The Boyfriend Series Box Set (Books 1-6): YA Contemporary Romance Novels

by Christina Benjamin

  Cody collected himself, repeating his mantra of things that kept him in the present, rescuing him from being swallowed by his past. He smiled when he realized he’d added Hannah’s name to the list. A pang of guilt plagued him as he walked back to the waiting car. He’d been short with her this morning. But he was with Marci, Elena’s sister, and only family member who still spoke to him. He had to stay on her good side in order to get into the private cemetery plot if he wanted to continue his ritual of self-torture.

  Marci barely tolerated him as it was, so mentioning he’d have to reschedule visiting Elena to take his fake girlfriend to her tennis match wasn’t an option. Their ride to and from the cemetery was silent, as always. Marci dropped him off at his house and Cody thanked her for the ride, agreeing to next month’s visit.

  Cody stood on the cold stone steps of his porch, watching Marci pull away. He felt the emptiness creeping back in, threatening to take hold. He looked at his uninviting front door. Home was the last place he wanted to be. He checked his watch. Hannah was probably at her tennis match. Maybe if he showed up with flowers and begged her forgiveness she’d still be willing to talk. God knows I need some sort of distraction, he thought. The increasing need to drink or do something to dull the pain was gnawing at him.

  The heaviness of the keys in his pocket called to him. Sure, Hannah’s house was only a mile away. He could walk it. He should walk it. But he didn’t want to. It was a cold and miserable day. The heavy gray clouds promised rain. Cody grabbed the keys and jogged to the garage. He slid into the driver’s seat of the Range Rover and gripped the wheel. “It’s only a mile,” he reminded himself.

  27

  The rest of the ride to the tennis match went by quickly. Hannah was surprised with the ease she and Harrison conversed. He was much more down to earth than she’d assumed. And he surprisingly followed tennis, so she actually enjoyed chatting strategy with him.

  When they arrived at the courts Harrison gave her a kiss on the cheek and wished her luck, saying he’d be watching from the stands. It made her nervous to have him there. The only person who’d ever come to her tennis matches was her father.

  Harrison’s words invaded Hannah’s mind the whole time she warmed up. Especially the part about Cody being unstable. She had already witnessed Cody’s mood swings and panic attacks. But despite Harrison’s warning, Hannah’s heart still broke for Cody. He needed help. She knew better than anyone what happened when someone tried to battle their demons alone. But she’d been through this before and as much as it killed her, Hannah had to harden herself against Cody. She couldn’t let herself be dragged down into his world of depression. She was too afraid she might not survive it.

  Luckily, the moment the match started Hannah was transported back into her comfort zone. The court was her realm and she was in control there.

  The match was over quickly. Hannah won. Her opponent was a joke. Hannah strategically scheduled her matches with the easiest at the end of the season to help pad her ranking—not that she needed it. She secured the state amateur title with today’s win and the purse would be a huge help with the rest of her college expenses.

  She felt butterflies at her sense of accomplishment when her name was announced. Her dreams were all within reach.

  She heard Harrison cheering her name from the crowd and she trotted over, unable to contain her grin.

  “Way to go, Ace!” he said wrapping her in an affectionate hug.

  Hannah laughed. “Thanks. But I’m all sweaty,” she said wriggling out of his grasp.

  “I’m not complaining.”

  Hannah blushed. “Let me shower off and I’ll meet you at the car.”

  As promised, Harrison was waiting, bottle of champagne in hand.

  “To your big win!”

  Hannah giggled like a schoolgirl when Harrison popped the bottle and coated them in the sticky bubbles.

  “Sorry,” Harrison laughed wiping the champagne from her hair.

  “It’s okay. It’s already wet.”

  Harrison still had his hands in her hair. “You looked hot out there.”

  Hannah took a big swig of champagne.

  “I’ve always wanted to date a tennis girl. Love means nothing to you, right?”

  Hannah rolled her eyes at his cheesy pun.

  “Okay, okay. I’m sure you’ve heard that one before. But seriously, how do you like your ice cream? Soft serve?”

