New Girl: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance (Montlake Prep Book 1)

by Nora Cobb

  “It’s so awful,” Cora pouts after practice. “We heard about the roofie, you poor thing. I’m so glad nothing happened.”

  I’m sure Cora is glad nothing happened since she’s claiming Troy for herself. Cora gives me an A-line hug, and I’m amazed that she’s touching me in a friendly way. The girl likes to use her nails but she doesn’t this time. Lexi places a hand on my shoulder as she makes sympathy noises. I try to step away but they hold tightly onto my T-shirt.

  Sizing me up, Arielle keeps her distance until our eyes meet. She dazzles me with a brilliant smile, and the charm is oozing from every pore. My muscles tense as I wait for something bad to happen. Arielle has never listened to the jocks. She could not care less if I’m off-limits. She only wants to see me crying and in pain. Expecting a kick to the stomach, I brace myself as Lexi and Cora hold onto me. They’re so bad at giving sympathy that it feels like they’re about to attack.

  “It’s so horrible.” Arielle pulls a sad face that’s too exaggerated to be sincere. This girl must never cry. “But you’re coming to the dance, right?”

  “I wasn’t planning on it.”

  They make a collective sigh. “Aww. No, Natalie, you have to go.”

  “No, thanks,” I smile. “I’m not going to the dance.”

  Kristi comes trotting over to join in, and she moans when they tell her that I’m not going. Kristi has never shown any interest, and has carefully ignored me. I’ve only ever seen her face in profile until today. She’s a California girl whose father had the smarts to invest in everything new on the West Coast before sneakers, coffee, computers, and online shopping took off. She looks at Arielle, and Arielle smiles her approval.

  “Natalie,” Kristi whines, as she grasps her hands under her chin. “You have to go to the dance. You’re on the cheer squad. We’ll miss you if you don’t come.”

  I forgot about that inconvenient fact. Being on cheer squad, I’ll be expected to go. Shit, it’s a trap, but I don’t see a way out of this. Cromwell won’t make me attend, but that warning … I can’t be absent to anything. I sigh as my resistance crumbles. The week has sucked, having the people I thought were my friends dick me over, and the people I know aren’t, going out of their way to include me.

  Yesterday, I smiled at Beth as we passed each other in the hallway, and she put her nose in the air. Beth put her nose in the air, then pranced away. Beth pulled a snob move on me. But I’m lucky she didn’t curse me out because she’s better at that.

  “Look,” I shake them off me, “I can’t go. Besides, I don’t know who I can go with.”

  There, I put the truth out there, bitches. Your move. They’ve made it very clear that my paws need to stay off the men they’ve been engaged to since birth. Arielle flips her golden hair and pretends to be nonchalant as she announces a bomb.

  “Lucas and I broke up. I don’t care who he dates now.”

  “Bullshit,” I blurt out. I cover my mouth, but the strangest thing happens: Arielle laughs. Not a fake laugh either. She holds her stomach and squeezes her eyes shut, doubling over. Cora and Lexi look at each other while Kristi stands there with her mouth open wide enough to catch a football.

  “Oh fuck, Natalie,” Arielle catches her breath. “That was too honest.”

  Lexi smiles and taps my arm lightly with her nails. “Natalie, you’re a wild girl.”

  Bitch Arielle returns and shoots her a look. Lexi slides back. The queen has an audience and she doesn’t need her handmaidens interrupting.

  “I have plans for my life after college and I don’t want to be an old mom. I need a committed boyfriend. Lucas isn’t, so I might as well start looking for someone who is.”

  “No sense in sticking to one guy,” adds Cora, “when there are so many cute ones around here.”

  “And they’re all rich,” adds Kristi. The trio shoots her a scathing look, and instantly, Kristi finds something on the ground to study. She’s served her purpose. So while the amnesty is in full swing, I decide to push the limits.

  “Then you wouldn’t be pissed if I went with Lucas?”

  Arielle’s jaw twitches but she manages to keep her eyes from revealing what she feels. “I have no interest in him. If he wants to date you, it’s his business.”

  “You minded before,” I remind her.

  Arielle looks past my shoulder at nothing, and her blue eyes twinkle, but it’s hard to tell if she’s amused or plotting. She takes a breath. “You hurt my feelings. We told you he was taken, but you went after him anyway. It wasn’t very nice, Natalie. What else could I think of you?”

  My mouth drops open as my eyes widen. I’m speechless listening to her bull-crap that she seriously believes.

  “But in the end, you helped me realize that Lucas is too immature for me. I have goals in life and I don’t have time to be a plaything for boys.”

  “So I’m a plaything, is that it?” I ask coldly.

  “Don’t be silly,” she smiles brightly. “And you really are helping out with the squad. We couldn’t build a pyramid without you on the bottom.”

  I start to walk toward the locker room to change. This is the new game plan: to be sweetly insulting. Lexi runs over and grabs my hand in hers, forcing me to slow down.

  “Natalie.” Lexi presses her chin on my shoulder and bats her eyelashes as if I’m a gullible teenage boy. “Let’s go shopping again. It was so much fun the last time.”

