Knox smiles, his grey eyes taking on a silver shimmer as the sky gets darker and the restaurant staff begins lighting candles on every table.
“There's nothing wrong with a fling, as long as both people know that's what it is.”
I nod, wondering if he's trying to tell me that this is what we're gonna have.
And he seems to guess what I’m thinking because he sets me straight on what's going on.
“Look, Aubrey, I know you must've heard the rumours about me dating a lot and sleeping around ...”
If we aren't beating around the bush, I guess I might just admit it.
“Yeah, I heard.”
His grey eyes are fixed onto mine and he doesn't look worried about what people are saying about him.
“I’m not telling you that it isn't true. After all, dating is getting to know people, right? And I’ve never promised anything I wasn't prepared to give to any of the girls I took out. It just so happens that up until today, I haven't met anyone I wanted to get to know more. Some girls go out with a plan to get attached. And it doesn't even matter if they like the guy, as long as he's suitable on the surface. If he ticks all the boxes: rich, popular, athletic ... whatever! If that's what I see, I naturally lose interest.”
I nod.
So what he's trying to tell me is that he doesn't promise me anything.
He isn't looking for love but he wouldn't say no to it if he found it.
That's fair enough, at least he isn't telling me that he cares to get in my pants and then pretend that I don't exist.
When the waitress brings us the menu, Knox informs me that he loves this place because the food is super fresh.
“They make their own tortillas every day, so anything in a tortilla is to die for. Do you wanna order lots of different tacos and try a bit of everything?”
I agree to his plan and the food is absolutely delicious.
We both tuck in enthusiastically and the vibe between us is easy going and fun.
Knox touches me a lot but not in a creepy way: he offers me bites of food and the conversation is interesting and relaxed.
I discover that he has two sisters, Margaux and an older sister and that he loves the sea, and he sails and surfs.
We eat and talk and as I chew on the last bite of steak taco, he looks at me with a satisfied little smile and a glint in his grey eyes.
“What?”
I squirm a little under the intensity of his gaze and he tells me what's making him smile that way.
“Nothing. We ate everything we ordered. You must be my favourite dinner date so far: you enjoyed the food and you didn't mention calories at all. I hate girls that ask for a salad with everything on the side. That makes me instantly decide against a second date.”
“Are you asking me for a second date?”
I tease and he chuckles, leaving a few twenties on the table, and offering me his hand to walk out of the restaurant and back to his car.
“Your prospects for a second date are looking promising. Let's see how the rest of the evening goes, shall we?”
He whispers that in my ear: his lips don't quite touch my skin but his breath is warm and his scent of soap and clove invades my senses, making me wonder how his lips would feel against mine.
Devon
I PARK MY NEW CORVETTE at the end of a huge driveway, crowded with so many expensive cars that I’d probably have to work every summer of my life and wouldn't even be able to buy one.
My car is brand new and I still feel weird about the fact that I didn't have to save for it and that now expensive stuff, like this car, is at my disposal.
I fought tooth and nail to get recruited by BHPA on a football scholarship and now I wouldn't even need to play ball anymore to afford the school and then whichever Ivy League college I choose to attend.
It doesn't feel real, I still feel like a complete fraud and I’ve been watching my back as if expecting that my new teammates or any of the other students at the academy would see that I don't belong, that all the luxuries and money they grew up with are very, very new to me.
“Hey, Devon! Come on in! We’re playing beer pong! You're my partner!”
Margaux opens the door in a tiny white bikini top and a pair of shorts so microscopic, that she could've probably shown less skin by not wearing them.
She's short, barely five feet and has really big tits but the softness in her body ends there: you can see that Margaux works out, she’s probably fitter than me and most of my teammates and she’s obviously determined to flaunt her perfect body.
She has long blonde hair with same tone highlights and pale blue eyes.
She's a very pretty girl but for a second, as I follow her into the house, I think about another pair of blue eyes, but those are dark and intense, shadowed by long, dark lashes.
I shake my head: when I met Aubrey, I didn't know who she was and when I learned how rich she really was, I thought that all we could ever be was a summer fling because we were from completely different worlds.
So I convinced myself that it was harmless to flirt with her, to kiss her and love her because when her holiday was over, she’d go back to her world and I’d go back to mine.
