by Lylah James
I couldn’t deny that Grayson was indeed appealing to the eye.
“Hot and moody nerds, you mean.”
Riley popped a piece of mint gum into her mouth. She looked over my shoulder again, where her new crush was sitting. “Exactly,” she chirped.
I quirked up an eyebrow at her. “Grayson, specifically.”
“Yeah. Too bad he won’t even look at me.” The pout was evident in her voice.
“Is that why you wore extra makeup today, curled your hair, and rolled your skirt higher?”
I already knew the answer, but I still wanted to hear it from her.
A nervous laugh bubbled from her, and she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “You noticed that?”
My sweet friend. Gripping her hand over the table, I gave her a small, comforting squeeze. “Just be yourself, Riley. If he likes you, you’ll know.”
She let out a sigh, her eyes moving to Grayson one last time before she focused on me. “So, what’s up with you and Maddox?”
I crooked my finger at her, and Riley leaned closer, as if we were about to share a secret. It kind of was – a secret.
“He wants a fight? I’m going to give him a fight.”
Riley’s face lit up, and a huge smile spread across her lips. “We’re going to be bad?”
Well, if she put it that way… then yeah, we were about to be very bad.
“Oh, we’re going to play his games, with my rules.”
She slapped the table loud enough to rattle our trays and smirked. “I’m in!”
My lips twitched, and I held back my own smile. Maddox was about to be bested at his own little, shitty game.
***
“Can you see him?” I asked, leaning closer to Riley. It was two hours after school, and we were hiding in the hallway, which also overlooked the huge football field. Where, very conveniently, the boys were practicing. They had a very important game in a week, and I heard the Coach was being extra hard on all their asses.
“I can’t believe we’re hiding with binoculars, Lila. But yeah, I can see him. He’s playing just fine. Did you put a lot of the powder in his pants?”
“No, just a little, but enough to make him lose his mind.”
An unladylike snort came from Riley. “You’re so fucking petty.”
I let out a mock gasp, but the urge to defend myself was strong. “He started it.”
“Aha! Okay, he just stopped in the middle of the game.”
“Yeah?”
Riley looked into her binoculars, her shoulders shaking with mirth. “Oh, he looks confused. The coach is walking over to him. Lila!” she whispered-yelled before bursting into laughter. “He’s scratching at his inner thighs now. Oh my God, he looks like a monkey. The boys are hollering. Oh, oh, shit. He’s walking back this way. Ohhh, he looks pissed!”
Good.
“How pissed?” I demanded, feeling mighty proud of myself. Maddox was made of rock. He was untouchable, and if little ole me, Lila Garcia, could get him this pissed off – then I won.
“He’s reaaally mad. He’s still scratching himself. You should see the look on his face!”
Riley handed me the binoculars, and I looked through them. True to her words, Maddox was marching across the field like a mad bull. His face was filled with rage, his nostrils flaring like a wild beast. He was seething, and I could bet, he figured out what happened. Maybe not who was behind the prank, but at least what was done to him. It should have scared me, the brutal look on his face, but I couldn’t help but chortle with laughter at the way he couldn’t stop scratching at his muscled thighs and crotch.
As if he could sense me, his stormy eyes connected with mine through the binoculars, although I was sure there was no way he could see me. Riley and I were perfectly hidden.
But just in case, I lowered myself to the ground. “Hey, are you sure… it’s safe? I mean, I wanted to prank him but what we did isn’t too extreme, right?”
Riley waved away my concerns. “Nah. He’ll be fine. The itching powder doesn’t leave any lasting side effects. It’s harmless. I kinda feel bad for his dick though.”
My jaw clenched as I remembered the cafeteria scene where he had cornered me. “He deserves it after the comment he made in the cafeteria. He propositioned me for sex, like I’m some kind of paid who–”
Riley slapped a hand over my mouth before I could finish my sentence. “Shh, he’s coming in.”
We both ducked around the corner, the same time Maddox stormed into the building and right into the locker room.
