I turn to head back to my table with my lousy salad when the snickering starts around me.
Great. What now?
Have I sat in shit or got something on my face? Or has someone started some bullshit rumor about me again? Actually, it could very well be the first option, I’m not known for being over-cautious about where I drop my ass.
By the time I get to Slade, the snickering has turned into whispers, gasps, and laughs, and when I look up at him, his jaw is clenched, eyes dark, and has fury pouring out of him in waves. Whatever is going on here, he knows and it’s clear that he doesn’t like it. Though there’s one bonus, I’m positive that I haven’t done anything to piss him off which could only mean that his fury is about to be unleashed on the culprit and I can’t wait. I love seeing this guy in action, it’s so raw and thrilling.
I’m just about to ask him what’s up when the whispers turn into taunts and the word that’s being hurled at my back is ‘slut.’ My shitty salad is thrown on the table and I turn to face them, letting them see the old me, the me who held onto the anger and resentment, the me that they clearly haven’t had the pleasure of meeting in a while.
Well, guess what, bitches? It’s time to get reacquainted.
There’s a lot of bullshit that I can put up with, but petty name-calling doesn’t work for me, especially when they’re trying to slut-shame me for something I probably didn’t do. I’m all for girls getting their rocks off just like the guys, so why should we be shamed for it? But in this case, I have a boyfriend and I’m damn sure that I haven’t been skanking around with anyone else.
I’m about ready to unleash my fury when Damian’s hand curls around my arm and pulls me back to the table. “Cool it, Sky. Maybe you should know what they’re bitching about before you go all out on their asses and end up blindsided.”
Slade sits in silence but judging from the glare he’s shooting at Damian, I’d dare say that he was more than happy to watch me kick some high school ass.
With a groan, I drop down beside Slade as Damian unlocks his phone. Slade reaches under the table and laces his fingers through mine in a show of support that instantly puts me on edge. Why the hell do I need support? It’s fine. Whatever they’re trying to call me out for is complete bullshit. If anything, they’re the ones who are going to need support when I give them a brand new nose job.
Damian’s phone is flipped around and I take it. As I look down at the screen and find a collage of photos that come up as a slideshow, my stomach starts to sink. The first is a photo of Damian and I at his party a few weeks ago when we were dancing. His hand was cupped between my legs and my head tipped back on his shoulder in pleasure. The next is me dropping down into Roman’s car, then me and Damian again at that same party, only this image is of us upstairs right as I’m reaching for the door handle to walk into his bedroom. Nothing happened that night but a picture is worth a thousand words and this one is pretty fucking damning.
I swipe to the next image to find Slade and I sneaking out of the supply closet last week, but it’s the final one that really gets me. It’s not just a photo but a recording of my bedroom and usually, I wouldn’t have an issue with that, only Slade and I just happen to be on my bed, butt-fucking-naked while he hovers above me, lips on my neck and buried deep inside of me, showing me just how good it can truly get.
The words ‘cheater or slut?’ comes up as the last slide before the whole damn thing starts again, making bile rise in my throat. Slade’s hand tightens in mine, realizing that I’ve seen the whole thing but I’m stuck on the thought that some fucking creep was watching through the window while we were getting it on. In fact, now the whole fucking school has seen me in my most vulnerable position, the whole fucking school has seen me naked and what’s worse is that they’re laughing at me as though this kind of invasion of mine and Slade’s privacy is acceptable.
I snap my glare up at Damian and he pulls back, never having seen it quite so lethal. “Who sent this?”
He shakes his head and cringes. “I don’t know. It came from a random number. No one can work out who it belongs to.”
“Fuck,” I yell, feeling the humiliation wash over me as everyone’s eyes remain locked on our table. Not only has someone been watching me through my window, they’ve been following me around, everywhere I go and despite the truth, people are going to believe what they see, and these photos are evidence that I’m nothing but a cheap whore…or slut as the video so kindly supplied.
Every last person who sees this is going to assume that I’m down to screw around with anyone. I mean, I was willing to give it up to Damian and when Roman flashed that smile at me, I was putty for the shortest moment, but the only one I’ve ever gotten truly intimate with was Slade and we’re together.
I’ve only ever felt humiliation like this once before and right now, I can’t seem to figure out which one felt worse. One man taking advantage of my body, forcing himself on me, or the whole school looking at my body and watching as I come.
Rationally, I know which is worse but the whole fucking school seeing me like that?
“It’s going to be alright,” Slade murmurs, pulling me into his side and kissing the top of my head. “I’m going to make this go away.”
I shake my head, not knowing how the fuck he could possibly do that but with a quick nod to Damian, the two of them start moving. Damian jumps down from his perch on the table and crosses the room faster than anything while Slade gets up from beside me and steps up onto the table, facing the crowd of onlookers and making me gawk in horror.
What the hell is he planning on doing?
People start cheering for him as though he’s up there to boast about his latest conquest. “Yeah,” one guy shouts out. “You’re my fucking king. Was she good?”
Slade’s eyes grow impossibly darker and the lethal way that they narrow on the guy has the whole cafeteria falling into instant silence.
The door is slammed.
Everyone jumps.