Of course I didn't know how much my life was gonna change when I got back to California.
I scan the garden and I don't see Aubrey anywhere, so I relax a little.
It's crazy how this is what I’ve gotten used to doing this past week, looking for her every time I enter a room.
And I wanna see her but I also don't.
When she's not around, I can forget for a moment how much I let her down and how she could make things really hard for me at school, if she told people where and how we met.
I hope that if I don't acknowledge her, she’ll feel as ashamed as I do and not mention fucking the lifeguard at a rich people's resort in the summer.
But maybe this is just what I was: a sport fuck with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks.
And hopefully she doesn't wanna flaunt it and won't give me away, hopefully I’ll stay her dirty little secret.
So, this is the deal with beer pong: unless I’m already drunk, I never fucking lose.
My aim is just too good.
I get one cup after the other and every time the little ball lands in a cup, Margaux hugs me with a shrill little squeal.
Once there aren't any opponents left to obliterate, I pour myself a beer from the keg set up by the side of the pool and look around to decide if I wanna swim, go in the hot tub or head inside for a game of pool.
And this is when I see her walk in with Knox.
He has a hand on the small of her back and as he guides her towards the drinks table he leans down to whisper something in her ear and she giggles.
Then she stops walking and says something back to him, putting a hand on his chest and looking into his eyes.
I’m too far away to hear what they're saying but I can imagine the look in her eyes, that soft curve her upper lip has when she smiles.
I clench my fists when I realise how much that rubs me the wrong way.
But what am I gonna do about it?
I let Margaux drag me away from them, and just as I’m turning away, Aubrey’s eyes settle on me.
I can't hold her gaze, I can't stand to look at that disappointment, that hurt, because I know I put it there.
Margaux drags me towards a huge outdoors table surrounded by wrought iron garden chairs and then yells at everyone else:
“Hey peeps! Party games time! Get your asses here!”
I flinch a little at how high pitch her voice is, I noticed that straight away but now that she's tipsy it definitely got worse.
I got Margaux’s message loud and clear: she wants to fuck me.
And she's hot and there's really no reason why I shouldn't do it, other than the fact that I can't stop thinking about Aubrey and that I can't let her get close enough to see where I come from.
“Ok guys, now that we're all sitting here let’s p
lay ‘suck and blow’!”
She has a playing card that she puts on her lips, holding it up with her breath.
We’re supposed to pass the card around the circle to the person closest to us without dropping it.
The only thing we can use to hold it up with is our breath.
If you drop it, you drink.
The first person with an empty cup loses and has to complete a dare.
I’m sitting between Margaux and another blonde cheerleader called Rachel.
Then there's Teague and Deanna, then Todd, Tripp and Macy and finally Landon, Aubrey and Knox to complete the circle.
Margaux begins passing the card onto me and I pass it to Rachel.
She passes it onto Teague and no one drops it until it gets to Landon.
Aubrey
WHEN HE LOOKS AT ME, it really pisses me off.
He's the one who chose to ignore me, so what's his fucking deal?
He has Margaux hanging from his arm, batting her eyelashes at him and flirting shamelessly and a bit sloppily.
But can I blame the cheerleader captain for trying to catch the attention of the hot new quarterback?
It isn't as if she knew that Devon and I were a thing once ...
And were we really a thing?
Obviously Devon doesn't think so and I really need to get better at pretending that he isn't even here, like he very successfully does with me.
We're playing ‘suck and blow’ and obviously Margaux is positioned next to him and even after she's passed the card, she keeps touching his forearm.
I know I should stop staring at them and I’m totally distracted when it's my turn to take the card from Landon.
I turn my head to face him and I don't even touch the card with my lips.
He drops it and his lips touch mine.
I’m frozen in disbelief, taking a second to realise what’s happening.
But when Landon doesn't move away applying more pressure on my lips and licking at the seam, I’m surprised by how good his kiss feels.
He tastes sweet, like fruit punch and I don't even think but allow him in and kiss him back.
His kiss is gentle and a little hesitant at first but when he realizes that I’m not rejecting him, he deepens it by tilting my head back.
This is when I remember where we’re at, because I hear a few of the other girls gasp in surprise.