“I feel like a spy,” Riley announced in my ear, giggling softly.
Basically, we were spying on him.
Riley and I snuck closer to the locker room. The door was partially opened, and we peeked inside. It was empty, since everyone else was on the field – except Maddox. From where we stood, we could hear the shower running.
“He must be itching really bad right now.”
I shushed Riley when she couldn’t hold in her laughter any longer.
“Can you see him?”
I stood on my tip-toes, trying to get a look inside. “Nope.”
A few minutes later, the shower turned off and then I did see him.
“Oh,” Riley whispered behind me.
Yeah, oh.
Maddox was bare chested, with a towel wrapped loosely around his hips. His body was still wet and glistening as if he didn’t care to dry himself the moment he stepped out of the shower. He roughly rubbed another towel through his long curly hair, before running it over the rest of his body.
I hated him; I truly did, but there was no denying it. Something about his physique was making my lady brain go mushy and all my lady parts tingle. I inhaled deeply as I took in the sight in front of me.
Maddox furiously wiped the ringlets of water from his muscled chest until his skin was glowing pink. I tried to look away – it was the decent thing to do, but I failed miserably. My curious eyes found his torso, and I bit my lip, mentally slapping myself but I. Could. Not. Help. It.
It was like studying an expertly, carved statue in a museum. Beautifully chiseled chest, strong arms and well-defined masculine thighs. Auguste Rodin would have begged to sculpt a man like Maddox Coulter since he was damn near close to rugged perfection.
“Even his nipples are sexy,” Riley whispered.
My heart slammed in my chest, and I bumped back into her. I had completely forgotten she was there with me, and she was also getting an eyeful of Maddox.
I watched as he slammed his locker open and rummaged through it. The effects of the itching powder were still not gone since he was still scratching at his crotch.
I could tell the moment he read the note I left him. His back went rigid, and the muscles of his shoulders clenched tensely. Maddox turned sideways, giving me the perfect view of him as he scrunched my little note in his fist.
How does your crotch feel? – Lila
First rule of enacting a well, plotted out revenge plan: always leave a note behind, so your nemesis knows it’s you. Play dirty but don’t be a coward.
He muttered something under his breath and shook his head, before I noticed something I didn’t expect. I expected him to be mad, and he was, but then his lips twitched. Maddox rubbed his thumb over his full, smirking lips.
“Uh oh,” Riley muttered from behind me. “I’m not sure I like the look on his face.”
“Ladies, what are you doing here?” Another voice joined us, loud enough to have my heart leap in my throat, and I choked back a gasp.
Riley and I jumped away from the locker room, and we swiveled around to see a teacher giving us the look. Oh shit, busted.
“It’s late. Why are you two still on school grounds?” She demanded with her hands on her hips.
“Um, we forgot something,” I stammered, looking back toward Maddox while contemplating my escape.
Maddox’s head turned toward me at the same time, and through the partially opened door, for only a nanosecond, our gazes co
llided. His deep, ocean blue eyes flared in surprise, and I could swear his stare burned through me, causing a warm flush to spread through my body. Then… the moment was gone.
Riley grabbed my hand, already pulling me away. “Sorry! We’re leaving.”
We sprinted out of the school, and once we passed through the Berkshire’s main gate, Riley and I came to a halt.
“Shit. That was close,” Riley panted with her hands on her knees.
“So worth it though.”
She straightened her back, one perfect eyebrow raised. “Are you sure? Maddox is not the type who is going to let you off the hook. Revenge is a dish best served cold. He’s going to get you back, probably not tomorrow or the day after, but he will – trust me, and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”
“He shouldn’t have messed with me. I’m prepared for anything he’s going to throw my way,” I responded, fighting back a smile of my own.
I remembered the look in Maddox’s eyes when our gaze briefly met in the locker room. I didn’t admit it out loud, but I wanted to see what Maddox could do and how far he was going to push me. It was too tempting to mess with him, to retaliate after seeing Maddox’s reaction – he started this game, and now, I was all in.
