by Elisa Leigh
“You skank.” The girls laugh.
“Bishop Arnetti is a dream. We’re perfect for each other. I’ll convince him of that soon enough.”
Rolling my eyes, I finish getting dressed in my dark wash skinny jeans, white camisole, and black and red flannel shirt. When the girls walk out, I shake my head at their crazy behavior.
“That was Alexis, Farrah, and Hailey. They are the Bimbo Bitches, but the guys around here put up with them because they're hot and an easy lay.”
I snort. “Isn’t that what all the guys like?”
Laughing, Mandy shrugs and says. “My brother Davey stays away from them as do the rest of our friends. He told me last year he didn’t want to catch anything because he wanted his dick to stay exactly where it is, attached.”
I pull my hair out of its ponytail and rake my fingers through it.
“I love your hair, Cara. All the colors are amazing, like a fairy or something.”
I give her a sad smile. “Thanks. I’ve had it like this for a while now. My dad liked it this way.”
“Shit Cara, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of him.”
“It’s okay Mandy, you didn’t know. Dad used to call me his fairy. It hit a little close to home is all. I’ll be fine.” I give her hand a squeeze and release it. Mandy wipes a few tears away, “Damn girl, you’re bringing out all the feels in me.”
“You’re pretty funny Mandy.”
“Yeah, yeah. So what are you going to do now?”
Shrugging I grab my bag and put it over my shoulder. “Not sure, go home I guess. Uncle Greg has football practice for a few hours after school.”
“You want to hang out? We can catch a ride with Davey. He won’t mind.”
“Thanks, but I drove myself. If you don’t mind riding with me, we can…”
Mandy’s eyes go wide, and she doesn’t let me finish when she interrupts with “Oh yes! My new BFF has a car. Success! I knew I was holding out for the right best friend.” Putting her arm through mine, we walk out of the locker room laughing.
Turning the corner, we are laughing so hard that I’m not paying attention to where we are going and I smack right into a hard body. Knocked off balance, I fall back onto my butt. Looking up into the eyes of the person I ran into, I’m struck dumb by the bluest eyes I have ever seen.
Chapter 2
Bishop Arnetti
Walking toward the parking lot, I’m happy the day is finally over. I’ve been on edge all day, and I need to get home and rest to try and get out of this mood before practice. All day long I’ve been restless. It feels like something big is coming and it’s making me anxious. All I have heard about is that Coach Giordano’s niece is at our school. I haven’t seen her yet, but I couldn’t go to class without hearing one of the guys talk about how good she looks and what they’d do to her if given the opportunity. I rolled my eyes and refused to jump in on the conversation. It’s the same thing, but a different day with these people. I have more important things to think about than the newest student in school.
I kissed a couple girls when I was in middle school and stupid, but that’s as far as it has gone. I’m holding out, saving myself for my one, the woman who I’ll spend the rest of my life with and that isn’t happening anytime soon. According to the stories the men in my family have told since I was chasing my cousins around the monkey bars, we find our soulmates in our early twenties. They said it’s the same with every man, and it’s no use trying to fight it, so I never have. There was a time when I worried I would miss my chance with her, but Dad told me I’d know she’s the one when I saw her for the first time, just like he did with my mom.
I don’t see the point in dating someone who isn’t her. Last spring I tried dating someone I thought there might be a possibility with. I even convinced myself that maybe I wouldn’t know until I was older if she were the one since we were still young. The guys gave me so much shit for going out with Alexis, but I hoped that because our families were so similar, we would mesh well. She was kinda hot, in a plastic Barbie kind of way. I took her out a few times, and it was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. After spending only a few days with her, I knew that she could never be my one. Alexis didn’t take the hint, and it became hard to break it off with her. Just being friends wasn’t something she seemed to understand. When summer break hit, it was the perfect excuse to part ways amicably.
