Take Me Gently: A High School Forbidden Love Steamy Standalone Romance (Dirty Elite Academy)

by Kate J. Blake

  They’ve most recently been in Tanzania, but Josh and I couldn't go to Africa without getting some shots, so they decided to meet us in Miami, where they co-own a beach house.

  Damian is gonna be there, too. He's coming from New York today. I always liked him; he's sweet and a lot nicer and kinder to me than Josh ever was. I even had a crush on Damian when I was approximately fifteen, right before he left LA to go to work in New York, where our parents’ company's head office is now settled. I haven't seen him for almost two years. He couldn't come for the last few family events because he was busy working. But of course, he's gonna come to his mom's sixtieth birthday celebration.

  Josh turns on some rock music so loudly that I can't hear the book I'm listening to through my earphones.

  I know he’s doing it on purpose to provoke me into a fight. But I won't give in; I simply keep ignoring his existence because that's what infuriates him the most.

  Oh, Lord, please give me the strength to survive this weekend.

  Chapter Two

  Kendall

  We got to the airport in fifteen minutes instead of thirty, breaking all traffic laws. Josh took my luggage without asking me, and thank God for that because I would never ask him for help; I'd rather have a hernia.

  When we get to the desk counter, the registry woman tells us that we're late.

  I know that; it's because of this asshole! I want to scream but restrain myself.

  "I'm not sure we have adjacent seats for you since the plane is already full," she says right before taking our documents. "You should've checked in online."

  "It's okay," I say with a smile, silently cheering that I won't have to sit next to Josh. I'd be happy to sit next to the toilet if it's far away from him.

  "I did," Josh says to my surprise, "and I paid for the upgrade, but confirmation didn't come, so I don't have boarding passes."

  I widen my eyes, looking at him, but he avoids my gaze on purpose.

  He upgraded both of our tickets?

  When we leave our luggage and take our passes, we run to the boarding gate, where they’ve been waiting for us.

  I take a look at Josh, expressing all of my negativity towards him, trying to show how angry I am that we're late, but he doesn't even look in my direction.

  One of the things I hate about Josh is that each time something unpleasant or even terrible happens, he doesn't give a fuck. Seriously. He doesn't care if it's a test in school or a chess competition, he's always calm as a rock, and it pisses me off. Because I'm usually as red as a tomato, shaking like a terrified rabbit.

  Josh upgraded our tickets to business class seats without even asking me.

  "Would you like to take the window seat?" he asks casually when we get to our row, giving me his most charming smile.

  "Why? Do you want to take it if I say 'yes' simply to piss me off?" I ask sarcastically in response, pushing past him to take the window seat.

  For a couple of minutes, we both stay silent. I turned my phone off for departure, so I can't listen to music now. I know I could've ignored the rule to turn off all electronics for take-off and landing, but I don't like to do that. I'm a girl who loves rules, who needs them to survive in this world.

  "Are you gonna ignore me for the entire flight?" Josh asks after a couple of minutes in silence.

  I turn to face him with my most irritated look. "Why do you always have to do that? Couldn't we be on time at least once?"

  He smirks, obviously enjoying my irritation. He's like a vampire, but instead of blood, he drinks the last drops of my self-control.

  "We could, but that wouldn't be so funny, kitten." He licks his lips after saying that, and I want to punch him.

  He emphasizes the word kitten because that's what my boyfriend used to call me. Josh heard it once in our conversation and then made fun of me, using it every single time he could.

  "That's not funny anymore. Chad and I broke up," I say as calmly as I can.

  We broke up a couple of weeks ago, but it seems like forever. I guess I just wasn't in love with him like I thought I was when we were dating.

  Josh's happy smile evaporates, and now he expresses concern.

  As if he cares. I inhale deeply. It's five hours with him, only five hours. I repeat those words in my head like a mantra.

  "What happened? When?" he asks right away, moving a little closer to me.

