I locked eyes with her. “I told you. You’re not my type.”
One side of her mouth went up. “So if I gave you a blow job right now, you would stop me? Or if I stripped down right now, you wouldn’t react or have your way with me? Or if I bent my naked body over the table, you wouldn’t do anything? You would simply walk away? Or—”
I grabbed onto her waist as I hopped up then threw her on the couch before I got on top of her.
She giggled.
“What do you want me to say? That I want to suck on your tits until you’re squirming and screaming? Or maybe you want me to drag my tongue up and down your naked body before I capture your clit in my mouth and tease you to an orgasm.”
Her cheeks turned bright red as her breathing grew shallow. The only thing red on me was my dick, or at least I would bet it was since my erection was straining to get out of my jeans.
A car door slammed.
We both looked at each other with horror.
“My mom’s home.”
We both vaulted off the couch. She smoothed out her hair, grabbed a laptop off the chair near the fireplace, then plopped back down on the couch. “Sit with me.”
I did as she said. I didn’t have to worry too much about my hard-on since the thought of getting caught had deflated any sexual tension in the room.
The door opened. “Montana!” her mom called.
“In here!” Montana said. Her hair was mussed as though I’d had my way with her, but I didn’t have time to tell her to fix it.
Her mom came in, grinning at us as if she thought we were the cutest couple. “Hi, Train. Are you two working on your computer project?”
No. Your daughter is torturing me into jacking off as soon as I leave here. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. I had an idea for your app as I was driving home.”
Montana closed the laptop screen. “Great.”
“What if you two were to build an author app for me? I could post updates and other information similar to my website, but with the app, they wouldn’t have to type in my web address. They could just tap on the app.”
I glanced at Montana. “That might be a good idea.”
Montana slapped my thigh. “You didn’t like that idea when I suggested it in class on Friday.”
I hadn’t been listening.
Ms. Smith tilted her head. “Honey, are you okay? You look a little out of sorts.”
“Fine,” she said quickly.
I pushed to my feet. “I should go.”
Montana got up too. “I’ll walk you out.”
Ms. Smith said good-bye as I was almost running out of the house. When Montana and I were on the porch, I said, “Our preliminary report on the app is due Friday. So let’s get together and outline the specifics.”
She stuck her hands on her hips. “Now you want to work with me?”
“We both need to pass.” And if working with her meant she would straddle me, then I would be a fool not to do my part.
She sighed. “So did Coach say anything about the door?”
“Montana, don’t worry about that. If you didn’t do it, relax. And Coach bitched for a few minutes.” He couldn’t blame any of the team. We’d been playing the game.
“Any idea who might have?” she asked.
“Maybe if you straddle me again, we can brainstorm ideas on who done it.”
“That was a one-time deal,” she said so seriously.
Maybe I should consider asking her out, then.
Chapter Fifteen
MONTANA
I sat in art class, my last class of the day, working on a drawing. The teacher had given us an assignment to pick one historic piece in Charleston, draw out a rough sketch, then submit it at the end of class. I’d decided to sketch out the Battery along the Cooper River since Elvira and I had been there.
“Montana,” Ms. Ingram said as she loomed over me.
I lifted my pencil and looked up at the young woman, who I guessed to be in her thirties.
“That’s a great sketch. Your angles are perfect. And who’s the boy leaning against the railing?”
To add a little something to my drawing, I’d also sketched in the boy who made my stomach flutter, made me a pile of mush, and made me want to punch and kiss him at the same time, especially after last night when I’d been straddling him on my couch.
“His eyes are amazing,” Ms. Ingram said.
I smiled at the sea-green eyes I’d colored in amid the muted colors of the rest of the picture.
“Is he a boyfriend?” she asked.
Train was far from a boyfriend, although we’d broken the ice a little bit more after I spilled my guts to him about how I’d almost tagged the door and why I tagged in general.
I never blush, but my cheeks heated. “A friend,” I said. “It’s not quite done yet.”
“See me after class.” Then she moved on to the next student behind me.
I couldn’t tell from her tone if I was in trouble or not. I hadn’t done anything. And I was trying to take Train’s advice and not worry since I wasn’t guilty, but the culprit probably had my paint can, although the can couldn’t be tied to me.
The bell signified the end of class.
After I gathered my things, I ambled up to Ms. Ingram’s desk and handed her my drawing as other students did the same. Once the class emptied out, she sat back in her chair.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked.
She arched her thin eyebrows. “Did you do something to be in trouble?”
I shook my head.
“Good. Every assignment you’ve turned in has been impeccable, and I wanted to chat with you about college. Are your sights set on an art school?”
“I would like to find a good art program, but my grades aren’t great.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t apply. Sure, colleges are tough on their admission requirements, but if you’re interested in attending, then you should fill out the applications. And I would do that now.”
I seriously hadn’t thought about college since Mom had asked. College had been one of our many topics during our road trip from New York to South Carolina.
“Do you think I could get in?” I asked.
Her face brightened. “There’s a possibility that if you brought up your grades, you could get a small scholarship.”
