Maverick must’ve really fucked Jake up because he hasn’t returned any of my phone calls. I guess he doesn’t want anything to do with me now. Getting your ass handed to you in your own house has to be embarrassing. What makes the whole thing that much worse is that the Wildcats and the Jaguars will be playing each other tomorrow. Lucy is on photography duty for the pep rally, homecoming dance, and the first game of the season tomorrow after school. Kate and I will work on the article on Monday and Tuesday, and then I will edit everything. I hate missing tutoring Kayla tonight, but there won’t be enough time for everything.
I have to go home to prepare for the dance tonight. Last week, while I was at the mall in Charleston, I bought a sexy, but classy, dress. There’s a deafening roar in the gym as the students who’re sitting on the bleachers start to stomp when the introductions start. When Maverick is introduced, the students stomp and yell even louder. He really is like a god to these sheep. How can someone so fucked up look so damn good? In another lifetime, maybe we could’ve been together. Victoria and her team of bimbos perform a sexually explicit routine with the boys whistling and howling, getting all the encouragement necessary to see more ass and titties shaking. I’m going to throw up.
I arrive at the homecoming dance in black Versace jeans with a white shirt of the same brand, and black leather Giuseppe Zanottis. Honestly, I don’t care about designer shit, never did. If it looks good, I buy it. It has nothing to do with the label slapped on it. I don’t want to analyze the reason why I felt compelled to dress this way tonight.
When I enter the gym with Nix and Dee, I immediately start scanning the crowd for her. The gym is completely transformed from earlier today. A balloon arch made with the school colors is to the left of the gym, with silhouette cutouts of football players and cheerleaders as the background. Stars, paw prints, and streamers line the walls. At the end of the gym are two thrones for the homecoming king and queen. Round tables with chairs are stationed about the gym to form a circle around the dance floor. To the right is the refreshment table. The school’s mascot is walking around, acting the jester.
I spot her dancing in the middle of the crowded dance floor, without a care in the world—not giving a fuck that half the school hates her because of me. She’s a fucking seductress among peasants. The way she sways her hips, rubbing her hands down her body, is making me lose my damn mind. My heart is beating a mile a minute. She’s wearing another one of her barely-there dresses. This one is a sparkly blue paired with silver glitter high heels. She’s shaking her ass on Jamal. If it was with any other male, I would’ve flipped my shit.
Dee and Nix notice the direction of my look.
“You’re in way over your head,” says Nix.
“Tell me something I don’t already know.”
As I walk over to Cocoa, I hear Dee say. “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil…,” while Nix laughs.
It takes a few seconds for her to notice I’m standing in front of her. When she does, her hips stop moving to the beat of the music to watching me curiously, probably wondering why I can’t leave her the fuck alone.
“Get lost,” I say to Jamal, without taking my eyes off Cocoa.
He immediately leaves, no questions asked, because he knows better.
“What do you want, Maverick?”
You, I want you.
I step into her personal space until my body is flush against hers. She stands her ground, not backing down.
She gasps when I place my hands on her hips, and then slowly move them down, gripping her ass. Cocoa wraps her hands around my neck. The electricity between us is enough to power Las Vegas for centuries to come. My dick is getting hard, pressed against her warm body. By the look in her eyes, I know she feels it. When I place a sensual kiss on Cocoa’s neck, she moans.
The faces around me register shock, but not Victoria; she looks fucking pissed. She storms out of the gym. I lift my head from Cocoa’s neck, so I can look into her eyes. She’s so damn beautiful.
Beauty and the Beast.
“I’m sorry about your mother.”
And just like that, the mood is broken.
I grip her arms with bruising force, causing her to wince.
“Don’t ever say anything about my mother,” I say, pushing her back causing her to stumble.
“I was just saying sorry for what happened, asshole. I know what it’s like to lose a parent. My dad was killed.”
“So, what does that mean? Do you want to start a club called The Kids with Dead Parents?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Cocoa asks in a trembling voice.
