Breaking Karma

by Charity Ferrell

  Cousin? I studied the guy and could see a tiny resemblance to Keegan. They both had the same dark hair, but this guy’s grey eyes were no match to Keegan’s.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “That’s nothing new.” He grabbed a handful of fries and shoved them into his mouth. His thumb moved in the air my way. “Who’s this?”

  “Daisy, she’s the new girl,” Cora answered, before I had the chance to introduce myself. She looked at me. “This is my boyfriend, Lane.”

  A sly smile spread over his face. “So you’re the chick my cousin was telling me about, the neighbor girl. I must say I’m somewhat disappointed,” he said, causing me to frown. I tensed up. Keegan had told him about me watching him and Piper. “I thought girls named Daisy were supposed to have little blonde pigtails and wear those tiny shorts. What are they called again?” He looked around the table, snapping his fingers while waiting for someone to come up with the answer.

  The tension in my muscles released. Jesus, these people and my damn name.

  “Daisy dukes,” Gabby told him.

  He snapped his fingers again. “That’s it. Daisy dukes. I see you don’t have the blonde pigtails, but are you wearing those shorts?” He grinned, instantly reminding me of his jackass cousin. There was no doubt they were related now.

  He winced when Cora slapped him upside his head before I had the chance to tell him no. I did own daisy dukes, though. I sported them during the summer when I went to concerts and snuck out with Tessa.

  “Try not to scare her off with your damn creepiness, Lane,” Cora said, giving me an apologetic look. “Please excuse my boyfriend, he never caught onto the concept of manners.”

  “It seems your sexy-as-shit cousin has his eyes set on Little Miss Daisy here,” Gabby said, singing my name like it was some cheap, hillbilly movie. I was definitely making a trip down to the Social Security office and applying for a temporary name change.

  “I wouldn’t let Piper hear you say that shit,” he said.

  “You wouldn’t let Piper hear you say what?” I already knew who the deep voice belonged to before I turned around to face him. He stood directly behind me with his arms folded across his chest. His eyebrows turned up as he glanced around the table. “Ladies, it’s always nice to see your beautiful faces, and I see you’ve had the pleasure of meeting my new neighbor.”

  Gabby’s face resembled a lovesick puppy while Cora rolled her eyes and grimaced. “Shut it, Keegan,” she spat. “You know the only reason I put up with your ass is because of Lane.” She pointed at him. “I’m still mad at you, by the way. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about my cousin.”

  Keegan groaned, running his hands through his hair. “Damn Cora, are you ever going to get over that shit? It was forever ago.”

  “It wasn’t forever ago. It’s only been a year, and she was heartbroken. She actually believed you liked her.”

  “Then maybe you need to help her out and tell her she should ask guys if they like her or not before she fucks them. I didn’t make her any promises before or after she decided to spread those pretty little legs for me.” He smiled in earnest. A sour taste filled my mouth.

  “You’re seriously a pig,” Cora scoffed, snatching a fry from Lane’s tray and throwing it over my head at him.

  “Dude,” Keegan said to Lane, dodging the fry. “Control your crazy girlfriend.”

  “Fuck that, asshat,” Lane said, laughing. “I’m not defending your dumbass.”

  “You’re so pussy-whipped,” Keegan threw back.

  “Damn straight, I am. I’ll be pussy-whipped every goddamn day for the rest of my life if it means I’m getting the prefix.” He gave the table a naughty grin and kissed Cora’s cheek.

  My stomach pitted with jealousy as I watched them. I missed having that connection with someone.

  “You’re incorrigible,” Cora said, attempting to swat him away, but he only kissed her again.

  “That was a good one, though,” Gabby said, reaching out to give him a high-five. Even if my sense of humor was non-existent now, he’d managed to get me to crack a smile.

  “Asshole,” Keegan muttered, shaking his head. He looked down at me. What did he want now? He’d already pitted the school’s mean girl against me, what other damage could he cause? “I came over to tell you I can give you a lift home after school.”

