“Remind me why I’m giving you a lift to school again?” I asked while we stopped in front of the building.
“Because you love me,” Nate replied with a cheeky grin and got out of the car.
I followed suit. “Sorry, babe,” I told him as I spotted Emily on the parking lot, “I’m afraid I’m already taken.”
With that, I ditched him and walked towards Emily, who was chatting with some friends next to her car.
“C’mon, honey. She doesn’t have to know!” I heard Nate yelling after me. “We can still do it at my place, yeah? Remember our good times? The night with the whipped cream and the handcuffs? We can do it again…”
I lifted my middle finger without looking back at him, feeling the amused stares of the other students following me as I crossed the parking lot.
“Whipped cream and handcuffs, huh?” Emily asked after kissing me hello and tried to hold back her laughter. She failed. “I didn’t know you were into that.”
“Yeah, me neither,” I said dryly and slung my arm around her shoulder, steering towards the school building.
***
Two hours later, I met Nate after two horrible periods in Math. As always, he was leaning against my locker with a bagel in his hand and a grin on his face.
“We survived the first two periods of this school year!” He cheered as if it was some kind of great accomplishment.
I just sent him a blank stare and opened my locker to get my sports bag. The next two periods were sports class. “Great. Have you also counted how many there are left? I have a feeling that number is a little higher.”
“Why the hell are you always so miserable? You get to spend the entire break with your hilarious and incredibly good-looking best friend. Isn’t that reason enough to be happy?” He dramatically sighed.
I turned around to inform him that: one, I wasn’t miserable. I was just really tired; and two, if there was one hilarious and incredibly good-looking best friend between the two of us, it was me.
However, as I faced the corridor, all I could do was stare—stare at the guy from yesterday, the one I had spilled my coffee over, who was suddenly walking down the corridor with two other guys, his green eyes twinkling with amusement as he laughed about something one of his friends said.
But the thing that hit me the most was that he was wearing my hoodie. He wore it over a white shirt that peeked out of the collar. And damn, did he pull it off.
“Hold up a second,” I mumbled to Nate and quickly went after the guy.
He had stopped at his locker a few feet away from mine, his friends still standing next to him. One of them had pale skin, brown hair, and blue eyes and was apparently the one making the jokes.
Next to him, there was a taller guy with blond hair who wore a leather jacket. He didn’t smile like the others. His lips were merely curved into a slightly condescending smirk. I could tell how cool he was probably feeling, standing there with that smug expression and a jawline that was probably sharp enough to cut through glass.
“Excuse me?” I said when I was close enough and immediately cursed myself for starting the conversation like that.
The guys all seemed like the kind that got into fistfights on the parking lot after school or they spent their weekends getting wasted at house parties. Meanwhile, I sounded like someone who always handed his homework in on time and was interested in knitting.
The guy with my hoodie spun around immediately. “Oh, would you look at that,” he sneered. “If that isn’t the jerk who ruined my shirt.”
His friends immediately fell silent and turned to look at me, one with curious eyes and the other looking only vaguely interested.
“Yep, that’d be me…” I said and chewed on my lip, searching for the right words to say. “Sorry, but could I maybe get my hoodie back? I actually really like it.”
He pretended to consider what I said for a moment before he said, “Sorry, but I think I’ll keep it. I actually really dislike you.”
Behind him, I saw the brown-haired guy snickering. “Hunter, you little bastard.” He grinned and looked at me. “Sorry, bro, but I don’t think you’ll get it back. Hunter here is still pretty pissed about his shirt, and that hoodie actually looks quite comfy, so…”
The guy, Hunter, only crossed his arms before his chest. “Did you want anything else or are we done here?”
I didn’t know what to say and just stared at him, my mouth hanging open. He returned my gaze for a few seconds before he slammed the door of his locker shut and left, his friends following behind.
“What was that about?” Nate asked between two bites of his bagel, coming up behind me. “Since when are you talking to fricking Hunter Adams?”
“Is that his name?” I asked. “How do you know him?”
Nate looked at me as if I was some kind of alien that had asked him out on a ride with a UFO.
“Dude, everyone knows him!” He rolled his eyes as he saw my puzzled expression. “He’s so popular around here. I can’t believe you’ve never heard about him. He used to be on the football team, I think, and he literally gets all the girls…and the guys!”
“He’s bisexual?”
Nate nodded impatiently. “Yes. You know, that’s when someone is attracted to girls and boys and—”
“I know what that is, idiot.” I interrupted him.
“Phew. I was already thinking about how I can teach your innocent ass about birds and bees next…”
“How sweet of you,” I said sarcastically.
“Anyway, how do you know him?”
I quickly explained the whole coffee incident to him and that Hunter wouldn’t give the hoodie back.
Nate’s eyes widened during my explanation. “Dude, you can count yourself lucky he didn’t beat you up right there yesterday! You wouldn’t be the first one who got a black eye from him. Better stay out of his way and stop annoying him because of that stupid hoodie.”
“But I love that hoodie!” I whined. “And I can’t stand seeing him wear it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like it’s his!”