People start looking around in a panic, hearing the sickeningly wicked squeal of the lock sliding into place.
Guys stand, ready to face Slade’s threat while the girls scream, begging to be set free.
“SIT THE FUCK DOWN,” Slade roars as Damian strides back over to our table, protectively positioning himself right behind me.
The guys zip their lips and drop back down to their seats while the girls whimper, terrified of being addressed by Slade Cruz.
I don’t know what their fucking problem is, I find it thrilling as all hell.
The room waits for him, knowing that even one foot wrong would cost them dearly. “Get your fucking phones out. I want to see every single one of the bastards on the fucking table.”
Without question, every last person does exactly what he says. Hell, his fucking tone has me reaching for my own damn phone.
It takes twenty seconds for every last phone in the room to be put on the table. The students gape at him, some in horror, some wide-eyed, and some nodding, proud to have him as their leader.
Slade presses a few buttons on his phone and two seconds later, a loud buzzing is heard over by the dodgy as fuck chicken salad. He glances around, waiting for someone to own up to the phone and when no one does, he jumps down from the table in one, easy sweep, making it look as though he’s as light as a feather.
He strides across the cafeteria with every eye on him. He scoops up the phone and presses a button, cutting the call. The room falls to silence as he studies the phone, flipping it over for some kind of clue as to who owns the fucker.
Getting nothing, he stares around at the students, each of them shrinking back in fear under his stare. “Who owns this fucking phone?”
Not one person answers, but who would? They’re fucking terrified of him.
I get up and make my way toward him, taking the phone from his hand as he stares down the room. I search through the phone and it becomes instantly clear that this is just some burner, something bought purely for this
very moment. There are no other photos except for mine, no saved contacts, no music, not even a single text…you know, apart from the mass group one that just went out.
Realizing that no one is about to say anything, Slade continues. “Delete it.”
He doesn’t need to say another word, they just know what he’s talking about. I watch as people everywhere start scrambling for their phones unlocking the screen and deleting the video. A few of the guys hold back, not wanting to delete my sex tape, but as Slade and Damian start making their way around the room, they give in, not wanting to be on the receiving end of either of their fists.
“If I catch even one of you fuckers with that video of my girl, you’ll have me to deal with,” Slade roars over the room, making sure every last person hears and understands the consequences. “I’ll stand by the fucking door and check every last phone if I have to.”
At that, the few remaining hands shoot out onto the table and get busy deleting the video. Slade stands and stares, waiting longer than necessary for the job to be done then strides across the room and scoops my boring as batshit salad off the table. He looks back at me and nods towards the door and I instantly start moving.
“This isn’t over,” he warns as he meets me at the door with Damian and Blake also stepping into my side. “I will find out who did this and when I do, your life won’t be worth living.”
With that, Damian unlocks the cafeteria doors and we walk straight out, leaving the horror and humiliation behind.
We get all of three steps before I feel Blake’s knuckles brush down my forearm, gaining my attention. I glance over to him and find him wordlessly asking if I’m doing alright. Concern is etched into the way he holds his brows and his eyes…I haven’t seen them like that since…fuck.
I nod discreetly, not wanting Slade and Damian to notice our sibling moment as it feels too raw, too intense. Too personal.
As I turn away to focus on putting one foot in front of another, a loud bang is heard echoing behind us. The four of us spin around to see Maze dashing toward us as the cafeteria door rebounds off the wall and slams closed once again.
“Sky,” she yells, running.
She slows as Slade, Damian, and Blake step forward and create a barrier around me, but protecting me in front of the whole fucking school is one thing, trying to protect me here is another.
I barge my way between Slade and Damian’s shoulders and seeing Maze still making her way toward me, I hold up a hand. “Don’t,” I demand.
She comes to a sudden stop and nearly topples over with her momentum. “I…,” she cringes. “I just wanted to check that you were alright. That video…it was brutal.”
“You think I don’t know that? Of course I know it was brutal. It was me. Imagine how you would feel knowing that tonight, every fucking male in the school is going to be jacking off to the memory of your tits and ass bouncing around, imagining it was them riding you, not your man.”
Slade snarls behind me and steps into my back, making Maze’s eyes flick up in horror. I don’t know what kind of glare he’s giving her but I can guarantee that it ain’t pretty.
“I…I’m sorry,” she stutters out, having difficulty under Slade scrutiny.
I raise my chin and narrow my eyes. “What do you have to be sorry for? Were you the one who created that video?”
Maze’s eyes bug out of her head. “No. no way. I just meant that I was sorry you had to go through that. I mean, you’ve already gone through so much with your parents dying right in front of you and then the whole kidnap and rape thing…”
Great. Just fucking great. She had to go and bring that shit up.
I feel Slade’s chest rise and fall with rapid movements on my back and as Maze’s eyes raise to his once again, I see pure terror. “GO,” Slade roars.
Maze stumbles back three steps in her haste and struggles to get her feet in front of her before taking off like a bat out of hell.
I sag against Slade’s chest and he curls his arm around my waist, holding me tight. “Well, that sucked.”
“Come on,” he tells me, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Come with me.”