  I swallowed, dreading having to endure another wretched car ride with him and his “bootycall,” but he was being nice offering me a ride home. Not to mention, I hadn’t talked to Tommy, so I didn’t even know if I had a ride home.

  “Okay,” I said, keeping my attention on the salad in front of me. I separated the cheese from the lettuce with my fork.

  He winked and then patted me on the back. He saluted us and headed back to his table. I sunk back in my chair when I noticed a pissed off Piper glaring daggers my way.

  “God, you’re such a lucky bitch,” Gabby said, her eyes following Keegan. “I’m declaring this right now. All girl’s nights will be held at your house. I’d be peeking through his windows every night like some stalker if I was his neighbor.”

  I gave her a lame attempted of a smile and gulped.

  If she only knew.

  KEEGAN

  Chapter Six

  I was always the last person to walk into class, making it there at the same time the bell rang, but Piper started to invite me to have dinner with her parents. Anytime a chick mentioned meeting the ‘rents, that was my cue to get the fuck out of dodge, which made my arrival to Health class earlier than usual.

  For as long as I could remember, I’d always been free to do whatever the hell I wanted. My mom despised staying at home and being an actual parent. Even on the rare occasions she was home, she still didn’t give two shits. She turned a blind eye to the revolving door of girls and didn’t ask questions about the nights I decided not to come home.

  I brought home different girls because I knew I could. I fucked them because I knew that’s what they wanted. Every single one of them wanted to have the opportunity to brag to their little sidekick girlfriends that I’d given them the time of day. Then they’d all make a lame attempt of being that, “one girl who tamed me,” which was fucking stupid on their part. But hey, I wasn’t banging them for their brains, anyways.

  I’d never, in my eighteen years, been tamed, owned, or in a relationship. I warned each and every girl I’d ever been with before I even unbuttoned my jeans that I didn’t do that shit. There was no sending flowers, meeting the parents, or cuddling on the couch. We both would get what we wanted, and then one of us needed to leave.

  There were a few exceptions to my “one time only” rule, and one was Piper. When her skinny ass hopped on my lap butt ass naked last night, it was nothing new. Piper was my hanger-on. She was always available whenever I called, and she knew how I operated. She could handle not getting goodnight calls or Friday night date nights. I called, and she came, in more ways than one. She turned a blind eye when I fucked other girls and didn’t bitch about it later. That was our arrangement, and it was a pretty fucking good one. I had no complaints.

  The classroom was almost full when I walked in and headed towards my usual chair at the back of the room, but it was taken. My sexy, little spyin’ neighbor was settled in it with her attention engrossed in some notebook. Lucky for me, there was an open seat next to her, and I plopped my ass down. She jumped at the screech of my chair and looked over at me.

  “Seriously?” she groaned out, slamming her notebook shut.

  I frowned. That wasn’t the usual greeting I received from the opposite sex. “Nice to see you, too,” I said, setting my elbow down onto my desk, giving her a wicked grin. “I thought I’d come over, show some neighborly love, and see how your day is going, my young voyeur.”

  Her eyes turned ice cold. “First of all,” she spat, leaning into me. “I’m not a damn voyeur, like I’ve already told you. You saw me watching. I get it, joke adjourned. Secondly, it’d be much easier for the both of us if you’d ple
ase move to another seat, preferably one at least fifteen feet away.”

  “Yeah, I can’t do that.”

  “And why not?”

  “You’re in my seat.”

  "There are assigned seats?"

  “Pretty much.”

  “No, there isn’t, he’s lying to you,” a grating voice called out from the opposite side of her.

  I glanced over her head and spotted my least favorite asshole, Dirk Bates. If you grabbed a dictionary and flipped to the word douchebag, you’d see a framed picture of Dirk smiling with his over-bleached teeth and popped-collared polo shirt.

  “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Dirk,” he said, introducing himself and holding out his hand to Daisy.

  Oh fuck no, he needed to stay the hell away from her.

  Daisy shook his hand and then turned around to glare at me again. “You can’t sit there. Your demon girlfriend is probably plotting my murder as we speak, plus everyone is staring.”

