by Anna B. Doe
“Is it a fraternity or something?” I’m not even sure why I’m insisting so much. She’s given me so many vague answers you’d think I’d get used to it by now, but something about this whole situation keeps nagging at me.
“Or something. BWU isn’t really into the fraternity sort of thing.” Now that she mentioned it, I realize I haven’t seen any mentions of it when I gave the school a look online before applying. I didn’t care one way or the other if there were traditional college stuff when I was coming here. The only thing that mattered is keeping my parents’ legacy alive. “But this is a common area for students living off-campus.”
We pass a group of guys leaning against the wall. They take us in as we walk inside, whistles and catcalls spreading through the night. I can see their appreciative glances thrown at Chloe and Yasmin. Before they can come to me, I lower my gaze, hair falling in my eyes.
“How about I get us some drinks?”
Not waiting for their answer, I slip through the people, going in what I hope is the general direction of the kitchen.
The house is actually really nice. Whoever owns it probably has to have some serious money. I’ve heard some of the horror stories about people renting off-campus and I actually preferred the idea of a dorm. At least with that, I know what I’m getting. Although, being able to have my own room would have been much better. I most definitely wouldn’t have found myself in this situation.
The kitchen isn’t as packed as the rest of the house. I’m not sure who organized this party but he or she must be quite popular.
I stroll around for a bit, looking for something other than warm beer when I hear an unfamiliar voice. It takes me a moment to realize he’s talking to me. I stop and turn around to give him my attention while at the same time looking around to make sure I’m not imagining it.
“Are you talking to me?” I point my finger at my chest. Seriously, can I be any lamer?
“Yup.” He grins, a set of pearly white teeth flashing at me and I can’t not notice how cute he looks when he smiles, a dimple popping in his right cheek. Seriously, what’s with all the good-looking guys here? “Looking for something in particular?”
My cheeks heat at being caught snooping around, but then I remind myself this is a party and I’m just getting something to drink.
“Anything that’s not beer will do.” I shrug. Might as well ask somebody who knows where to look.
His grin widens, green eyes that are a complete contrast with his dark skin shining brightly with mischief. “You might be in luck. Gimme a second, I’ll go and grab the good stuff.”
“Sounds good to me. I’m sure the girls will appreciate it.”
“I’ll be back in a second.”
I watch him walk away through the crowd, his tall frame towering over most of the people. Some people stop him on his way, he greets them, exchanging some of those bro handshakes with the guys, but doesn’t stop to chat.
I’m not sure how long I’m standing there, staring after him, when a hushed growl makes the hair at my nape rise.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing in my house?”
I don’t even have to turn around to know who is standing behind me. I already know.
At this point, I’m not even surprised.
I don’t want to turn around to face him since I already know what’s waiting for me once I do, but he doesn’t leave me much of a choice.
His fingers dig into my skin, pulling me around to face him.
“Your house?” I should have seen this one coming, with Chloe avoiding answering my questions earlier and all.
“Yes,” he grits, clearly pissed off. “My house.”
Dammit, Chloe! I knew this was a bad idea.
“Well…” I say, licking my lips to gain a little bit of time. Hayden looks at me expectantly. “That sucks.”
He blinks. Once. Twice. Then he explodes. “What?!”
He’s so loud that people start turning around, their curious glances settling on us. Great, just what I needed. More attention.
Pulling my arm out of his grasp, I cross them over my chest as I glare at him. “It’s not like it was my idea!”
Which is true, not that Hayden seems to care one bit.
“You keep saying that, yet you somehow always end up in my way.”
“Well.” He isn’t the only one who can get pissed. Jackass. “I’m so sorry that my being here is such an inconvenience for you Mr. Popular.” I disentangle my hands, letting them fall down by my side with a loud smack. “What should I do? Should I move away? Or maybe if I just stop breathing, it’ll be good enough for you?”
He takes a step closer, his tall frame looming over me. I can smell a whiff of his cologne, soap, and something that’s plain Hayden. The scent reminds me of sunshine and grass. Fresh and masculine, just like the guy himself. Standing so close to me, it’s intoxicating, overflowing all of my senses and making my head spin.
“You could start by getting out of my way.” His soft growl snaps me out of it, reminding me of why he’s pissing me off.
My lips press in a tight line. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe you’re the one who’s in my way, Hades?”
I stab my finger in his chest, trying to shove him away, but he doesn’t move an inch. His hand wraps around mine, holding me still. A zap of electricity runs underneath my skin at his touch, making me shiver.
Hayden moves in closer, if that’s even possible, his body’s heat is radiating off of him in waves and slamming into me. Gulping down, I swallow my nerves and lift my chin to face him. I was never one to back down and I’m not going to start with Hayden Watson.
“Don’t test me, Callie,” he murmurs. If there wasn’t an edge to his voice, he would sound almost tender.
“Or what?” I whisper back. “What are you going to do, Hades?”
