by J. L. Beck
In an even worse mood than before, I head to the library for my tutoring session. After the disaster from my first session, I make sure I get there ten minutes early today.
When I walk up to our session room’s closed door, I hear voices inside, letting me know she is already here but tutoring someone else. Leaning against the wall adjacent to the door, I wait for them to get done.
Just when I think I can’t get any more annoyed, I hear the other person–who is clearly a guy–say something to make Blair laugh so loud she snorts.
What the hell is so funny, and who snorts while they laugh?
Constantly checking my phone, I wait until it’s exactly five o’clock. As soon as I see the five and two zeros light up my screen, I open the door and walk into the room without knocking.
Blair jumps out of her chair, a loud, high-pitched scream ripping from her throat while the guy sitting next to her simply stares at me wide-eyed. He looks familiar too. I’ve seen him at parties before, Frank or Frankie, I think.
“I’m on time,” I announce. “You, out. It’s my turn.”
I motion for the guy to get up, and he does almost immediately. I’m not surprised. He’s at least a head shorter than me, and I’ve got about forty pounds of muscle on him. He’s not an athlete, I know that much, and we don’t run in the same circles, but he’s somewhat popular and definitely not a nerd. I watch him as he gets up and walks past me without a word, even though he looks as if he wants to say something.
When I turn my attention back to Blair, she is still standing with her hands clutched to her chest.
“You didn’t have to be so rude,” she finally says.
“Says the girl who dumped a drink on my head,” I quip and flop down on a chair.
“Great, you’re in a chipper mood today.” She takes the seat next to me, looking uncomfortable as hell.
I sigh. “I’m sorry, okay. I’m in a bad mood, and I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
“It’s okay.” She nods, pushing her glasses up her nose like she always does. “Did you bring your books this time?”
“I did.” I pull out all my schoolwork from my backpack and put it on the table between us. “You didn’t answer my texts last night. Did you not like my jokes?” I would never admit it, but I was a bit scorned by the fact that she never replied.
“They weren’t that funny.” She shrugs.
“Well, you have no sense of humor then. Because those jokes were hilarious.”
“You have my number for tutoring questions, not to be friends. Can we just go back to the way it was before, where we were simply ignoring each other?”
“Why can’t we be friends?”
“I just don’t want to be your friend, and let’s face it, you don’t want to be just friends anyway.”
“Ouch.” I’m just going to forget she said that.
“Let’s take a look at what you are working on.” She looks down at the books with a twinkle in her eyes, like a kid walking up to the tree on Christmas morning. Does she actually like to do this kind of shit?
She opens one of the books, and a smile tucks on her lips, then she sucks in an audible breath as if she is enjoying the smell of the pages.
I’m floored, I always thought nerds just do this stuff because they are good at it, or because they care so much about their grades that they are willing to sacrifice their social life. I never thought that they could actually enjoy studying—enjoy math! Or the smell of fucking books.
Seeing Blair’s mood lighten simply by opening a math book has me dumbfounded.
“You really like math, huh?”
“Yeah, I do.” She grins while flipping through the pages and reading my notes. “I like it because I know what to expect. It’s always the same.”
I don’t miss the fact that this is the first time she has elaborated on an answer. It might not seem like a lot, but it’s a start.
As I watch her read over my stuff, I analyze her words further. She likes math because it’s unchanging, and she knows what to expect? Does that mean she doesn’t like change or the unknown? If so, why? An irrational fear, or did something happen to her?
“I don’t like math because it doesn’t make sense to me. Especially this type.” I point a finger at the book.
“Is that why you are in such a foul mood today?”
“Not really. My whole body aches from today’s practice, and this weekend we have a game. There is just a lot of pressure to win against Blackthorn and to get my grades up.”
“You’re going to Blackthorn? This weekend?” She perks up, and I can’t help but wonder why.
“Yeah. What’s at Blackthorn that has you more excited than math?” She better not say a boyfriend. Fuck, that would derail my plans. Even if I have screwed a chick that was taken a time or two, I won’t do it just because I can. I have morals, not a lot, but some.
“Nothing.” She lowers her head frowning.
“You’re a shit liar. Tell me,” I press, determined to get it out of her.
Finally, she says, “I have a friend who goes to school there.”
“A friend?”
“Mmhhh.” She flips another page over. “What chapter are you on? Is there something, in particular, you have problems with?”
I know she’s only trying to change the subject, and I’m not having it.
“A boyfriend?” I ask, ignoring her question.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
God, she is infuriating.
“I’m on chapter five.” I guess I’ll have to try a different technique with her. “I hate riding in the bus, so I always drive my truck if it’s a close enough game.” I throw that bit of information out there, hoping she takes the bait.
“So, you drive there by yourself?”
“Mmhhh.” I mimic her from just a moment ago.
“It’s my friend, Mia. She goes there,” she explains.
I can see she wants to ask me something, maybe to tag along, but something is holding her back. It’s like we are playing a cat and mouse game. I’m the cat, trying to lure the timid mouse out of her hiding place, dangling a piece of cheese in front of her.
