I explain that I didn't post that stuff and that I’ve never seen that Facebook profile before.
“I believe you. You don't strike me as the gossipy type.”
Her understanding make me cry harder: if she believes me, why couldn't the guys?
I tell her what happened in that empty study room and Gabbie sighs.
“That wasn't nice of Reece. The way he treated you ... But in a way, sweetie, I understand why he's jaded right now and he doesn't trust anyone. And I only know part of the story ...”
So she tells me what happened: the A-Team had always liked to pass around girls among them.
Until they met another new girl last year: Emily.
“She started hanging with them, she was a cheerleader too. She was Chaz’s rally girl. Well, long story short, she chose Max. I’ve always thought that she had a bigger crush on Reece but she started dating Max officially. The others seemed ok with the situation and the group remained close ... until Prom.”
“What happened?”
Gabbie sighs.
“Max and Emily were crowned king and queen and we all went to this huge after party at Max’s house. There was booze, there was coke and E and everyone was wasted. So it isn't clear what happened but Max passed out on a lawn chair and when he came to ... here I’m only reporting the rumours, so I don't know how much is true and how much isn't. Apparently Max walked into his room and found Emily in bed with Reece and the others. They were all in various states of undress and there were condom wrappers in the trash can. He was furious thinking that he’d been cheated on but when everyone woke up, the guys denied doing anything and claimed that they didn't know where the condoms came from. Emily accused Reece and the others of having sex with her while she was passed out. Max called the cops. There was a trial and Reece, Pryce, and Chaz were accused of drugging Emily with the intent to commit sexual assault. Look, the records were sealed because at the time of the events, all the people involved were minors. But ... my parents were concerned about letting me finish school at BHPA with these guys and my dad knows the DA. I don't know the details but there was a not guilty verdict. Apparently the evidence didn't point towards Reece and the others. I don't know anymore than this. But people have been talking, Abi. While before being the A-Team’s girl was almost a badge of honour, now ... their reputation hasn't recovered and most parents would never let their daughters date them.”
“What do you think, Gabbie? Do you think they did it?”
Gabbie shakes her head.
“I’ve been going to school with them since the first grade: I don't think that they're capable of what they've been accused of. Reece and Max have always been a bit douche bag-ish on the outside but once you get to know them, they aren't bad guys. Chaz is the rebellious one of the group but he’s not a bad guy either. I think he craves attention. Pryce is a real sweetheart.”
I cover my face with my hands: my first instinct is that I don't believe that Reece, Pryce, and Chaz could ever take advantage of an unconscious girl. Or even worse, drug her.
I know they were awful to me in that classroom and they didn't believe me when I told them that it wasn't me spreading the rumours about us having sex.
But I can't forget how protective and gentle Reece was in that bathroom.
And how tender Pryce's kisses were.
If they felt betrayed ... especially after what I’ve just learned from Gabbie, it makes sense that they’d react harshly.
Max was as tight with them as they are with one another, he was a part of their brotherhood and he accused them.
They all had feelings for Emily and she accused them.
Maybe once they know me better, they’ll believe me?
And they're right that I’m kind of stuck with them because everybody at school believes that I slept with them and if they were to reject me ...
That would really ruin my reputation.
Reece
I TAKE MY TIME SHOWERING and getting dressed after practice: I wait until there's only me, Pryce, and Chaz left in the locker room.
I’m so hurt by what Abi did!
I really liked her, I thought she was this sweet, innocent girl but she tried to use us to get popularity, to get straight to the top of the BHPA social ranks.
There's no way she didn't post that stuff on Facebook, who else could've done it?
Not Max, especially because I saw the way he was looking at her: he wants her.
That asshole’s always liked the little doe eyed, innocent looking girls.
And Abi is as innocent as they get: I felt how hesitant and how inexperienced her kiss was.
So, I have a plan that will punish both of them: I’ll take her innocence.
That’ll hurt her because I’ll dump her when I’m done with her and that might give me the chance to get back at Max in more than one way.
I’ll make her choose me and I’ll repay him for how he ruined my reputation by ruining his.
I explain my plan to my brothers and I’m surprised about their reaction: they aren't immediately on board.
Chaz is the first to talk:
“Dude, I thought you said no girls from school?”
I shrug.
“That was before everybody thought that we already fucked her. Now we might as well ...”
And I want her: those blue eyes, those lips, the way she laughs ...
Chaz nods, he seems willing to play along.
Pryce seems more reluctant:
“I don't know, bro. What if she doesn't want us? Whatever people say about us, I’m not prepared to force a girl to do anything she doesn't want. And neither are you.”
I clap him on the shoulder:
“I’m not talking about forcing her. I’m talking about corrupting her. And I know she wants us or she’d never have said that she fucked us. If she really doesn't want us, we’ll just play the same game she’s been playing with us. We’ll make sure that people think that she’s such a slut that no guy will ever go close to her. It doesn't have to be true, like it isn't true that we’ve been fucking her. But you know better than me that at this school, it's all about perception, how you appear.”
