by KC Kean
They still haven’t said a word, and I can’t stop myself from glancing at Xavier, who is looking straight ahead with his hands fisted on the table in front of him, and his jaw is tight.
Ahh. This must have been his master plan, to fuck with me. But the state of him makes it seem like it didn’t go to plan. Did he not get the reaction he wanted?
Looking over my shoulder, I find Tobias looking right at me, guilt swirling in his blue eyes, and I feel my anger rising.
Rising from my seat, I close my laptop and slip it under my arm, grabbing my bag as I do.
“Well, it seems I love to share, huh?” I joke, glancing around at everyone in the class before settling my eyes on Roxy, referring to my naked body on display just moments ago. “I’m talking to everyone, sweetheart, neither of you are important enough for me to talk to directly.”
Turning, I dismiss her without a backward glance, stepping forward and stopping by Hunter. Planting my hand on his desk, Hunter leans back in his seat to look up at me, searching my eyes like he’s trying to get a read on me.
Tilting my head down, I move into his space, keeping my voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Hunter, maybe next time your knight gives an order, you should all have a better execution plan and at least believe in your attempt at bullying, because that was poor. Like, my feelings are not hurt that I got to flash my body to all the available guys in here. Again.”
He grinds his teeth, eyes squinting in discomfort as I throw him a wink, the sound of a few whistles and catcalls filling the room.
With that, I spin on my heels and slip through the door before anything else can be said or done. Not even Mrs. Leach stops me. Screw them all. They aren’t worth my time. They’re simply an unnecessary distraction. I guess I’ll have to figure out another way to dig deeper into this town and my father’s death.
I should have just gone home, but instead, I’d gone to the library to have some peace and quiet. When the bell rang again, I took a deep breath and rejoined my classes. I refuse to be seen as weak, and I won’t let them scare me away with some stupid video.
Every lesson that followed consisted of no one actually speaking to me. Instead, they were all whispering and murmuring about me to each other in front of me. A guy or two tried to approach me, but I gave them the finger before they could get too close.
Archie and Charlie tried to tell people to shut the fuck up, but it was no use, especially if Xavier has told them to do it. It’s like everyone here is compelled to do exactly as he says. Fucking boring and fucking predictable.
When it came time for track, I was surprised no one uttered a word to me in the changing room except Charlie, who promised an explanation at lunch to explain why she hadn’t reached out yesterday.
I also made the conscious decision to take it easy during track. No streneous exercise for me. Nothing that would require a shower afterward anyway. I didn’t fancy another walk of shame again today.
The sound of the football coach blowing the whistle has a domino effect on all the other coaches drawing their classes to an end. I don’t pay full attention to a word Coach Worth says as she explains an upcoming track meet.
My focus is on the football team. I love sports in general, but the sight of a man in his full gear, mud on his jersey as he pulls his helmet off, is nothing short of amazing. I watch as one of them does it, almost like it’s in slow motion, and the second his helmet is off, he’s lifting the hem of his jersey to wipe the sweat from his face. Number twenty-one has me close to catching fire.
Holy mother of God, that’s hot. I can feel myself practically drooling at the sight before me until he drops the jersey, and I catch a glimpse of Tobias with no hat on for a split second. He grins, watching me devouring him as he runs his fingers through his damp, wavy brown hair and slips his beanie on.
Motherfucker’s hot, and he knows it. I can still feel the hard press of his cock as he pinned me to my G-Wagon the other day. So good. It’s difficult to remember I hate him in moments like that. Maybe we could hate fuck and get over it?
“Miss Grady, are you even listening to me?”
“Oh, uh, sorry.” I stumble over my words, spinning my attention to the coach, who just rolls her eyes at me.
“Track meet. Two weeks. Be ready. No slacking like you did today.” Biting my lip, I nod in response as I try not to glance back at Tobias. “Dismissed.”
Thank God.
Eyes fixed on the tunnel leading to the locker room, I ignore my name being called by some of the football players, upping my pace and slipping into the room quickly.