CHAPTER SIX
Maddox
The girl on my lap grinded against me. Her tits were practically spilling out of her tight red dress, and she shoved them in my face. I gripped her ass in one hand and smoked a blunt with the other. Miss-Fake-Tits let out a moan, which sounded straight out of a porn video.
Although I’ve seen better acted porn. She was inexperienced and quite an amateur. Trying too hard, with little self-respect.
Easy pussy, easy fuck. I didn’t have to hunt for them; they landed right on my lap.
“Maddox,” she purred in my ear. My jaw twitched as I caught a whiff of her strong perfume and the stench of alcohol was strong on her breath. She was fucking drunk and humping me like a bitch in heat.
Any other day, I’d be all up in her pussy… tonight, my dick was not in the mood.
Or I guessed, I was not in the mood for her.
On the opposite couch, Colton had his tongue shoved down a girl’s throat. Brayden and Cole were in a heated conversation about this week’s football match. We won, big time. Leighton High School wasn’t even worth our time. Knox, our best linebacker, was missing, but he was probably in a room lost in a pussy.
And I was fucking bored.
Drunk and bored.
The party we crashed was lame, and I needed some kind of action, something to get my blood pumping – something dangerous. I was itching for a fight and a fuck. Too bad the girl on my lap had absolutely no effect on my dick.
Her lips parted, and I felt her tongue on my neck. She sucked on my throat, biting teasingly. “Let’s get out of here. Go somewhere quieter.”
“If you wanna fuck, we do it here.”
She pulled away, her green eyes hooded and confused. “Here?”
I lifted an eyebrow, amused. The only reason she was sitting on my lap and humping me was because she needed to fuck a Berkshire football star, so she could go around and rub it in the other girls’ faces. I was her ticket to being Miss Popular at Leighton Public High School -- Berkshire’s rival.
“Too shy for a little audience?”
She looked around, stammering, “No-o.”
I squeezed her ass, not even bothering to be gentle about it. That was a warning. “I don’t do sweet girls.”
Nah, sweet girls didn’t do shit to my libido.
Feisty girls, though, yeah… they made my dick hard.
Full of sass with brown eyes, black hair, curvy hips and a pretty Latina ass that would make any man drop to his knees, begging for a taste.
Goddamn fucking trouble she was, but she was exactly what my dick wanted.
Lila Garcia.
Too bad she didn’t want me anywhere near her.
I inhaled through the blunt one last time and exhaled a puff of smoke, not bothering to move my head away. I knew I was being an asshole, but hey… chicks like her wanted jerks like me – so who the fuck cared?
Dropping the now useless blunt onto the ashtray, I leveled her with a look. She scrunched her nose, but her eyes flared with determination. What she didn’t realize – I ate girls like her for dinner before spitting them out two hours later, no guilt with one very satisfied dick.
I curled a hand around the back of her neck, bringing her head closer. “You want a taste of me? We do it my way.”
She looked around again, her cheeks flushed, and she was already a little bit out of breath. “Do you even know my name?”
“Do you know mine?” I threw back, although the answer was obvious. Of course, she knew who I was. Miss-Fake-Tits was only here to use me like I was about to use her. Fair game.
“Who doesn’t? You’re Maddox Coulter. And for your information, my name is Madison.”
She thought she was special. Newsflash – she wasn’t the type of girl I’d wake up the next morning with. I arched an eyebrow with a tsk. “Here’s the thing, I don’t need to know your name to fuck you.”
Miss-Fake-tits, er… Madison, wrapped her arms around my shoulders. Her hips moved in a circular motion, quite tempting as she practically grinded against my dick through our clothes. Any passerby would have thought we were fucking.
She let out a fake giggle. “Didn’t your mommy or daddy teach you some manners?”
She was teasing; it was a fucking joke.
But the silent rage inside me bubbled over, threatening to burst through, without any care of the consequences. Fuck her. And fuck mommy and daddy dearest, too. Manners? No, they didn’t teach me any – just like they didn’t give a fuck if I lived or died, either.
