With the boys all pilling in behind me to get a look at the chart, I make it quick.
My eyes scan over it, searching out my name and when I find it, my stomach sinks. Colton fucking Carrington. How is it possible for one infuriating human being to ruin every little aspect of my life?
The guys start shoving behind me and I make quick work of squeezing out of the crowd, annoyed that my ass was grabbed in the process. I glance up and find that the ass grabber was Charlie and for some reason, it doesn’t annoy me as much as it should. Charlie is cute and while he’s a bit of an ass, he’s also fun and flirty and I know he doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s just living life, trying to enjoy himself and in doing that, he chooses to bug me, but in a good way, not the infuriting way Colton does.
Had it been Colton grabbing my ass, he would have lost his right nut, had a fist to the jaw, and then a little public humiliation just to make me feel better about myself. You know, assuming it wasn’t like the night where I practically put my ass in his hands. I was more than asking for it then and had he pushed me just a little further, I know I would have ended up a victim to his charm. After the bullshit he pulled with Nic during the week and the whole yacht bullshit, he won’t ever get that close to my body again.
I make my way over to my new designated seat and drop my ass down while watching the boys try to work out the simple seating chart. They see their name on the chart but actually working out the corresponding table for them to park their asses seems a little harder. Honestly, I expect better from boys who’ve apparently had an elite upbringing with the best education money can buy.
Colton moves in to check his name and I grin to myself as he works out that he’s stuck with me. He turns, his eyes instantly zoning on me, and boy does he look pissed. I guess we’re going to pretend that the whole makeout session in his room didn’t happen yesterday. Though, I shouldn’t be surprised. So far, we’ve been acting like the whole naked and grinding on his lap thing didn't happen either but if we’re going to be technical, that was a different situation altogether.
He stalks toward me as though it’s somehow my fault that he got stuck sitting beside me, but truth be told, he’s the luckiest motherfucker around. Any other of these guys would be thrilled to be the one who got to sit next to the only person in the school with a hot rack, perky ass, and doesn’t smell like a dirty gym bag.
Colton steps right up to the table and leans over it. “Move. You’re not sitting here.”
I smile, looking up at him as I cross my legs and lean back in the chair, making a show of getting comfortable. “Really? I’m not? Because it sure as shit looks like I am.”
His eyes darken, irritated with having to deal with me. “Move.”
I raise a brow and grin up at him, loving nothing more than getting on his nerves. “That’d be a negative, Ghost Rider.”
His eyes flame and I watch in amusement as his jaw clenches. Maybe this whole seating chart thing will be better than I thought it would. “Colton, take your seat,” Mr. Weathers booms as the students around us get seated. “What’s the matter? Does the pretty girl have cooties?”
“No. The pretty girl has a death wish,” he mutters, his eyes never once leaving mine as he responds to our teacher.
Charlie leans forward from the space behind me, his voice thick with lust. “Don’t worry, man,” he murmurs, meeting my eyes and winking. “I’ll deal with those cooties for you.”
Ugh. please. This guy seriously needs to get laid.
Mr. Weathers lets out a frustrated groan, clearly done with this morning’s bullshit. “Take your seat, Colton. You’re wasting my time. She’s not going to bite–”
“Careful,” I say, “I just might.”
Weathers continues as though I didn't just interrupt. “And Charlie, sit your ass back in your seat and mind your damn business.”
Charlie runs his finger across his lips, pretending to zip them while Colton drops down beside me. His arm brushes against mine, sending a wave of electricity pulsing through my body that sets me on fire. I’m in so much trouble when it comes to this guy. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if I want to hate him or try to see the best in him. Hell, maybe I just want to fuck him.
Why couldn’t he have been some kind of saint? That sharp jawline, perfect body, and sun-kissed caramelized skin is wasted on him. Those eyes though … fuck.
Mr. Weathers starts his lesson and I open my textbook knowing damn well that I won’t be able to keep up in this class. I haven’t been able to keep up in many of the classes actually. What these guys are learning is a huge step up from the basic bullshit we were being taught at Breakers Flats High.