“Dude, just give up. It is his now,” Nate said in a dead serious voice. “You’re just pissed because you know he looks better in it than you.”
Before I could even lift my hand to slap him, he ran down the corridor, laughing like a twelve-year-old.
“Go to h—”
Right at that moment, my Math teacher waltzed around the corner and glared at me, so I quickly said, “—ollister. Go to Hollister and look if they have a sales discount at the moment!”
Nate’s laughter got even more hysterical as he disappeared around a corner.
Smiling innocently at the teacher, I walked down the hallway and to the gym.
This year, I was in an advanced course. Officially, because my gym teacher, Coach Martins, thought that I was excellent at running track. Unofficially, I had accidentally kicked a ball at his rather sensitive area, and he was probably scared I would make him impotent if he kept me in his class. So this year, I was stuck in the advanced gym course with all these jocks that had a body like the Hulk and a brain like Dora the Explorer.
Hell, I didn’t know a single one of them!
Sighing, I pushed through the doors to the gym and accepted my fate.
Towards the end of the second period, I saw everything crystal clear. This was Coach Martin’s revenge on me because of the kicking-a-ball-at-his-balls incident.
I was panting. My t-shirt was soaked with sweat and my face probably as bright as a tomato. And the worst thing was that all the other jocks still looked like models in a sports commercial, not even a little out of breath.
“Hey, princess. This is volleyball! You’re supposed to hit the ball, not run away from it!” Hunter Adams shouted at me from across the hall.
Yeah, that jerk was in this class, too, and I disliked him more with every passing minute. He seemed to focus more on making cocky comments about my performance than playing, and every time th
e volleyball came near him, he aimed it right at me.
When the coach blew the final whistle, it sounded like an angel’s singing to me, and I was the first one to head to the locker room. I was done showering before all the others came in, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Just as I was almost ready to leave, my gaze landed on a bag that was lying on the floor. More specifically, Hunter’s sports bag, and what peeked out of it was, of course, my grey hoodie.
I hesitated for a second.
Should I risk it?
If he caught me going through his stuff to get it, I’d probably be six feet under before I could even say, “I wish I didn’t waste my coffee on you.”
But if I didn’t, I’d never get it back. And it honestly was a really nice hoodie…
Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepared myself for what I was about to do. I looked over at the door separating the showers from the locker room. It was still shut. Everyone was still inside, and I could hear them laughing over the sound of running water.
This was my chance—the only one I would get—so I darted towards the bag and reached for my hoodie.
I was pulled back and pushed against the wall before my fingertips could even graze it, feeling my back collide with the concrete. Hunter’s eyes bore into mine as he leaned forward, his arms building a cage around me, making it impossible for me to get away. Trapped between him and the wall, all I could do was gasp and stare at him.
He had just finished showering and apparently hadn’t bothered putting on a shirt yet. Drops of water were still clinging to his hair and traveling down his naked torso. The scent of his shampoo was overwhelming.
“Wanna try that again?” he asked in a threateningly low voice.
He was so close that I could feel his warm breath tickling my skin, coaxing goosebumps to the surface.
I couldn’t get a word out, which he obviously took as a no.
“Thought so.”
He sent me one last glare before he backed away and pulled my hoodie over his head.
Even when the door had fallen shut behind him, I was still leaning against the wall, unable to move.
What the hell had just happened?
Chapter 3
Monday nights sucked. So did Thursday nights.
Because on these days, I had to work at the Lion’s Head, a small bar/pub/filthy room with billiard tables. It was a hot space that usually smelled like cigarettes, alcohol, and cheap perfume, where old men and occasional students came to drink their heads off.
I mentally prepared myself for another wasted evening. If I didn’t need the money, I would’ve quit the job long ago. But the truth was that I needed it. I wanted to buy a camera, a good one, something better than the one my parents had bought me for Christmas two years ago. Photography was the thing I loved the most besides drawing, which was the only thing I was really good at.
I wanted that camera.
So here I was, unlocking the front door of the Lion’s Head and preparing everything. My boss, Ricky, was late, as always. Sometimes he’d only be two minutes late and sometimes two hours, leaving me alone with dozens of drunkards. Yeah, he was an asshole, but he was also the one who transferred the money to my bank account every month, so I had to grin and bear it.
Soon the room began to fill, and I was busy serving drinks and taking orders. Ricky came after around twenty minutes, reeking of alcohol and just leaning against the counter doing nothing while I did my best to keep up with the steady flow of new arrivals.
There were seven full tables, so I didn’t notice them at first, especially since I had my hands full. But then I saw them: Hunter Adams and his two friends crossing the room and sitting down in one corner of the bar.
My mind went blank immediately.
What are they doing here?
People from my school rarely came here, and I definitely couldn’t remember ever seeing them.
I ignored them and pretended I hadn’t seen them yet for solid ten minutes, but truth be told, I secretly had an eye on them the entire time. I watched as a blonde, actually really pretty girl joined them and sat down next to Hunter, who hugged her. And he smiled, showing teeth and dimples in a way that wasn’t condescending or sarcastic. It was the first genuine smile I had seen on his face, and it threw me off completely.