  Hannah laughed. “Oh my god! I’ve never heard that one before!”

  “Really?”

  “No! Of course I’ve heard it. Kiss my ace, I’d hit that, Show me your backhand. I’ve been playing tennis since I was six. I think I’ve heard them all.”

  “Well it was worth a try,” Harrison laughed. “I like you this way.”

  “What way?”

  “Fun and smiling. You always seem so serious at school.”

  “I wasn’t aware you paid attention to me at school,” Hannah challenged, still smiling.

  “Of course not. You don’t give anyone a chance.”

  “Are you implying I’m stuck up?”

  “If the tennis shoe fits . . .” Harrison smirked.

  Hannah playfully nudged him. “I am not stuck up.”

  “Prove it. Let me take you out.”

  “We are out.”

  “On a date.”

  “What kind of date?”

  “Whatever kind you’d like.”

  “Well . . . you do owe me for almost running me over. It’s going to have to be a really nice date.”

  “How about dinner tomorrow to prove you’re not stuck up. And . . .” Harrison reached into his pocket and pulled out a bronze skeleton key with a purple ribbon tied to it. “This is to make up for the parking lot.”

  Hannah’s eyes grew as she reached for the key, but Harrison didn’t let go.

  “Come to my party with me next weekend. As my date.”

  “Already planning our second date?” Hannah asked, trying to play it cool although her heart was pounding. “I haven’t said yes to the first one.”

  “You will.”

  28

  Cody arrived at Hannah’s without an issue. He’d been right to drive. The rain had already started coming down. He jogged to her front door and knocked. Custard’s excited barks were the only answer.

  “Where’s Hannah, boy? Is she still at tennis?” Cody asked Custard through the windowpane next to the door.

  He wagged his tail and pawed at the glass.

  “You want to come out?” Cody asked, checking the handle. Locked.

  He felt around the top of the doorframe for a key. Then he checked under the mat. Bingo. Cody unlocked the door and Custard pounced on him, licking and wagging his tail in a flurry of affection.

  Cody couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re quite the guard dog, Custard. I see you’ve been trained to lick intruders to death.”

  He put the key back and grabbed Custard’s leash from its hook inside the door. He took the dog for a short walk around the house so he could do his business. The rain had turned into a fine mist that chilled Cody to the core. It was the kind of dampness that only a hot shower could rid you of. Somehow he knew showering in Hannah’s house while no one was home would be frowned upon. Cody sighed. Maybe he shouldn’t have come. He looked down at the adorable fur ball staring up at him. He was just as soaked as Cody.

  Glancing around the porch Cody spotted a blanket lying over the side of an old wooden rocking chair. He picked it up and started to dry Custard’s coat.

  “This is our secret,” he said hoping the wet dog smell wouldn’t cling to the blanket. When he’d finished drying him he let Custard back inside. “There’s no need for you to freeze to death.” But the little dog immediately turned to see why Cody wasn’t following him. “Sorry, pal. I gotta wait out here.” Custard whined and pawed at the glass again. “Nope. I don’t care how cute you are.”

  But Cody was all talk and Custard sensed his weakness. A few more seconds of whining and C
ody was back at the door. “Fine, but I’m still not coming inside.”

  Custard happily joined Cody on the porch and settled on his lap once he sat down in one of the rocking chairs. “This better not get me in trouble. I’m already in hot water with Hannah.”

  Custard barked and Cody looked up to see a black limo pull into the driveway.

  Shit.

  “Were you expecting company?” Harrison asked.

  Hannah stiffened when she saw Cody’s car in her driveway. Custard’s yapping caught her attention. She barely caught a flash of his tawny fur running toward the limo before she was out the door, screaming for the world to stop.

  “STOP! STOP!”

  The driver slammed on the brakes but not soon enough. Hannah rounded the front of the car and crumbled to her knees. Custard lay whimpering on his side.

  “No! Please, no. Custard!” Hannah sobbed as she gently buried her face in his fur. “How did you get out, baby?” she whispered.