Pryce looks placated.
“As long as when she says no, it's no ...”
I give him my solemn handshake that we’ve been using to seal our pacts since we were in the first grade:
“You’ll see, this'll be fun.”
5.
The Deal
Abi
THE GUYS COME OUT OF the locker room in their street clothes: I can see how they all dress differently.
Chaz looks ready to go to a rock concert, dressed all in black with a band t-shirt, black jeans and metal spikes adorning his belt.
He’s wearing an array of leather and metal jewellery.
Pryce looks like the hottest possible version of the boy next door: he’s wearing a v-neck t-shirt that does nothing to hide how ripped his body is underneath, and his varsity letterman jacket.
When he comes past me, I can’t help but notice how hot his ass looks in his dark wash jeans.
I’m relieved that I won't be forced to go to confession every Saturday afternoon, like I was at boarding school, because looking at Pryce's ass would’ve certainly earned me a minimum of ten Hail Marys as penance.
And then there's Reece: I guess he's the uptight one out of the trio.
Even out of his school uniform, he looks impeccably put together in a pair of dark slacks and a dark blue button down shirt that matches the colour of his eyes.
He sets those unnerving blue eyes on me and signals me to follow him with a jerk of his chin.
I slowly stand up and get my bag: I move slowly on purpose because for as much as I now understand why he thought that I was behind that rumour, I’m mad at him that he doesn't believe me when I say that I had nothing to do with it.
But I’d totally be lying if I said that I hate this whole being stuck with them. I wanna spend time with them, I just wish that they weren't so mad
at me.
But I can win them over, I know I can show them that I’d never use them or anyone else for the sake of social status.
Pryce's driving again and we go to his house.
The mansion he lives in is similar to my own in size and architecture but the inside actually looks as if someone lives in it.
There's photos on the walls and mantles and objects that tell you about the personality of the people who live here.
My house is cold and sterile like a museum: Alex has always lived mostly in the pool house and my dad must spend less than a week a year at home.
I see from the framed photos that Pryce got his blonde hair from his mom and his striking silver eyes from his dad.
He has a little sister who’s blonde and petite and looks around twelve.
I’m distracted by the family photos but I turn around when I feel three sets of eyes on me.
The boys are standing again in that shoulder to shoulder formation that looks hot and intimidating at the same time.
Reece’s lips quirk up in a little smile.
“So ...”
He begins.
“So ...?”
His eyes have a glint I don't like: the kindness I saw in them at the weekend is completely gone.
I was hoping that he’d think about what I said, that somehow he’d consider the fact that I might be telling the truth about not spreading that rumour.
But I guess it's not the case because he gives me a slow once over, his eyes hard and intense as they skim up and down my body.
I don't know what it is about Reece's looks: I crave them in a way that almost scares me.
I want him to look at me but at the same time, I want him to see me.
Not this ruthless, attention seeking whore he thinks I am.
I guess I want his attention but it matters to me what he thinks about me.
I don't know why but it really, really matters.
Once his eyes have completed their perusal of my body, they come back up to lock me into this burning blue gaze.
It makes my heart rate increase immediately, and I feel a dizzying void at the pit of my stomach, a vertigo similar to when the nuns forced me to get into the school swimming pool.
I’m scared of deep water: of the unknown, of being trapped without oxygen.
And this is what that gaze is doing: it’s making it hard to breathe because I’m scared about the spite I see in it.
He takes a step towards me, his rucksack in one hand, his eyes always fixed onto mine.
“So, Abi ... since you're so eager to fuck the A-Team, let’s do it!”
He unzips his rucksack and takes out a strip of condoms and throws them at me.
They hit me on my chest and fall at my feet.
I gasp, surprised but Reece doesn't flinch and drawls:
“Who do you want first? Or do you want us all at the same time?”
When I don't answer, he takes another step closer to me and takes my hand but the gesture is gentle, in total contrast with the look in his eyes and with the words he's saying to me.
Reece is so confusing and yet, I’m trapped by his gaze, it feels as if those dark blue eyes and those luscious lips have put me under a spell.
“I... I ...”
The corner of his upper lip comes up in a cruel smirk and his tone becomes taunting.
“Come on, Abi ... are you getting cold feet? You told the whole school that you're fucking us, so I know it's not that you don't like us.”
I feel tears pushing vehemently at the corner of my eyes: he’s being a dick, on purpose.
He’s still mad at me and doesn't believe that I never said anything to anyone about them and that I don't care about being popular.
And I’m confused, so confused: my heart is breaking because I want sweet Reece again, the guy who held me tight and kissed me during that earthquake.
And my body ...
My damned, traitorous body’s on fire: I feel my nipples harden inside my bra and I feel wet heat collecting between my thighs.
