by Ella Goode
“She lives with me,” I say abruptly.
This generates a flurry of other activity such as where do I live and how come she doesn’t live with my uncle and where’s the party going to be at.
“He lives above the garage across from the house,” Waif interjects.
“Oh, at least you’re not in the car,” Aly says but there’s a suspicious glint in her eye. I remember her now. She’s Owen Fast’s girlfriend. Fast was a transfer last semester from a local high school, recruited for the football team because of his superior route running and his sticky hands. I like him a lot—as much as I like any of my teammates. The two of them came up to my car after the game and asked me some dumb questions about a post-championship. I think Aly might’ve asked me something about what I was hiding in the car. This is not the direction I want the conversation to go.
I clap my hands. “We’re having a party this Friday. Everyone’s invited. Free…” I trail off because I haven’t the first clue what happens at parties. I throw a questioning look toward Waif, who smirks.
“Free drinks. Free food. And a free gift card to Johnny’s Pizzeria for a free single-serving pizza.”
What the fuck? I mouth but Waif ignores me. She folds her hands on her desk, focuses on the whiteboard at the front of the class, and pretends she didn’t just promise a meal to every single dumbass in my school. A smile plays around on the corner of her lips and I can tell she’s trying not to burst out laughing.
If we were keeping score, and we’re not, I would be down by two touchdowns right now. She’s burying me and I don’t even care. There’s something wrong with me, but I don’t know what it is.
Chapter Fourteen
Mallory
I smile at Aly and Owen. They are so adorable together I want to eat them up but I know that’s not acceptable. They are so sweet that it makes me have hope that love still exists. It’s nice to see two people that care for one another. That’s far from the atmosphere that I grew up in. It’s refreshing to see two people in love. Owen hangs on every word that comes out of Aly’s mouth. I don’t blame him. She’s crazy smart and funny too. Not as funny as Owen but it comes easier to him. They both have laid-back attitudes. It feels nice to have friends. It’s different than my old school. No one knows me here or my past. I know it’s soon to call these people friends, but I feel as though Aly and I have a great connection. I could see us becoming good friends.
“I told you to wait for me.” I look up to see Deuce standing over me. I’m sitting in one of the seats in the cafeteria. They are low to the ground so it makes him look taller than he already is. He did tell me to wait for him. I’m not a dog who follows commands. Maybe if he was a little sweeter to me then I would have waited for him. But since he was being his usual asshole self, I decided not to. I’m still amazed that the people around here put up with his crap.
Owen all but told Aly—as I learned he called Ace because she aces everything she does—to stay put when he got to the cafeteria but the way that he said it had even me melting. ‘Babe, sit your cute ass down while I get my woman some food. Hang with your new friend.”
Then he’d kissed her and strolled off. Yeah, if Deuce had done that to me I would have sat there in shock for twenty minutes and then tried to figure out what the hell he was up to. I know I could make things easy for Deuce but it’s fun to defy him. I love when he gets all riled up after I give him the business. I love trying to find different ways to mess with him. He almost makes it too easy for me, which has me thinking I’m not the only one enjoying myself. Sometimes I wonder if he tells me to do something only to watch me do the opposite of whatever he says.
“How’s that bossing me around thing working out for you?” I ask as I drop my gaze from his back down to the table where I am hanging out with Owen and Aly. She didn't believe me about the party and is really fascinated by it. She doesn't seem like the party type but she will be coming this Friday because, in her words, I’ve got to see this.
“Why don’t you have any food?” Deuce asks, not answering my question but asking his own. I shrug. The cafeteria is a little intimidating. Plus why buy food here? I’ll eat when I get back to Deuce’s place where the food will be free. My breakfast sandwich can hold me over even if my stomach is trying to disagree with me at the moment. I never really ate lunch at my old high school. I didn’t love the crowds and sometimes the cafeteria got rowdy. That’s what I used to tell myself anyway to make myself feel better about it. It being not able to afford buying lunch there.