“Bishop babe, you have a minute?” Alexis’ high pitched voice echoes through the hall. Groaning inwardly, I stop to talk to my ex if you can even call her that. We went on four dates, and she thinks she has some claim on me, we never even kissed. She’s been trying to get my attention for weeks now, blowing up my phone with calls and texts. I know what’s coming. She thinks that because school is back in, that we should be a thing again. Alexis has it in her head that we are the ‘it couple’ of the school, like some fucking teen romcom movie. I hoped if I ignored her she would get the hint, I guess not.
I stop and turn toward her as she approaches with her minions. “Hey, Alexis.” The two twits standing beside her giggle until she turns to look at them, and then their faces go from happy to neutral. I can’t believe I ever thought she could be the person I’d spend my life with. Let’s call it a momentary lapse in judgment, I was only seventeen at the time, mistakes were bound to happen.
“I thought we should go out this weekend. Make things official again. The break was nice, but now that school is back in, well I guess what I’m trying to say is I miss you. We should give this thing another shot.” She says, smiling wide.
“You do?”
She nods biting her lip, trying to look sexy, but fails miserably. God her fake bull shit is turning me off. Leaning in close, she puts both of her hands on my chest. “Maybe after the game we can go to Davey’s party together.”
What the hell do I have to do? I’ve been ignoring her for weeks. “I missed you, Bish...” Her fingers move down my chest toward my pants. Oh, hell no! Before her hand goes any further, I grab her wrist and push it away, stepping out of her reach. Giggling she steps forward and laces her fingers through mine. “Silly Bishop, no one will see.” I pull my hand from hers, but she hangs on.
“Alexis, get the fuck off of me.”
Glaring at me, she crosses her arms over her chest. “Bishop come on. We were good together.”
I roll my eyes. “No, we really weren’t. Leave me the fuck alone Alexis. I’m not interested. We tried, and it didn’t work out. Get over it and move on to someone else.”
Huffing, she turns on her expensive heels and walks away. Thank you, Christ! Turning back I begin the walk down the hallway past the gym which leads to the parking lot, when I run into something soft and smells like honey and flowers. Looking down I see she’s fallen to the ground, and a mess of colorful hair in shades of dark brown, blue and green hides her face from my view. When she looks up, I’m struck dumb by her sheer beauty. Fuck me. Her dark blue eyes lock on mine, and I’m caught in her trance. Long, dark eyelashes surround her eyes, and her pale skin looks soft as silk. She has full kissable red lips. Who is this girl? Biting her bottom lip, I groan as my dick begins to harden in my pants. I’ve never had this reaction to anyone before.
Crouching down, I start to help her with the things that fell out of her hands. When handing her a textbook I graze her hand with mine, and a shock zips through me where we touched. This can’t be her, can it? Dad told me what happened when he met mom, and I can’t deny that it sounds very similar.
“Thanks,” she says as I let go of her book and she shoves it in her bag.
“No problem. Here let me help you up.” I stand and hold out my hand. She looks at it as if it will bite her, but after considering it for a moment, takes it.
“Umm thanks. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking. That's the second time today I've run into someone. I need to be more careful.”
“No, it was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.” I say smiling down at the girl causing my
heart to flip in my chest.
I hold out my hand, needing to feel her skin against mine once more. She shocks me by taking my hand and shaking it with a firm grasp. Most girls would giggle and give me a limp shake, not my fairy, no, she is absolutely fearless.
“I’m Bishop Arnetti. What’s your name, beautiful?”
Her smile falters, and she pulls her hand out of mine. Damn, I’ve never had that reaction from a girl before. By the way, she backs up and is looking at me differently you’d think I just told her I had a disease. Why in the hell is she reacting to me this way, and why is it killing me?
A throat clears, and I notice for the first time that Mandy is standing next to her.
“Hey, Bishop.” I smile at my best friend’s little sister who is also my cousin. “Hey, Mandy.” I give her a questioning look, and she just shakes her head. “We overheard Alexis’ plans to win you back a few minutes ago in the girl’s locker room. She was quite explicit on how she was going to do that.”
Ahh, that makes a lot of sense now. I’d wipe off my hand too if I touched anyone who touched her.