Hunter must’ve felt my gaze on him, seeing as he now turned around to glance at me…And there was that smug grin again.
I groaned in frustration, knowing the embarrassment this evening would inevitably bring and slowly walked over to their table, feeling Hunter staring at me all the way.
“Hi. What would you like to drink?” I asked and did my best not to look him in the eye.
I was more than aware of the black waiter’s apron I was wearing and the wet towel that hung across my shoulder. My cheeks were flushed, thanks to stress and the rising temperature in the bar. My hair was a tangled mess. Meanwhile, Hunter and his three companions all looked flawless.
Every single pair of eyes trained on me.
“Hi! I know you!” the girl said with a wide smile.
Her friendly tone caught me off guard. Somehow it didn’t fit in with her friends at all.
“You’re the one who got the arts award at school last year, right?” She tilted her head, and I was surprised to see genuine interest and a hint of admiration in her blue eyes.
“Yeah, that was me,” I said and dared to smile back at her. “But it was nothing special, really. It was just a pretty lame portrait.”
The guy with brown hair—I was pretty sure I heard Hunter call him Liam—rolled his eyes. “Dude, don’t lie! I saw it, and it was amazing.”
Next to him, the blond guy, the mysterious one who I hadn’t heard say anything yet, rolled his eyes too, but he seemed actually annoyed. “We get it. He can draw. Just bring us some beer, will you?”
“Don’t be rude, Adam.” The girl snapped, then she sent me an apologetic glance. “We’d like to have a bottle of beer each, please.”
Technically, I wasn’t allowed to do that. But Ricky aka Mr. Everyone-who-can-pay-gets-a-drink didn’t care about the legal drinking age or the fact that I was only seventeen and not allowed to serve alcohol if that meant he’d make more money.
So I just nodded and quickly fled from their table.
Ricky, who was still sitting at the bar and hadn’t moved an inch, was eyeing me warily. “Hatcher, you’re getting paid for serving drinks, not for chatting with your little high school friends.”
I decided not to answer and got behind the counter to get the beer from the fridge.
“Hey! Look at me when I’m talking to you!” he said, too loud for my liking, attracting several stares.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and turned to face him.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Hunter watching, leaning back in his chair with one hand resting on the table in a fist.
“You’re the lousiest worker I have ever hired here…Give me that beer.” Ricky spat. “Now do your damn job!”
He snatched one of the bottles from my hand, so I had to walk over to the fridge again to get another one. In my head, I yelled every swear word I knew at him, but on the outside, I tried to keep calm. These kinds of rants weren’t unusual, especially when Ricky had a bad day and a few bottles of beer.
I told myself to ignore him and walked over to Hunter’s table, silently setting the beer down in front of them. Hunter still didn’t say anything to me and continued talking to the girl instead. I suspected it was probably because he was still pissed that I tried to steal my hoodie from his bag.
“Do you know who you’re sharing tents with next week?” the girl asked him and smiled at me as I handed her a bottle.
I knew what they were talking about right away. It was about the annual camping trip the Biology classes took.
“Field trip to study the local biotopes,” as our Biology teachers called it.
“Competition on who can smuggle the most alcohol with them,” a
s students called it.
“No,” Hunter said. “Too bad we can’t sleep in a tent together.”
I frowned slightly as I walked over to a nearby table and began collecting the empty glasses it was littered with, all the way unable to take my eyes off them.
Were they together?
Their body language didn’t allude to anything. They were sitting next to each other, but there was plenty of space between them, and they weren’t holding hands or anything. There was, however, an unmistakable air of affection between them, obvious in the knowing smiles they exchanged and the way they talked with each other in such a comfortable way.
The girl just raised an eyebrow. “You think? I can imagine a more pleasant tent mate to be honest. One who doesn’t snore and drool in his sleep and complains about bugs all the time.”
On the opposite side of the table, Liam gave her a high five.
Hunter pressed one hand to his chest, pretending to be deeply offended. “Ouch, honeybee. That hurt.” He snorted. “I can’t believe you can’t be considerate of my phobia of insects, you bully.”
I caught myself being so interested in their conversation that I was still listening, so I hurriedly retreated to the counter.
Ricky was finishing his third beer, and I was seriously starting to worry. When he got drunk, he became unpredictable and kind of scary, even scarier than he usually was. He was a really short, fat guy with dreadlocks who probably grew weed in his backyard and knew how to take you down in seconds.
“Didn’t I tell you to hurry?” he barked as I returned to the counter. “If you don’t move it, I won’t pay you this week, you understand?”
I gritted my teeth to stop myself from saying anything stupid and nodded before walking over to take the order from the new guests who had just entered.
Just three more hours and I’m home. Just three more hours and I’m home. Just three more hours…
“Hi. What can I bring you?” I asked, forcing a smile onto my face.
Three hours and I’m one step closer to buying the camera.
Why You Shouldn't Lend A Bad Boy Your Clothes Page 2