  Hannah was sure she’d locked the door. She and her father were always careful to make sure Custard couldn’t get out. Since he was a puppy, chasing cars had been his vice. They’d always been extra precautious living near a busy street.

  Hannah stroked his damp fur and whispered soothing words to the dog, placing his head in her lap. The driver and Harrison knelt by her side.

  Cody ran toward them, pain etched across his pale features. “Shit! Hannah, I’m so sorry. He was sitting with me on the porch and—”

  “You let him out?” she interrupted incredulously.

  “I . . . we were waiting for you. I—”

  “Why are you even here?”

  Harrison interrupted, ignoring Cody completely. “Come on, Hannah. We need to get him to the vet.”

  She nodded, turning her back on Cody and helping Harrison lift Custard. They gently placed him on the backseat. Hannah crawled in and sat on the floor so her head was level with his. “I love you, Custard,” she whispered. “You’re going to be okay.”

  Harrison got in, with Cody on his heels. “I think you’d better sit this one out,” he warned Cody.

  “I want to help.”

  “You’ve done plenty.”

  “Hannah,” Cody pleaded, “I’m so sorry. Please let me come with you.”

  “Go home, Cody!”

  Harrison pulled the door shut and they sped away, leaving Cody alone in the rain.

  29

  Cody drove home in stunned silence. The windshield wipers rhythmically whispering all the wrong he’d done. His house was cold and empty. His thoughts echoed around him as he grabbed a bottle of Jack on his way to his room. He kept the lights off. He didn’t want to see himself. Cody turned on his music as loud as he could to drown out his thoughts and then uncapped the Jack, swallowing the liquid—praying it would drown years of regret.

  Cody looked around, uncertain of the time or what woke him, but his room was bathed in darkness and silence. He jumped when his bedside lamp flicked on and the world slowly came into focus. Hannah stood feet from him, her eyes puffy and hair undone.

  Everything came flashing back.

  Cody slid from the bed and crashed to his knees, throwing his arms around Hannah’s waist. “I’m so sorry. Hannah, I never meant to hurt him.”

  She shoved him off with disgust. “Are you drunk?”

  “I . . . yes,” he admitted shamefully.

  He couldn’t lie to her. Not after what he’d done. He looked up at her and could see hate simmering in her blue eyes. His heart cracked wide open. He knew it wouldn’t matter what he said to Hannah. She’d given up on him, just like everyone else. And he couldn’t even blame her.

  “Why were you at my house, Cody?”

  “I wanted to talk . . . and apologize for this morning.”

  “So you thought breaking in and letting my dog loose was the best plan?”

  “No. He—”

  “He’s going to be fine, by the way. Thanks for asking.”

  “He is?” Cody stood up clinging to a glimmer of hope.

  “He has a few broken bones but there’s no internal bleeding so the vet said he should be fine.”

  “That’s such good news.”

  “Yes, Custard will be fine, but we’re not.” Hannah pulled the skeleton key Cody had given her from her purse and placed it on the bedside table. “We’re done, Cody.”

  “But what about the party?”

  “I’ll be going with Harrison. He gave me my own key. I don’t need yours. I don’t need anything from you anymore.”

  “He gave you a key?”

  “Yes. So you don’t have to pretend to be my boyfriend any longer.”

  “Hannah, don’t go to that party with him. You can’t trust him.”

  “Funny. He said the same thing about you.”

  “Hannah—”

  “Look, I just came here to return your key and tell you I’m done with our arrangement. Please leave me alone, Cody.” Hannah stormed out of Cody’s room, leaving her fragrance behind to eat a hole through his heart.

  What did he expect? He was a fuck up and everyone knew it. And now, so did Hannah.

  Cody sat on the edge of his bed before sliding to the floor. His hand sought out the bottle of Jack. It was almost empty. A problem he planned to remedy. He knew there’d be no solution at the bottom of it. But it seemed the lesser of all the evils he could think of at the moment.

