“I do,” I say, “But what’s that got to do with you making yourself at home?”
“We’re chilling today.”
“The hell we are.”
Damian’s whole head rolls as dramatically as possible as he turns to look at me. “Would you go to the bathroom? Your weird squirming is making me uncomfortable and I’d really hate to see you embarrass yourself with an untimely puddle.”
My jaw clenches. I’d love nothing more than to tell him where to shove it, but he’s right. If I don’t deal with this situation right now, there’s going to be a big problem.
I hurry off to pee and while I’m in the bathroom, I help myself to a quick shower and get myself presentable for the day. I take extra long just to be annoying and when I come back out, I find Damian spread out, shoes kicked off, and a pizza box open on the space beside him.
“What the hell is this?” I gawk, indicating to the pizza box.
He looks at me as though I’ve lost my mind. “Who watches the game without pizza?”
Realizing this is a losing battle, I give in and grab the blanket off my bed. I trudge out into the living room and curl up on the opposite end of the couch, making sure to steal a slice of pizza on my way past. “Ugh,” I groan, looking down at it. “Who gets olives and pineapple on pizza?”
He glares across at me, narrowing his eyes. “Don’t even start with me. Eat your damn pizza.”
I do what I’m told like a good little girl but find myself constantly looking up at him. “What?” he demands, not taking his eyes from this screen.
“Why are you here?”
He lets out a small sigh and pulls himself up on the couch before turning to look at me. “Because you have shitty taste in friends, so I’m doing you a solid and filling the position.”
“There’s no position open.”
He barks out a sharp laugh. “Trust me, there is. Maze ain’t good people. I’ve decided that I like you and she ain’t going to cut it. I kind of thought you’d figured that out after she was boning your man.”
I choke back a loud as fuck snort. “Slade’s not my man.”
“Really?” he laughs. “Ask him that, I’m sure he’ll have a different answer.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. We’re just…I don’t know but I’m not his fucking girl.”
“So…” he says, suggestively, “then you’re down to fuck around?”
“You’re kidding, right?” I laugh. “I know you heard what my jackass brother let slip last night. You must be insane if you think I’m down for that.”
He gives me a knowing grin and I realize that he’s just messing around. “First off, your brother is a fucking ass and needs to be pulled in line. Secondly, you’re fucking insane if you think I’d touch you again. Cruz would have my balls for even suggesting it, but I’m still fucking thrilled you let me play around before lines were drawn. Though, I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit disappointed things didn’t get a little more exciting.”
“No lines were drawn,” I groan. “Me and Slade aren’t a thing.”
“I don’t know. You two need to have a conversation or some shit like that because the sexual tension between you two is fucking ridiculous. I feel sorry for the guy, his balls must be black and blue by now.”
An unladylike scoff comes tearing out of me. “I don’t think he has an issue there,” I comment as the image of Maze riding him flashes in my mind.
“Trust me, he hasn’t fucked Nessa since you showed up and Maze…that was just some stupid bullshit to get under your skin and from the way you ran out of there, it worked.”
“That’s not why I ran out of there.”
“Oh, yeah?” he questions with a knowing smirk. “Sure seemed like it.”
“Maze was talking shit.”
“From what I hear, it was shit he already knew.”
I groan, hating that I’m discussing this with Damian of all people. “Apparently.”
The front door barges open, making me jump and reach for a knife that isn’t there as a high-pitched squeal comes tearing out of Damian. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Slade growls at his best friend as my eyes travel up and down his body, gawking as I take in the loose basketball jersey and the grey sweatpants hanging dangerously low on his hips.
I shoot to my feet, glaring at Slade while trying not to drool. “What the hell is this? Do you two just make it your business to annoy me at every chance you get? What are you doing here?”
Slade tears his glare away from Damian and it comes back on me. “I told you, I’m making it up to you.”
I groan as Damian’s signature smirk crosses his face. “Ah, so you told her then?”