The nickname might be said in the sweetest of whispers, but it’s an insult and he knows it. We both do. Hayden was the boy I knew back in my past when everything was easy, although I didn’t realize it, and I sure as hell didn’t know how to appreciate it. Hades, on the other hand, is the person he became since leaving. Popular guy who is loved and adored by the masses because of his immense talent on the football field. He doesn’t have anything to do with the sweet boy I once knew.
I can see his jaw tense every time I call him by that name. The name that matches the player he’s become since the last time I saw him.
“You don’t want to know.”
“You think you can scare me with your empty threats?” I chuckle softly, but there is no humor in the sound. “You can be pissed all you want. I already said I’m sorry, and I won’t repeat it again. And I sure as hell won’t let you bully me into leaving school. I came here to stay, so you better learn how to deal with it.”
With his free hand, he reaches for my face, but I jerk my head back. Just enough so it’s out of his reach.
“The kitty has claws.” Something shines in his eyes. Admiration, maybe? I’m not sure, and I don’t have it in me to care.
“And she isn’t afraid to use them, so I would suggest you stay away from me.”
By the time the words leave my mouth, I’m panting. Hard. My heart is pounding in my chest and I can only hope he doesn’t see the pulse fluttering in the base of my neck.
For a moment we just stare at each other, neither of us wanting to be the first to look away. In the end we don’t have to, because the guy from earlier returns, stopping whatever the hell just happened.
“Hey, this is the only… Hades?” He suddenly stops, those piercing light eyes looking between the two of us before finally settling on Hayden. “What’s going on?”
Of course.
“I think that’s my cue to go.”
That gets his attention. “What? Why?”
I give a quick glance at Hayden, before turning my back to the nice guy. Such a shame he’s friends with this douche.
“Maybe you should ask your friend.” My hand lands on his,
giving it a soft squeeze. “It was nice meeting you.”
Then, without looking back, I walk away.
Chapter Thirteen
HAYDEN
“Well, I’ll be damned. Callie, as in that Callie?” Zane asks for the tenth time.
Today after I finally gave up on trying to sleep and decided to do something useful instead of lying in my bed turning and overthinking everything, I found him waiting for me. If it were up to Zane, we would have talked about it yesterday as soon as Callie stormed out, but I didn’t have it in me to explain to my best friend what had just happened.
Instead, I stopped him as soon as he opened his mouth and left in the opposite direction of the one she took. Although, with our luck, I wouldn’t have been surprised if we ended up stumbling upon each other. Again.
“Is there any other Callie you know?” I grunt, pushing the weight up in the air.
Zane’s the only one who knows about my past and that’s because we lived together all through senior year of high school.
When I moved with my grandma shortly after I was kicked out of high school mid-junior year, Zane was a fleeting person around our household. We were both young, stupid, and full of rage toward our parents and life in general, so on those few occasions when we were actually together we were snapping at one another constantly. Then one day, I lost it. We got into a fight, I’m not even sure about what exactly anymore. But the fists and insults were flying, one harder than the other, until we were both bloodied and bruised, barely standing on our feet.
That’s when Grams showed up. Even to this day, I can still remember the words she told us as she took us in from head to toe.
Are you done already? The pie is getting cold. I figured you boys might be hungry after all this exercise. C’mon, what are you staring at? Go wash up and sit at the table.
Most of the people would probably freak the fuck out and throw us both out on our asses, not Grams. She sat us down at the table, giving us each a piece of pie and a slap on our heads and warning that we better get our shit together before she has to do it for us. But that’s Grams for you.
Soon after that, Zane moved in with us. If I thought I had it shitty, I knew nothing. Because at least I have Grams and my uncle. Zane? He has no one.
We didn’t become friends overnight. We were both too stubborn for that, too jaded, but with time we realized we’re more similar than we’re different. Grams’s Lost Boys.
“If you want to be technical about it, it’s you who knows Callie, not me.”
“I don’t know her,” I grit, my arms trembling as I do one final push. “Never did.”
That was the problem. I liked the person I thought she was, only the real Callie wasn’t even close to that person.
His black hair hovers over me, hands ready if I lose my grip. “Whatever you say, dude.”
“What does that even mean?” Refusing to look at him, I put the bar back in the rack, exhaling loudly once the weight was out of my hands. My body falling back against the bench beneath me. Sweat is dripping down my face at this point, and I haven’t gone through half my session yet.
“She’s here.”
“So what?” I force myself to get into a sitting position. Taking the towel I just dumped on the floor when we came, I wipe my face.
“Is she here like permanently?”
Callie’s words from last night come back in a flash.
I’m here to stay.
I shrug. “I guess so. What’s that have to do with anything? I don’t want to see her in a photo if I can help it. I have shit to worry about. Like winning the championship and getting through college. I don’t have time to rehash the past with the damaged princess.”
Walking to the mats across the room, I take two forty-pound dumbbells in my hands and start doing lunges.
“Yeah right…” He lingers back, rubbing his chin and looking at my reflection in the mirror. “That’s why you cornered her in your own house as soon as I was out of earshot?”
“I wanted her gone!” I protest. I want to say more, but he quirks his brows at me giving me a knowing look, so I press my lips in a tight line, shutting the fuck up.