  30

  Hannah deferred her dinner plans with Harrison. Truthfully, she’d lost her taste for her twisted game. After what happened to her dog, she wasn’t sure she cared about conquering the Goldens. She didn’t want to involve herself any further in their messed up world.

  She and her father brought Custard home from the vet Monday morning. Hannah stayed home from school to help care for him, convincing her father that with only a few days of school left, she wasn’t missing anything important.

  Harrison was surprisingly sweet through the whole ordeal. He brought over flowers and a huge, fluffy pet bed for Custard. He even offered to cook dinner for her and her father rather than taking her out. Hannah graciously declined and promised to go out to dinner with him later when things calmed down. Her father had been near hysterics after hearing about the events that led to Custard’s accident. He wasn’t too keen on having Harrison around.

  When Hannah inevitably returned to Stanton on Tuesday, the campus seemed like an alien planet. Harrison greeted her in the parking lot with something hot, delicious and caffeinated from Starbucks. He put his arm around her and walked her to class. Savannah and her minions gave her hugs between classes and feigned concern of her ‘poor, sweet’ dog—whom they’d never met. They made sure Hannah knew they were there for her and that they weren’t shocked Cody was to blame.

  At lunch, Harrison was waiting to whisk Hannah up to the Golden Gate, where more people she didn’t know suffocated her with fake concern. She couldn’t believe she’d ever envied the Goldens. Yes they swam in the beautiful gene pool and had limitless trust funds, but now that she was on the inside she could see how hollow they were. The only one who seemed to have any substance was Harrison. He was actually really sweet. He made a point to walk her to and from class, he bought her lunch and rescued her from conversations that turned to Cody bashing—which was often. Luckily Cody hadn’t been at school all week, so Hannah was spared from avoiding him.

  On Thursday her luck ran out.

  Cody walked under the Golden Gate, his hands stuffed in his pockets, head down. But Savannah and the rest of the Goldens weren’t going to let him go by unscathed.

  “The dog slayer lives,” Savannah called loudly. “See, Hannah. I told you not to worry. You can’t kill a cockroach.”

  Cody stopped walking and slowly turned around.

  Keep walking, Hannah willed. She didn’t think she could stomach a full on Golden assault. And from the looks of Cody, neither could he. He was unshaven and dark circles clung under his eyes.

  Cody glared up at them, his pained eyes s
tinging Hannah. “You’re not one of them, Hannah. You never will be.”

  “And neither are you,” Blakely scathed.

  “Don’t try to drag Hannah down just because you fucked up your life and now you’re nothing,” Savannah hissed.

  “Let’s leave Hannah out of this,” Harrison said, possessively pulling her closer to him.

  Cody bristled at the intimate gesture before shaking his head. “You’re better than them, Hannah,” he called before skulking away from the jeering crowd.

  Finally the school day was over. Seeing Cody looking so disheveled turned Hannah’s stomach sour and she’d been counting the minutes until she could flee campus. She just wanted to go home to snuggle Custard and shut the world out. She hated that she had a hand in causing Cody more pain. He was already suffering. She knew deep down he hadn’t meant to hurt Custard. She’d seen the way Cody was with him, playing and roughhousing—it was love at first sight with them. And if she was honest, seeing Cody babble baby talk to her dog had unglued something in her heart. It also made her doubt Harrison’s story of Cody’s violent past.

  Hannah knew she’d been too harsh with Cody. She’d been caught up in the trauma of the accident and then her days were filled with his ex-friends, more than happy to stoke her resentment. But it wasn’t an excuse. She needed to apologize. Hannah massaged her temples as she walked to her car. Cody was right. He warned her that she couldn’t get too close to the Goldens without being poisoned by them.

  She was just getting to her car when Harrison called her name. She turned to see him jogging toward her. His face was glowing with a smarmy smile that her gut refused to trust. Suddenly she wanted out. This game had been a terrible idea.

  “Hey, beautiful. You weren’t leaving without saying goodbye, were you?” he asked displaying his best pout. “I thought we could finally have our date tonight?”