ever seen, I’m here, walking up the steps of yet another classroom.
I say a quick hello to a few of the girls I’ve met over the past few weeks and make my way up a few levels before crashing down into my seat. I let out a sigh as I dig through my bag and pull out my things before shooting a text off to Nate, apologizing for the millionth time for ditching him.
I mean, it’s not like it’s a bad thing. He supports me learning and bettering my future, but the disappointment behind his eyes killed me when I said I should go to class instead. I’ll have to make it up to him tonight.
I set up my laptop on my desk, ready to take notes for one of my hardest classes. I’m feeling pretty good about it though. Even with the big move over the weekend and spending time with my parents before they flew out, I still managed to get on top of all my work. I don’t know how I did it, but I did, and it feels great. I even handed in my English essay so today, I can give every single ounce of my concentration to my professor as he babbles on.
I look up from my laptop screen as Professor Harding walks through the door and straight over to his desk before placing his briefcase down beside it. He removes his coat, hangs it on the back of his chair, and does it all as though he hasn’t noticed the room full of students sitting behind him, patiently waiting for him to get the show on the road.
Finally, after a solid three minutes of going through his things and getting himself set up, he turns to the class, takes a step forward, and opens his mouth.
The door of the room barges open and my eyes instinctually flick across to take in the latecomer as Professor Harding shoots a nasty glare his way.
The guy is built like an athlete and walks forward with the swagger of an asshole, completely ignoring the Professor as he struts through the classroom without a care in the world. I instantly don’t like the guy, especially as he wears his hat low on his face, completely disrespecting the whole ‘don’t wear hats inside’ rulel.
As he begins slinking up the stairs, searching the rows for an available seat, something pulls at me that I know this guy. It’s like a strange familiarity, but I can’t figure out how the hell I’d know a big guy like that. If only the asshole would remove his hat and stop wasting everyone’s time.
It’s not until the guy is shuffling his way across the row before me that I get a glimpse of his face underneath the brim of his hat. My stomach sinks and I suck in a sharp breath.
No. It couldn’t be.
My palms begin to sweat as my heart rate picks up and threatens to beat right out of my chest. I don’t know if I want to fear the guy or barge my way down there and beat the ever loving shit out of him.
Josh Henderson makes his way through the students and I find myself sliding down in my chair, hiding my face behind my laptop screen.
Holy shit. How could I not have seen this coming? Of course, he goes here. He fucked up his chances of getting into a major league school. He fucked up his chances of playing college ball. He fucked up his shot of making anything of himself and the only logical thing for him to do is aim for his back-up plan – go to the local college, study some basic course, and hope to God he finds employment afterward.
This isn’t something I was expecting. Nate had dealt with him over and over again and promised me that I’d never have to see the guy again, but none of us considered the fact that he’d go to the same college in the same damn town. I thought we were done with him.
How could I have been so stupid?
Nate is going to lose his shit when he realizes Josh is here and in the same class as me. He’s going to force me to switch classes and screw up the flow I’ve got going with my schedule. But that’s still not going to solve the issue of being on the same campus as the guy. He’s eventually going to see me and he’s eventually going to come after me.
To me, he took away my innocence, but to him, I took away his bright future, and if I take all the past few times I’ve seen him, I’d dare say the guy holds a grudge with one hell of a big chip on his shoulder. A guy like Josh Henderson doesn’t just move on and admit fault, he shoots himself in the foot over and over again until there are no more bullets left. He backs himself into a corner and tries to bulldoze his way out, and no doubt, I’ll be the one bulldozed.
Crap. Crap. CRAP.
This is not what I wanted for my day.
I was supposed to have a good, interesting class, do a little study, go home to see Brooke, and spend my night rubbing my naked body up against Nate’s. Not fretting and panicking over something I should have seen coming.
Shit.
I move my eyes off the back of Josh’s head and pay attention to Professor Harding droning on about something that I just can’t seem to concentrate on. My eyes keep flicking back to Josh and I work myself up so much that I feel like hurling, which would be stupid of me. The last thing I want is to draw attention to myself and let the prick know just who’s sitting in the row behind him.
When Josh leans back in his chair, I find myself also leaning back, instinctively needed to get as far from him as possible, but when his eyes flick across to the pretty blonde sitting beside him and leers at her as though she’s his next meal, flashbacks start rushing in.
His hand around my arm as he pulled me into the dark closet. The moment of confusion, thinking it might have been Nate wanting to fool around. The moment of undeniable terror as I realized what was happening. My heart racing. The tight grip on my body. The desperate need to get away. My head slamming against the hard wall. His lips on my body.