“And when you were oh-so-successful in your intention instead of cracking the music and partying it up with some of the ladies that were just waiting for your attention, you did what?” The asshole taps his chin a few times for good measure. “Oh, yeah, you ran away!”
“She pissed me off.”
Zane shakes his head, taking his own set of dumbbells. “You’re full of bullshit, man.”
“Whatever. Think what you want. The only thing I want is Callie Stewart out of my life.”
“I get it,” he grunts as he starts doing squats next to me. “I remember how angry you were when you moved here. What she did was fucked up.”
“She apologized.” I laugh humorlessly. “Like one ‘I’m sorry’ changes shit.”
“Fuck that. Fuck her. I just hate seeing her mess with your head. You don’t need that shit in your life.”
“She’s not messing with my head,” I grit through clenched teeth, getting to a standing position and shaking my legs a bit before I start another round.
Zane can see that I’m about to lose it, because he shrugs, dropping the subject. “If you say so.”
Chapter Fourteen
CALLIE
BEFORE
Callie 16, Hayden 17
“He’s staring at you,” Jo-Anne says, her eyes darting over my shoulder.
“Again,” Cindy agrees, closing her locker. “It’s creepy. I think we should report him. This has to be inappropriate.”
I roll my eyes at the two of them. Jo-Anne and Cindy might be my best friends but sometimes they get on my nerves. “Are you done gawking at him? You’re both so obvious!”
“Do you like his attention?” Cindy looks at me suspiciously, blonde brows raised so high they practically touch her forehead.
“Of course not!” I scoff. And it’s true. I get more than my fair share of attention, but the only one who interests me is Ben. He’s a junior, insanely hot, and the football quarterback. Girls want him, guys want to be him, and he’s all mine. “But you never know when you might need a guy like him.”
“A geek with two left feet?”
“Don’t forget about the hole in his hands!” Jo-Anne adds, shaking her head. “What was the coach thinking? Letting him be on the football team?”
I want to laugh, they always talk like they’re experts on the subject when in reality they know even less than me. And I know little to begin with. We’re not a part of the cheer team because of our knowledge of football. We’re in it because we’re young, pretty, and good at dancing. Being a cheerleader comes with a certain status and perks. Both of which all of us would kill for.
Me included.
“No idea.” I shrug. “I’ve gotta run! I have calculus and Mr. Davies will be pissed if I’m late.”
We say our goodbyes, each of us going in our own direction. I hurry as I walk down the school corridors. Mr. Davies was giving me an especially hard time. For some reason the old dude doesn’t like me one bit, and I know if I don’t get a better grade on the next exam, I’m doomed. I could lose my spot on the squad, jeopardize my relationship with Ben, and, the worst part, my parents will be disappointed in me. Which means no dance.
Just thinking about it all makes me feel nauseous.
Sliding into my seat as the first bell rings, I sigh in relief. More students are rolling in, and just when I lift my gaze, I’m met with Hayden Watson’s green eyes. And they’re not some pale, washed out green. No, the guy has the most intense, jade irises I’ve ever seen in my life. And if he comes close enough, you can even see sparkles of gold surrounding his pupils.
He looks away instantly, cheeks growing pink in what I assume is embarrassment for being caught. He scans the space, looking for an empty seat. There isn’t one except for the one right next to me.
Huh, look at that. This is easier than I thought.
Opening my notebook, I bow my head and doodle around. I don’t want to be caught staring when he eventually realizes where he’s going to have to sit.
“Take a seat everybody,” Mr. Davies says, entering the room just as the final bell buzzes.
A shadow falls over me. Bingo. My lips start to tip up, but I pull it between my teeth, stopping myself.
“I-Is this seat open?” His voice is husky and nervous.
Schooling my features, I slowly lift my eyes to his face, blinking softly a few times. “Sure.”
He pulls out his chair and it scrapes against the floor, making heads turn. This time his cheeks grow beet red as he falls down into his chair quickly, his head hanging low.
From the corner of my eyes, I can see his lips move, but no words come out. He pulls his books out of his backpack. I watch him as he carefully puts them on the desk one by one, making sure no pages are bent.
I should probably be paying attention to the unintelligible scribbles Mr. Davies is already writing across the board, but instead, I keep staring at Hayden.
He’s tall, but skinny. I notice it’s a trait in guys that are my own age. His hair is overgrown, and it curls at the ends. It’s a rich brown color and looks silky and soft.
He must feel my eyes on him because he lifts his gaze. For a moment, we stare at each other. His greens staring into my blues. Not blinking. Not breathing. Then I break the silence. “I’m Callie,” I say since we’ve never been officially introduced.
A heartbeat passes. Then two. I’m afraid he’ll ignore me. Is he that awkward and shy? But finally, he offers, “Hayden.”
“Nice to meet you, Hayden.”
He nods, offering me a tight smile. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
I look at the whiteboard, the equation already taking a better part of the space.
“You any good at this?” I tip my chin toward the board.
He turns his attention to what Mr. Davies is writing, observing it for a moment. “A little.”
“That makes one of us,” I joke, giving him a playful smile.