CW Boys- The Complete Series Box Set

by C. Shell

  Dex shrugs, clearly not seeing the problem he’s created. “Is that why you did it? Were you trying to stir the pot and get Jimmie in trouble?”

  “I would never want Jimmie in trouble. I grabbed the beer from my dad’s stash as a little friendly payback for the box of condoms he gifted you earlier. It was just a tit for tat. Once your mom realizes they’re non-alcoholic, she’ll get off his back.”

  A slow grin tugs at the corner of my mouth. “Dexter Lohmann, you are pure trouble.” Raising up on my tiptoes, I move into his embrace and press my lip to his. Before the kiss can bloom into something more, Dex moves back.

  “Speaking about trouble. Care to enlighten me on who owed you a favor and why?”

  I smile despite not being able to breathe. I keep my chin up and my face blank. At least I hope it’s blank. I’ve never been good with the whole poker face thing, and now is not a good time for me to fail. “It's just someone I had a class with in school. Wasn’t a big deal.”

  Dex cocks his head. “I’m losing patience, Addy. Spit it out.”

  Fuck! Dex and I face off and the tension in the room builds. There is no way he’s going to let this go, not after digging his heels in.

  Taking a steady breath, I talk in a rush, trying to get everything out all at once. “I remembered a story Daniel once told me about how his father worked as an accountant at a big law firm that handled a few cases for Cristillo Davenport before. I contacted him through Facebook and told him that he owed me for breaking our friendship and allowing Lacey access to the school system. He agreed and a few days later the soccer ball arrived at my house.”

  I waited a beat to look at Dex and when I do, I’m taken back by the blatant anger staring back at me. This is much worse than what I had expected. With pursed lips and a ticking jaw, it looks like a couple of blood vessels are in danger of bursting from his drawn forehead.

  “Dex,” I say, trying to coax him into talking to me. I prefer him yelling any day of the week over the silence he’s giving me right now. Even as a child, the silent treatment would send me up the wall. Mom said she never had to worry about getting the belt after me, she just had to stop talking and I would break down in tears every time.

  Dex’s face is starting to grow an awful shade of red as he stares down at me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit worried that I'd pushed him too far this time. When I’m on the verge of breaking down and begging for his forgiveness, he finally speaks. “Why in the hell would you reach out to Daniel? That piece of shit threw you to the wolves when you wouldn’t look at him the way he wanted you to.”

  Folding my arms, I lean back against the recycle bin. “I’m not giving him a get out of free jail card, if that’s what you’re afraid of. Daniel is paying his dues by getting kicked out of school. His parents are moving him to some private all-boys school in Colorado.”

  Dex rakes a hand through his already mussed hair. “He deserves much worse.” The acid in his tone leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

  I’m obviously going about this wrong, so I try a different approach. “Daniel’s friendship with me is over. There is nothing there. His coming clean and speaking out against Lacey and Nicholas doesn’t change anything.”

  Dex takes another step back. His face contorts from anger to disbelief. The judge is still out on which expression I prefer. Neither one of them gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. “I don’t understand why you would call him in the first place. No soccer ball in the world is worth you being nice to that son of a bitch.”

  My spine stiffens. Tears gather in my eyes so I duck my head, letting my long hair curtain around my face. I refuse to let him see how much those words hurt me. I went out on a very emotional and a scary limb to get him a gift I knew he would appreciate. I didn’t want anything to do with Daniel. I’m not stupid, I knew Dex would be upset, but I thought he might be able to see through the bad and see that I did it for him.

  “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way. I wish I had known that before wasting my time and forcing myself to face things I'd rather keep buried, just so you could have the one thing you always talk about owning one day. I’m sure you can resell it on the internet or to one of your soccer buddies. It should fetch you a good amount of money.”

  I can’t stand here with him any longer. Any moment the tears will fall, and he doesn’t deserve them. With my chin held high, I turn my back on Dex and walk back into the house.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dex

  Sitting with my back against my headboard on my bed, I continue to toss the soccer ball Addison got me into the air as I think over our recent fight. I left with my tail tucked between my legs after she stormed out of the garage. After cooling down and realizing that I may have handled the whole situation wrong, I tried calling her later that night to apologize, but she wouldn’t take my call. That was days ago, and now I’m at a loss of how to proceed to get back into her good graces.

  A knock at the door catches my attention and I nearly drop the ball as I scurry to the side of the bed. My heartbeat ratchets up a good twenty beats in hopes it is a certain girl with golden hair and the prettiest eyes around, but when the door swings open, and I’m greeted with Nate’s smug face, my already sour mood plummets.

  “What do you want?”

  He glances at his watch and then at my rumpled clothing. “Did you forget our plans today? You promised that we would go play some ball over at the park with Jimmie and some of the other guys.”

  “Maybe,” I mumble. “I’ve been busy.”

  He blinks and then bursts out laughing. “She’s still not speaking to you, is she?”

  “How many screw-ups do you think a person gets in one life?”

  “Any person, or just you?”

  “Does it matter?

