by Elle East
“You’ve been too busy with Tall-dark-and-useless?” he asked as if he could read my mind.
“No. And that’s none of your business.”
He shrugged and leaned back in his seat. His long and lean body wore his uniform like a second skin. He put his hands behind his head casually.
“Could you please focus? I want to get out of here as quickly as possible,” I said.
“To see him?” Grayson asked pointedly.
“No—I mean, it’s none of your business,” I said sharply.
“It used to be.”
“Well, you screwed that up, didn’t you?”
“I miss you, Sunny.”
“Don’t you dare start with me,” I said sharply.
He was trying to suck me back under his spell with sweet words and nicknames. Trying to make me forget what happened last year. He was trying to trick me and make me forget exactly who he was and what he was capable of. Well, not again.
“Please, I know your game now, Grayson. You don’t have to pretend you like me anymore. You don’t have to pretend you want to be my friend. After what the three of you did to me last year, I’ll never trust you again. I’m never letting you back in.”
“Did you think it was an accident you were assigned to tutor me?” he asked with raised eyebrows. His hands were still woven together behind his head. “I requested you.”
“I had my suspicions.”
Even before Dean told me he was sure Grayson had done this just to spend time alone with me, I knew this probably wasn’t an accident.
He suddenly leaned forward so that our faces were inches apart. My neck snapped backwards in surprise, putting distance between the two of us.
He looked at me so intensely it felt hard to breathe.
“We would let you in but we know we can’t trust you,” he said.
“Let me in where?” I asked in a whisper.
“We are not the enemy, Maddy.”
Chapter 19
After my weird, semi-cryptic interaction with Grayson, our tutoring sessions had gotten a hell of a lot more intense. I was grateful I finally had a day off, and I was grateful to be spending it with Dean.
We were going to a football game together. The Crestmoore Falcons were playing a rival school from Boston, which made me think of Cecily because that was her hometown. I figured her and the other scholarship students would be going too, as a group. It would have been nice to sit with them, but I was happy to be with Dean.
I kept looking in my mirror to make sure my makeup still looked good. I usually didn’t wear a lot on a day-to-day basis. I was normally a lip balm and tinted moisturizer kind of girl because proper makeup took too much time and I was usually rushing out the door at the last minute. But I did enjoy it when I actually had the time to do it properly, like today.
I’d spent extra time getting ready because today felt special. Dean and I hung out every day together, but for some reason this felt different. We were going somewhere new, and it felt more like a date and less like we were just hanging out and eating lunch. I didn’t know if he felt the same way, but I really hoped he did.
After our make-out session almost three weeks ago, nothing else had happened—and I was getting desperate. I wanted to reenact our time together in my bathroom, before we had gotten interrupted. His strong lips on mine. His large hand dipping down into the bubbles and running up my thigh…
I shook my head. I had to stop thinking about it. I was getting too worked up.
There came a knock at the door, and my heart started beating quicker. I rushed over as fast as I could on my cast to answer it—which wasn’t very fast. I still had my cast on, but it was coming off soon. I was so excited to finally be able to walk properly again and be able to take a shower without worrying about it getting wet. And also be able to scratch my leg without shoving a pencil down my cast.
I opened the door, and there stood Dean. Tall, dark and sexy. The dark stubble on his chin made his jaw look insanely defined, and I noticed his hair was shorter than when I’d last seen him yesterday.
“Your hair?” I asked.
He reached up and ran his hands across it. It was back to being the closely cropped style he’d had when I first met him. Before he’d allowed it to grow out slightly when we’d come to Crestmoore together.
“Yeah, I took the ferry over this morning. Got a cab into town. I wanted to look good for you.”
Heat rose into my cheeks, and I smiled.
“Picked the worst day to do it though. It was nearly impossible to get back on the ferry to come back to the island. There are so many people here now. It’s crazy.”
“I know what you mean. People take football seriously here, so a ton of people show up. The stands are going to be completely packed.”
I was just wearing my regular uniform, but Dean eyed it appreciatively.
“You look nice,” he said.
“Oh, this old thing?” I joked. “It’s nothing. Just something I threw on.”
He smiled, and it warmed my heart—and made me want to rip his clothes off.
“Should we head out?” he asked.
“Yep!”
I grabbed my coat, and we walked out into the hall. Dean helped me down the stairs, like he always did. Stairs were the hardest thing to do in a cast, and I was always scared I was going to fall, but Dean’s strong arm under mine made me feel secure. He’d been such a solid presence in my life for the past almost two months, and I was coming to really rely on him.
So far we’d only kissed that one time, and I was wondering why. We seemed to have a connection—I didn’t think it was only in my head. Originally, he’d said he just wanted to be friends, but the way he looked at me and the things he did for me, the little comments—and the fact that we’d made out—all made me feel like there was something there for him too. It made me feel like it wasn’t just in my head.