Tears spring to my eyes as a deep anger sets itself within me. How dare I shed a single tear over that rat bastard? I need to get out of here, but I wouldn’t dare risk making a move like that. It would be like a big red arrow pointing me out. I’ve done stupid things in my eighteen years, but I’m not that fucking stupid. I have no choice but to sit here quietly, hoping I can somehow manage to get myself under control and not throw myself across the desk and wrap my fingers around his throat.
As the class continues, my breathing becomes labored and I’ve bitten my bottom lip so much, I’m starting to taste blood. I can do this. My eyes flick to the clock for the umpteenth time, silently begging it to tick faster.
I focus on the screen before me.
I focus on the way Professor Harding’s dress shirt is slightly untucked at the side.
I focus on the engraved heart on my desk.
I focus on anything and everything to make the images in my mind stop haunting me.
The class finally comes to an end and I make a break for it before slamming my ass back down in the chair. I’ve waited this long, I can’t afford to be foolish now.
I watch as Josh drops a notebook and pen inside his bag before slamming his chair back into the desk behind him. The bag is slung over his shoulder and it doesn’t take him long to get to the bottom of the stairs, especially with the way he’s barging his way through the students, letting them know exactly what kind of asshole they’re dealing with.
I wait until he disappears out the door before packing up my laptop. Then I find myself waiting just a bit longer, terrified of walking out that door in case I was somehow seen over the past hour.
This is stupid. I can’t be afraid of walking around campus. I doubt if he saw me, he’d be bold enough to try anything in such a public setting.
I let out a deep breath and try to remember where I lost my balls. I throw my bag over my shoulder and join the rest of the students making their way down the cramped stairs.
As I poke my head out the door, I find myself quickly glancing around. The second I deem the area safe, I finally make my break for it. All I want is to get in my car and haul ass before locking myself in the safety of my home.
Ten minutes later, I pull myself out of my car and barge my way through the front door of my home. I stand in the doorway, gawking at Brooke on the floor of the living room. All the furniture has been pushed to the edges of the room while Brooke positions herself in the center of the room with her ass up in the air and a beginner’s yoga tutorial playing on the television screen.
“What the hell are you doing?” I laugh, loving how just one ridiculous thing from my best friend somehow manages to help me forget the bullshit day I’ve been having.
“Go get dressed. You should try this shit. It’s so fucking hard,” she says in what I think is supposed to be a downward facing dog, yet it looks more like a downward facing pig.
Brooke looks at me from her position on the floor and I find myself shrugging before dumping my bag at the door. “Fuck it,” I laugh, skipping over to her and dropping down to the ground, accidentally bumping into her on the way down and making her fall out of her position.
Brooke shuffles down on her yoga mat and shares with me before instructing me on what to do. I get into the first position before collapsing back to the ground and wriggling out of my jeans. I mean, I’m all for woman power and that bullshit. We can do anything we put our minds to, but yoga in skinny jeans is simply not going to happen.
We get halfway through the tutorial before Brooke decides she wants to try the advanced stuff. You know, all the handstand crap which looks awesome, but let’s be real, it’s way out of our league. I mean, I’m still kind of struggling with the whole downward facing dog thing.
Twenty minutes later, my head is aching, but I’m really digging this meditation, relaxation thing going on at the end. Brooke and I lay with our heads together in the center of the room and our bodies stretched out across the floor. “That was fun,” she laughs.
“Yeah,” I agree. “I really needed that. It’s been such a shit day.”
“Really?” she grunts. “What’s going on? Did Nate get his knickers in a twist when you forgot to remind him that he’s your number one, special guy?”
“Shut up,” I groan, rolling over and propping myself up on my elbow so I can look at her. “It’s just been shitty, is all,” I say, deciding to skip over the whole Josh thing. I mean, all that’s going to do is worry her, and then I’m going to have to put up with her demanding that I tell Nate about it over and over again until she eventually does it for me, which naturally, will end up with Nate having the shits with me. I mean, there’s no win for me here. “I’m ready to climb into bed and call it a day.”
“It’s like, three o’clock in the afternoon,” Brooke snorts.
“I know,” I laugh. “But after you forced a whole bottle of wine down my throat last night, I’m sort of feeling like a little old lady with a killer hangover.”
Brooke grins as she pushes up and crosses her legs. She leans back against the couch and shrugs as though she doesn’t have a care in the world. “Not my fault you get hangovers like a little bitch.”
I roll my eyes and watch as she grabs her phone and starts texting, and if I know my Brookey Chookey, it would be a dirty message to Lukas. “Brooke,” I say after a beat. “It’s time to come clean.”
Her eyes don’t move from the screen. “Honey, I do all sorts of shit. Which thing do I specifically need to come clean about?”