“Well, that certainly isn’t happening.” Looking back at my girl, I see a small smile break across her face. Good, I’d hate for this to be one-sided. My father never prepared me for the ‘what if she doesn’t feel the same way too’ scenario before he passed away last year. It’s time I am the man he raised me to be and recover from the damage Alexis caused. “So, you going to tell me your name, pretty girl?” She rakes her eyes over my body, from the top of my head to below my belt buckle.
She blushes and looks away. “It’s Cara.”
“Pretty name for a pretty girl,” I tell her, pushing some of her hair out of her face and behind her ear. I run my thumb across her cheek, and she bites her lip. God, she’s so fucking beautiful, so different from anyone I have ever met before. Taking a step toward her, I see her eyes go straight to my lips, and I’m happy to see I am affecting her the same way she is me. When I lean down to get my first taste of my fairy, someone calls my name and ruins the moment.
Dropping my hands, I step away and look at Coach Giordano. “Hey, Coach.” The closer he gets, she pulls away from me. Walking up to my girl, he stops and puts his arm around her shoulders. She smiles nervously and leans into him, but leaves some space. Seeing red I’m tempted to throttle a man I’ve come to respect over the last three years. Why does he have his arm around her, a student no less? She’s clearly uncomfortable. Scowling at him I’m about to open my mouth when he smirks at me.
“Hey, Arnetti. I see you’ve met my niece, Cara. Hey, Mandy.” Uncle. He’s her fucking uncle? I didn’t want to have to get rid of him. Dad would have been disappointed in me for that one.
“Hey, Mr. Giordano. I’m going to show Cara around our little slice of heaven, aka, Hollow’s Creek, this afternoon.” Mandy says, all smiles at Coach.
Coach looks at Cara, and she nods. “Yeah, Mr. Giordano.” She laughs, and the light sound has my balls drawing up tight. I need to hear that sound every day. It’s at this moment I know I’m in trouble.
“Hey, Cara? Take it easy in that car of yours. No speeding through town.” Coach Giordano warns.
Her face gets mock serious, “Yes sir. Got it, Uncle Greg, sir.” then she salutes him and turns around to leave, but turns back. “I’ll see you at home Uncle Greg. Uh, it was nice to meet you, Bishop, see you around.”
“Yes, you will Pretty Cara.”
With wide eyes, she walks away from us, Mandy clutching her arm and whispering in her ear. As I watch my future walk away from me, I zone in on her ass. Good God she has an ass men would cry over. It’s big and round, way more than enough to grab onto. I lick my lips, salivating over her tempting body.
Clearing his throat, I look back at Coach. The look he’s giving me gives me a moment to pause, I know the things he’s capable of. I have seen the things he can do with his bare hands not to mention what he can do with a weapon. I hold my hands up in surrender, and he rolls his eyes.
“See you at practice Arnetti?”
I salute him, just as Cara did. “Yes, sir.”
He glares at me. “Watch it Arnetti,” He barks out.
I laugh him off and walk to my truck, hoping to catch my girl before she jets out of the parking lot. I wonder what kind of car she drives. This should be interesting. Most of the girls in our town don’t drive because it’s frowned upon for them to be anywhere without their guardian.
I get to my black Escalade, a present I bought myself over the summer, and scan the parking lot looking for Cara and Mandy. There are too many students leaving though making it hard for me to find them. I see my best friends Davey and Finn walk over to me from their trucks that are parked next to mine.
“Davey, have you seen Mandy?”
He smirks, “Fuck yes. She’s made nice with the new girl, Coach Giordano’s niece.” I love him, but the fuck better watch what he says about my girl.
“I know right. Who knew his niece was a fucking pin-up model? She’s hot man, have you met her yet? She’s pretty funny too.” Finn tells me.
I glare at both of them, “She’s Mine.” I growl.
“What?” Davey asks, and they both laugh.
“Did you just growl at us?” Finn asks.
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I take in a deep breath trying to calm myself down. What the hell is wrong with me? I was fine fifteen minutes ago, and the moment I run into the fairy Princess, I lose my mind. I need to get my shit together and quick because I have a feeling she’s going to keep me on my toes.