There’s no doubt about it that this is an elite education and to be honest, throwing me straight in the deep end was more than likely an epic fuck up on a gigantic scale. I’ll never be able to catch up to these guys and I sure as hell don’t have the will to. It’d be a fail across the board purely for the fact that I’m so behind. I'm not one of those academically minded kinds of girls. I’ve never had to be, and suddenly having all this school work looming over me … yeah, it’s a bit intimidating. The fact that I don’t understand any of the gibberish that’s coming out of Mr. Weathers mouth, well that’s just downright humiliating. I’ve never felt so stupid. All these guys are my age and are easily following along while I feel completely out in the dark.
It didn’t happen often at Breakers Flats High, but when it did, my go-to coping mechanism was pulling out my phone and giving up until the lesson was over. I don’t have that option here and for the first time ever, I think I actually miss that stupid school.
Colton’s arm brushes past mine again and goosebumps sweep through me. I’m slammed back into yesterday afternoon when he had me pressed up against his bedroom door. He’d lowered his walls and let me in if only for a minute, but that minute was enough to tell me that this whole douchebag, arrogant prick routine is just that. He actually has a heart buried under all the coal and my gut tells me that it’s damaged. You don’t escape a childhood like that without a few scars.
Mr. Weathers finishes with his lesson on whatever the fuck I just blanked on and requests us to turn to page 84 in our textbooks. I get busy scanning through the pages when a bang at the door has everyone’s heads shooting up.
I look over just in time to see Spencer storming through the door. His eyes are stormy and his brows are drawn with a hard, pissed off line. There’s practically steam huffing out of his ears. I'd hate to be the guy who pissed off Spencer Vanderbilt. His eyes scan around the room and within seconds land on our table.
Oh, fuck. What have I done now?
My heart rate kicks up a notch and I feel the need to cower behind Colton’s large frame. Maybe If I disappear, he’ll forget I’m here. Don’t get me wrong, I can handle guys coming at me constantly, but being in the dark and not knowing what it’s about? Yeah, I’m not a fan. I like a little preparation to ensure a thorough ass-kicking. Nonetheless, I don’t hide.
Colton accused me of playing the victim and I’m determined to prove him wrong. I can handle my own shit. I don't need someone coming in and saving me, but in reality, that’s what Nic and the boys have always done. I hadn’t even realized that I’d been using them as a crutch and just claiming that I was tough shit. How wrong have I been?
Mr. Weathers flies to his feet and storms forward, realizing something is about to go down but Spencer evades him like some kind of ninja and forges on. “Spencer,” Weathers roars. “Out. Now.”
It’s as though he didn’t say a damn word.
He reaches our table and his hand shoots out. I wince, preparing to be struck but his hand curls into a fist around the front of Colton’s shirt. He tears him out of his seat and I watch with my mouth hanging open at his sheer strength to be able to do that.
Spencer pushes past me and slams Colton against the wall at my back so hard that I feel it vibrate with the pressure. “Spence,” Charlie yells from the back of the room. “What the fuck, dude?”
“Is it true?” Spencer growls, leaning into Colton and getting right in his face, making me panic that Spencer is going to cause some damage. After all, to mess up Colton’s face would be a damn shame. It’s so fucking pretty, but on the other hand, watching these two fight would have me coming so hard. I wonder how they’d feel about sharing. Spencer has that whole rich, playboy, dangerous vibe going on and it’s kind of sexy. Add that to Colton’s bad boy mystic and it’s a sandwich I’d be a part of any day.
Colton doesn’t take his eyes from Spencer for even a second. “Is what true?”
“Your old man with Jacquie.”
“The fuck are you talking about?” Colton demands, getting his hands up between them and giving Spencer a hard shove, his hand flailing in the process and whacking me across the face.