“She can have some of mine.” Aly starts to push her overloaded tray my way that Owen had gotten the two of them. Owen reaches out, stopping her and pulling the tray back in front of his girl. Aly scowls at him for a brief moment, which causes him to smile and kiss her cheek.
“I’ll get her food. You eat.” Owen starts to stand.
“He thinks I don’t eat enough.” Aly rolls her eyes and pushes the tray back in between us. This time it’s Deuce who leans down over me. His body presses into my back as he pushes the tray back to Ace.
“I can get her lunch.” His face is next to mine now with the way he’s bent down. I peer over at him to see he’s looking at Owen. “She is my responsibility.” Those words hit a sensitive spot deep inside me. My mom had uttered the same ones many times while she was putting me down. Letting me know that eighteen is no longer her responsibility and I better remember that. Deuce had to add that little bit of asshole in there. He can’t help himself. For a minute, I thought he was going to do something nice because he was trying to be a decent human being or maybe trying to be my friend but no, he is doing it out of duty. Because everyone believed this made-up story that I am his cousin, his responsibility. I swear I have the urge to punch him. It’s funny how much my emotions fluctuate when I’m around him.
“Then get it.” Owen drops back down in his seat, putting his arm around Aly. He is one of the few who don’t seem intimidated by Carter. I think it’s more lack of care. All of Owen’s focus is on Aly. He doesn’t have time for Carter’s bullshit. That makes two of us. Deuce’s mixed signals are messing with my head. I’m not so sure I’m enjoying these games we are playing with each other anymore. It is starting to become clear I’ll be the one getting hurt. His comment already cut deeper than it should have.
“I’m not hungry,” I say as I stand and begin to gather my things. I shoot Carter a look of death letting him know not to mess with me. I thank Owen and Aly for their good company before I walk away knowing, like always when Carter is near, everyone is watching.
Chapter Fifteen
Carter
She’s mad...again. I’m in a constant state of horniness and she’s in a constant state of pissed-offness. I’m not saying she doesn’t have the right to be upset because I ripped her shirt, made her sleep on the sofa, call her Waif, and then didn’t get her lunch. In my defense, I forgot you had to pay for lunch. It was just...there every day when I went to the caf. I realize this way of thinking makes me out to be a bigger asshole than I am. Or maybe I am that big of an asshole.
I shake my head.
“Stop following me,” she mutters.
“No can do.”
She stomps forward and I follow until she nears the men’s locker room. Then I slam the door open and pull her inside. A pair of dumbasses are bent over the sink snorting something up their noses.
“Out,” I order.
“But our lines…” one of them whines.
I grab Wa—no, Mallory’s—wrist so she can’t escape and cross the room until I reach the sinks. Leaning down, I puff and blow their little mountain of coke into the basin.
“What the fuck, Carter!” screams one punk.
“Dude, this cost like two grand. It’s premium—“
“I don’t fucking care. You don’t do drugs in my locker room.” My rules are strict. No women, no booze, no gambling, no drugs. Those are the things you get suspended over and if you want to win championships, you can’t lose one member on your sq
uad. Everyone has abided by those rules for four years.
“The season is over,” cries the first ass.
As if that matters. “It’s my locker room until I leave this hell hole. Now get the fuck out before I make you sniff the dirt off the shoes of the cleaning crew.”
“What crawled up your ass?” snipes the second punk as he straightens and wipes his finger across his nose.
“If you don’t leave, my size fourteens will be so far up your anal canal, you’ll feel my steel toe in your throat.”
“Just wait until you’re gone. We’re going to do whatever we want in here,” he mumbles, full of white-powdered bravery.
“But I’m not gone, am I?” I say quietly because I’m done with their shit and want them out of here so I can talk to Mallory about how that scene back in the caf was a misunderstanding and not done intentionally to humiliate her. These two pencil dicks are getting on my last nerve.
