by Jami Wagner
KISS ME CRAZY
JAMI WAGNER
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For all my readers,
Your love for reading keeps me going.
KISS ME CRAZY
JAMI WAGNER
Kiss Me Crazy
Copyright © 2019 by Jami Wagner
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover design © Hang Le byhangle.com
Editor: Tee Tate, www.teetate.com
Editor: Julie Sturgeon, CEO Editor, ceoeditor.com
Copyediting/Proofreading: Casey Dawes, Concierge Self-Publishing, www.ConciergeSelfPublishing.com
Visit my website: www.jami-wagner.com
ISBN: 9781370461226
Chapter One
Lennox
Find a partner.
The three worst words to hear when you’re either the new kid in gym class where you don’t have any friends or when it’s the first day of sophomore year college courses and you don’t know a single person in the room.
I glance around, watching people pair up two by two. The chances of someone choosing me as their partner decrease by the second.
I adjust myself in my seat, crossing one leg over the other and fold my notebook back, ready to take notes.
I don’t need a partner anyway. I’m better off on my own, a sure bet my assignment will be on time. Explaining to someone why the assignment would have to work on my schedule sounds like such a pain in my ass. Let’s hope Professor Turner, who’s also been my advisor since I began classes here last year, sees it that way, too.
“Does everyone have a partner?” he asks, projecting his voice in a way that makes everyone look around the room to confirm instead of someone actually just saying yes.
His gaze lands on me, narrows, and then his short, black-haired head tilts to the right as he sighs. Professor Turner has this whole current-day John Cusack thing going on. It fits him.
“Lennox, where is your partner?” he asks. The fact I enjoy working alone won’t be lost on him. I’ve expressed my need to not rely on others more than a time or two in his office. I’m certain he’s sick of hearing me tell him I don’t need help picking out my classes, but he still insists we meet a few times a semester.
I smile but keep my focus on the blank college-ruled paper on my desk. No doubt, the entire class is looking at me. I pinch my lips together before I look up.
“You know, I was thinking I could handle all the projects solo this semester, Mr. Turner.”
He shakes his head. “That’s not how this course is planned.”
I laugh a little.
“I’m basically telling you that I’ll gladly do double the work, and you’re telling me no?”
He sighs heavily, like before, tapping his finger on the corner of his desk. His mouth opens to say something, but he’s interrupted by the classroom door swinging open and slamming against the doorstop. A zing! rings throughout the class.
Oh, my hell.
Tripp McCain.
Please tell me he’s only here to drop something off. My blood has already started to boil and I’m just looking at him. No one can ruin my day more than the jackass standing in the doorway, wearing his perfect tailored jeans and perfect collared shirt that probably cost more than my cell phone bill the last three months combined.
Please. Please. Don’t stay.
I turn back around in my seat. If I don’t make eye contact, maybe he won’t see me and I can relax.
“Can I help you?” Professor Turner asks.
“Is this Creative Writing 1020?”
“Yes. It is. Class started ten minutes ago.”
“I got lost.”
Liar. He’s been going here longer than I have. I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“Well, come on in. Class already started and your partner is waiting on you.”
No!
“Sweet. Who’s my partner?” he asks.
“Lennox Ashby.”
“No,” I say rather louder than I’d planned.
“What?” Tripp says at the same time. I twist to glare up at him only to find him scowling down at me.
“Anyone want to trade partners?” he asks to the class. A few of the guys chuckle, and one girl raises her hand immediately behind him.
“Oh please, you don’t get to be the one annoyed by this,” I say.
“And yet somehow I still am.”
“Enough. No one is trading partners. Take a seat next to Ms. Ashby. This isn’t high school anymore,” Turner instructs, turning to write something on the whiteboard behind him.
“I’d rather withdraw from this class than endure any amount of time with you,” I whisper once he’s seated. His wintergreen scent carries through the air, reminding me of Altoids. Screw his perfect smell, too.
“Wow, I think that’s the first thing we have ever agreed on.”
We turn at the same time, both glowering at each other. His dark blue eyes are bright against his light skin and black hair.
Ugh. What is it about attractive guys always being jerks?
There once was a time when I thought Tripp was this amazing, kind person, and my heart would speed up whenever he was around me.
I throw up a little in my mouth—not really, but the memory that at one point in our lives I truly thought he was a good person damn near makes me—and look away. That was three years ago.
There are a lot of shitty people in this world, but the number one person among the shitty people I actually know is sitting right next me.
“If you don’t already know your partner, introduce yourself and exchange contact information if needed. This person is now your lifeline for my class. If you are going to be late, absent, or anything else comes up, this is the person to contact. They will relay the information to me and bring you any missed assignments. Working with your partner will account for twenty percent of your overall grade.”