“Ah, fuck,” I grunt, slapping a hand over the sharp sting on my face but neither of them seem to notice as their too stuck in their stare-off. Weathers certainly notices though and does his best to get between them, however, he doesn’t get far.
“My dad’s not fucking your cousin,” Colton roars, pissed off to be put in this situation. “That’s bullshit. Where the fuck did you hear that crap?”
“Don’t fucking lie to me, man,” Spencer demands, trying to grab him again, the two of them constantly bumping into the side of my chair and making me rock around.
“I’m not fucking lying. He’s not screwing your cousin.”
Getting tired of being rocked around, I slam my chair back into Spencer’s hip and fly to my feet. “Who’s your cousin? Platinum blonde, fake titties, and big cock-sucking lips?”
Spencer tears his eyes from Colton and his glare is sharp enough to kill. “Yeah. What the fuck do you know about it?” he growls as I feel Colton’s eyes raking over my face and zoning in on the red mark covering my cheek.
A grin rips across my face. I could break the news to him nicely, but he’s been nothing but a cocky prick since I first met him, not to mention that he offered to marry me for a payday. I’m assuming the wedding is off now that he’s probably worked out that I’m not related to Daddy Warbucks.
“Yeah,” I tell him, not sugar-coating it and making sure it comes across as bitchy as possible. “I saw them getting freaky during the party behind the pool house. It was right after I gave you fuckers matching suits. How was your bourbon by the way? It looked like you really enjoyed it. Personally, I’m not really into dark spirits.”
Spencer’s jaw clenches and fury ripples off him in waves, especially now being reminded of the fun I had during the party. “You’re lying.”
I shake my head, struggling to hold back my laughter. “Just ask her. A girl like that would probably tell you all about it. He was practically choking her, his dick was so far down her throat. I swear you could see the tears glistening in her eyes in the moonlight. It was so romantic especially with the gardens in the background.” I turn to Colton. “Those flowers really get your dad hard, you should be proud.”
Turning my gaze back on Spencer, I grin wide and hammer the last nail into the coffin. “Damn Spence, that cousin of yours, she really knows her way around a big, hard cock. It was a two hand job. I could practically see it sliding down her throat.”
Charlie chokes on a laugh as Spencer grabs me and slams me up against Colton’s chest, having no other wall space unless he was to walk around the next table. “What the fuck did you just say?” he spits as Colton grabs my waist, trying to hold me up to lessen the blow.
“You heard me, pretty boy. She was loving it, though anyone would if they thought they were about to get a big payday out of it.”
“My cousin ain’t no fucking whore, bitch.”
“Come on, now,” Weathers says from over near his desk with absolutely no care in his voice. Clearly, he’s given up on trying to break this shit up and is going with the ‘boys will be boys’ option and letting them sort it out themselves. Though when it comes to these guys, that’s probably a good idea.
Charlie clears his throat from behind us. “Actually, man,” he says awkwardly, scrunching his face as he looks across the room at Spencer. “I did see them walking out of the party around that time. She could be telling the truth, and besides, what does she have to gain by lying about it? Don’t act like she wasn’t offering to bend over for my old man six months ago for a business deal.”
“Fuck,” Spencer roars, curling his fists tighter against my upper arms and slamming me back against Colton again.
Colton releases my waist and snaps his arm out around me, punching his best friend high on his chest, forcing him to release my arms. “Back the fuck off, man. I know she’s a fucking bitch but she’s still a chick. Stop being so fucking rough.”
Spencer’s eyes flash down to me and as if only now realizing that he’s been throwing me around like a ragdoll, he releases me, though I’m not fooled, he doesn’t look a damn bit sorry about it. It’s not something I’ll be losing sleep over though. After all, I’m determined not to be a victim.
Spencer backs off a step and it’s just enough space for me to slip past him and to be met by Milo who checks me over and holds a cold drink bottle to the side of my face.
“What are we going to do about this?” Spencer asks, staring down Colton as though it’s his fault that his dad decided to fuck a 22-year-old skank.