  Nate looks back at me briefly. “Maybe. I mean, you are notorious for screwing up when it comes to Addy, and yet, you two are still an item. I think the Universe feels sorry for your stupid ass and gave you a few extra chances where she’s concerned.”

  I’m quiet for a moment as I think things through. Nate must understand because he doesn’t push me, he just takes a seat at my desk and looks through the collection of books taking up residence there.

  “Thanks, Nate. In a very weird way, that makes me feel better,” I finally say.

  “That’s what I’m here for.” He motions to a piece of paper pinned to my bulletin board. “You passed all your tests?” His brows raise in surprise. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

  I force a smile. “Sorry, man. So much has been happening lately, it slipped my mind.”

  “Coach will be happy.”

  I smile, a real one this time. “One less thing to worry about.” I lean my head back and let out a small laugh that has nothing to do with happiness. “Tomorrow is Lacey and Nicholas’ pretrial conference.”

  “Jimmie was talking about it earlier. He said that his mom doesn’t want Addison to go, that it would be too hard on her and she shouldn’t have to be subjected to those heathens.”

  I nod and frown. “I figured as much. Probably for the best. What do you think will happen tomorrow?”

  “Their lawyers will argue with the DA and then the judge will look over all the evidence. My dad said that despite the evidence, nailing them to the wall will be a long shot. They might get off with only a hand slap.”

  I’d heard the same thing. Lacey and Nicholas might get lucky with the courts, but they will get what’s coming to them. One way or another, I will make them pay for messing with Addy. I let out a long sigh as I turn and look at Nate. “I need to get out of this house. You still want to go hang out with the guys?”

  “Hell, yes!”

  “Great,” I stand and slap my phone down beside him. I’m going to go change. When I get back, you’re going to help me talk to Addison. I need her to forgive me. Once that happens, we can leave.”

  He stares at the phone as if it’s a snake ready to bite him. “Why do you think I would help you?”
Nate stands and, for the first time ever, I wonder if he’s going to punch me. He definitely looks like he wants to. “You dug yourself into this hole, you and that big mouth of yours. I’m not helping you. This time you need to be the one to get yourself out. I’m tired of saving your ass.”

  I’m in shock. I don’t know why his words hit me so hard, but they do.

  Does he want her for himself?

  I shake my head, dismissing the idea before it can take root. We’ve got a strict bro code and no matter how many times I piss Nate off or how much he secretly loves Addy, he would never cross that line.

  “Fine,” I grumble. With my phone in my hand, I go back to the bed and begin a text to Addison.

  Me: I’m sorry

  No answer.

  Me: I messed up. I said things I don’t mean and I overreacted.

  Complete Silence

  I glance up and catch Nate smiling. The bastard is enjoying watching me grovel. If the shoe was on the other foot, I guess I would be doing the same damn thing.

  Me: Jelly Bean, please respond! Let me make this up to you. I promise to stop being such an ass. I will be nice and understanding. And I loved the present. I love you!

  I wait for what feels like an eternity and just when I’m about to give up and storm over to her house, my phone dings. It finally fucking dings!

  Jelly Bean: Okay

  I smile, then I laugh. Nate’s looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind. He might not be too off the mark with that one. I hold up the screen for him to see. “She said okay.”

  His brows pinch together in confusion. “Okay to what? What is she agreeing to?”

  I laugh louder. “I have absolutely no idea.” I shake the phone in my hand. ‘But she answered me. And she didn’t tell me to go fuck myself. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

  “Can we go play now? I didn’t know me coming here today would require me playing the dating game with you and Addy Bear. I’d rather sweat my ass off on the field than have to endure another minute of this shit.”

  I shake my head, my smile still in place. I don’t think anything could rock my good mood now. I’ve got my girl back.

  I grab my gym bag and head to the door. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Addison

  Dex and I were eating a nice lunch together when my mom came in and dropped the news on us. It hit me like a hammer. The pretrial conference was nothing more than a pony show. Their fancy, high paid lawyers shook hands with the judge and after an hour walked out of the courthouse with a satisfied smile on his face.

  “A plea deal?” I stare at my mom as if she’s grown two heads. I place my half-eaten hashbrown on the table, so I can run both hands through my hair.

  “How is that possible?” Dex asks. The chill of his tone cooled the room by a good twenty degrees. “They had good evidence. Daniel gave a statement against Lacey. They have blood tests proving that Nicholas drugged Addy and there are witnesses to attest to seeing them go to his house together.”

  Mom gives Dex a warning look before answering him. “I’m not a douchebag lawyer, so I don’t understand it all myself. The District Attorney said it was complicated. The judge they had is known for being lenient on anyone who has no priors. Daniels credibility was shot to hell after the school kicked him to the curb, and that left the case being a he said, she said about what happened between Nicholas and Addison after they went to his house.

  “Addison…the lawyers played the tape Lacey took of you two at the store. They convinced the judge that you instigated her bad behavior. They’ve removed the restraining order against her.”

  I’m completely screwed. Before I can get a word out, Dex is in my face. “What tape?”