“I don’t want, nor need your damn condolences. My mother was a weak bitch who never fought back, and she never protected her only child.”
“Who hurt you?”
“Oh, you want to take on the role of being my psychiatrist now?”
“Fuck you.”
“Oh, you want the dick? All you had to do was ask.” I grab my dick.
I run my fingers through my hair in agitation as she walks away.
Fuck her, fuck everybody.
I spend the rest of the night avoiding Maverick. He’s crying out for help, and it’s obvious that I can’t help him. Of course, he won homecoming king, and Victoria was crowned his queen. My feet are a little sore as I drive home because I spent practically the whole night on the dance floor getting my groove on. No guys would dance with me except for Jamal. Lucy, Kate, and I danced together, too.
I’m the black sheep of this school. Jamal told me that he experienced a few racial slurs here and there, but nowhere near the amount that was hurled at me by Maverick and his crew. Something tells me that there’s a deeper issue going on here. As I park my car, I can’t help but wonder about the enigma that is Maverick.
The Jaguars had their ass handed to them by the Wildcats. I saw Jake at a distance but decided against approaching him. Maverick, Dee, and Nix played flawlessly. Dee plays center and Nix tight end. Watching them on the field is like consuming an aphrodisiac. They may be assholes, but they look good as hell. Maverick scored several touchdowns.
After the game, Lucy asks Maverick to pose for a picture with his father. Maverick refused and kept walking. That was weird. Their interactions with each other seem as cold as Antarctica. Could Maverick’s father be the reason why he’s so fucked up? It’s not my business, so I refuse to go down that route.
After the game, I warn Jake to stay away from Cocoa again. I don’t want him to call, text, email, or be friends with her on social media. I don’t want any form of communication between them. He doesn’t talk back, he’s on my turf now, and he’s far from dumb. The field is not the only place where I can whip his ass, and he knows it.
When I arrive home, John is waiting on my bed for me.
“Get the fuck out of my room, John.”
“Maverick, what did I tell you about our public interactions?” John’s voice is steadily rising. “You refused to take a picture with me, and people noticed. That makes me look bad.”
“I don’t care about your reputation in this town, John. If you don’t get the fuck out, I’ll throw you out.”
“I’m still your father, and I deserve respect!”
“Too bad, because that’s one thing you’ll never get from me.”
“It’s not too late to repair our relationship, Maverick.”
My laugh doesn’t hold any humor. “When I leave here to go to college, you’ll never hear from me again, John. To me, you’re already dead. Don’t make me forcibly remove you.”
John has a stricken look on his face but leaves my room. That face would’ve worked on someone who didn’t know any better, but I know the demon behind the mask. Make no mistake—John is a fucking demon, if not the devil himself. I strip my bed and throw the linen in the trash. I will not sleep on something John had his body on.
When I cover my bed with fresh linen, I lie in the center with Cocoa on my mind, which has been happening every nigh
t since I saw her at that damn restaurant. I wish she had never come here. I grab my phone and open the Facebook app. I type in Cocoa’s name in the search bar. I click on her picture and I’m led to her page. Her Facebook page is public, so I’m able to go through her timeline. She has pictures with mostly the same three people tagged in them—Saint, Micah, and Lolita. She stands closest to this Saint in every picture. Maybe he’s an ex-boyfriend. I feel a surge of jealousy. Cocoa was a cheerleader at her old school. The uniform clings to her curves like a glove. If I don’t back off from whatever this thing is between Cocoa and me, it won’t end well.
It’s Wednesday, and again, Maverick is back to pretending that I don’t exist. This is getting old really quickly. At least the week is going by in a blur. Two more days of this hellhole before the weekend. By the time lunch rolls around, I’ve had it with today.
“Cocoa, I’m experiencing writer’s block. Can you help with an article I’m working on?” asks Kate as she pops a fry in her mouth.
