“Time to call in that favor, Cody,” Hannah murmured to herself as she gathered her things and headed after him.
4
Step 4: Execute The Plan
Hannah hadn’t been able to locate Cody before the bell rang and classes reclaimed her for the remainder of the day. But she didn’t worry . . . she plotted. She knew exactly where he’d be after school and headed straight there. Hannah smiled when she caught sight of him walking slowly down the road they shared. His backpack was slung over one shoulder and he had earbuds in, unable to hear her approach.
They were on a secluded road, far away from the busy traffic near Stanton. Hannah had specifically waited in the parking lot for twenty-six minutes before starting her car and making the drive home. She passed Cody every day walking home from school. She knew this would be the best time to catch him—when he was alone, away from the prying eyes of the Goldens and gossips. Her plan needed to remain secret if it was going to work.
And just as she planned, Cody was now only about a mile from his home, and half a mile from her own. She passed him and pulled onto the shoulder cutting him off. She could see his startled look in her rearview mirror. She took a deep breath. “You can do this, Hannah.” After her pep talk she rolled down the window and waited for him to approach.
Cody stopped next to her navy Volvo and leaned down to look in at her. His brown hair fell over his golden-brown eyes, blocking the light that filtered in through the tree canopy above.
“Hey, Cody,” Hannah said casually. “Do you want a ride home?”
“No thanks.”
“I don’t mind,” Hannah persisted. “I mean, it’s no trouble.”
“You pass me walking home every day, Hannah. What made you stop today?”
The venom in Cody’s voice sliced Hannah with guilt. He was right. She saw him every day and never offered him a ride before. “I . . . You’re right. I’m sorry. That wasn’t very kind of me. I’m usually so lost in thought I don’t see what’s right in front of me. But I’m trying to change that.”
“Starting with me?” Cody asked suspiciously.
“Okay, fine. I need your help with something. Can you just get in the car?” Hannah barked impatiently.
“There it is,” he said letting a smirk show.
“What?”
“Miss direct and to the point, Hannah Stark.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, don’t be ashamed of it. It’s how you get your straight A’s and stay above us, right? I actually admire it. It’s refreshing compared to all the fake, two-faced snobs I deal with all day at Stanton.”
“I don’t think I’m above you!”
“Don’t you?”
Hannah was silent. Did she think she was above him? She was planning to use him as a tool to get what she wanted. But she sort of was above him. Cody was barely passing, had no license, a dead girlfriend and a DUI. If he was going to insist on categorizing things then, yes, she was above him.
Cody was right and Hannah was on the verge of admitting that when he opened the backseat of her car and threw his bag in. He marched around to the passenger side and got in.
“Let’s just get this show on the road, okay? I’ve got things to do.”
Hannah looked over at his smug face. She was wrong to assume he was a shattered soul. He still held the air of a Golden—entitled, bothered, bored. This wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought. But Hannah never backed down from a challenge and she wasn’t about to start now.
5
Step 5: Blackmail
Hannah put her car in drive and spoke clearly without moving her eyes from the road. “You owe me a favor, Cody, and I’m here to collect.”
“What do you want?”
Straight to the point . . . good. He wasn’t denying he owed her.
“I want your key to Harrison’s ball.”
Hannah kept her eyes on the road, but she could feel Cody staring at her. After a few moments he started to laugh.
“You’re actually serious,” he said between fits of laughter. “You want to go to a Cohl ball? You?”
Hannah gritted her teeth, hating his insulting tone. “You want to graduate, don’t you?”
His laughter trailed off and she felt his eyes burning into her.
“If I divulge that you didn’t actually pass your make up exams you won’t graduate.”
“What do you want?” Cody asked flatly.
“I already told you. The key to Harrison’s party.”
“Why?”
“That’s not important.”
“Fine, but the key won’t matter. You won’t fit in.”
“Then you’ll tell me what I need to know so I do fit in.”
Cody chuckled. “It’s not something I can explain in one car ride home, Hannah.”
“Fine, then I’ll drive you to and from school until you’ve explained everything.”
Cody scrubbed his face in frustration, realizing each time he opened his mouth he seemed to be making things worse for himself. “The inner workings of the people and things that happen at Harrison’s parties wouldn’t make any sense to you. You won’t enjoy it.”
“Why?”
“Because, you’re not like us.”
“You mean them,” Hannah shot back. “You’re not a Golden anymore.” It was a low blow and she knew it, but Cody’s cocky attitude was pissing her off.
“Yeah. Them.” Cody replied quietly. He was silent for a while before he spoke again. “It’s not a bad thing, Hannah. They’re not good people. You don’t want to be like them.”
“You don’t know what I want, Cody. You don’t even know me.”
“You’re right. I don’t know you. But I know Harrison and his crew. If you show up at the ball they’ll pick you apart.”
“Maybe I don’t care.”
“Why would you possibly want that abuse?”
“That’s none of you’re business. All you have to do is give me the key and fill me in on what I need to know to fit in.”
“Hannah, making you fit in isn’t possible!”
“Then I guess you won’t be graduating.”