It felt like he was holding himself back for some reason, and I didn’t know why. Despite how close we’d gotten, it felt like he was trying to keep a bit of distance between the two of us. Did he still not trust me? Did he still feel like I was going to run off to the Kings the first chance I got?
The whole situation was making me feel confused and off balance, but I tried to put all the questions and doubts out of my mind. I just wanted to get out and have a fun day at the football game with my “friend”.
We walked out into the bright winter sun. There was still snow on the ground but the paths were perfectly clear, as if someone had come along with a toothbrush and swept every last snowflake away. We walked down the hill, along the path that lead around the field and ended at the huge stadium. We joined the crowd that was shuffling inside.
The stadium was state-of-the-art and had a retractable roof, which I was glad to see was closed. When we made it inside, it was noticeably warmer, and I was happy. I hadn’t been looking forward to freezing my butt off for a couple of hours.
“This way!” I called to Dean over the sounds of the crowd.
The stadium was already packed, and all those people in one place was making it hard to be heard. I lead him over to the section where the scholarship students sat.
I wasn’t going to try to sit with them, but I figured since Dean and I were scholarship students too, it was where we belonged. I didn’t want to risk trying to sit somewhere else and get kicked out or bullied. It was a large section of seats anyway, so we’d be able to give them space.
I flashed my student pass to the tough-looking security guard, who I recognized from last time. He nodded me in. Dean and I walked up to the top of the section and took a seat.
Dean stretched his neck to try to get a good view of the field.
“I don’t mean to be rude but these are terrible seats,” he laughed.
“I know, but this is the scholarship student section.” I shrugged apologetically.
“Ok, why don’t we go sit with the rest of them then? There they are.”
Just as we were talki
ng, we saw them come into our section. They walked up single file and took a seat about halfway up. They didn’t notice us, or if they did, then they pretended they didn’t.
“Come on,” Dean said and started walking down the stairs.
“Oh, I don’t think they want us to sit with them.”
“I’m sure they won’t mind. Come on. Those seats are better too—marginally, but still better.”
“Maybe they wouldn’t mind you sitting with them, but they definitely don’t want me there,” I said finally.
I had told Dean everything about what happened between me and them. He was fully aware of the situation but still didn’t really get it. He was super hot and had a commanding presence about him. He seemed like he was always in control and wouldn’t take shit from anyone, and as a result he hadn’t experienced the bullying the other scholarship students had at Crestmoore. So he couldn’t really understand why they would be so cautious about being friends with me. He didn’t understand that when I was with them I was putting a target on their backs—and they already had enough to deal with at this school as it was.
He also knew I missed hanging out with them, and that was one of the reasons he was trying to push to have us all together.
He jerked his head and said, “Come on.”
He was smiling at me, and I could see the dimples beneath his stubble. His amber eyes called to me, and I realized he could make me do anything he wanted. When he reached out his hand for mine, I took it.
We walked down to where the group was sitting. Graham was on the end with a couple of empty seats next to him.
Dean asked him, “Mind if we sit here?”
He looked over in surprise at the two of us and nodded without thinking. Dean took a seat next to him, and I sat next to Dean.
It was super awkward. I snuck a quick look at Graham over Dean’s large shoulders. Graham did not look comfortable to be sitting next to us at all. I felt weird about what had happened at the end of last year. After Graham had caught me half-naked with Brett in my room, he hadn’t wanted anything to do with me.
I racked my brain trying to remember if I told Dean about Graham and I. Dean didn’t seem at all uncomfortable though. He was watching the field, completely at ease and unaffected by the awkwardness of the two people sitting next to him.
Dean then reached over and put his arm around my shoulders. It was unexpected, but my heart thrilled at the gesture. I saw Graham glance at us and then turn away quickly. I felt bad for making him uncomfortable, but I couldn’t stop the smile from forming on my face. Dean was holding me.
The weight of his arm felt heavy and comforting on my back. I leaned into him, and he pulled me closer. I could feel his hard, warm body beneath his clothes, and it felt so right. This was exactly where I wanted to be. Nowhere else but right in his arms.
The game started soon after. The announcer came on the speakers, and we craned our necks to get a good view of the field. He welcomed everyone to the game and started by introducing the away team from Boston.
They ran out onto the field like a river of blue. Their cheerleaders jumped up and down and welcomed them. Seeing cheerleaders again didn’t have the same effect it had at the last football game I’d been to. The embarrassment of what the Queens had done to me last year, by tricking me and drugging me and getting me to audition for a cheerleading squad that didn’t exist, had faded somewhat. Also, with Dean’s arm around me, all that other stuff faded into the background and was just noise. He was what mattered.
The football season was long over so this game was just an event they were having to break up the long, dull winter. Both teams were playing for charity. Still, I was amazed at how many people had shown up for a game that wasn’t even official.
Crestmoore had placed second at the National Championships last year. I remembered Archer and Brett telling me about it while we were all hanging out in their dorm. Apparently the whole situation had been a major upset. Most people believed Crestmoore should have rightly won but lost because of crooked referees. The Kings had told me they were trying to get evidence to prove the other team had paid off the refs.