My head whips to Damian. “You knew?”
“Perks of being his best friend.” I flop back down on the couch, unsure how to feel about all of this, though really, should I even be surprised? His head rolls toward me with that signature smirk once again. “Thought you said there was nothing going on between you guys.”
Slade kicks the door shut and strides into the room. “There is nothing going on,” I say, watching him slink across the room with the swagger of an asshole, the one I find so damn enticing.
Slade scoffs at my remarks. “Deny it all you want, but there’s definitely something going on here.” My mouth opens to protest but he glances at the TV and instantly cuts off whatever I was going to say. “No, shit. The game’s on,” he cheers, dropping down beside me and throwing his arm over the backrest of the couch as his other sneaks under the blanket to take hold of my thigh.
What the hell is this?
Damian offers him up a slice of pizza and he scrunches up his face. “Ew, no. Bro, I’ve fucking told you about those nasty toppings. No one eats pineapple on pizza.”
I grin wide in victory as Damian rolls his eyes and grumbles under his breath. “You two were made for each other.”
And…cue the awkwardness.
My eyes meet Slade’s and something softens behind their darkness, bringing on a wave of butterflies that make me want to scream. I hate that I’m falling for his charm, especially now that I don’t despise him, I’m starting to find it kind of irresistible.
This isn’t good.
Needing something to distract me from the mountain of a man beside me, I head into my room and bring out my sketch pad and pencils. I drop back down beside Slade but make sure to give myself a little more distance and as the boys watch the game in that loud, ridiculous way that boys do, I work on a portrait to remember this moment.
Don’t get me wrong here, I don’t mind a bit of basketball but after two hours, I’m more than happy when the game finally comes to an end. The boys cheer and their excitement shows in their eyes.
“Come on,” Slade says, throwing himself off the couch and grabbing my sketchpad. He tosses it aside as though I haven’t just been working hard on it for the past two hours and pulls me to my feet. “Let’s go to the courts.”
Damian gets up and starts making his way to the door, only stopping when I put up a fight. “No,” I say, loving the feeling I get every time I go against him.
Slade looks down at me. “Yes.”
“No, what am I supposed to do at the courts? I don’t play and I sure as hell don’t plan on sitting on the sidelines like your personal cheerleader.”
His brows furrow and I grin wide realizing that this is something completely new. He’s probably used to girls fawning over him, desperate to be the one sitting on the sidelines. “Well, I’m not sitting here all day watching you draw.”
“Then by all means,” I say, waving my hand toward the door. “Go ahead.”
A strange look comes over his face and he appears to be deep in thought, which couldn’t possibly be good. “Have it your way,” he says with a shrug, making Damian howl with laughter.
Confusion baffles me until he scoops up my sketch pad, grabs a couple of pencils and my eraser and then bends down until his shoulder is slamming against my hip. I’m thrown over his should
er and I squeal out as he spins around and heads for the door.
“No,” I scream, banging my hands against his back. “Put me down.”
“Nope.”
“Fine,” I groan. “I’ll go with you losers happily if you put me down.”
Slade stops in the doorway and spanks my ass. “Promise?”
“Promise,” I say as he puts me down. He stabilizes me on my feet and I leave my hands on his chest a moment longer than necessary. “There’s just one tiny little catch.”
His eyes narrow as he steps into me. “And what’s that?”
A wide grin takes over and I feel my cheeks squishing up into my eyes. “I get to take your truck for a joyride first.”
He shakes his head. “No. No fucking way.”
I shrug a shoulder and let out a heavy sigh. “And here I was thinking that you wanted to make it up to me.”
“Fuck,” he groans as Damian laughs. “If you fucking break her…”
“What? You’ll spank me?”
“I’ll do more than fucking spank you.”
“Oh,” Damian cuts in, still laughing. “I’ll spank you if he won’t.”
Slade shoots a sharp glare at his best friend and two minutes later, I’m sitting in the driver’s seat, sliding the chair all the way forward and starting this beast up.