I opened my mouth. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” My stomach tumbled at the mere notion that I could go to college and study art. I mean, I knew colleges had art programs, but I’d never considered that I could get into one with my expulsion record and grades. Oh no. Expulsion records. My last principal had counseled me that my expulsions would hurt my chances of getting into any college program.
“Are you okay?” Ms. Ingram asked.
I shifted on my feet. “I’m good.” I didn’t need to rehash my past. I had to study hard and ensure that my school record while attending Palmetto High was near perfect. “Thank you. I got to run. I’m meeting with my tutor.”
She smiled from ear to ear. “Good to know you have a tutor.”
I was deep in thought on my way out, when she called my name. “Oh, one more thing I meant to ask. Do you know anything about someone painting the boys’ locker room door?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Very well. I’ll let Principal Flynn know. He wanted me to check in with all my students.”
He was smart to ask the art students. Maybe the guilty party was in my class. Maybe Train had an enemy he didn’t know about. As I left class, I also left the whole door-tagging thing behind. I needed to switch my brain from the creative side to the analytical side to learn algebra.
The library was teeming with students at tables, studying or playing on their phones. Ferris was whispering to none other than the girl who had threatened me to stay away from Train. Upon first glance, I thought he was tutoring Nina. But the table was devoid of books and notepads. He looked as if he was trying to pick her up. Or maybe she was moving on to other guys since sh
e was tracing a finger over his lip.
I settled my stance at their table. “Maybe you two should get a room.”
Ferris reared back as though he was guilty of something. I didn’t know the black-spiked-haired boy that well. I’d only had one tutoring session with him earlier that week.
Nina kissed him on the lips. “Remember what we talked about.”
Ferris flicked his chin at her. Once she gathered her purse, she brushed past me on her way out.
I slid into a chair next to him, when a boy with a ball cap ponied up to the table.
“Are you Montana Smith?” he asked.
“Greer, get out of here,” Ferris said in his deep voice.
Greer checked on two other boys who were sitting at a table not far from us. Both boys looked to be holding in a smirk. “Rumor around school is your mom writes sex books.”
Ferris popped to his feet, about to chase off Greer, but I held out my hand. “I would like to hear more. Where did you get that info?”
“Everyone is talking about it.” His tone changed from cocky to polite. “Is it true that your mom is Casey Stewart?”
The boy had to be either in the ninth or tenth grade. “Did your friends dare you to ask me?”
He shrugged. “Yes. But my mom is a fan. She would like your mom to autograph her books.”
It seemed that my mom had a few fans among the moms. “I’ll let my mom know.” I wasn’t about to promise him anything.
“Get out of here,” Ferris said.
He scurried away, and his friends laughed.
I pulled out my algebra book. “So, you and Nina, huh?” I asked Ferris.
“Not really. Let’s get to work.” He opened the book and began sifting through the pages.
Odd. They had sure looked chummy, especially when Nina pecked him on the lips. What was even more odd was her desperate attempt to get Train back, yet she was smooching on Ferris. Maybe she wanted to make Train jealous to get him back. I didn’t have time to worry about it because algebra was calling my name.
For the next hour, Ferris explained algebraic equations, then I worked through problems. I was solving my last problem and ran out of room. So I flipped the page.
Ferris’s eyes grew wide. “Whoa! That’s a cool pic. What does it say?”
“Spunk without the u.” I flipped to a blank page then finished my math problem.
“So do you have a date for the ball?” Ferris asked.
I scrunched up my nose. “Are you asking me?”
Ferris was a good-looking guy but not as handsome as Train. “Maybe.”
“What about Nina?”
“Her and I are friends. She wants me to help her with a subject she’s having problems in.”
My intuition was telling me to stay away from anyone who was close to Nina. I was so focused on trying to read Ferris’s blank expression that I didn’t hear or see Train until he sat down.
“Tutoring session over? Train asked in a hard tone.
Ferris sprang to his feet. “Yep. Montana, think about what I said. See you Friday. Same time.” His long legs ate up the distance from the table to the door before he vanished.
“He likes you,” Train said.
My tongue hadn’t untied yet from Ferris asking me to the ball.
Train snapped his fingers. “Montana, what’s wrong? Did he threaten you?”
The worry in his tone jolted me back. “No. He asked me to the ball.”
“What did you tell him? Are you going with him?” Train sounded as though he didn’t want me to go with Ferris. Train confused the hell out of me.
I had a sarcastic retort on the tip of my tongue, but I decided not to goad him. Maybe then he would open up more.
“I didn’t get a chance to answer him,” I said.
“I think you should stay away from him. His mission is to screw every girl in school before he graduates.”
“Is that your way of saying you don’t want me to go with him because you like me and want to ask me yourself?”
He leaned over the table, his hair falling over his forehead. “Seriously. Watch out for him.” He got a pen and a notebook out of his bag. “Let’s work on our report.”