“Sorry, I…” Finn slaps my chest, stopping me from explaining my crazy shit. “Shut the fuck up and look at this.” I look to my right, where Finn is pointing, and see a white Dodge Challenger with a black hood, pull up behind my truck and stop. The windows are tinted so dark I don’t know who it is until the passenger window rolls down and I see Mandy and Cara sitting there staring at us with shit eating grins on their faces.
“Davey, unlock your truck for me, I forgot a book.”
I hear Davey unlock his truck, but he doesn’t take his eyes off my girl’s car. “Damn Cara. This is a sweet fucking ride. Let me take it for a drive. I promise I’ll be careful.” He says and winks at her, fucking winks. She blushes and laughs, a full throaty laugh, and I groan looking at my friends who are completely taken with my girl.
I grab the back of Davey’s shirt in my fist and pull him back to me. “Not happening. You aren’t getting in her car.” I hiss low, so only they can hear. My friends stare at me with wide, unbelieving eyes. I’ve never sounded like such a complete prick, but I don’t care, that isn’t happening.
“Why thank you, Bishop, for speaking for me, I didn’t know my mouth stopped working.” My fiery fairy says, giving me a bored look and rolls her eyes at me. I shrug, I’m not sorry, I’m only sorry she heard me. They still won’t be getting in her car. If they do, I will be kicking some ass. “Cara, the only people getting in this car will be Mandy and me.”
If looks could kill, I think she’d have vaporized my ass by now. “Whatever. You ready to go Mandy?” She’s clearly done with my crazy ass. Mandy pats me on the back and gives me a knowing look as she gets back in the car. I walk around to the driver’s side and bend so I can rest my arm on her door.
“Mandy, no going past the town limits.”
She nods. “Of course Bishop, I know the rules.” Running my pointer finger down the bridge of Cara’s nose, she follows my finger down as it traces her bottom lip. Pushing hair behind her ear, I trace the shell of it and pull on her lobe lightly. “Give me your phone my Princess.”
She scowls at me. “I’m not cool with people telling me what to do Bishop, and I’m not you’re anything. You’ll learn that pretty quick.”
I wonder if she’s going to fight me on everything. “Can I please see your phone Cara?” I ask, placing heavy emphasis on her name. Rolling her eyes, she hands it over, and I call myself, adding me in as a contact. I give it back to her. Before
she can move her hand away, I grab it and kiss her wrist lightly, getting a small taste of what’s mine. “You’re wrong you know.”
“About what exactly?” She asks, her eyes narrowing on mine.
“You are all mine. Call me, if you need anything.” She scowls and jerks back her hand.
Looking back to Mandy, I give her another order. “Mandy, put our crew’s number in her phone, then send out a text to everyone, so they have her number.”
She sighs. “Got it. Let’s go, babe before Bishop decrees anything else of me.” She laughs it off, but I can tell that she is getting irritated with me.
Since I’ve taken over for my father, I haven’t given many orders, but now that I’ve found my one, my Princess, things are about to start changing. When they drive away, Davey and Finn walk up and stand beside me and stare, waiting for me to get on with it. “She’s ours now. Get the message out.” I tell them.
Davey speaks first. “Are you claiming her Bishop? You called her Princess, that’s pretty big. If you don’t mean it, I’d watch it in front of other people, who will think you’re serious.”
I nod, they’re right, but they don’t need to worry. “I know what I’m doing, and that girl is mine. I’m claiming her.” Pointing at my right-hand men, “And don’t fucking look at her like that again. I know you didn’t know, but you do now. She’s mine. In the future, show her the respect she deserves.”
They both look shocked for a moment, then they give me a knowing smile, and I know they are happy for me. Finn speaks first, shaking my hand. “Happy for you man. I like her for you. It doesn’t look like she’s going to put up with your shit.”
Chapter 3
Cara
“God I love this car! It’s sweet. Mom and Dad have Davey drive me around wherever I need to go.”
“Do you have your license?”
Mandy looks out the window and shrugs her shoulders. Weird. Sitting in silence, I drive around town to places I’ve already seen before. Nothing like an awkward silence between you and a new friend.