  “I already have a dress I can wear.”

  “Shame on you. Shopping by yourself.” She flashes me a killer smile. It’s weird when girls who flirt too much don’t know when they shouldn’t. “What color is it?”

  “Plum.” I lie, of course. I have no dress, so I’ll have to find a plum one. Or not. It’s not like they’ve never lied to me.

  Arielle catches up and she smiles, but that gives me little security. “So you’ve decided to go after all.”

  I see Beth and Anthony heading away from the art building together. They avoid looking over, but it’s hard to ignore the cheer squad. They bounce around and act goofy to get attention from the hot players. But Anthony and Beth walk to the deck without glancing back.

  “Yeah, I’m going,” I reply.

  “Who with?” Arielle’s voice is like a blast of cold air. Her eyes are even colder as she dares me to say Lucas.

  “I don’t know,” I reply. “Jacob asked me, so I might go with him.”

  Lexi squawks and she yanks my arm hard enough to hurt. I pull out of her grip, and her claws leave crescent marks on my skin. But Arielle is radiant like she’s won a sparkly prize.

  “Jacob asked you?” Lexi is scowling as if she wants to bury me under the school.

  I glance at Arielle. “I guess he was off-limits too?”

  “Why did he ask you?” demands Lexi. “He hates you.”

  “I tutor him and now he’s passing calculus.”

  “So it’s a pity date,” she clarifies.

  My hands go to my hips. “He doesn’t look like he needs pity. I can date a captain, and why not?” Lexi gives me stink-eye, and I toss it back. She wants to go shopping again.

  Arielle grabs my arm and loops her arm around mine. She’s practically skipping as we head into North Hall toward the gymnasium on the lower level.

  “I’m so glad you’re going, Natalie,” Arielle practically sings. “We’re going to have so much fun at homecoming.”

  ***

  Once I’m in, I’m in. At the jocks’ table during lunch, Jacob is on my left, while Lucas sits on my right. Troy sits one table over with the coven. Lexi is still upset over Jacob, but it makes sense. They were all perfectly paired until I threw off the equilibrium.

  During lunch, they tickle me until I agree to go to the dance with them both. It’s a weird arrangement but I agree. I soon find out that Troy is taking the three girls. And I find out that a lot of kids are going in groups.

  I call them assholes as I wipe my eyes. I don’t mind them seeing me cry from laughter.

  I’m caref
ul not to look at Beth or Anthony. It isn’t hard because they get up and leave with their food.

  I don’t make the mistake of shopping with Lexi again. Instead, I do the unthinkable and go with Mrs. Merrett of all people. I want a second pair of eyes, and Mrs. Merrett has surprisingly hip taste. Instead of dressing me like I’m applying to a convent, she picks out a sapphire-blue dress that hugs my body nicely.

  “You’re still thin, darling.” She pats her full hips wistfully. “You should enjoy it while you can.”

  The dress has a scooped neckline so I treat myself to a chain for the cool moonstone pedant Jacob gave me. We also find a pair of sapphire heels to match the dress. I insist that Mrs. Merrett pick something too, and we treat ourselves to a fancy bottle of perfume each. I miss shopping with my mom though we hadn’t done clothes shopping in years. I feel a sort of calmness with Mrs. Merrett that I haven’t felt in months.

  Only when I close the door to my bedroom do I realize that the feeling is trust, and for the first time, my gut isn’t desperately trying to alert me to trouble.

  CHAPTER 23

  Instead of the gym, the homecoming dance is held at a local boathouse restaurant that also hosts weddings and other lifetime events. My old high school held homecomings in the gym, and by ten, it would spill out onto the parking lot. That’s not acceptable for these rich kids, and I have to remind myself that I’m now one of them.

  The inside of the boathouse by the lake is decorated in silver sparkles and red balloons. The place is posh, with a wall of windows that look out on the lake and a cozy fireplace by the bar. Heads turn and people gawk as I enter with both Lucas and Jacob on my arms. I lift my chin so high that my nose could touch the ceiling.

  Lucas picks up a place card. “We’re at table one.”

  “Of course we are.” I smile at his raised eyebrow. “Why should it be any different than school?”

  He laughs then picks up my place card and Jacob’s. The cards are in alphabetical order, and I scan them for Beth and Anthony’s names, but their cards aren’t on the table. Beth hasn’t spoken to me since our phone conversation. She gives me cold looks as I pass her in the hall while the kids who used to torment me now say hello. It’s weird how things turned out, but I’d talk to her. Despite what happened, I miss my friends.

  “Still dazzled by the richness.” Jacob tugs my arm and I wake up. “You look miles away.” He chuckles. “We need to take you out more.”

  “You should,” I smile, and his eyes sweep the length of me.

  “Come on, little dancer,” Lucas tugs my other arm. “Let’s hold court.”

  In the main dining room, the waitstaff is moving the chairs around at the first table while Cora watches with her hands on her hips. Of course, I’m slowly displacing her, and Cora isn’t having it. She insisted that we all sit together. Ms. Schneider is chaperoning and her swift look in my direction with a twisted lip startles me. Even the admins think I’m inserting myself where I don’t belong. My stomach sinks and tightens into a hard knot but when Cora sees me, she smiles, like I’m an honored guest.