“I think you should go,” Mallory contributes. “I’ve seen him when he’s mad. Not a thing in the house survives. He once took a cat and threw it out a window. It landed on its feet, but can you imagine what a monster he is if he throws animals around?”
The coke-addled students’ jaws drop at this info and they scurry out to spread the news that I’m an animal abuser. If my reputation before was bad, this is surely going to put a nail in my coffin. The minute the door shuts behind them, I turn to Mallory with a dark look on my face. She takes a step back and I approach. We do this little dance until her spine hits the tile wall. I slap a hand next to her face and lean in.
“I don’t have a cat.”
“You could have had one at one time. You seem like the type.” She licks her lips nervously, as if she can’t quite believe she said what she said. Her soft pink tongue darts out to swipe along the plump flesh before disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. I want that tongue in my mouth. I want that tongue on my skin. I want it running over my lip. I want it tracing a path down my neck. I want it leaving a trail down to my dick. I want it on my dick. Fuck. The blood in my head pools in my groin. My jeans grow two sizes too small. I dip down even closer until there’s almost no space between us, needing her to understand a few simple facts.
“The only thing I’ve ever given a shit about in my entire life is football. Football and cats don’t co-exist so I’ve never had a pussy. Not once in my life,” I say with deliberation.
Her eyes widen. “I don’t believe you.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me. The truth is the truth.”
“The minute you walked into school, half the female population were swarmed around you,” she scoffs.
“And I only had eyes for you.” I can’t wait another minute. My mouth dips and lands on hers, resting gently because I don’t want to scare her off. She inhales sharply but doesn’t draw away. I deepen the pressure, feeling her lips give way and her tongue creep out to slide against the seam of my mouth. My knees nearly buckle at her first touch. I reach up and tug on her chin and her mouth opens for me. I invite myself in, sweeping through the barrier, tasting her in all of her glory. She’s sweet and warm, like hot cider on a cold day. Her hands come up to clutch my shoulders and even that small touch nearly does me in.
I reach down and grab her ass, boosting her in the air until her notch fits snug against my hard-on. Her legs wrap around my thighs. I press her against the wall so I can free a hand to delve into her thick hair, twisting her face so that my access is better. Our tongues tangle. Her hands skate over my shoulders and down my arms, feeling my muscles flex as I grind her against me. Her heat sears me even through two layers of denim, but that’s not enough. With one hand cupped under her ass, I swing her around until I can set her on the edge of the sink. Then I attack her shirt, lifting my mouth from hers only long enough to get the fabric over her head. My hands cup and mold her breasts, pulling them out of the wire cups that restrain them. I flick my fingers over her nipples. She moans against my mouth.
“Like that?” I say and repeat the action. She nods, glassy-eyed. I’ve never seen anyone look sexier than Mallory in this moment with her hair mussed, her shirt off, her bra pulled aside with only her tight jeans encasing her legs. I have my fingers on the buttons of her jeans when there’s a loud noise outside the locker room door. Our eyes meet in surprise. We’d forgotten where we were. She pushes me away, grabs her shirt and escapes into one of the stalls just as half the senior class pours into the locker room.
“Carter, wassup!” cries Ben.
He protected my ass for four years and if I like anyone in this cursed school, it’s him, but at this moment, I want to grind him into the ground until he disappears like dust.
“Can’t believe you’re having a party on Friday. That’s gonna be lit.” He slaps me on the back.
“Yeah. Lit. I can’t wait.” I glance toward the stall door. She’s never coming out. Not while there are people inside. I turn away from Ben, adjust my nuts, and wait for my erection to subside. Once I have myself under control, I smile thinly at my former teammates. “How about we all go to the Shake Shack next period? My treat.”
The cheers are deafening. I herd everyone out. Fast catches my elbow. “I’ll have Ace come in and get your girl.”
“How’d you know?” I ask in surprise.
“Eh. It wasn’t hard to guess.” He points to my face. “You’ve got lip gloss smeared across your cheek and you were leaning against one particular stall door. I guess the no-girls rule doesn’t apply to Mallory.”