I crashed the party because I wanted to forget.
But Madison, aka Bitch, right here, just pissed me off even more.
She reminded me of why I was here, made me think of my fucked up parents when I was so hell bent on forgetting their existence.
Daddy dearest caught me smoking today, lounging on the couch and watching TV. He walked in with his business associate. Oh, he knew I smoked, except he never cared. But Brad Coulter didn’t want me to set a bad example in front of his business partners; his image had always been more important than my health.
“You don’t smoke in my house,” he hissed in my face, taking a threatening step toward me. There was a time when my father was taller and bigger than me. He used to be intimidating, and his words were law in our house. But that time was long gone.
Now, I was bigger… taller… meaner.
He didn’t scare me.
Now, he just pissed me off more often than not.
“I’ve been smoking since I was thirteen. Never knew we had a rule. You didn’t seem to care before, father.”
His lips curled up in disgust, and I felt it. I fucking felt it – his anger, his disappointment, his revulsion. My hands clenched into fists, and I exhaled through my nose. At a young age, I had quickly learned how to mask my emotions until I became a solid wall of nothingness. You’d cut me open, and you’d find something hollow inside.
“I constantly question if you really are my son.”
When I was seven years old, my heart had frozen in my chest. But his words, to this day, could still fucking burn me like acid in my veins. My father held an arrow in his hand, the tip of it aflame, and it was aimed right at my chest – my goddamn heart was his target.
“Nah. I’m definitely your son. You’re an asshole, I’m an asshole. It runs in our blood.”
His blue eyes – the same as mine, darkened and his face was vicious.
“Brad.” My mother’s soft voice interrupted us. “They’re waiting. Let’s go. Maddox, go back to your room. This deal is important to your father.”
I heard her unspoken words. Please, for Christ’s sake, don’t ruin it.
He took a step back, his jaw hard and twitching. Without sparing me another glance, he walked aw
ay. I saw the look in my mother’s eyes, her parted lips, and I waited for her to say something. But there was nothing left to say, so she walked away, too.
And so, I’d been dismissed. I saw my parents after three weeks, and without even a greeting, I had been brushed off and forgotten. Yet again.
Just like ten years ago…
When I had needed them the most. I was left behind, locked away in the dark… forgotten.
“Maddox,” she purred in my ear again. I blinked, the past going out of focus, and I crashed landed in the present.
I had called Colton after the ‘fight’ with my father. He didn’t have to ask me questions, he knew what I needed. So, here we were. Crashing Leighton’s party, knowing full well we were about to piss off a whole bunch of people.
Yeah, that was exactly what I needed.
A good fight, a good fuck.
Marley – wait, no – Madison rubbed her hands over my chest and shoulders. “You’re so big and strong. So hard, in all the right places.”
She was so eager to please me, so eager to be just another girl on my list.
My fingers tangled in her hair, twisting the thick blonde strands around my fist. My knuckles dug into her scalp, and she winced, before quickly hiding it with a fake-ass smile. Without care, I pushed her on the ground. She collapsed to her knees with a low whine, her wide eyes blinking up at me, unfocused, confused, and with way too many expectations.
Her pink lips parted, waiting, and I figured why-the-fuck-not. With one hand, I unbuckled my jeans. “Let’s put your deepthroating skills to good use, shall we?”
Her face lit up, and she scooted closer between my thighs. Maybe she wouldn’t be such a bad lay after all. At least she was willing to suck dick. Some bitches thought they were too pretty and fancy to be on their knees.
A loud snarl came from outside, making all of us pause. There was more shouting, and through my hazy mind, I realized Colton was no longer in the same room. Brayden and Cole looked at each other, too, confused.
“Isn’t he from Berkshire?” The whispers started to get louder.
Brayden and Cole shot off the couch at the same time as me. Miss-Fake-Tits shrieked as she fell back hard on her ass. “What the hell?”