Colton shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. Fucking leave it, man. He’ll get bored of her and fuck her off in a month or two. In the meantime, he gets his dick sucked and she gets to go shopping on his credit card. Hell, if she lasts three months, he’ll even give her a nice check to keep quiet.”
Spencer drops a shoulder and a loud roar comes tearing out of him as he slams into Colton’s stomach. The two of them go slamming into the wall and put a big hole in the drywall. Fists start flying and I thank whoever lives above that I was able to slip out of there before this bullshit went down.
Shit quickly gets out of control. “Fuck,” Charlie grunts, loosening his tie and going in after them. “Why’s it always me who has to break it up?”
And just like that, he dives in and the rest of the class crowds around, ready for the show.
Chapter 17
I walk out of the school watching as Milo pulls away to go to whatever business meeting his father had planned for him to sit in on this afternoon. I have to admit, I feel kind of sorry for the guy. Since our performance on Saturday night, his dad has been all over him like a rash. Now that he’s confident that his son is as straight as an arrow, he’s suddenly proud and while Milo loves his father’s attention, the reasons for it are heartbreaking.
I can’t understand why people on this side of the world have such a hard time adapting to the LGBTQ community. It’s not as though it’s just sprung up out of nowhere. Hell, most of the celebrities they’re inviting to their fancy parties are gay so why should it matter if one of their own is too?
It makes me so angry for Milo. He deserves better. In this day and age, he shouldn’t be forced to hide in the closet. He should be loud and proud of the man he is.
I let out a deep sigh as his car fades from view. He practically ran out of here the second the bell sounded but I get it. No matter who your father is, sometimes you just need his attention. Hell, I know I’d do just about anything to spend time with my father right now. If I knew my time with him was limited, I would have been sure to spend every waking moment by his side.
Damn, I hope he knew how much I loved him.
I start making my way down to the student parking lot. I’m most likely setting myself up for a fail here, but if I just happen to catch Colton in a good mood, he might just let me catch a ride with him. My chances aren’t great seeing as though he and Spencer went at it in Math class today. I’m sure both their parents have heard about it which could only mean that Charles is waiting for him in his office, and hell, we know how their ‘discussions’ usually pan out.
“Sup, Jade?”
What the fuck? That isn’t Colton.
<
br /> I whip my head around at the sound of the guy’s voice with my senses on high alert. No one calls me Jade except for Colton and he only does it because he knows how it annoys me and refuses to stop. Hell, I still haven’t worked out why he calls me Jade but right now, that’s not my issue.
Five guys come and hover around me while the one who had called me by Colton’s irritating name comes right up into my personal space and throws an arm over my shoulder. I don’t know these guys but I’ve seen them around school. They’re complete douchebags and what’s more, they completely idolize Colton.
Just fucking great. This couldn’t be good and seeing as though no one here is aware of the strange little thing Colton and I have got going on, this could only mean bad news.
The guys smell of grease and judging by the dirty hand that’s dangling down by my left tit, I’d dare say these guys have just come from shop class. Though, if I were to put my money on it—not that I have any—I’d say these guys didn’t learn a damn thing while in their shop class. I’ve spent years around boys fixing up stolen cars and Harleys and these guys wouldn’t know the difference between a hammer and a wrench.
“Get your dirty as fuck hands off me,” I say, pushing the dickwads hand off my shoulder and scowling at the black marks left on my white blouse. I clench my jaw. Maryne is going to give me hell for that.
“Come on, Jade. Play with us,” the guy says as his friends move in closer. “We just want to have a little fun.”
I let out a groan. Judging by the way he keeps emphasizing the name ‘Jade’ I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that whatever bullshit plan he has in place is a crime of passion. He wants to impress Colton and by doing that, it means getting at me. “If you want to have fun, then go home and find the inflatable doll hiding under your bed. The five of you could gather around and take turns. It’ll be like your very own gang bang.”
Tough Sh*t: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 1) Page 18