I rub a thumb across my face. “I don’t think any rules I had apply to Mallory.”
Chapter Sixteen
Mallory
“All clear,” I hear Aly say. I push open the bathroom stall door to see her standing there. Deuce got everyone to clear out but I am still a little leery of stragglers. The last place I want to be caught as the new girl is in the boys’ locker room. Rumors get started quick and I don't need any drama in my life. Carter is proving to be a handful as it is.
“Thanks.” I open the stall door all the way. My heart has finally stopped pounding in my chest. I don’t know if it was from the heavy makeout session or almost getting caught. It was probably a little bit of both. Maybe it was how Deuce handled those assholes when we first entered. I’m guessing it’s a mixture of it all. I honestly don’t think I’m ready to admit the real reason. The one that has me falling for Deuce.
“So. Carter isn’t your cousin,” she says with a smile on her face. My stomach gets nervous for a second because I don’t want to lie to her if I don’t have to.
“What makes you say that?” I reach up, making sure my hair isn’t a mess. Had Deuce’s hands been in it? I touch my mouth next, feeling self-conscious now. Oh God, I bet my lip gloss is all over my face.
“Your mouth is swollen. I know the feeling.” I continue to run my fingers across my lips that still tingle. Hell, if I’m being honest, my entire body is tingling. “This is so awesome.” Aly really is tickled pink over the news of Carter and me not being related. If she wasn’t so into Owen I might get—oh, God—jealous.
“Why do you find this so interesting?” First it was about Carter's house and then she asked a few questions before Deuce showed up in the cafeteria. Everyone acts so surprised that he even talks to me. I mean I know he can be a dick but damn. These people make it seem as though he’s never had a friend before. His comment about never having a pussy pops into my head. That has my curiosity piqued as well. Did he mean what I thought he meant? No...way.
“’Cause it’s Carter. He’s this weird enigma that I can’t figure out for the life of me. I don’t know if he’s a good guy or a bad guy. He’s just…” Her eyebrows furrow together and I know she’s thinking. She throws her hands up. “I don’t know what he is but now he’s all gung-ho over a girl.”
“That’s not normal?” I poke around a bit remembering my thoughts from a few minutes ago. It is still hard to believe but Aly is here all but confirming it.
“He
doesn’t give anyone the time of day unless it messes with something that he’s doing. Football is actually the only time he socializes with anyone from school. If you consider him barking orders at people socializing. Yet, when he does it, everyone falls into line because I think his family might own this school or something. I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “I mean, he’s a dick at times but I have to admit he gets shit handled if it’s out of line. I have a little respect for that. Sometimes someone has to be the asshole and it’s good if the asshole is on your side,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. Making it seem as though Carter is the lesser of two evils sometimes.
“So let me get this straight. He doesn’t talk to anybody unless it’s necessary and he’s never dated anyone here?”
“That about sums it up from what I’ve seen.” She shrugs again. Her words make me sad for a minute. What a lonely life he must lead with not having any real friends. I guess we are the same in a lot of ways. I didn’t really have anyone that I was close with in my other school but it wasn’t because I chose it. My mother had made my bed for me way before I had a chance for people to get to know me. Her ways made people assume automatically that I was my mother's daughter.
I do have to admit that the confirmation that Carter doesn’t date has a warm feeling coursing through my body.
“Come on. Let’s get to the Shake Shack before Owen is bursting down the door.” Her cell phone dings on cue. “They are waiting for us.” She pulls her keys out of her pocket. “I’ll drive. I don’t normally skip class but I’m sure Carter will get us all passes. Plus I want to see this.” I follow her out of the locker room while she types away on her phone. She starts laughing.
“Carter let Owen ride with him so you can ride with me.” She shows me her phone. “I guess Carter told Owen not to say one word about the mess.” He might not have said a word about it but Owen took a picture to send Aly of the mess I made in the car.