“Christ, Hannah! I’ll give you my key, but I can’t guarantee who the fickle pricks at Harrison’s party will decide to stomp on.”
“Fine. The key and your best effort.”
“Fine!”
“So we have a deal?”
“Yes. It’s a deal,” Cody groaned.
Hannah smiled, looking at Cody for the first time. “Perfect. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
He shook his head. “I might have been wrong about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Extortion suits you. You’re more like the Goldens than I thought.”
6
Step 6: Begin Training
The next morning Hannah pulled up outside Cody’s massive house and beeped the horn. After five minutes of waiting she grew impatient, turned her car off and stormed up the stone steps.
“If he thinks he can blow me off he has another thing coming,” Hannah muttered to herself. She pushed the pewter doorbell and listened to the pleasant chiming resonate through the house.
Cody lived in an impressive three-story New England style house. Everything was stone, white or covered with weathered cedar shakes. It was colossal compared to Hannah’s modest two-story just up the road. Her family wasn’t poor by normal standards, but compared to Cody’s family and the rest of the Goldens, she was a pauper.
Hannah stepped back to look up at the windows, wondering which one was Cody’s. She let out a low appreciative whistle taking in the beauty of his home up close. Hannah could admire the architecture, but she would never understand the need for such a huge home. From all the media coverage after his DUI, Hannah knew Cody didn’t have any siblings and he lived in this home with only his father, Thomas Matthews, a corporate attorney for a ritzy hotel chain. According to the newspaper, Cody’s mother, Tabitha, divorced after some family scandal and remarried when
he was only six. She moved to New York with her new husband and had two children, whom Cody never met. The reporter’s angle was that Cody had abandonment issues that led to his reckless ways.
All of the stories surrounding Cody’s arrest whirled through Hannah’s near photographic mind as she gazed at the palatial house. She shook her head. It didn’t matter how regal the home looked, Cody would never escape his reputation in this town.
Hannah was about to press the doorbell again when she heard the locks tumbling. The door creaked open slightly and a short, thin man in a gray suit peered out at her. Not Mr. Matthews. Hannah knew his face from the news. Maybe a butler? Did people really have those?
“May I help you, miss?”
“Um, yes. I’m here to pick up Cody for school.”
The man looked perplexed as he glanced at his watch. “It’s 5 am.”
“Yes, well I have tennis practice before school, so this is what time I leave.”
The man blinked and opened the door wider. He made a sweeping gesture with his arm, ushering her inside. Hannah tried not to gawk at the lavish interior of Cody’s home but the magnificent winding staircase and massive chandeliers dazzled her. When she realized her mouth hung open in awe she quickly snapped it shut and turned back to face the sharply dressed man.
“Cody and I made arrangements to ride to and from school together for the rest of the school year.”
“Oh. I apologize, but Master Cody doesn’t usually inform me of his plans. I’m afraid he may still be asleep. Would you like to me to wake him?”
Hannah sighed. “That’s okay. I can do it myself. Can you point me to his room?”
The man’s nervous eyes grew larger, but he nodded and led the way up the winding stairs. Hannah passed several maids dressed in pale gray uniforms, dusting or polishing the obscene amount of ornamental knickknacks. Hannah noticed how sterile the house felt as she followed the butler down the echoing marble hallways. Nearly everything in Cody’s home was white. It reminded Hannah of an empty hospital. How could anyone feel comfortable here?
The butler’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Master Cody’s room is the last on the left,” he said giving a curt bow before retreating back down the hall.
Strange. Hannah thought the butler would have at least walked her to the door. With how formal everything was it seemed like he should have announced her or something. What if Cody wasn’t even home? Would she just be left to wander the house and show herself out?
Hannah checked her watch. 5:05. Not good. She was behind schedule. She would be late for tennis practice at this rate. Frustration drove her to march forward and knock on Cody’s door.
No response.
“Jerk,” she muttered to herself. It was day one and he was already pissing her off. But Hannah didn’t get to where she was by giving up easily. She twisted the knob and barged into Cody’s room.
It was pitch black inside with the curtains drawn and she tripped over piles of things that littered the floor. She heard soft snoring from the bed and muttered expletives under her breath as she made her way to the curtains.
“Rise and shine,” she called loudly as she flung them open letting the watery pre-dawn light filter into the room.
“What the—” Cody hissed, bolting upright in his massive bed.
“Good morning to you too.”
Cody rubbed his eyes like he couldn’t believe them. “Hannah?”
“You overslept and now we’re behind schedule. Grab your things and let’s go.”
“What time is it?” he grumbled.
“Time to go to school! We have a deal, remember? It starts today.”
“I remember,” he muttered.
Cody pulled the covers back revealing his toned body, his finer assets barely covered by his bright orange boxer briefs. They were the first splash of color in the house and Hannah’s eyes shot straight for his healthy bulge.
Blush burnt her cheeks and she turned away so quickly she tripped over the pile of clothes on the floor and fell flat on her ass.