“Maxen.”
Her eyes widen before flicking up to mine and widening just that bit more. She sucks in a breath. “What are you talking about?”
“Brooke,” I say, low and forgiving. “Something happened. I could see it in the way you were acting around each other, and besides, he couldn’t stop watching you. It was kind of creepy.”
Brooke watches me for a moment with determination in her eyes, making it clear she doesn’t want to say anything, but with a sigh, that determination fades away. “I slept with him over the summer.”
“What?” I grunt before splattering about as I choke on my own spit. “Please tell me you’re joking?”
“I wish I was,” she says with a cringe. “It’s just, you guys are all partnered up and I had nobody. All summer long, I turned up to parties by myself and watched everybody fornicating on the dance floor, so don’t judge me. I was lonely and drunk, and well… it just kind of happened.”
“Brooke,” I groan, not sure how to feel about this, but then, I guess I don’t get an opinion. It’s her body and heart to do whatever she pleases with. “I hope it was worth it.”
A grin splits her face in half. “Come on,” she laughs. “Max and I weren’t compatible when it came to love, but sex? We never had an issue with sex.”
“Oh, geez,” I laugh. “No wonder he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
“I know. It was a mistake and I’ve told him as much. It won’t be happening again, especially now that I’m with Lukas. You know he drives a Harley as well as his truck?”
I roll my eyes. She’s told me all this at least a hundred times now and while it’s getting really old, hearing about how defined Lukas’s body is, but it doesn’t get old for her. So, trying my best to keep that in mind, I smile and nod, letting her rave on about this guy that we honestly know nothing about.
Brooke finishes gushing about Lukas before getting up off the floor. “I better go get some studying done. I have an exam tomorrow and I want to kill it.”
“Yeah, alright,” I say, pushing myself up off the ground. “I better get some studying done too.”
Brooke walks down the hallway as I detour to the front door to scoop my bag up off the floor before walking down to my room. I open my bag and let my books spill out over the bed before finding my laptop under the mess. I open up to the few notes I had managed to get down while also hating on Josh and then open my English textbook, hoping I can somehow make sense of what I’ve written down.
My phone buzzes on the bed beside me and I look down to find mom’s name scrawled across the screen. “Shit,” I groan, remembering that I had promised to call at a certain time every day, and naturally, I’ve already broken that promise.
“Hey, mom,” I say, answering the call.
Her amused voice comes through the line. “It’s only been a day and you’ve already forgotten to call.”
“Sorry,” I cringe. “I’ve been studying and lost track of time.”
“Hmmm, well I guess I can’t complain about that.”
A smile takes over me, realizing I’ve gotten away with murder. “No, you can’t.”
I talk to mom for the next half hour and she tells me all about her flight while I let her know how awesome it is living in my own space with Brooke. I talk to dad for about three seconds before he promptly finishes t
he call, demanding I get back to my studies. I have to laugh. Some things never change.
I do just as I’ve been ordered and put the phone back down beside me before truly getting stuck into my work.
It’s after seven when my window scrapes open, jolting me out of my studying with a surprised gasp. I was so consumed with my work I hadn’t even noticed him sneaking up. Hell, I was so consumed, I didn’t even stop for dinner.
“What the hell are you doing?” I shriek as Nate climbs through the window.
He grins at me, only halfway through before one sexy as hell wink comes my way. “Old habits die hard.” I roll my eyes as he lands inside my room and takes in the books on my bed. His features fall just a bit. “I’m assuming you didn’t take a break to eat?”
“Are you going to be mad if I say no?”
Nate sighs and reaches for my hand before pulling me up to my feet. “Come on,” he murmurs, weaving his fingers through mine. “I’ll make you dinner.” He pulls me down the hallway before looking back over his shoulder. “I guess this means Brooke hasn’t eaten either.”
I shake my head and he rolls his eyes. “Ok.”
A beaming smile cuts across my face and I tug on his hand, pulling him back to me. A smile pulls on his lips as he comes crashing into me and his arms securely wrap around me before those delicious lips come down on mine.
“Thank you,” I whisper, moving my lips against his. “I love you.”
“Damn straight you do, babe,” he says, bringing his hand around to grab my ass. “Now get yourself in the kitchen, wench. The spaghetti isn’t going to cook itself.”
I let out a sigh. I should have known it wasn’t going to be as easy as sitting back and watching the master work.
Chapter 7
I sit at the kitchen table with my books spread out from one side to the other. It’s past eleven at night and it’s been another huge day, but I have an exam tomorrow afternoon which counts for a big part of my grade and I cannot afford to screw it up.
Broken Hill Havoc: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 5) Page 6