  I can smell his scent, and I hate that it makes my head spin from pleasure, no matter that it's always the same: the mix of his mint shower gel, his citrus shampoo, and the heat of his body.

  How can he always smell as if he just got out of the shower? And why do I like it even though I hate him?

  His dark brown hair falls on his face, and he runs his hand through it to push it back, exposing his perfect face to me. His hazel eyes sparkle because of the sunlight that floods through the window, and his smooth olive skin glitters.

  I swallow, hating myself for admiring his perfection. Even though I don't like him, I have to admit that I've never seen a more handsome guy than the one in front of me.

  "He said he can't handle a long-distance relationship, and I can't move in with him because I’m going to England," I finally confess, looking away.

  That's only partially true, but Josh doesn't need to know it.

  I don't miss Chad anymore. I don't even think about him. But the bitterness of the thought that he was the one who dumped me left a few scratches on my ego. Especially when I have to confess it to my worst enemy.

  "He's an idiot," Josh says to my surprise after a long pause. His voice is even, and when I look up at him again, I can see that he's serious, "If he can't keep his dick in check, he doesn't deserve you."

  "Says a guy who puts his dick into every single woman who offers," I chuckle, shaking my head, laughing at how ridiculous it is to get relationship advice from a guy like Josh.

  "I would like to be committed to one woman, I really would." He looks deeply into my eyes as he speaks.

  He leans closer, and his elbow touches mine now. He's serious, that's for sure. There isn't even a hint of a smile on his face.

  "I just haven’t dated her yet," he adds, his gaze not leaving mine for a second; he doesn't even blink.

  For only a moment, it seems to me that he's talking about someone he already knows. He didn't say he hasn't met her yet. He said, 'I haven’t dated her yet,' and that's a big difference.

  I swallow, forcing myself to look away, but I can't. It seems like my eyes are stuck on his gaze.

  "By the way, you should've broken up with him the first time he called you kitten." Josh chuckles and pulls away from me again.

  And here we are, back to the Josh I know: rude and tactless.

  "What's so funny about that name?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "I thought it was cute."

  "It would be cute if you were five," he retorts right away, "but since you're a grown woman, it doesn't fit you."

  "Oh, yeah? And what would you call me?" I ask, immediately regretting it.

  I don't want him coming up with another nickname for me that he can use for the rest of our lives.

  "You know what," he says, almost whispering and moving closer again, leaning on his elbow, his face inches away from mine. "Sapphire."

  I swallow, holding a breath. I can't believe he remembers.

  The airplane suddenly seems to shrink around us, and it's too stuffy in here.

  "Your eyes are so blue, I'm gonna call you Sapphire," Josh said, smiling at me. It was my tenth birthday.

  "What's that?" I asked, smiling at him in response.

  "It's a jewel. My mom has a necklace with it. She says it's important to her and very expensive. I'm gonna call you that because you're important to me."

  Those memories burst into my head like a tornado, without asking for permission. The memories I’ve tried so hard to forget but couldn't.

  Since that day, Josh started calling me Sapphire, and I called him Hazel because of the color of his eyes. They're intense,
not light brown or dark green, but a pure hazel color.

  Our eyes lock again, and for a couple of long, torturously slow seconds, I feel like I can't breathe.

  Josh is so close to me that I can smell his breath on my skin. And the way he looks at me...his eyes travel...from mine to my lips...as if he...

  Wants to kiss me.

  I pull away immediately as if hit by electricity and face the window right away.

  "I never liked that name," I lie, not looking at him because if I do, he will know I'm bluffing.

  I loved that name. Always, even after we became distant from each other.

  But I'm not gonna tell him that. He hasn't called me that for years.

  I pull my phone out and stick my AirPods into my ears so I don’t have to listen to his voice anymore.

  Because, for some unexplained reason, I can't hate him right now the way I normally do, and it scares the hell out of me.

  Would you like to know more about Kendall and Josh’s story? "Love Me Sweet" comes February 13. Preorder CLICK HERE