After the team from Boston was on the field, the announcer told everyone to stand up and welcome the Crestmoore team. The stands erupted. A sea of people dressed in black stood up and cheered as the players started running out onto the field one by one and—
“What the hell?” I asked in surprise.
A bunch of cheerleaders dressed in black jogged over to where the players were coming out. They hopped up and down in their short skirts and waved their jet black pom-poms excitedly. One by one, I recognized the Queens. There was Claudia with her short, black, bobbed hair. Then Jayla, who had her long, limp hair tied up in a high ponytail. Then Grace and Victoria, both with their long, perfect blonde hair.
They all had big smiles on their faces and were waving at the crowd. They looked so happy, so carefree and innocent, that it made me sick. I knew who they really were, and they were not these sweet-looking girls beaming at everyone like they were just excited to be here. They were manipulative, sneaky and mean. Those girls were evil.
There were other girls with them, jumping around in the Crestmoore-black cheerleading uniforms. I recognized pretty much all of them. They were girls who hung around the Queens. None of them were in the same league, because no one was in the same league as the Royalty, but they circled around the Queens like those little fish that feed off of bigger ones.
I looked away in disgust. I guess Victoria finally got her way, and they had reinstated the school’s cheerleading squad after banning it ten years ago. It wasn’t fair that she got everything she wanted. She was the last person in the world who deserved it, and I couldn’t wait for the day when she finally got what she earned—and I wanted nothing more than to be the person who gave it to her.
Archer and Brett were the last players to come out onto the field, just like last time. Archer jogged ahead of Brett and waved to the crowd. The people in the stands roared even louder, and I winced. The sound was so loud I was sure I was damaging my eardrums.
All the players looked a bit more relaxed this time because the game was just for fun and didn’t mean anything—except Brett. His handsome, square face looked as serious and focused as ever. The cheerleaders paid the most attention to the two Kings and shamelessly bounced and jiggled extra hard for them. Archer clearly loved the attention they were giving him, but Brett kept his eyes forward and focused.
I didn’t realize how tense I’d become until Dean pulled me closer and made a comment about it.
“It’s nothing,” I said and relaxed into his side.
He accepted that I didn’t want to talk about it at that moment and let it go. I was sure he suspected what was making me tense, anyway. Being close to Dean put me at ease, but couldn’t get rid of all the tension I felt when I saw or thought about the Royalty.
It felt weird looking at Archer and Brett while being in Dean’s arms. A feeling in the pit of my stomach like a very small itch that I could barely feel but knew was there. Something small and internal that I couldn’t quite scratch.
The game started, and it was immediately obvious Crestmoore was the better team. Brett ran his players like a well-oiled machine. They quickly scored in the first few minutes of the game and took over the scoreboard.
When Archer was put into a play, he seemed to run at the speed of light and no one could stop him. I had almost forgotten how good the two of them were at this. Despite my hatred for them, I had to admit they were impressive.
What wasn’t impressive was the way the Crestmoore cheerleaders were jumping up and down and shaking their pom-poms. I watched them for a while and could clearly see Victoria was in charge.
Whenever one of the other girls’ smiles would get a little less bright, or they would cheer a little less enthusiastically because they were tired, Victoria would be on them immediately. She’d whisper something to them, and they’d instantly perk back up. They’d plaster
a fake, beaming smile back on their face and start cheering again like their life depended on it—maybe it did. Who knew what Victoria was capable of. She had already maybe killed one girl, Jenny. What was a couple more?
I watched as Brett’s large body moved gracefully up and down the field. The all-American football player of every girl’s fantasy. Unwanted thoughts flashed through my mind of that large, strong body being pressed up against mine.
I quickly shook my head to clear them away.
I tried my best not to think of the Kings like that—but for some reason my subconscious wanted me to suffer. Despite my hatred for them, I still couldn’t help but recognize how incredibly sexy they were—I wasn’t blind. I hated thinking about them that way though, after everything they’d done to me, so I tried my damnedest not to.
I turned to Dean. I wanted to focus on him. He was just as hot as the Kings, and he hadn’t broken my trust. He hadn’t lied to me, made me believe something was real and then stabbed me in the back at the last moment. Dean was a good guy, unlike the Kings. He was someone who I was starting to see a real future with.
He noticed me looking up at him.
“Enjoying the game?” he asked.
I nodded. “Are you?”
“I’ve never really been one for football, not my thing, but you can’t help but get into it when you’re here. There’s just so many people, and so much energy and excitement in the air.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
I smiled because I had thought the same thing during my first game.
“Wish they weren’t on the field though. That would make the game a hell of a lot more enjoyable.”
He didn’t have to say who he was talking about because I knew he meant Brett and Archer.
We watched as Archer made an especially hard tackle, and I winced. It looked hard enough where the guy he took down would probably have a concussion. Archer stood up and stepped back.