I groan and so does Tripp.
Hey, he has nothing to back up his attitude. Me? I have a whole freaking novel of reasons.
The worst part? I need this class if I’m going to get into the summer journalist program. I can’t afford to pay for a spot out of my own pocket. I need to pass this class if I want any chance at a scholarship for next year, too. Which means I don’t have a choice of whether I work with him or not. Perhaps I should have taken this class last semester like Turner suggested after all.
“Drop the class,” Tripp leans over to whisper.
“You drop the class,” I whisper back.
“Come on, Lennox. Drop it.”
I don’t say anything back to him or anything else at all for the remainder of class. The moment we’re dismissed, I shove everything in my bag and hightail it out of the room. The less time with Tripp the better.
“Lennox!” Kass, my best friend, shouts over the other students shuffling through the hall. “We’re going to go get lunch. Do you want to come?�
�� she asks.
“Who is we?” If she’s going to lunch with her boyfriend and he invites—
“Let’s see.” Kass forces a smile when Tripp begins answers for her. “It’ll be you, Kass, Mark, Winston, and myself,” he says.
Kass forces a smile when Tripp answers for her.
“Lovely,” I say, laying the sarcasm on thick.
At least Tripp didn’t include his girlfriend in that list. I dislike her probably more than him. Put the two of them together and, well, hanging around them is like eating black licorice and wasabi at the same time. Absolutely the last thing I would ever choose to do.
I thought the worst part about today was being forced to be partners with Tripp for class, but it’s not. It’s being reminded that he is one of my best friend’s boyfriend’s friends.
“I honestly don’t know why you keep asking Kass who “we” is when she invites you to do something. The answer is always the same,” Tripp says.
“Wishful thinking on my part,” I say and adjust my bag over my shoulder.
“Think you two will ever get along?” Kass asks.
“No.”
“No.”
Like many times before, I give Tripp a look that, in my mind, sends him running through campus with his hair on fire.
“I have some things to do at home before classes this afternoon and work tonight. Rain check?” I ask Kass. Even though I can get a lot of homework done at the tanning salon, where I work, I still try to do most of it at home before I go. So my excuse isn’t a lie to get out of spending more time around Tripp. Convenient, but not a lie.
“Oh, don’t miss on my account,” Tripp says.
“Your presence doesn’t affect me,” I say.
This time it’s Kass who rolls her eyes. “Okay, I’ll text you later.”
I wave goodbye and head back to my apartment located three blocks from campus. Despite Tripp, I’d love nothing more than to enjoy a carefree lunch with my friends, but my wallet just won’t let me do that. My budget allows me just enough to get by. Kass, Mark, Winston, and Tripp especially will never know what it’s like to struggle financially, and if I have anything to say about it, they will never know that I do.
Tripp
Fine.
One word that almost never actually means what it means when a woman says it, but right now, I don’t give a shit.
I tap the red circle on phone to end the call and walk back inside the restaurant, sliding into the both next to Winston.
“Was that Sydney?” Kass asks.
I nod.
“Why don’t you just break up with her?” Winston asks.
I shrug. I’ve considered it many times. Our relationship is all kinds of weird. To sum it up, I have money, which she likes, and she does anything I want, whenever I want, which is less drama for me. We’re used to our arrangement, and there aren’t any actual feelings involved. Well, on my side, there aren’t and as for Sydney, as long as I am paying, she’ll agree to anything if I ask her to. No surprises. Just the way I like it. It works for us.
“She’s not so bad most of the time,” I say. Today isn’t that day. She’s pissed off that I didn’t want to take her to country club across town for lunch, which resulted in her staying on campus to eat. I told her I’d call her later, and all she said was “fine.” That was the end of the call.
None of my friends like Sydney, and Lennox especially hates her. Maybe that’s part of the reason I keep her around. Then again, pissing off Lennox isn’t hard to do.
“They just gave you a Range Rover?” Mark asks, his gaze out the window.
I shrug. I knew offering to drive everyone to lunch would lead to questions, but I really wanted an excuse to take my new car for a spin. I was beginning to think my parents didn’t really know me, but when a black 2019 Range Rover SVAutobiography Dynamic showed up on my doorstep with solid black leather interior, I wasn’t going to complain. I probably should have called or messaged them to thank them, but it’s been more than a week and they’ve yet to get in touch to see if I actually got it.
“Call it an early birthday gift,” I say. Of all my friends, Mark should know better than to bring up any topic of conversation that leads to talking about my parents. I’ll steer clear of it every time. Unless they are buying me something, they don’t give a shit about me.
“Your birthday was last month,” Kass says. The confusion on her face is normal. The fact that Mark’s girlfriend has no clue is why I trust him more than I trust anyone.