  I sag down in my seat as tears stream down my cheeks. I let the sobs shake my body as I tell them both about the night at the store including how Lacey set me up to look like an evil twit. How she had Devon hide to tape the whole encounter. When I’m done and glance at Dex, I’m taken aback by how much hurt flashes back at me.

  With his jaw tight and his nostrils flared, it looks like he has to work hard to get his next question out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t want you to run off and do something stupid.” If only he knew how much the guilt had been eating at me about keeping a secret from him. “Lacey is my problem. If she tries to come at me again, I’ll handle her. Besides, the damage was already done. There was nothing you could do to fix it.”

  Dex gives me a hard look, then shifts his gaze back to my mom. “What about my testimony?” he questions, banging his fist on the table. “I had to pull that asshole off her. Why wasn’t that enough to put him away?”

  “Dexter!” My mother doesn’t raise her voice often, so her doing so now, is enough to cut through Dex’s rage. At least a little bit. “Look,” she says meeting him eye to eye, “I get that you’re upset. This is trying for all of us, but I need you to calm down. I won’t have an outburst like that in my house.”

  His attention shifts to me before mumbling an apology to my mom. Sitting up straighter in her chair, she goes back to explaining how my life just took a turn for the worst. “Your testimony is probably the only reason Nicholas got a harder judgment against him than Lacey.”

  “What did they get?” I stay relaxed in my seat despite the nervous tension coursing through me.

  Mom clears her throat, a tale-tell sign that she’s going to deliver more bad news. “Nicholas got seven months in jail with time served and a year of community service. Lacey got six-month community service and expelled from your high school. She will be moved to a different school after winter break.”

  I expect Dex to hit the fan and start yelling obscenities. To my surprise, he does neither of those things. In fact, he isn’t speaking. He isn’t doing anything but staring off into space. I check to make sure he’s even breathing. My mom and I both steal glances at each other, neither of us sure what to do.

  I’m more worried now than ever before. A quiet Dex is never a good thing. Is he really handling this news like a mature adult, or is he busy planning something sinister? I’m not a gambler, but if I was, I would put all my money on the second option.

  Standing, he reaches over and places a kiss on my cheek. My nerves go into hyperdrive. “Where are you going? You said we were going to spend the day together.”

  There is a long pause before he answers. “I’ve got some errands to run, babe. Why don’t you call Cammy for some company? I’ll catch up with you later.”

  I watch with my heart in my throat as Dex turns his back on me and walks out the front door. He said he will be back, but his departure feels permanent. I want to cry again, but I’m done wasting tears. Fuck that. If Dex wants to hash out what happened, he knows where to find me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Dex

  “What are you up to?”

  I finish stretching my legs, then stand and cross my arms over my chest, giving Jimmie a disarming smile. “Nothing, why would you think I’m up to something?”

  He lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “Because I know you and how you work.” Jimmie takes a swig from his water bottle, then places it on the bench between us. “And Nate might’ve mentioned that you borrowed his camcorder the other night.”

  Fucking Nate! I decide to try and throw him a curve ball. “Well, if you must know. Your sister and I have been thinking about spicing it up in the bedroom.” I wag my eyebrows for extra emphasis.

  “First off,” he states, holding up a finger, “that is disgusting. You and my sister under the sheets is not a topic of conversation I ever want to have. Secondly,” he states holding up another finger, “I don’t believe you.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “Then do tell, since you appear to know everything. What do you suppose I’m up to, Jimmie?”

  “Revenge, of course. The one thing I haven’t figured out yet, is who your intended target is. Are you going after Lacey or Nicholas?”

  When I
refuse to answer him, the jackass keeps probing for more information. “I think it’s Lacey. Would make sense with you wanting a camcorder. That’s what she used on Addy. An eye for an eye, right?”

  The hairs on the back of my neck prickle. He’s too close to the truth for my liking. “Jimmie, why don’t we just continue working out. Don’t go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  Jimmie’s lips spread into a wide smile. “You misunderstand, man. Unlike Nate, who is as we speak, figuring out a way to stop you from going after them, I want to help.” He finishes his set with the barbell, then turns and gives me his full attention. “Those assholes should’ve never messed with my sister. Whatever you want to dish out, count me in. I’ll help any way I can.”

  I arch an eyebrow, interested in this new turn of events. It took me two full days after leaving Addison’s house before I calmed down enough to speak to her again. I wasn’t just mad over the outcome at the courthouse, but I was fucking gutted that Lacey messed with Addison and, instead of coming to me about it, she hid it from me.

  There wasn't anything I could’ve managed to stop the tape from being found out, but I should’ve at least been aware that one existed. In the end, we hashed things out and everything is good between us again. At least for now. What I’m planning to do to Lacey is dangerous and stupid enough that it might push Addison away, which is why my girl can’t ever know what I’m plotting.

  “Lacey has to be stopped. The girl is borderline psychotic. From day one, she’s always seen Addison as a threat. From past experiences with other girls she didn’t like, she won’t stop until Addison is a shell of who she once was. That can’t happen.”

  Jimmie nods. “I already told you I’m in. I agree with you one hundred percent.” He checks the areas around us making sure no one is listening in. “What have you got in mind?”