“Do you visit Mia often?”
“No, I haven’t seen her since before school started,” she almost whines. Her voice suddenly sad, her head and shoulders sagged forward in defeat.
Okay, I guess I’ll cave.
“Do you want to ride to Blackthorn?”
With her head still lowered, she looks up at me through thick coal black lashes. Her big blue eyes peer into mine, and I swear my heart skips a beat.
“You would do that? Give me a ride?”
“Sure. Under one condition–”
“Nope.” She shakes her head and crosses her arms over her chest. “Conditions are a no go. I won’t be conned into something.”
“Whoa, slow down. You don’t even know what I’m gonna say.”
“It’s probably bad.” She wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Something like you have to kiss me or show me your boobs.”
Now, that’s a good idea.
Grinning, I roll my shoulders. “It’s nothing like that, though you can still do those things if you want to.”
“Cage,” she groans with frustration.
The sound goes straight to my cock, zinging through me like a bolt of lightning. Fuck me. Slowly, please, Lord, fuck me slowly. I wanted to hear her say my name again, except this time, I wanted it to me more breathless, more yes, Cage, right there…
Shit, I needed to rein it in.
“Okay, okay, it’s nothing bad.” I clear my throat, ignoring my cock, which now has its own heartbeat. “There is a restaurant about halfway to Blackthorn in a tiny little town. It’s called Pops. They have the best burgers in the state. I always stop there when I pass through, and since it’s a tradition, and you’re riding along, you’re required to come. We stop and eat on the way. Together.”
Her cheeks turn the lightest shade of pink, and she drops her gaze to t
he open books in front of her. “Sounds a lot like a date.”
I lean back in my chair and place my hands behind my head. “Not a date. I don’t date. In fact, I barely talk to chicks, so you should consider yourself lucky. This is just food. Burgers. Fries. Milkshakes.” I smirk.
She chews on her bottom lip nervously, contemplating what I’ve said. I can basically see her thoughts turning in her head. Swirling like a tornado in water. I hope she says yes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t. It was a hassle to get her to do the tutoring. I can’t imagine she would want to go anywhere with me.
“Not a date. Not even friends.” She narrows her blue eyes. “If you agree to those terms, then yes, I’ll take the ride.”
Oh, you’ll take the ride all right. Thank God she can’t hear my internal monologue.
“It’s a date.” I grin.
She blinks slowly, annoyance filling her features. I’m surprised steam isn’t coming out of her ears. Teasing her is my new favorite thing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. It’s not a date, Blair, so you don’t have to worry about falling for me.” I grin, showing off my dimples.
Blair doesn’t even seem the least bit phased by my smile, and again that makes me want her more. Doesn’t she realize that the more she denies me, the more I want her? This is a battle she’ll never win. I’m the king of seduction, of making panties drop.
“I would never fall for you,” Blair protests.
“Never say never, baby.” If she was smart, she’d run now because once this game really starts, I’ll show no mercy.
Her blue eyes gleam like gems, determination shining in their depths.
“Never, Cage. Never. Ever. Will I fall for you!”
We’ll see about that…
And just like that, I was more enamored with the idea of making Blair fall for me. I wanted her to want me, and she will, soon enough. I’ll win the bet, not only will she fall for me, I’ll make her love me too. There’s just one problem… how hard will I have to work for it?
7
Blair
Toothbrush, underwear, clothes, my extra glasses… I let the list of things I can’t forget run through my mind as I shove each item into my backpack, adding my books on top of all the things I’ll need for a weekend away.
I still can’t believe I accepted Cage’s offer to go to Blackthorn. But really anything is better than staying here with my awful roommate. The last two days have been the worst since I got here. I should have never wished for another roommate because being alone was one hundred times better than this.
Amanda is constantly yelling and nagging about the dumbest things. She keeps knocking my books over and throwing stuff on my side of the room. She accidentally dropped my shampoo bottle in the toilet, and my towel on the floor.
Last night, she didn’t come home until one in the morning. She knew damn well I was asleep, but that didn’t stop her from slamming the door and turning on the light.
She is rude, selfish, and really–
“What are you doing, Nerd?” Amanda’s shrill voice cuts through the room. She is curling her hair up in the bathroom, but she left the door open so she can listen to music on her stereo.
“Packing,” I yell back over the music.
“For what? Finally moving out of my room?”
Her room? I was here first.
“Just going on a weekend trip. I’ll be back Sunday night.”
“Well, I can’t promise that all of your stuff will be here then. I might have a friend stay with me, and your shit will be in the way.”
Zipping up my bag with my teeth grinding together, I leave it on my bed while I stomp over to her stereo and cut the music.
“Hey! I was listening to that!” She runs out of the bathroom with half of her curled and the other lying flat.
“Listen. If you touch any of my stuff while I’m gone, you’ll regret it.”
Her eyes widen in shock, and she actually takes a step back. “Are you threatening me?”
“I’m telling you. Don’t touch my stuff!”
“Or what?” She takes two steps toward me.