My underwear is wet and there's an ache that I don't know how to relieve.
I know that I’m blushing again, that's a fucking given.
As soon as I swear in my head, I shudder: cursing would have definitely earned me two extra Hail Marys.
“I’ve never ...”
Reece chuckles.
“You’ve never said that you fucked us? I thought we’d established that that’s bullshit!”
I tug my hand free from his grip: I’m not gonna let him taunt me this way.
I inhale to make sure that those pushy tears don’t come out one second sooner than they have to.
Not until I’m alone and sure that he can't see how much he affects me.
“Well, on that we agree to disagree. But what I meant is that I’ve never ‘fucked’ anyone.”
Reece's eyes widen in surprise.
“You're a virgin?”
I hear Chaz mutter under his breath
“Oh, fuck ...”
Pryce looks as shocked as the others but doesn't utter a word.
Reece seems to think about my revelation for one moment longer and then considers:
“Then you're even more stupid than I thought. And if you think that this changes anything, you're wrong. Without our protection at school, they'll eat you alive. Reputation at BHPA is everything. And the only way to make it for you, is if people think that we're together.”
He’s right.
I know he is but ... I look at the condoms and I turn around and run, run for my life.
Away from these cruel boys, away from the things that they make me want.
I DON'T SEE THE BOYS at all until my driver drops me off at school the day after.
I turned my phone off too, overwhelmed by everything that happened today and worried that if one of them called, I’d go right back to Pryce's house.
I want them but I want to get to know them, become friends, kiss... I want them to like me, to ...
My thoughts are interrupted by Pryce's car stopping in the parking lot and if I was worried about what they’d say to me after the way I fled last night, I guess I shouldn't have tortured myself at all.
Reece is the only one who throws a sideways glance at me with those impenetrable blue eyes, dark and unyielding.
Chaz and Pryce just follow him inside the school building and no one says a word.
I walk in behind them: I mean what else can I do? We’re all in the A-Class, so we’re headed the same way.
I have to stop by my locker to get my Latin Literature book: we have class with the famous Ms Webber today and she doesn't do electronic devices of any kind.
With her it's traditional text books, pen and paper and a dictionary.
As I walk to my locker, a few people throw me hostile glances and a couple of juniors are whispering loudly enough for me to hear them, totally on purpose:
“She's such a slut! She didn't even set foot at school and she's already fucking three football players.”
I debate if I should say anything to them but I chicken out and walk away.
I know Gabbie would be disappointed in me but I really hate confrontation.
It takes me a couple of tries to open my locker, I’m seriously challenged with locks and doors in general but this time, there's something jammed in the door.
It's a thick piece of paper, almost cardboard.
It slips on the floor and I bend over to pick it up.
When I open it, I gasp in horror: it's a cutout like one of those pop up books that children love.
But this is no child’s play: whoever made this, cut out the profile of a woman kneeling on all fours and ...
She’s being tag teamed by three men: one’s standing in front of her and his crotch is attached to her mouth, one’s underneath her and one behind her with his crotch glued to her butt.
The girl has a photo of my face glued on.
There’s also a little cardboard tab and I know I shouldn
't pull on it but I do: the foursome moves back and forth as the tab gets pulled.
Obviously whoever did this, spread the news because there's a small crowd gathered behind me and everyone’s laughing hysterically. A few people in the back of this mob, start barking expletives like ‘Slut’, ‘Whore’, and so on.
The guys are already in class, so at least there's the small mercy that they didn't see all this.
I shove the disgusting pop up card in my book bag: I’ll dispose of this at home, I don't want anyone to find this in a bin.
I should really burn it, but I can only imagine that with my luck, I’d probably burn down the whole school by accident.
During the morning classes, I receive a few notes like the ones that Reece intercepted yesterday: I’m called every name you can imagine to describe a woman with loose morals.
And maybe I deserve it: I haven't done anything, aside from those kisses with Pryce and Reece before this whole nightmare started but my thoughts ...
Those are an entirely different matter: I keep thinking about their lips, about their hands on my face and neck ...
Sure, I’m very disappointed that they’d even think that I could lie about them and use them to be popular.
But I’ve been observing the other students in the last three days and at that party.
This is the thing with being always excluded and ignored by your peers: you learn to observe, unnoticed.
My fellow students at BHPA are self-centred, self-absorbed and to them popularity is everything.
Reece, Pryce, and Chaz have been going to school here since kindergarten, so I shouldn't be surprised if they believed that I’d act the same way they’ve seen our peers behave.
When the bell sounds for lunch period, I walk by Gabbie’s side to the cafeteria but once we get to the cheerleaders’ table, we encounter the unfriendly stares of the rest of the team.
Kylie’s the first one to speak:
Beverly Hills Prep Academy The Complete Boxset : A Light Bully Romance Page 36