Maybe there was some truth to his warning since Ferris had been cuddling up to Nina. I flipped open my notebook to the place where I’d jotted down the list of items that Mr. Salvatore wanted to see in our report. I’d also made a list of the topics that Mom had suggested for her author app, from new releases to author events and other things associated with her books.
For the first time since Train and I met, we dropped all the drama and sarcasm and concentrated on our project. I scooted closer to him while he broke out his laptop and began typing up the report. Since this was just a preliminary report, we didn’t have to make it too perfect. The report was Mr. Salvatore’s way of making sure we were on track.
I pointed at the screen. “Back up. You typed teaser wrong.”
He swatted at my hand. “Don’t touch my screen. Fingers leave an imprint that’s hard to get off sometimes.”
Oooh kay.
As he typed, he said, “By the way, I’m having a beach party on Saturday night. Do you want to come?”
I did a double take. “Are you asking me out?” Maybe he’d had an epiphany during the last hour.
“Pfft. No. It’s a party. If you come, bring an overnight bag and make sure you bring your blue bikini.” He licked his lips, and his eyes seemed to darken.
“I’ll think about it.” I knew my answer, but he didn’t need to know I was silently pumping my fist in the air because I would be spending the night on a beach with Train among the partygoers, although I did have to clear the overnight part with my mom.
Chapter Sixteen
TRAIN
I grabbed a beer out of the cooler off the back deck of my parents’ beach house, which overlooked the Atlantic. I’d gotten permission from my old man to use the place. He was in the process of renovating the sprawling structure, but the only room that was torn up at the moment was the upstairs master bedroom, which was off-limits. The rest of the house was intact but with minimal furniture, which for a high school party was perfect.
Music pumped out of the large speakers that Austin and I had set up on the deck. The neighbors on both sides of us were far enough away that they wouldn’t hear super loud music, not with the waves crashing along the shore.
I took a swig of beer as I watched a group of girls below me on the sand sway their hips to Coldplay. I searched the rest of the crowd for one girl in particular, but I came up empty. I’d invited Montana, and she’d confirmed with me in computer class on Friday after we handed in our report that she had gotten approval from her mom.
Overall, I’d had a great week. Nina hadn’t been in my face, and I’d spent most of the time practicing football. We’d even won our game last night. The only thorn I had stuck in my side was Ferris. He’d asked Montana to the ball. I didn’t know whether she’d said yes or not, and I hadn’t asked. Part of me didn’t want to know. The other part of me wanted to shove Ferris’s spiked head into a toilet.
Austin ponied up to me with a beer in his hand. “Man, Montana’s here.”
I quickly scanned the beach, the patio, and the living room behind me. “Where?”
“Down, boy,” he said. “I thought you swore off girls.”
“Shut up.”
He held up his hands and gave me one of his smirks that said I knew you couldn’t go without a girl. “Tonight might be a perfect night for you to make your move, then.”
“Maybe to talk.” Hell, there wouldn’t be any talking between Montana and me.
“Fuck talking,” Austin ground out. “Look at her.”
At that moment, she glided up to Elvira and Reagan as though the sand beneath her bare feet were ice. Her hair was up and off her shoulders. The blue bikini top revealed the swell of her breasts, and the frayed short shorts hung low on her hips. My balls were officially blue. I grinned because she’d worn
the blue bikini. When I’d mentioned that she should wear it, I was expecting her to return a sarcastic comment like In your dreams. I’m not wearing that.
I downed half my beer to clear the dryness in my throat. “You might be right. Talking is overrated.”
Elvira handed Montana a beer.
“Put your tongue back in your mouth,” Austin said at my ear.
I couldn’t. I was finding that Montana had the perfect makeup of beauty, confidence, and attitude. My mom had always said a girl should have beauty inside and out, they should carry themselves as though they could fight off an army of men, and they should have an attitude that could adapt to anything on a dime. Montana certainly measured up to my mom’s advice, unlike Nina.
As if my mind had conjured up Nina, she appeared with her cousin Drew. I growled.
“Easy, dude,” Austin said. “You knew she would be here.”
“I didn’t invite her.”
Austin swigged his beer. “Seriously? It’s a high school party. Tell one, and the whole fucking school shows up.”
I stifled a growl and the urge to jump off the deck and escort Nina right the fuck off the premises. But those thoughts floated out with an ocean wave when Montana ran a hand down her chest as though she was wiping something off. The innocent act jolted every muscle in me until, out of the darkness, Ferris sauntered over to the ladies. He proceeded to drape an arm around Montana, who smiled at him.
What the fuck? Maybe she had said yes to his offer. Maybe they were officially dating. I fisted my hands at my sides. So much for a great fucking week. I was deciding what my next move would be, when Montana giggled at Ferris.
“You might be too late,” Austin said. “Ferris seems to have garnered your girl’s attention.”
It was time to get my ass in gear and snag the girl who’d rocked my world since she’d shown up to class on the first day of school. The same girl had my stomach in knots, had me jerking off in my shower every morning, and had me practically running to school each day to see what tango we would dance to. My problem, though—I wasn’t sure I could trust another girl again.
Breaking Rules Page 13