“Or I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine. You want me to leave your stuff alone when you’re out all night?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” she sneers.
“I would dare.”
She takes another step toward me, looking unhinged, almost as if she is about to hit me. She is so close our noses are only inches apart. She opens her mouth to say something else but is interrupted by a loud knock on the door.
“You’re lucky,” she says under her breath before turning away from me.
I take in a shaky breath. I hate confrontations like that. And I hate not having a place where I feel safe anymore.
Amanda opens the door and lets out a small shriek. “Cage, w-what are you doing here?”
Before he can answer, Amanda slams the door in his face and runs into the bathroom, slamming that door just as hard.
What the hell was that?
Shaking my head, I step to the door and open it again. Cage is staring back at me like he is thinking exactly the same.
“I’m almost ready. Just need to put my shoes on.”
“No rush.”
I walk back to my bed, and Cage steps into my room after me. Grabbing my sneakers off the floor, I sit down on the bed and start putting them on. The bathroom door swings open, and Amanda appears again with her hair in a bun this time.
“Sorry, Cage. My hair looked a little crazy. I didn’t expect you to come and see me.” She turns her icy stare to me. “You, out. I have a visitor.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Get lost and take your shit with you, it’s in my way.” She waves over the stuff sitting on my desk, in my side of the room.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Cage snaps at her, shutting her up faster than she started running her mouth. “I didn’t come here for you. I came for her,” he says, pointing at me.
Amanda slowly turns to see where he is pointing. As if she can’t believe he actually means me. After a moment of silence, her head tips back, and she starts laughing. She is laughing so hard she holds her hands over her stomach as if she is trying to hold it together.
“What’s so funny?” Cage asks her without so much as a smirk on her face.
“You gotta be kidding,” Amanda manages to get out between giggles. “Why would you be here for her?”
“I invited her to come with me to Blackthorn for the weekend.” Cage shrugs. “What’s it to you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Cage.” Amanda waves her hand. “You don’t have to try to make me jealous. I’ll sleep with you again without the effort. Last time was fun.”
Somehow, I manage not to cringe on the outside, but on the inside, my stomach is churning. Last time was fun. Cage slept with her, stuck his… Oh, god, I think I’m gonna hurl. I shouldn’t be surprised or bothered by it, but somehow, I’m both.
Cage’s features twist as if someone is digging a knife into his abdomen. “I’m not sleeping with you again, and had I known you’d sleep with the entire football team after, I would have kept my dick to myself to begin with. Also, it wasn’t that great, your voice is like nails on a chalkboard, and you’re a raging bitch.”
“Well, you’re a fucking asshole!” Amanda yells in his face before shoving him to the side and storming out the door.
All I can do is stand there, staring at the open door with my mouth hanging open.
“God, what a bitch. Does she always talk to you like this?”
I shrug. “I don’t really care how she talks to me as long as she leaves my stuff alone.”
“Jesus. Don’t let her talk to you like that, like you’re less than her.”
He shouldn’t care how she talks to me, or what she says about me, and I don’t miss the fact that he does or the shame in his eyes.
Not answering him, I finish putting on my shoes while trying to wrap my mind around what just happened. Cage stoo
d up for me. I wish I could be happy about that–and part of me is–but the truth is, Amanda is probably going to treat me even worse now. He’s provoked her, hung a piece of bloody meat right in front of her, and like the shark she is, it won’t be long before she rips me to shreds.
“You shouldn’t provoke her like that, she hates me enough as it is.”
“She shouldn’t hate you, you didn’t do anything to her.”
With my shoes in place, I get up and sling my bag over my shoulder. “You don’t have to do anything to someone for them to dislike you. Sometimes they just hate you for existing.”
When I lift my head and look at Cage, I find him gawking at me like I’m some kind of freak show act.
“That doesn’t mean she has to act like a raging bitch. I don’t like a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean I walk around being a giant fucking prick. And there is no reason why you should let anyone treat you like that. Don’t let her.”
Dumbfounded, I gape at him. Again, he surprises me by how compassionate he is. I can’t remember the last time someone stood up for me like that or cared about how someone else treats me. I guess Cage isn’t really that bad, at least not when he isn’t hitting on me.
8
Cage
What a fucking bitch. I’ve never in my life regretted sleeping with a chick before. After all, pussy is pussy, no matter the face or name attached to it. Amanda might be attractive on the outside, but inside she’s heartless as hell, a raging fucking bitch.
I never should’ve gone near her, let alone fucked her. She’s like a leech, and the fact that she’s Blair’s roommate annoys me, even more knowing that she’s talking to Blair like she is beneath her. What kind of person would it have made me if I stood by and watched her treat Blair like gum on the sole of her shoe?
I playback in my mind what Blair said to me on the way down to the truck.
“You shouldn’t provoke her like that, she hates me enough as it is.”
Teeth clenched, I grip the steering wheel, imagining it is some fucker’s throat. Thinking of Blair being bullied by Amanda because of me sits like a pile of bricks in my stomach. I’m not fucking okay with that, not at all.