by Mina Thorne
Chase had dirty blond hair with green eyes and thick, bulging forearms that seemed almost dangerous if he did punch Barrett for me. He could do some serious damage.
Rome had his country boy good looks but in this setting he came off as more easy and all American with his blond hair and blue eyes. He was too laid back to be a scrapper, but even he would probably give Barrett a run for the money if they fought.
Whitt was the natural leader of the group. His brown hair still shone with golden highlights and his warm, rich brown eyes left me absolutely defenseless in his sight. He could unsettle me with a wink and a crooked grin, leaving me breathless and wanting more.
Hell, all of them left me wanting more and I didn't know how it had happened in such a short time.
They followed me into the school and I ignored the looks from my classmates as we passed by.
I was feeling pretty bad ass with the three hottest guys in school trailing behind me, each vying for my attention like I was the only girl around.
I finally felt like I was getting what I deserved.
Chapter 13
The last couple days of the school week went well enough. Barrett drove me on Thursday without any problem.
Without anything to say either.
I couldn't help but despise him for what he'd done to me and his continued poor treatment of me. He was so cold to me all day and that afternoon on the ride home that I was pretty much done with him by that night at dinner.
I went down to the dining room and waited until we were served. Elaine tried to talk with me a little, snippets here and there about her amazing new shopping finds.
"You should really join me this weekend, I could help you emphasize your...generous curves," she said to me, raking her eyes up and down. "And I could get you a bra to make your breasts perkier, you do look like you need some help.“
I was wearing Whitt's hoodie and a pair of Lululemon yoga pants. I actually used mine for yoga, I'd just been doing it in my room before dinner.
"Oh thank you, maybe," I replied.
"You still manage to make everything you wear look so...risqué," she added. "I don't know how, but you could make a nun's habit look slutty."
I rolled my eyes in frustration and looked to Barrett for back up but he was on his phone yet again. He was ignoring me, as usual.
The moment the last kitchen staff member added the final addition to my dinner plate, I stood up and pushed my chair back.
Barrett's head whipped up and his eyes widened when he looked at me.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
I found it interesting that he was fine ignoring me as long as I behaved like a meek little mouse. The moment I stood up for myself, literally and figuratively, he seemed agitated by it.
"I'm eating in my room," I said and picked up my plate.
"You can't. You must have dinner with us," Elaine gasped. "It's our tradition."
"Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people," I glowered at her, remembering something my mom used to tell me. "I might just have dinner brought up from now on. I know when I'm not welcome."
"Stephanie!" Elaine called out as I strode from the room. "Get back here."
"Let her go," I heard Barrett growl. "Let her fucking go."
I smiled and headed upstairs, thrilled to have won a small victory at least.
Later after I was finished, I picked up my dishes and snuck them downstairs when the house was quiet.
I felt guilty forcing the staff to clean up after me because of my little tantrum so I even stood in the dimly lit prep kitchen and did my own washing up.
It felt good, the moment I plunged my hands into the warm, soapy water it felt like home.
Not home here, in my father's oversized mansion where I had all the space I could want with no place where I felt safe.
I meant home as in my mom and Reg's place. The house that had been the source of so much embarassment at one time. The life I'd tried to hide from the kids at school, I'd been so ashamed of my parents and my situation with so little money.
And now I was among kids at school who would scoff at the money my old classmates had. And I could walk in there with my father's money backing me, become queen bee of my old high school and rule the roost.
And yet I just wanted what I'd once had. I wanted to live a simple life with mom and Reg, to be poor and work hard at school and maybe get a scholarship to a good college.
Tears began to stream down my face as I finished up the dishes. I hated crying, but I couldn't help it. I missed mom so much just then even though I'd talked to her just an hour before.
It wasn't the same though. I missed hearing the sound of the TV from the living room and the thrill of sneaking past them to go out with Maddy.
I drained the sink, dried my hands and snuck back upstairs, tears still leaking down my face.
I got to the top of my stairs, put my head down and hurried to my room before anybody saw me crying like a kid during their first week at summer camp.
I was almost at my door when a hand snaked from the darkness and grabbed my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. I let out a yelp of surprise and looked up.
Barrett had me in his grip, his face unreadable in the shadows.
"What are you doing, Steph?" he asked, his voice low and demanding.
"I had dishes to clean,” I sniffled.
"The staff would have washed them for you. You just need to call them up you know."
"I know. But I don't mind cleaning up after myself."
"Are you okay?"
Fresh tears slid down my cheeks, hot and uncontrollable. "I will be."
"Are you crying?" he asked and his grip on my wrist loosened. "Are you upset?"
"A little," I said and pulled free from him. "I just need to be alone tonight."
"No," he said and lifted his hand to brush the tears off my cheek with the back of his fingers. "You shouldn't be alone when you're hurting like this."
We looked at each other in the darkness and he dropped his hand. He leaned towards me and my pulse raced through my body with impossible speed. My heart was pounding and my throat felt dry while my lips felt bruised and hot as they parted slightly.