  I smiled in amusement. “I don’t have a girlfriend, so that can’t be true. I also couldn’t give two fucks if these dipshits are staring. It’s your fault, not mine, sunshine. If I leave, they’d still be staring because you’re fresh meat.”

  "I'm not fresh meat," she hissed back in horror.

  "Baby, you're definitely fresh meat.” I moved my eyes down to her chest. "And I can guarantee you that every single guy in this room agrees with me, too.”

  She opened her mouth, most likely ready to tell me to fuck off, but the bell rang, stopping her. Miss Carter, or Vicki, as I called her, sauntered into the classroom clad in a tight, black dress entirely too risqué for a teacher, but I wasn’t complaining. I knew her better than most students, including all she had going on underneath that sexy ass dress. In her defense, it was before she actually became my teacher.

  “Good afternoon, class,” she greeted, her voice sultry as her cherry red lips formed a smile.

  “Miss Carter,” I called out, raising my hand before she got on with her lecture. “I’m not sure if you’re aware or not, but we have a new student with us today.” I pointed at Daisy, and every eye turned back to look at her again. She stared down at her desk, shyly playing with her hands.

  “Thank you, Keegan, I’m aware,” Vicki said, looking at Daisy. “We’ve already completed the first two sections that will be on next week’s test, but I’m sure someone will be kind enough to partner up with you and let you borrow their notes.”

  “You can use mine,” Dirk offered up from the seat next to her, opening up his notebook.

  That wasn’t fucking happening.

  Dirk was the ultra shadier version of me. Sure, I slept around, but I didn’t think I was necessarily a bad person, per se. I never made promises or love devotions to girls so they’d fuck me. Dirk played the game differently because he did. The gel-haired prick led girls on by telling them he loved them just to wedge his scrawny fingers, or cock, into their panties. Then he ditched them after he got what he wanted.

  “She’ll pass. I’ll give her mine,” I told him.

  “You don’t have to work with him if you don’t want to,” Dirk told Daisy, and then looked at me. “And Keegan, just because you share your notes doesn’t mean she’s going to open up her legs for you.”

  I let out a hard laugh. I couldn’t believe the asshole was actually trying to turn the tables and accuse me of his games. “Don’t test me, Bates. She’s my neighbor, so shut the fuck up.”

  Dirk might’ve been a little asshole with a smart mouth, but he knew not to fuck with me. I’d planted my fist in his face when I overheard him talking shit about Gabby when she wouldn’t put out for him at a homecoming dance. The asshole liked to brag and talk shit about his conquests to anyone who’d listen. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let Daisy become his next victim.

  “I don’t want your notes,” Daisy said, irritated. “Take your attention and go somewhere else with it.”

  I wasn’t budging. I’d rather her be pissed at me before allowing her to hang out with Dirk. “I like my attention right where it’s at. You’re not using his notes, and you’re sure as fuck not working with him.”

  Her eyes narrowed into thin slits. “I’m sorry, but you didn’t become the boss of me because you gave me a ride to school. I can use whoever’s notes I want to use.”

  “Tommy told me to keep an eye on you and help you with this shit, so that’s what I’m doing. Now let’s get this note party started.” I clapped my hands and opened up my notebook. Shaking her head, she snatched it off my desk and started to copy my notes without saying another word to me.

  ***

  “You’re taking me home? What the hell?” Piper shrieked when I turned down her street. She shoved my shoulder from the passenger seat, and her blonde hair flung in her face.

  “I think that’s what it looks like,” I answered, keeping my focus on the road.

  I should’ve told her to find another ride home. Her dad bought her a brand new, shiny Mercedes convertible, but she still asked me for a ride everyday. She was under the assumption that I was clueless why, but I wasn’t a damn idiot. She was trying to tell other girls that I belonged to her. She wanted to stake her claim.

  Even if she was trying to piss a circle around me to show her ownership, it wasn’t working in her favor. It didn’t scare chicks away from screwing me. Shit, I’d just had my cock in her best friend’s mouth last weekend, and she sure as fuck hadn’t been worried about Piper’s apparent “claim” on me. Her bullshit had never bothered me before, but for some reason with Daisy seeing us, it did.