“Absolutely, we can brainstorm together.”
“Thanks, Cocoa.”
Jamal’s phone dings from where it lies on the table. The chatter in the cafeteria suddenly increases.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, looking around.
Jamal picks up his cell phone to check his notification.
“I just received an email from my student account. It must be something big,” says Jamal, clicking on the new email.
I left my cell phone on my bed this morning by mistake.
“What’s the email about?”
“Oh my God,” says Lucy, looking from her cell phone to me.
I snatch Lucy’s cell phone from her hand. It’s a video of me in the locker room, taking a shower after gym class. Someone edited the video to include the sounds of a pig, cow, and monkey. Rebecca did this. The other day I noticed she kept watching me and acting weird. Now I know why, she’d been recording me.
Bitch.
As I scan the cafeteria, students are pointing and laughing at me. I rise from my chair and walk to the table where Rebecca is sitting. I’m a hunter after my prey. She’s sitting with her back to me. I twist my hand in her hair, pulling her backwards. The chair topples over as she hits the floor, screaming. I sit on her chest and begin punching her in the face.
“Somebody get this bitch off me,” Rebecca yells as she attempts to fight me off, but she’s no match for me.
Her arms are flailing wildly, but none of her swings connect with me. Strong hands wrap around my stomach, lifting me from Rebecca. I dig my nails into the forearms around me. Victoria and Lori help Rebecca from the floor. Her face is bruised and red from my hits. Students are crowded around the scene.
Good.
“Calm down,” says Maverick in my ear.
I turn my head to face him.
“You put her up to this, didn’t you? That’s low, even for you.”
“I didn’t.”
“Liar.”
When Maverick puts me on my feet, I look at Rebecca.
“You and your bunch of followers are sick, you’re all sick.”
I leave the cafeteria, students parting like the red sea for my departure. Jamal, Kate, and Lucy are right behind me.
“Did you see those titties?” I hear Ted ask.
“Yeah bro, I have to tap that,” replies Bobby.
“Me first,” adds Bruce, laughing.
There are no words that can describe Cocoa’s naked form. The way the water and suds cascaded down her body had me in a trance. While watching the video, my eyes followed the path of the soap clutched in her hand while it traversed her glowing caramel skin. The sight of that bar of soap gliding across her hairless pussy was captivating. When she turned her body, showcasing her round ass that’s so firm I could bounce a quarter off it, I nearly came in my pants.
“All of you will stay the hell away from her or get buried. Dee and Nix, follow me. I need the both of you to have my back.”
I climb on top of the table with Dee and Nix mimicking my move. I whistle loudly to get the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. After a few seconds, the cafeteria goes silent, and all eyes are on us.
“Victoria, I want you and your bitches to leave Cocoa alone. Don’t talk to her, don’t look at her, don’t even breathe in her direction. Everyone in this cafeteria better delete that email permanently spread the word to all grade levels. Trust me. You don’t want me as an enemy. I promise you, if I hear of any student in this school sharing or even talking about that video, you’ll be eating your food through a straw for the remainder of the school year.”
With that message being delivered, I leave the cafeteria with Dee and Nix flanking me. Now, every student will know that Cocoa has my protection – something I don’t take lightly. I’m pissed that every male in this school has seen Cocoa’s naked body.
A few weeks have passed since the video was sent to the student body in late September. Girls start to look at me like they want to scratch my eyes out, but the boys look at me like they want to get in between my legs. The name-calling and whispers as I walk the hallways has completely stopped, which is strange. Even Queen Bitch and her minions ignore me in P.E. after that day. Now that the soap opera drama is over, I don’t mind P.E. so much. I still receive the occasional dirty look from them, though. I haven’t heard anyone talk about the video, it’s almost like the incident never happened.
It’s now the beginning of the third week in October, and the physics project is due next week. I’m ready for the inevitable confrontation that I’m going to have with Maverick when he arrives to class this morning. I emailed him the notes regarding the project on Saturday. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t respond. Presenting the project will be a part of the final grade, so I need him to bring his A-game. I decided to complete our project on exploring Faraday's and Lenz’s Law.