Roxy and KitKat glare at me the second the door shuts behind me, but surprisingly, they keep their mouths shut. Their eyes, however, could kill me on the spot with the daggers they’re throwing my way.
The chatter in the room quiets, a heavy sign I was the topic of conversation, and I refrain from rolling my eyes at their shit. Walking over to the corner I changed in earlier, I’m impressed to find everything untouched.
“Don’t worry, I made sure everyone kept away from your things,” Charlie says as she slips her tank top over her head.
“Thanks.” I offer a soft smile before stepping into my leggings and switching out my sports bra for my lacy number. Throwing on my loose purple tank top, I run my hands over my French braids that fall down my back, making sure they haven’t come loose and step into my sandals.
“You ready to eat?” Glancing to Charlie, I see she’s ready too, in her skinny jeans and floral blouse. I nod in agreement, ready to understand why she hasn’t mentioned her grandmother yet.
“I’m ready for pizza. Does the cafeteria even offer that here?” I ask, throwing my bags over my shoulder and slipping my sunglasses onto the hem of my top.
Heading for the door, I feel Charlie follow me, a sigh playing on my lips when I step out, and everyone leaves us alone, not uttering a word. Falling into step beside me, Charlie nervously swipes her hair behind her ear, and I can tell she has something to say.
“Whatever’s on your mind, Charlie, just spit it out.”
“My grandmother nearly lost her teeth when I asked her about the Grady name.”
What the… A bubble of laughter bursts from my lips as we stop beside my locker, and I glance over at her.
“I have no idea where you fucking get the things that leave your mouth,” I say with a chuckle, and she nudges her shoulder against mine.
“Well, I had no update for you yesterday because she kind of locked down, refusing to discuss anything at all.” My heart sinks. Wetting my lips, I nod. It’s not her fault. She was trying to help me out, it just didn’t go to plan.
“No stress,” I mutter, opening my locker and throwing my gym bag inside. I’m caught off guard when I slam it shut and find Hunter right beside me.
My hand is frozen against the metal of my locker as I stare into his green eyes. My head is tilted back as I stand face-to-face with him in complete silence, feeling lost in his trance. Until a slow grin starts to morph his face, and I remember what he was a part of earlier.
“Hey, Eden.” Turning to my left, I find a guy I’ve seen before but know nothing about. “I was wondering if you were busy on Friday night? We have a game, but I’d love to meet up afterward. You could even come watch me play. I’ll even save a spot for you at the pep rally.”
Licking his bottom lip, his eyes trail over my body from head to toe, making me cringe, but the anger I can feel radiating off Hunter encourages me in the other direction, considering this guy's offer because I do love a good pep rally.
He’s easily six and a half feet, his hair trimmed super short, with deep brown eyes and broad shoulders.
Stepping forward, I place my hand on his chest, looking up at him through my lashes, and he smirks down at me. He’s like putty in my hands.
“What position do you play? Football is my favorite.” Biting my lip, I walk my fingers up his chest, and his eyes light up like it’s Christmas.
Before he ca
n respond, an arm stretches across my chest and pushes me back into the locker behind me. I gape in shock as I look to see it’s Hunter, but he isn’t looking at me. His deadly glare is aimed at the new guy.
Remembering myself, I push his arm away, and he moves to stand between the new guy and me. Everyone in the hall is staring as I find myself the center of Asheville High drama. Again.
“Eden Grady is off-limits in all capacities,” Hunter growls out, and I frown. What the fuck? “She belongs to the Allstars. Now back off, Adam.”
The guy, Adam, holds his hands up in surrender and slowly steps away as everyone murmurs at Hunter’s statement.
“Are you fucking joking me!” Fury boils in my veins. Who do these guys even think they are? “I can do whatever the hell I want, fuck whoever I please. That is no one else’s decision to make.” Pulling on his shoulder, I force him to face me, but he barely raises his eyebrow in response.