  “So stupid,” she waves her hand dismissively at the staff. “They only seat six to a table, but I’m not sitting alone. Why shouldn’t I sit with my best friends?”

  My stunned look is my answer. I’m a best friend now? I thought I was just tolerated. A chill shoots up my spine and my hair rises on the back of my neck as I see Troy’s place card on the table. I’ll have to sit with Troy. No matter what happens, if I want to be included, I’ll have to deal with Troy being around me.

  Cora presses her cheek to mine. “You look so cute in that dress. Just like a princess.”

  “Thanks.” I have to force a laugh and when I do it sounds like I’m choking. The knot in my gut shifts.

  “Look, you two can do this girl stuff later,” Jacob scowls.

  “What does that mean?” Cora pouts.

  “When you disappear into the bathroom like you got issues or something.”

  “You are so rude.” She pokes his chest with her finger, but he smiles. I’ve never seen Jacob joke around with Cora. Briefly, I wonder if she’s the girl he slept with.

  The DJ is setting up, but music is playing over the speakers. Troy is on the floor dancing with Arielle. Of course, she looks amazing in a short white dress decorated in silver beads. I’m not jealous, but when you don’t like someone who’s made your life a living hell, you sort of hope they get their karma while you’re there to watch.

  Arielle spots me and she makes a show with Troy. Thankfully, she doesn’t twerk but she spins around and lets him move his hips against her bottom. It’s trashy, but when you’re that good-looking and rich, it looks good. Soon, they’re joined on the dance floor by Lexi and Cora. Troy has a harem of three as they bump and grind against each other to the music. I wonder which one of their drinks Troy would try and slip a roofie into. Or does he only roofie people like me?

  Lucas ignores the show and pulls my chair out for me. Jacob pushes my chair in. Smiling, I have my own harem of two.

  “You look cute,” smiles Arielle, returning to the table. If we didn’t hate each other, I’d think she was being sincere.

  I smile. “Thanks, so do you.”

  Slowly, I notice that Lexi is wearing red, and Cora is wearing a red floral dress with a gray background. Carefully, I look around and everyone is dressed in the school colors. I’m the only one not dressed in the school colors.

  “Always a rebel,” coos Lexi. “Natalie, whatever will we do with you?”

  “You should have come shopping with us.” Cora sits down next to Troy, who’s ignoring the conversation. “But that color suits you.”

  The waitstaff starts to serve, and I try to keep up with the conversation but these kids aren’t talking about the stuff I talk about with my friends. Troy and Lucas are discussing overseas investments, while Lexi talks about her mother’s acquisition of a foreign fashion label. They’re not excluding me on purpose either. This is what they talk about away from school.

  I shift in my seat nervously, and my foot accidentally knocks into Jacob’s. He gives me a sharp look, then his eyes soften. I’m shocked by his impulsive reaction and wait for him to start up. I’ve made a big mistake.

  “Sorry,” he smiles. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. Let’s go dance.”

  The DJ is working. Jacob looks at Lucas, but Lucas waves his hand and Jacob alone leads me out onto the dance floor. I marvel at their maturity, but plenty of kids have opted to go in groups. This isn’t like prom.

  On the dance floor, I start to have a good time dancing with Jacob. He’s too big to be a graceful dancer, but he doesn’t care. He just moves his feet to the beat. He swings his arms as the music rises, and accidentally smacks a girl in the side of her head. He apologizes with a smile, and blushing, she nods her head. He grabs her hand and we dance as a trio. I’m laughing so hard that I don’t notice Lucas when he steps on the floor.

  Lucas is by our side. “You two are having too much fun. May I?”

  “No, go ahead.” Jacob rakes a hand through his hair. He continues to dance with the girl and she tries to show him a few moves.

  Lucas could teach a class on dancing. His moves are so smooth that he could get away with murder. Jacob pulls me in, and swaying our hips, we keep time with the music. I feel wonderful. I don’t care that I’m not in the school colors or that I don’t know how to trade a stock. Laughing, we dance super corny until the song ends.

  “Are you having fun?” asks Lucas.

  I nod my head. Lucas moves his hips in time to the beat. Soon, I’m standing on his side as he spins on his heel and poses like the king of the dance floor. I should’ve guessed that the captain of the ice hockey team would be graceful.

  A group circles around him. Lucas smiles at me then spins me into him. It’s time for me to put my dance lessons to use. I strike a pose as he dips me backward. The beat bounces and he grabs my hand, spinning me into his arms, and then we swing low into a dip. When I
lift my leg, he grabs my thigh, and we strike a pose. My exposed leg slips through the slit and I’m pressed against his hip.

  After a beat, Lucas lets me go, and I match him move for move while the spectators clap to the beat. The song’s about to end and he grabs my hand, spins me under his raised arm, and I end up in another low dip as the song stops. We get a round of applause and hoots as everyone dances back on to the floor.

  “That was sexy,” Jacob smiles. “I could use a drink after that.”

  “You just watched,” I tease.