After quickly realizing that Slade’s Dodge RAM is way too much car for me to handle, I bring it to a stop outside the public basketball courts and laugh as Slade lets out a breath of relief. Damian digs around in the backseat and finds a ball and before I know it, we’re making our way across the park.
There are still a few people here but being 6 pm on a Saturday evening, most of the families have left to organize dinner, leaving behind all the teenagers who are getting ready to spend their night fucking around.
I get myself set up at the park bench that Maze and I had smoked at while listening to the familiar sounds of the boys running up and down the court with the ball.
I get distracted by their movements and after watching Slade dunk the ball, inspiration hits and I start sketching.
I’m just about done my outline when voices have my head snapping up from my work. Night has fallen so all I see are shadows moving but as they get closer, I recognize Roman Westbrock’s nasty tone and instantly find myself on my feet.
There are four of them there and they’re coming at Damian and Slade as though they’re ready to cause trouble. The boys are instantly ready and for some reason, I’m not surprised.
The muscles in Slade’s arms ripple as the basketball is forgotten and rolls off toward the opposite end of the court. I race forward.
I push myself in front of Slade, not understanding why I feel so damn protective of these two morons. My presence surprises Roman and he comes to an immediate stop. “Well, if it isn’t my girl,” he smiles wide, forcing a low growl out of Slade. “You haven’t been returning my texts.”
“What the fuck are you doing?” I demand, passing over his comments as he’s lying. I haven’t gotten one text from him since that day he picked me up from school. This is all just a ploy to get under Slade’s skin and from the tension rolling off him in waves, it’s clearly working.
Roman scoffs and looks over my shoulder at his arch nemesis. “Fucked over anyone’s sister lately?”
“I sure fucking have,” he says, his voice low and terrifying making me realize that the tone he always took with me was absolutely nothing. He wasn’t even trying with me, this right here, this is the real Slade Cruz that people fear, the one who could have grown men begging for mercy. It gives me chills yet I find it so damn sexy. “I moved on from your trashy one pretty fucking quick. She wasn’t worth sticking around for.”
Rage flashes in Roman’s eyes and I watch as his hands ball into fists. “I think you should walk away,” I tell him as a warning. I’ve never seen Slade and Damian in action before, but I’m sure as hell that the four of these losers don’t stand a chance. Judging by the solid rock of a man behind me compared to the guy in front who still seems so much like a boy, Slade and Damian will have these guys in tears within three seconds.
Roman’s eyes narrow on me, seeing the warning in my eyes and clearly thinking that I’m underestimating them. He steps toward me and I move back, not out of fear but purely because I don’t want to be anywhere near him.
I press my back up against Slade’s strong chest. His hand falls to my hip and any other time, I’d say he just wanted to touch me but this is more, this is Slade preparing to tear me out of the way for when shit inevitably goes south.
“I heard some rumors about you last night,” Roman says with an ugly darkness in his eyes, making it clear that he’s still salty about the fact that I refused to be his little inside man. “It seems you’re a real fucking horny slut. I should have fucked you when I had the chance.”
I’m thrown across the basketball court and hardly have a chance to steady myself before all hell breaks loose. Slade rears back and delivers a devastating blow to Roman’s face that has blood spurting from his mouth and splattering over the court.
Slade is fucking lethal. He fights like a warrior and it’s the most beautiful and deadly thing I’ve ever seen.
Roman’s friends jump into action as Damian curls his fingers into his palm with a wicked grin, showing me a reckless side of him that I didn’t realize he had. Slade and Damian dominate just as I knew they would but I’m not some defenseless girl who’s going to stand back while the big boys fight it out.
I throw myself into it, pissed off that Slade had the nerve to push me out.
I find Roman and launch myself onto his back while digging my elbow into the base of his neck. It probably won’t do much damage but it sure as hell looks uncomfortable, especially as he desperately tries to buck me off while Damian slams his fist into his stomach.