“That sounds exactly how it’s going to go,” Xavier murmurs, appearing out of nowhere and standing beside Hunter.
“Screw you,” I grind out, my nails digging into my palms as I feel everyone’s eyes flickering between us.
“You already did. You said no repeats, though, right?” He thinks he’s so fucking funny, with his perfectly fucking styled hair, chiseled jaw, smart mouth, and devilish mind. Fuck him.
Tobias slides into my view, his usually pearly grin in place. “You heard Hunter—Eden is off-limits. If she’s going to the pep rally with anyone, it’ll be us. Now fuck off.”
Over my dead fucking body. My love for pep rallies has suddenly vanished.
Simultaneously, everyone moves, putting distance between them and us, except Archie and Charlie. I immediately shake my head as Archie goes to step forward. Arguing with our eyes alone, I beg for him to listen, and with a heavy sigh and a wave of his hands, he steps back.
Looking back to the Allstars as they all stand before me, a challenge in their eyes as they wait for me to respond, and I have to force myself to calm down, not wanting to give them the fire they’re wanting.
“Your obsession with me is flattering, really. But I have an itch that needs scratching from time to time, and I’ll find someone to do it.”
“Not here you won’t,” Xavier throws back, and I snicker.
“I can go looking.” Turning away from him, I give him my back, dismissing him as I smile at Charlie. “Can we grab pizza off-campus?”
“For sure,” she answers instantly, not looking to see how the guys react, and I like that she isn’t afraid of them.
“I’ll come with,” Archie adds, and I nod in agreement.
“Perfect.”
I put one foot in front of the other and stalk away from the assholes intent on ruining my life, surprised when no one tries to stop me. When I’m far enough away, I glance over my shoulder at them, mischief fluttering in my eyes as I talk loud enough for the Allstars to hear.
“Can we go to the next town over? It seems I need some fresh spots to go looking for dick.”
21
Hunter
She’s ours. Whether she likes it or not, that’s how it’s going to be.
We spent the whole weekend practically obsessing over her and what she said at Pete’s. It is very likely Ilana had something to do with her father’s death, and Xavier needs to figure out a way to approach his mother for more details. Not in a sense of helping her, but more to do with the fact we need every piece of information we can get if we plan to try and get out of here and live our own lives. If she can give us any information regarding Ilana, it will work in our favor.
A hiccup like this, less than twelve months before we graduate, does not make it easy for us.
Any and all leverage or information we can get over Ilana, the better. She’s as devious and cunning as they come. It’ll make trying to leave this damn town a little easier if we can. This isn’t the first time she’s been linked to a murder.
Even with all this in mind, little Miss Eden Grady intrigues me. A complete enigma compared to all the other girls at Asheville High.
She owns her body, her confidence, and her strength, refusing to falter or bend at will, and when I would usually hold her at arm’s length, I want to pull her closer, have her nearer.
I saw the green-eyed monster shining in Xavier’s eyes this weekend when I coaxed Eden’s story from her own lips, a look I’ve never seen on his face before. Not even when we were younger and were all fighting over the same girl, who suddenly upped and left with her family. We were ten, and she was our childhood crush, but I still remember the black eye Xavier gave Tobias.
From that day on, we promised not to let a girl get between us ever again, which is how we found ourselves sharing. A girl won’t be able to get between us if we place her there on purpose.
“Are you ready to tell me what the fuck that was before?”
Xavier’s words breaks through my thoughts as I refocus on the television playing in the den. Sitting back into the cushions on the sofa, I swipe a hand down my face, pausing the Italian Job before they get to the big climax.
I knew it wouldn’t take long for him to start asking questions when we got home from school, but I did manage to watch most of the movie at least.
“What was what about?” I ask, fucking with him as he stands before me, arms folded across his chest as he glares down at me, and Tobias dives on the sofa beside me.