Chapter 10
Slade leads me in through the side access of the gymnasium with Damian and Blake right behind us.
I glance around in awe. This place looks so much bigger when it’s empty. Believe it or not, after all the years of watching Blake play, I've never stepped foot into a gymnasium when it's dead and empty like this.
Damian jogs off toward the supply room while Slade takes my hand and leads me over to the bench. “Really though?” he questions hesitantly as he drops down onto the bench and pulls me down beside him. “Are you alright? You looked like you were about to throat punch a bitch.”
“I was and honestly, it didn’t matter who it was just as long as I got someone. Damian’s fucking lucky that he came at me from behind otherwise it would have been him and I would have loved it.”
“Sorry, babe,” Damian yells from across the court, making Slade groan with his casual use of the word ‘babe.’ “You might have tried but you would have missed. I’m too fucking fast for your bitch ass.”
I raise a brow as he starts bouncing two balls and makes his way over here. “You want to try me?” I question, “I promise, you’ll lose.”
Damian grins wide as Blake shakes his head. “Just leave it, man. She can get fucking insane when she’s trying to prove a point. Add the fact that she’s pissed off and you stand no chance.”
“Bullshit,” Damian says, glancing from me to Blake and back again. “I could take her. Look at her, she’s fucking tiny. I take shits bigger than her.”
As he talks shit, trying to pump himself up, I can’t help but laugh at the doubt clouding his eyes. I get to my feet and stand on the bench so I can meet his eyes. “Come at me,” I beg of him, grinning wide as he drops one of the balls and throws the other at Slade.
He looks to me and narrows his eyes, ready to talk himself up but I don’t give him the chance. He was right, I am tiny compared to him which is why I need the element of surprise.
I fly.
My legs wrap tightly around his chest and I grab hold of his shoulder, trying to save myself from flying right over the top of him. Damian’s hand instinctively wraps around me and I dive over his shoulder, curling my arm around his neck and easily putting him in a headlock.
“Oh, fuck,” he gasps, not sure what’s going on, but desperately trying to save his reputation. He scrambles around, trying to peel me off him and just for good measure, I reach down his back, curl my fingers around the waistband of his boxer and pull.
“Holy shit.” A high-pitched squeal comes tearing out of him as he grabs his ass. “You play fucking dirty.”
Blake chuckles, probably pleased it’s not him for a change. “I tried warning you.”
Slade’s grin is enough to have the anger fading out of me, but I’m not nearly finished having my fun. It’s one thing to beat this guy, but rubbing it in his face would be even better. “Are you done?”
“Yes, just get off me. You’re fucking psycho.”
“Tap out.”
“What?” he grunts as Slade laughs. “No. I’m a man. I’m not going to tap out. Tapping out is for little bitches with pin-dicks.”
“Have it your way,” I tell him, tightening my hold around his head and using my free hand to dig my fingers in under his ribs.
He squeals out again. “Okay, okay, okay,” he says with a pout. “I’ll fucking tap, just get off me.”
“My pleasure,” I tell him, refraining from commenting how guys who tap have pin-dicks. I don’t think throwing his own words back at him would be appreciated.
Just as he promises, Damian taps against my arm and being the good little girl that I am, I uncurl my arm from around his head and untangle my legs, letting him take a well-needed deep breath. I slide down his body and he catches my waist to make sure I don’t fall, but as I get down and look up at him, there’s a darkness withi
n, warning me to sleep with both eyes open. That darkness only triples as he shoves his hand down the back of his pants and picks his boxers out of his ass crack.
Pride surges through me as I drop down onto the court. I really needed that.
As I lean back onto my hands, I meet Slade’s eyes. He’s busy bouncing the ball beneath his legs but to be honest, I don’t think he realizes that he’s doing it. He smiles and the butterflies take flight, mixing up all that dread the video caused until all that’s left is contentment.
As if sensing that change within me, something lightens in the way he holds his body. He doesn’t like me upset and hurting and today was a direct attack that set him off. His eyes soften and for a moment, I’m wondering if what I’m feeling is something much, much deeper.
Blake scoops the forgotten ball that’s rolled under the bench and starts making his way onto the court. He starts bouncing it and just to be an ass, he bounces it as close to me as physically possible.
I’m just about to teach him a lesson when Damian drops down beside Slade and pulls out his phone. He’s looking down at something, completely distracted. “You know,” he says, keeping his gaze downcast. “This video could have been much worse. You could have had your ass up in the air and your tits bouncing around.”
“The fuck?” Slade snaps, looking down at his phone and snatching it right out of his hands as Blake groans with the image Damian has just happily supplied for him. “Why the hell do you still have this?”
Damian shrugs as Slade gets busy deleting the video. “Hey. I’m in that video too,” he says, trying to defend himself. “I wanted to have it for safekeeping. You know, that might be the only porn that I’m ever involved in.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s bullshit and you know it. I’m willing to bet every last thing I have that you’ve got hundreds of sex tapes.”
Damian sucks in a breath, pretending to be outraged by my crass assumption, but Slade cuts him off. “You can’t deny it, man. You show me them at least once a week.”
Lost Girl: Aston Creek High (Book 2) Page 8