Cody’s soft chuckling only made her cheeks hotter. He was standing over her offering his hand to help her up. She refused it and got to her feet herself. “Put some clothes on, please” she barked.
“Jesus, Hannah. I’m wearing underwear. Calm down.”
“We’re late,” she steamed, ignoring his comments.
“Fine. Give me five minutes.”
Cody disappeared into the adjoining bathroom suite and shut the door. She heard the toilet flush and then the shower turn on. She looked for somewhere to sit down, but just about every square inch of Cody’s room was covered in clothes. How could someone with so many maids have such a disastrous room? Hannah decided the bed seemed the safest place to wait. She smoothed the comforter and perched on the edge. A minute later the shower squeaked off and Cody emerged from the bathroom, glistening with only a towel wrapped low around his waist. Hannah averted her eyes and stood up abruptly. Mistake. Cody must’ve been walking toward her when she looked down because she smacked straight into his wet chest. She gasped as his arms wrapped around her to steady her.
“Shit, did you chug a pot of coffee before you got here or something? Why are you so jumpy?”
“I’m not jumpy. I’m just not used to being accosted by half dressed men.”
Cody snorted. “Wow, you’ve never seen a naked guy before, have you?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” she shot back crossing her arms and taking a step back from him.
“You haven’t! Hannah, this is the shit I’m talking about. You’re never going to survive Harrison’s ball if you react like this every time you see a half naked guy.”
“There’s going to be naked guys there?”
“Hannah, what do you think goes on at Harrison’s parties?”
“I don’t know . . . dancing?”
Another snort. “This isn’t Pretty in Pink.”
“What?”
“Let me guess, you’ve never seen Pretty in Pink?”
“No. But it’s your job to teach me how to fit in. I’m sure if I just practice—”
“You can’t practice having a life, Hannah.”
That comment hurt more than she cared to admit. She squared her shoulders and walked to the door. “Get dressed, Cody. I’ll be in the car. And hurry up, because we apparently have a lot of work to do.”
7
The drive to school was tense. Neither Hannah nor Cody spoke until they arrived at Stanton. Hannah pulled through the gate and passed the student parking lot.
“Where are we going?” Cody asked.
“Sports Annex.”
Cody cocked an eyebrow at her.
“I have tennis practice.”
“At 5:30 in the morning?”
“No, at 5:00 in the morning. You made me late. So to make up for it you’re going to return my serves.”
“This wasn’t part of our deal.”
“Our deal was you ride to and from school with me and tell me everything I need to know. Since all you’ve done this morning is flash me, insult me and make me late for practice, I think you’re going to return my serves to make it up to me.”
Cody let out an exacerbated sigh, but followed Hannah from the athletic lot to the tennis complex.
“Where is everyone?” he asked when he scanned the empty courts.
Hannah was already stretching. “What do you mean?”
“The rest of the tennis team?”
Hannah laughed. “You’re looking at the tennis team.”
“You come out here all by yourself to practice?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s your coach?”
“You don’t know much about my tennis record, do you?”
Cody shrugged.
“I haven’t been coached since I was twelve. I’m ranked number one in the state.”
Cody smirked. “Of course you are.”
“You don’t believe me?” she asked, offended.
“I’m not perfect.”
“No, I’m pretty sure you’re perfect compared to me,” Cody muttered.
“True. I don’t have a DUI and I’ve never been to rehab,” Hannah retorted while stretching out her hamstrings. She was busy pondering the other things she’d never done when she heard the metal door to the courts slam shut. She looked up just in time to see the back of Cody’s green army jacket as he stalked to the parking lot.
Hannah was on her feet in no time, sprinting after him. She caught up to him quickly and grabbed his shoulder.
“Hey! Where are you going? We’re not done.”
“Oh we’re done, Hannah. I’m not doing this. Take your stupid key and leave me alone,” Cody yelled angrily pulling a skeleton key from his pocket and jamming it in Hannah’s hand.
“Why are you so angry?” Hannah asked in shock.
“Because. You just waltzed into my life yesterday and took over. You think you have me pegged? Some rich fuck up, right? Everyone else has exploited me, so why not you? I’ve got news for you, Hannah, you don’t know me. And I don’t owe you anything,” Cody shouted before stalking away.
“Well you obviously don’t know me either if you think for one second that I won’t turn in your real test scores,” Hannah shouted after him.
Cody halted. His back stiffened and he marched back to Hannah. “I didn’t ask for your pity,” he hissed. “You decided I wasn’t worth your precious time and passed me all on your own.”
“That’s not why I did it. And besides, who do you think the administration will believe?”
“Why is this so fucking important to you?”
“Because you’re right, okay? I’ve spent my whole life trying to be perfect and I’m terrified that it’s cost me a life! I only have a few weeks left to make the high school memories that I thought weren’t important! I’m sorry I had to blackmail you but I don’t even have a single friend here. I don’t know anyone who will help me,” she whispered.
Cody scrubbed his large hands over his face and sighed. “Well that’s the first real thing you’ve said to me, so we’ll call it progress.”
The Practice Boyfriend (The Boyfriend Series Book 1) Page 2