"Barrett," I exhaled, unsure of what I meant with that single word, but it contained desire and the ache of my earlier longing for something safe in this gigantic mansion.
He moved towards me, his eyes locked on mine and our breathing seeming to be in sync as his lips finally crushed against mine. He kissed me at last.
My breath escaped my lungs and I felt light headed, as if I was going to faint in his arms.
He steadied me though, he put his arm around my waist and pulled me against him.
His other hand slid under my thick mane of hair cascading down my back and rested on my neck, a familiarity that felt intimate and possessive. It was so dizzying as if my head was going to spin right off my shoulders, I was so overwhelmed by his touch.
He growled, a low sound in the back of his throat that rumbled in his chest and I thought I was going to die from the sensations that were circling through my body.
His tongue slipped inside my mouth, touching mine and sending electric jolts of shock and pleasure along my nerve endings until my mind felt like it was on fire. Burning from the forbidden desire igniting there.
All at once he stopped, broke away from me and made an anguished noise as he looked down at me.
"Fuck, Steph...we can't do this. I can't do this," he said.
"Why not?"
"It's just...."
"We're not related, we both know that. Our parents might be married but that means nothing to us."
His handsome features were twisted with stress, his lips curled with emotion.
He pulled his hands off me and I immediately felt cold. The loss of his touch felt bigger than it should be.
Everything felt worse to me when my emotions were heightened to the point of razor sharp sensitivity.
"It's not that. I know you're n
ot my sister. This just would never work. I—"
He abruptly left my side, striding down the hallway to his room on the other side of the family wing, leaving me alone again in the dark.
And fresh tears began to well up as confusion gripped me, meshing with my anger until I stomped back to my room, alone.
I slammed the door and fell back against it, holding my palms flat on the smooth, wooden surface to calm my breathing.
My eyes narrowed in the light of a single bedside lamp and I decided that was it. I was no longer going to suffer the whims of men, especially Barrett.
And as I angrily wiped the last of my tears off my cheeks, I vowed to never cry again.
Nobody was worth this.
Nobody deserved this much attention in my head.
I was going to take charge of my own destiny.
I would be the one in control.
And when I walked to the bed, slipped under my covers, and closed my eyes...I almost believed it.
If only my lips didn't still burn with the fire of desire from where Barrett had kissed me.
Chapter 14
I got up early the next morning. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon and the birds were just beginning their morning songs to greet the day.
I got into my uniform, packed my backpack and slipped downstairs to snatch a few pieces of toast before school.
I was up so early the kitchen staff were still preparing our morning indulgent breakfast spread and were surprised by my sudden appearance.
I procured my food, the head chef slipped me a freshly baked croissant so flaky it was like eating air whipped butter, and I headed outside.
I stretched, put on my backpack, and began the slow jog to school.
I missed running. I hadn't done any since being out here, and hanging out with Maddy over the summer meant that I'd let it slip to the wayside anyways.
I'd chosen partying and laying on the beach over running and studying.
Not anymore.
I was partway to school when my phone began to blow up. I couldn't run and read, so I stopped at the side of the road and went through them.
They were all from Barrett.
"Where are you? I'm leaving."
"Where the fuck are you?"
"Is this about last night?"
"Steph, grow up. I'm not waiting."
"Whatever, get your own ride."
"Don't do this. We need to talk."
As I was reading them, I heard the beep of a car horn and Barrett's little black Audi R8 pulled over to the curb near me.
The passenger window slid down and he yelled, "Get in."
"I'm running today."
"Don't do this," he said, his face twisted again with emotion. "We need to talk about last night."
"What about it? I was stupid, you were stupid, end of story."
Just to prove a point I shoved my phone back in the pocket of my backpack, slipped it on my back and began to slowly run again.
Barrett drove alongside me, not saying anything but watching me while I proved my point. I wasn't going to get into his car, even if my life depended on it.
"Come on, Steph. Don't be a stubborn ass about this. You're going to hurt yourself trying to prove a point," he called out, his voice was tight with frustration.
I glanced his way and somehow his attractiveness had gone up a few notches. How was that even possible? When I was mad I ended up looking like an angry hulk. When Barrett was angry, he looked fierce and intense.
The way he might look in the heat of passion.
A snake of desire slithered down my spine and waves of lust radiated from my flesh, leaving me breathless and blushing red hot.
"You look like you're pushing yourself too hard. Get in the car!"
If only he knew why I was looking overheated, he might have a reason to get out of the car and chase me himself.
If he was interested, that was.
And I wasn't sure he was that interested in me. He was so aloof and hostile even after kissing me last night.
And why had he pulled away so fast like that? Like I disgusted him?
The more I thought about it, the more humiliated I felt.
And the more humiliated I felt, the angrier I got.
And the angrier I got, the faster I ran.
Until Barrett had to go even faster to keep up with me.