“Warning everyone off Eden and claiming her as ours? That wasn’t part of the plan.” His words are nowhere near as harsh as he thinks they are as he flickers his gaze between the two of us.
“If you were that mad about it, why did you go along with what I said?” Clasping my hands together behind my head, I hold his stare, feeling Tobias wriggling beside me, but I don’t react to it.
“Because we’re brothers, we stand together first before everything else, and I wasn’t about to go toe-to-toe with you in front of the damn school, Hunter.” Turning his back to me, he rubs the back of his neck.
Wetting my dry lips, I glance at Tobias, who only offers a shrug, no help at all.
“I hated that video, Xavier. Hated it.” I sigh. “I get it, needing to show power, restore the hierarchy, and show your mother we are doing what she expects us to do. But the video exposed her, when we worked so quickly to shield her when it actually happened.”
My blood boils again, hating the whole situation but remembering how she stood tall and floored us all, not giving in to embarrassment like others would. And the balls she had to stand over my desk and basically call me a sheep gave me a fucking semi.
“That still doesn’t explain why you said all that,” he states, falling into the chair to my right.
“Because I hated someone else hitting on her in front of me even more.”
I let my words hang between us all as Xavier searches my eyes, but he’ll only see the truth. Adam was trying to touch what doesn’t belong to him. I saw the moment Eden decided to encourage him just to piss me off, and I couldn’t control what followed, my body taking over and claiming exactly what it wanted.
Her.
Eden.
“Well I, for one, am down with this,” Tobias adds. “I need to woo her for my seven minutes in heaven. But at this rate, I won’t need more than thirty fucking seconds, she is lickable, and my wet dreams aren’t doing her justice.”
Squeezing my temple, I try to block his shit out. There aren’t any words to describe him and what goes on in his mind. He’s going to say whatever he wants without any care.
I can see Xavier’s mind working overtime as he considers my words, but there’s no surprise on his face, which tells me he knew I was being sucked in by her. I’ve barely spent any time with her, but when I sat beside her at Pete’s, the feel of her skin beneath my touch set me alight. But how do we show that? By causing a scene once again, and I just let it happen anyway.
“We should go talk to her. Archie didn’t show for practice, and she hinted at going on a ‘dick hunt’ at lun
ch and didn’t come back, and that, honestly, makes me worried,” Tobias admits, bouncing his leg nervously, his worry definitely for Eden’s virtue.
“Over my dead fucking body,” Xavier grinds out, making me raise my eyebrows in surprise at the raw emotion vibrating from him. “She needs to learn that when we say she’s off-limits and belongs to the Allstars, that’s exactly what it means.”
“Do any of us truly understand what that means?” I ask, and silence surrounds us. I’ll take that as a no, but in my gut, I know that the closer we are to her, the closer we are to removing the noose this town has placed around our necks. I don’t know why or how, but my gut is pulling me to her for a reason.
Tobias
Convincing the guys to go to Archie’s surprisingly took little to no effort at all. I expect to see the other players laughing and joking around the pool with a couple of chicks hanging off of them. So I’m completely surprised to find Archie swimming laps in the pool while Eden lies on her front on a nearby lounger in the sun.
Her blonde hair is still in braids, desperate for me to tug on them like I’ve longed to all day, and her skin looks golden. Especially with the little white bikini she’s wearing, enhancing her tan. She looks like an angel, and we’re the devils, tempting her to fall from grace. Or could she be our undoing instead?
Before I can take another step in her direction, Archie is climbing out of the pool and holding his finger to his lips, making me pause.
“Hey, sorry, I sent a message to the football group chat telling them not to come,” he whispers, glancing over his shoulder at Eden as she remains in place, and that’s when I realize she must be sleeping.
“She’s sleeping,” I blurt out, unable to take my eyes off her, and he nods in agreement.
“Yeah. We came back here after lunch since she kept yawning. I knew she hadn’t been sleeping well, and she wouldn’t go for an actual nap in her bedroom, but the second she lay down on the lounger, she fell asleep.”