Then the one girl, the blonde, stops abruptly, her attention sliding to a big guy in a letterman jacket. Probably a football player. Probably her boyfriend.
Blondie shakes her head and glares at the jockstrap as if the sight of him makes her sick.
Okay, maybe not her boyfriend.
He laughs and takes a step in her direction. And something very much unexpected happens. The other girl, the beautiful one, puts herself in between them. All of a hundred pounds and she’s what stands in the way of this guy getting to the blonde.
The jockstrap laughs again, but there’s no humor to it this time. He’s pissed. His face is red and his eyes narrow. And now I’m not thinking about anything. I just start heading in their direction. I’m about twenty feet away when the asshole puts his hand up and actually shoves the girl backwards.
What the fuck?
But she doesn’t fall. She was braced for it, which I find extremely interesting.
I’m ten feet away now and I have absolutely no plan. All I know is I’m not about to just stand by and let this dickhead intimidate someone smaller just because he thinks he can.
“Don’t touch me again,” the girl says. “And stay away from Annie.” My eyes flick to Blondie. She must be Annie.
Jock-boy smirks, his lips turning up in this smug, assholey way that makes me want to punch him in the face. He extends his meaty fingers and brushes them over the girl’s cheek. I cringe and I’m not sure why the idea of his sweaty fingers on her skin bothers me, but it does. A lot. Her eyes, which I can now see are blue, slit into a murderous glare. Obviously it bothers her too. I open my mouth to say something, to tell this guy to go fuck himself, but before anything comes out, the girl swings her leg up and kicks him right in the balls.
Priceless.
I throw my fist over my mouth to hold in the laughter threatening to explode. Jock-boy grunts, his face somehow manages to turn an even brighter red, and grabs himself as he falls forward. The girl doesn’t miss a beat. As soon as he’s down, she swings her leg again, kicking him in the chin. The snap of his teeth slamming together makes me cringe. But the girl swings again, thrusting her foot into his stomach. Air rushes out of his mouth sending a spray of saliva and blood across the blacktop.
“I said not to touch me again,” the girl says in an unnervingly calm voice. She picks up her foot and I know she’s going to kick him again. I should let her. I should stand back and enjoy the show. But I don’t. I know what it feels like to lose control. To let your anger drive you. It’s crazy and blissful. Euphoric, even. But I also know the sting of regret when it’s over.
I step up behind her, wrap my arms around her waist and swing her so she is facing the other direction. I can feel her shaking with adrenaline or rage, so I let her go quickly. But in the two seconds she was against my body, I caught the scent of her shampoo, something fruity that will drive me crazy until I can identify it. I also decide I like the way her back felt pressed to my chest.
She looks up at me, her mouth opening in shock. “I don’t think he’ll touch you again,” I say, and I can’t help the smile that forms. I don’t know this girl, but I feel some unwarranted sense of pride as I gaze at her.
She does something else that surprises me. The anger leaves her face and her lips turn up in a way that has my brain stumbling all over itself. For a second, I feel like a complete idiot because I’ve lost all ability to speak. The words tongue-tied finally make sense and all I can do is stare at her mouth. “Thanks,” she says.
The blonde—Annie?—grabs her hand and pulls her away before I have a chance to respond. What was she thanking me for? For what I said? For pulling her off that guy? For staring at her like she’s my favorite flavor of ice cream?
They make it about five feet before an older man in a suit, probably the principal, takes her by her upper arm and drags her off in the direction of the school. She doesn’t fight him, but after several steps she turns her head and looks back at jock-boy as his friends help him stand. There’s blood dripping from his mouth and he seems to be having trouble straightening up. The girl’s lips form into a radiant smile.
“Fucking bitch,” jock-boy spits. And then she winks. She fucking winks at him.
I realize I’m grinning like some psycho. Because what just happened, the entire situation, as crazy and violent as it was, was so frigging hot.
I think, for the first time in my life, I’m in love.
Buy Sometimes Never on Amazon:
http://amzn.com/B00AQHUV1A
Before Now (Sometimes Never 2)
Park Reed is a bastard in every sense of the word. He hasn't always been this way. But after his heart was broken by the only girl he ever loved, being heartless gets him through the day and allows him to fill his nights with the nameless girls he has no intentions of seeing again. He now lives his life following his ever-growing list of “life lessons.”
Lucy Braden is everything Park is not. She’s sweet, caring, and an all-around nice person. She tries to follow Lucy's Rules to Live By everyday.
When Park moves in with Jessie, which happens to be the floor below Lucy, Jessie's one stipulation: Lucy is off limits to Park. The problem with that is Lucy is determined to be a good friend to Park and see past the drinking and random girls to find the man beneath it all. The other problem: Park follows his own rules.
*This is a New Adult novel. Recommended for 17+ due to sexual situations, harsh language, and drug and alcohol use.
**Before Now is a companion novel to Sometimes Never, and many of its characters are in Park’s story. However, it can be read as a stand-alone book.
Buy Before Now on Amazon:
http://amzn.com/B00D5XYVRW
Long After (Sometimes Never 3)
For Annie Phillips, there is a right way to do things and everything has a place. College and her flawless GPA are top priority, as is planning her perfect future. Anything less than perfection is unacceptable. So when she meets Loden Guiles, she believes she has finally found her perfect happily-ever-after.
Chase Malloy is funny, loyal, and an all around nice guy. He’s also sloppy, tattooed, and undirected. All Chase wants to do is survive college, hang out with friends, and make music. Knowing his best friend’s stepsister since they were fourteen, Annie and he have always had a love-hate relationship. The last thing Chase expects is to fall for Annie, but he knows he’ll never live up to her idea of the perfect man.
On the outside, Annie and Loden’s relationship appears picture perfect. But behind closed doors, Annie quickly realizes Loden isn’t the man he pretends to be. Every time her not so well laid plans crumble, and Loden proves to be not so Mr. Right, Chase is there to pick her up and brush her off. Will she realize the perfection she’s been searching for has been in front of her all this time?
* This is a new adult novel. Due to harsh language, sexual situations, and violence, this book is recommended for 17+.
**Long After is a companion novel to Sometimes Never. Many of the same characters appear in Chase and Annie's story. However, it can be read as a stand-alone book.
Buy Long After on Amazon:
http://amzn.com/B00FW5SEII
Other books by Cheryl McIntyre
Sometimes Never (Sometimes Never 1)
Blackbird (A Sometimes Never novella)
Before Now (Sometimes Never 2)
Long After (Sometimes Never 3)
Let It Be (A Sometimes Never novella) Coming August 19, 2014
Getting Dirty (Dirty 1)
Playing Dirty (Dirty 2)
Talking Dirty (Dirty 3)
Fighting Dirty (Dirty 4)
Staying Dirty (Dirty5)
Infinitely (Infinitely 1)
Eternally (Infinitely 2) Coming soon
Dark Calling (Dark Calling 1)
Dark Craving (Dark Calling 2) Coming soon
&nbs
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