Someone from far away screams ‘fight’ and soon enough, there’s a crowd beginning to gather. Someone grabs at my back and I look around to realize it’s someone completely new.
Fuck. Cops.
Slade and Damian are good to go all night but the boys from Hunters High instantly retreat at the sight of the police, showing that they’re more than happy to dish it out but aren’t willing to accept consequences.
Roman puts on a show of his injuries and the cops instantly go for my boys. “No,” I scream, rushing in and throwing myself in front of Slade as the cop reaches for him. “Leave him alone. He didn’t do anything.”
I stand between them, pressing up into Slade and forcing him back away from the cop, but he keeps coming. “Get out of the way, girl.”
“No. They started this,” I say, pointing at Roman who stands with the other cop, holding his face while Damian and Slade wear their injuries like a badge of honor. “They should be the ones getting in trouble.”
Slade’s hand finds my hip. “Out of the way,” the cop roars.
I stand my ground, clenching my jaw and showing that I’m not giving up on this, but the cop has other thoughts. My arm is grabbed and he pulls me into his sweaty body before pushing me hard with both hands.
My weight is absolutely nothing to him and I go flying, slamming down into the ground. My legs scrape against the asphalt of the court as my hand comes down on a stray piece of glass. I cry out in pain, clutching my hand as blood begins to seep out between my fingers.
Damian dives for me, but Slade dives for the cop, jaw clenched, and fists swinging.
Chapter 21
I slam my good hand down on the counter. “Let him go. He didn’t do anything.”
“Ma’am, he assaulted an officer,” the cop behind the desk says. “I can assure you, Slade Cruz won’t be coming out of there for a while. Now, I’ve asked you three times already to please take a seat, otherwise, you will be asked to leave.”
A frustrated growl tears out of me. “That’s bullshit. The cop deserved what was coming for him.”
“How so?”
I hold my hand up and wave it his face. �
��Because he assaulted me first.”
His eyes are narrowed into slits as he looks over my hand. Disbelief radiates out of him and it’s clear he thinks I’m just some ridiculous teenager spouting shit to get a friend out of a bad situation. “And do you have any proof of said assault?”
“Apart from my legs being all cut up and my hand possibly needing stitches, yeah, I have a whole park full of kids, Slade and that dickhead back there,” I say, pointing behind me to where Damian sits, slouched back in the stiff chairs as though he’s about to request room service.
The cop glances up and meets Damian’s eyes and he’s quick to nod. “It’s true. The fucker got what he deserved. If Slade didn’t get to him first, it would have been me.”
I give Damian a warm smile of thanks for being so ready to defend my honor, though he should know that had I not been down on the ground with blood saturating my hand, I would have been the one throwing punches.
I look back to the cop who presses his lips into a tight line. “This is a serious allegation,” he warns.
“Damn straight it is and if you guys intend on charging Slade with assault, then I’ll be slapping assault charges on your officer.” I tilt my head, pretending to be deep in thought. “Did I mention I’m only seventeen? A minor,” I question, glancing back at Damian. “Doesn’t that kind of make things worse?”
“Mmm, yeah, you know what?” he says, leaning forward onto his knees. “I think it does.”
I suck a breath in through my teeth while cringing at that cop. “That doesn’t sound good for you guys. I wonder how that would look in the press. ‘Aston Creek officer assaults minor.’
A voice is called from way down the hallway. “Hell yeah, babe. Show them why you’re the fucking boss bitch around here.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I yell back at Slade. “I’m not your babe.”
“Has someone looked at your hand yet?” Slade demands.
Ignoring his questioning, I watch as the cop scowls at my language before continuing. “Look, you’re going to need a little something more than the word of your friend, a friend who happens to have seen the inside of my jail cell more times than I can count. Find a reliable source and then we’ll talk. For now, Slade Cruz is being charged with assault of an officer.”
Ugly Girl: Aston Creek High (Book 1) Page 18