As usual, Maverick spends the day ignoring me like the rest of the student body, except for Jamal, Kate, and Lucy, of course. I hate that I’m in this class with him, and I wonder what kind of fuckery the universe was up to when it let this happen. I’m apprehensive every morning, not knowing what to expect from this moody boy. I love all my classes, including P.E. since Queen Bitch and her minions ignore me but physics keeps me on edge.
As soon as Maverick walks in the classroom, I straighten my body and ready myself for war. There are fresh bruises on his face. It seems like every other day he has new bruises dotting his face. Some may think it’s from practice or football games, but I know the truth. He’s been fighting at the warehouse a lot lately.
When Maverick takes his seat, I don’t waste any time bringing up my grievances to him.
“Why didn’t you respond to my email on Saturday about the project? You know it’s due on Monday, right?”
He doesn’t respond. He can be one stubborn bastard.
“Maverick, please just read the damn notes. That’s all I’m asking you to do.”
I hate to beg him, but at this point, I have no other choice. Maintaining a high GPA is a must for me.
“Why do you fight?”
That question gets a reaction from him. “I like to hurt people, and if you don’t shut the fuck up, I’ll hurt you, too.”
“Why do you like to hurt people?”
“Because I’m a fucked-up person.”
Maverick accepts who he is. He owns it like a damn shiny badge of honor.
Mr. Barnes walks into the classroom and starts going over today’s lesson, so I lower my voice to avoid drawing attention to us.
“Why are you fucked up, Maverick?”
I know I shouldn’t have asked that question, but curiosity got the best of me. He’s pretty talkative today, so maybe he’ll answer all my questions.
“Don’t try to get inside my mind, mongrel. You won’t like what you find.”
“How bad do you want to hurt me?”
His eyes light up. That’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen him display in a while. “I want to hurt you so bad I jerk
off to the thought of it at night.”
“What do you think about?”
“I think about having you bend over, your pretty bare pussy spread for me while I fuck the shit out of you until you beg me to stop, but of course I won’t. I’d thrust harder, giving your ass punishing slaps that will turn your round cheeks purple and blue.”
I’m horrified and fascinated at the same time. My breathing turns rapid as I clench my thighs together. When he notices my reaction, his jaw clenches; he wasn’t expecting that. He tried to get under my skin, thinking he would scare me by describing his fantasy.
“Maverick and Cocoa, eyes front, please,” says an agitated Mr. Barnes.
I immediately break eye contact with Maverick to look to the front of the classroom. Maverick is slower to follow my lead. I can’t get the image he painted out of my mind. I’m unable to focus for the remainder of the class. My palms are sweaty and the ache in my lower stomach won’t go away. When the bell rings, though I’m in the back of the classroom, I’m out the door first.
Later that day, I spend most of the evening video-chatting with Saint, Lo, and Micah.
“What are you doing for Halloween?” asks Saint.
Every Halloween, we’d paint the town red, staying out all night, party jumping. That won’t be happening this year, and that sucks big time.
“A Halloween-themed carnival will be hosted on school grounds by the senior class, so that’s where I’ll be going,” I tell them.
“With your new hillbilly friends?” asks Lo snidely.
I laugh at her jealousy; she’s very territorial. She was not very receptive to me making new friends.
“When we visit Montgomery, I’m thinking that you and Cocoa’s new female friends should have a mud fight in bikinis. Whoever wins has the title of being Cocoa’s best friend. I’ll even throw in a bonus. The winner can also have sex with me,” says Micah.
Lo makes a face of disgust while Saint and I laugh. Micah will forever be a man-whore, chasing skirts for the rest of his life. He’s an incorrigible flirt.
I LIKE THE WAY YOU HURT: A Dark Interracial High School Bully Romance Page 10