“Whatever. I don’t question them. My parents do whatever they want,” I say, taking a bite of my burger. Plum’s is the best burger place in town. Maybe even the whole state of Wyoming, and with as often as we come here, I’m going to need to double up my gym time sooner rather than later.
Mark and Winston chuckle while Kass focuses her attention me.
“I think I’m starting to see why Lennox doesn’t care for you,” she says. Her lips twitch to a smile.
“Oh really? Please explain it to me, because your parents have lived in the same townhouse right next to my parents for as long as I can remember, and I don’t recall any moment when you questioned the clothes, jewelry, or limos to and from school that they gave you.”
Kass laughs and tosses a fry at me.
“Yes, but I’ve grown up since then.”
“Have you though?” I joke with her.
“Yes, she has,” Mark answers for her and kisses her temple.
Mark and Kass knew each other back in New York, before I moved to the neighborhood, and those two have been in a relationship longer than I can remember. We chose to go to school in Wyoming because we all wanted to leave the East Coast and get as far away from our parents as possible. They have chosen a path that cuts them off a bit more; I still let my parents give me anything they want. The thing my parents don’t know is, it’s going to take a lot more than buying me things to make up for being absent my entire childhood.
“Why didn’t Lennox come?” Winston asks. Winston was also a reason we chose Wyoming. He used to go to school with us until his parents moved him here. So we’ve all known each other for almost ten years at least. Lennox became Winston’s friend after he moved here, so obviously we all just hang out together despite the fact she and I can’t stand each other.
I raise my hand, gaining everyone’s attention, and then pop a fry in my mouth.
“I’m always the reason she doesn’t come,” I say between bites.
“Not true,” Kass says. “Lennox just has different goals than us. She’s very focused on her future.”
Too focused if you ask me. Last semester, she ditched out on more parties than anyone I know so she could study. In fact, now that I think about it, I don’t think she went to a single one. Serious people who can’t even take a day to enjoy life drive me insane. They aren’t people worth being around. I’m allowed to say that because I grew up with two people who are exactly like that.
“That’s what people call boring,” I add, keeping my opinion short.
“Oh, stop it, Tripp. You secretly like her. Admit it,” Kass says.
“Yeah, I won’t because I don’t.”
She has legs I could stare at all day, the perfect ass, and occasionally a smile that makes me forget how much I hate her. None of that means I secretly like her. It just means I can tolerate her enough to be around her when we are all together.
“She’s nice to look at,” I say, and Winston jokingly slugs me.
“Maybe if you took time to get to know her, you’d think differently,” he says.
Winston is always defending Lennox.
“The day I admit I secretly like her is the day you admit you’ve been in love with her since you met her.”
“I don’t love her … not like that anyway.” He looks back to his phone, most likely texting Lennox. “You guys just don’t know her like I do.”
I don’t miss the quick glance he and Kass share.
He’s in love with Lennox. I’m sure o
f it.
“She didn’t come. So what?” Mark says. “She does what she wants. If anyone knows how to do that, it’s you, Tripp. Let’s move on to a different topic. The frat party on Friday. Are we going?”
“Of course we are,” I say. “We’re only young once.”
“Don’t you have to do that thing for that program you’re trying to get into this weekend?”
“That thing?” I raise my brow at Winston. He’s probably referring to the paper I have to write for the summer journalism program I have my eye on. Along with successfully passing the assigned creative writing course, you have to write multiple papers throughout the semester and turn in each one by a certain date to be considered for the scholarship that pays for you to attend the journalism program. The first essay is due Monday. “I have all weekend to do that thing, and if I don’t, I’ll just pay for my spot. It’s not a big deal.”
Winston shakes his head.
I twist to my left to face him. “What? I can see you have more to say.”
“I just don’t understand why you’re in college if you’re not actually going to try.”
“I try,” I argue.
“You take two classes a semester. You don’t try hard.” He tosses a fry into his mouth.
“I pass the classes I take, so I think I do.”
Winston holds my gaze for a moment and then smiles.
“Fuck, I wish I could just not care the way you don’t,” he says.
“It’s called not choosing to be a doctor,” I point out.
“Yes, but he’ll be the best doctor,” Kass says, smiling proudly at Winston.
“I wouldn’t trust anyone else to deliver our babies when that time comes,” Mark says.
“Exactly.” She laughs and then stands. “Let’s finish this damn week so we can go to that party already.”
Our chairs scrap against the floor as we stand. Winston crumples his burger wrapper and shoots it into the trashcan. He misses. I pick up the makeshift ball and sink it right into the center of the bin.
I shove him as he rolls his eyes then make my way to the register to pay our bill.
“Better luck next time,” I say as he leans back against the wall to wait for me.