  “But we usually go over to your house after school and you know …” Piper said, moving her hand to my thigh and grabbing my cock through my jeans. I stopped her, removing her hand and placing it back into her own lap. She tilted her head to the side in confusion and raised a brow. It wasn’t unusual for her to give me road head or to jump in the backseat before I dropped her off.

  I told myself I was being an asshole because I was pissed over the fact that she was lying. Sure, she did come over sometimes, but it wasn’t a daily thing like she was trying to insinuate. She only came over when I felt like getting laid, and surprisingly, I didn’t want any of her at the moment.

  “I’ve got some shit going on tonight,” I said, braking in front of her house.

  My eyes traveled to the rearview mirror at the sound of the loud beep coming from the backseat. Daisy glanced down at her phone. Her face fell as she looked at the screen. She hadn’t said a word to me after our argument in class, or since she’d gotten in my car. She shoved her phone roughly into her bag before wiping a watery eye. A tight ball formed in the back of my throat when I noticed her hand brush away a fallen tear.

  My attention left her when Piper leaned over, grabbed my face, and pulled me towards her. She pressed her lips to mine, opening her mouth, and slid her tongue along the outline of my lips. I cringed and pushed her away. Fuck, I was sure Daisy had to be uncomfortable as shit. She smiled, rubbed my dick one last time, and got out of the car.

  “Call me later, baby,” she shouted, blowing me a kiss.

  “You okay back there?” I asked, twisting around in my seat to look at Daisy. “You can hop up here if you want.” I patted the seat with my palm.

  “I’m fine,” she replied, refusing to look at me.

  I frowned, but turned around and put my car in drive. Silence devoured our ride home until I pulled into her driveway.

  “Thanks for the ride,” she rushed out.

  Her dark hair was the only thing I saw as she disappeared from my car and scurried up to her front door. Gearing into reverse, I pulled into my own driveway and parked in the garage. The horn blared against my skull as I banged my head against the steering wheel.

  What the fuck was wrong with me? The chick was getting underneath my skin, and I didn’t like it. I had to fight back the urge to clock every asshole that talked about her ass in the locker room earlier. Usually, I ignored the idiots because I’d already fucked wh
atever girl they were bragging about, but it was different with her. And not just because she was completely unattainable to me.

  When I looked at her, I saw more than a pretty face and a hot body. There was pain in her eyes mixed with anger and hatred. I knew that look because I saw it when I looked at my own reflection. I knew why I felt that way, but I didn’t understand how someone that innocent could, and for some reason, I wanted to know. I needed to know what the fuck was bottled up inside torturing this gorgeous girl.

  I ran my hands over my face. Shit, Daisy wasn’t even my usual type of what everyone would expect from Layla Hudson’s son. Fuck yeah, I had a type: fake, slutty, and busty. I’d bet my ass the girl that had been embarrassed talking about sex wasn’t the first two, but she did have the busty thing going on. Even in the loose shirt she was wearing, I could tell she had a bangin’ body. And that ass. Damn, her ass was perfection, absolute perfection.

  “Stay away from her,” I whispered to myself. Tommy would kick my ass and find some bullshit way to put my ass in the slammer if I fucked with her. He had plenty of friends who were judges.

  DAISY

  Chapter Seven

  “Did you have fun at school today?” Sophia asked, jumping on my bed.

  I had a history book opened in front of me, but hadn’t looked at it once. My mind was racing with too many things to concentrate on World War II.

  “It was fine,” I lied, shutting the book and crossing my legs. “Did you have fun today?”

  “YES! I always have fun at school, silly. This week is the letter C, which means I need to find something super cool to bring in for show-and-tell that starts with the letter C. Malcom Finney said he’s bringing his cat, Carey, so I need something way cooler than some stupid cat. I don’t like him because he pulled the head off my favorite doll at recess.” She crossed her arms and pinched her lips together.