I finally heard him exclaim, "Fuck," and he closed the window before he drove off towards the school.
I smiled at my small victory. He had been irritated enough to show his hand and that amused me.
Even if it left me hollow.
At lunch I was startled when Becca and a few of her friends made a beeline for my table and surrounded me. They all started talking at once, laughing and chatting about things I knew nothing about and trying to include me in the conversation as if I should know what it was about.
"I can't believe Mason is having that incredible party tomorrow night," Becca said with a wide smile. "Do you think you're going?"
"I haven't been invited."
"You have to go, it's going to be lit!"
Becca's best friend, Sienna, almost startled me with her insistence. I was immediately suspicious of why they were being so nice to me considering they'd barely acknowledged me my entire first week at Westview Academy.
I'd gotten the feeling that they preferred to snicker about me behind their hands, their heads together in their little clots of gossiping mean girls. That was fine by me though, I didn't need friends at Westview. I was done with trying so hard, now that I had apparently everything, I realized how much I'd had back home.
And that's what I wanted again, the feeling of being around people who had known you your entire lives. The friends I'd been with through good times and bad, who had known me even when Mom was single and struggling to keep food on our table.
They'd known me then and had accepted me. Brie and Maddy had always been in my corner.
I didn't know why I'd turned my nose down at it so much and so often. I wished I'd given them more thought and appreciated them while they were in my life.
"It sounds fun, but I haven't been invited. I'm not just going to show up at somebody's place when I don't know them," I replied.
Becca stood up and waved her hand at somebody across the cafeteria. I looked behind me and saw Whitt with Rome and Chase sitting a couple tables over, watching us closely. But Becca wasn't gesturing to them, she was looking beyond.
I saw who she was waving to, a tall, broad shouldered guy with dark hair and a killer smile.
Was there a single ugly boy at Westview Academy? If there was, I hadn't seen him yet.
"Mason, come here, darling!" she yelled at him.
He nodded and came sauntering through the crowded cafeteria, his eyes on Becca the entire time.
He wasn't wearing a football jacket, but he had that easy confidence guys on the team all seemed to have.
"Yo, what's up?" he asked when he reached the table.
Becca sat down, pointed at me and said, "This is Steph. She's new and she wants to come to your party."
"Is that so?" he asked and looked down at me. "Why should I let you come?"
"I don't want to come," I replied and his eyes narrowed with irritation. I stammered and added, "I mean I just heard about it. Becca and the girls said I should go because it's going to be pretty epic."
Mason's face split into an easy grin and he said, "Yeah, it will be. You can come, but bring booze. That's your entry fee because I don't know you."
"What kind?" I asked.
"Whatever you want, doesn't matter to me. As long as it gets bitches drunk, I'm good," he said. He put his hand on Becca's shoulder and bent to whisper something to her. She giggled and squirmed in her seat, he ran his finger along her neck and she visibly shivered. There was a connection between the two of them, it was obvious.
He stood up straight, nodded at me and walked away.
I was about to ask Becca if he was her boyfriend
, but Barrett showed up and I got my answer.
He slid into the seat next to her, looked at me and kissed Becca.
I hadn't ever seen him kiss her like that before, in fact I hadn't ever seen him kiss her at all.
It bothered me, I can't lie. I really bothered me because he seemed to keep one eye on me to gauge my reaction to it as he stuck his tongue down her throat.
She ate up the attention, she really seemed to thrive from the way he touched her, kissed her, all the while he was looking at me.
When he pulled away, his gaze was deliberate and cocky as he smirked at me.
"You got an invite to Mason's?" he asked as if in disbelief.
"Sure did," I replied with a faux brightness to my voice that gave it more of an edge than I'd intended.
"Good, I'll give you a ride," he said.
"I thought you were picking me up." Becca clung to his arm and purred at him.
"Steph doesn't have a car, she needs me to drive her."
"Can't you just get one of the staff to take her over? I was hoping we could pre-drink at my place." Becca ran her finger along Barrett's arm and let her voice drop to a sultry whisper. "I'll make it worth your while."
Barrett still seemed distracted and antsy. He wasn't looking at her directly and he was tapping his fingers on the table surface.
"I will see you at the party. You can catch a ride with Sienna or Sarah or one of the other cheerleaders."
"I'll be fine, I can get my own ride," I said, hanging him out to dry. He glared at me and I smiled at him.
"I'll take her," Whitt said from behind me. "I have to swing out by your place anyways. How about nine?"
I nodded in agreement.
"Good, it's settled then. You deal with your girlfriend before she blows a gasket and I'll deal with your sister."
Whitt's smirk rivalled Barrett's and I suppressed a laugh at the turn of events.
It seemed like I was getting under Barrett's skin more than he was under mine.
And I got to spend time with his smoking hot friend in the process.
Chapter 15
Things were...well, weird with Barrett after school. He acted like he hadn't kissed me or stuck his tongue down Becca's throat. He acted like he barely knew me and it really bothered me.