I put a hand on Landon’s chest, pushing him away from me as gently as I can.
Landon’s looking at me, his blue eyes intense, his lips a little swollen from our kiss, and so inviting.
For a moment no one says anything but I can feel everyone’s eyes fixed on me and Landon.
Especially Knox’s, Teague’s, and Devon’s.
Knox is the first one to speak, and even if he keeps his facial expression calm, I don't miss the steely anger in his tone of voice.
“Dude! You totally did that on purpose!”
Landon doesn't look worried, he has a determined, almost stubborn look in his eyes.
“You fucking bet!”
“Well, I won't kick your ass this time, but that was fucked up! First of all, you should've fucking asked Aubrey before shoving your tongue down her throat. Second, she's here as my date, so have some fucking respect!”
Landon doesn't look concerned.
“She’s here as your date only because you were quicker than me to ask!”
Margaux intervenes and I can see the annoyance in her pale blue eyes.
“This is fucking lame! Whatever, Knox! You’ve known Aubrey for five minutes! And Landon, my brother’s right, what you did was fucking rude! I’m gonna go get some more drinks for everybody and maybe we could play spin the bottle in a bit. So you can all kiss whoever the fuck you want without fighting about it. I know I’ve got someone I wanna kiss ...”
She throws a flirty look in Devon’s direction and then struts away towards the house, swaying her hips seductively.
I hate that she likes Devon but it's not like she knows about my history with him, I keep repeating to myself.
I turn my attention back to Landon and Knox, who are still staring each other down with open hostility.
Teague gets involved trying to get Landon to apologise and their conflict soon turns into a heated discussion involving the whole football team, while the girls are all whispering and throwing me sideways glances.
I feel like I’ve ruined the party, I know I shouldn't have let Landon kiss me but in the heat of the moment, it felt good.
I can't stand to look at what I’ve caused, so I walk deeper into the garden and away from the raised voices.
I hope to have the chance to apologise to Knox later on.
It's not like we’re together or anything, but I can see how my behaviour might piss him off.
I stop at the edge of the property, by the fence that separates the garden from the neighbours’ and think that eventually I’ll have to walk back but right now I need a minute to collect my thoughts.
It seems that lately, whatever I do, I make a fucking mess of things.
From the fight with my parents, to Abi’s disapproval of my fling with Devon.
And talking about the devil, I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don't see him coming until he’s two feet away from me, his green eyes so intense and fixed onto mine, the same way that they were a few weeks ago on the beach.
“Aubrey, are you all right?”
I hate the way only the sound of his voice makes my heart rate speed up, how I feel butterflies in my stomach.
I should just turn away from him and ignore him, like he’s done with me ever since that last night together on the beach.
I’m having a moment of weakness and to be entirely truthful, I wanna know what's the deal with him.
But that doesn't mean that I have to make things easy for him.
“No, I’m not all right. But what's it to you? You’ve made it quite clear that I’m invisible at best. So don't fucking pretend like you care!”
He takes a step closer and takes one of my hands in his: as soon as his skin touches mine, I feel a jolt of warmth that spreads all over my traitorous body and settles in my throat, taking my breath away.
“Aubrey, it's complicated ...”
Fuck, no!
He doesn't get to tell me that.
“No, actually, it's not. It's quite easy. Either you do know me or you don't. Acknowledging that I exist doesn't mean resuming where we left off on that beach. If for you that was just a fling, I’m completely fine with it.”
That's a lie ... a huge lie.
Why does my conscience sound like my big sis?
Seriously, I wish I was able to at least lie to myself.
But this isn't the time to listen to the hard truths that my subconscious wants me to acknowledge, not when his eyes are digging deep and reaching places that I no longer want him to see.
Not after the way he’s been treating me lately.
“Aubrey, please let me try to explain. Baby—”
I take my hand out of his grasp, pulling hard and looking away from those probing, gorgeous green eyes.
“No! No, you don't get to call me baby. Not after you acted as if I were hairy chewing gum stuck on the bottom of your shoe. And you’ve laughed every time the assholes you play football with have been calling me ‘fuck me’. Not after you ghosted me even before you turned up at school.”
He sighs and nods.
“You're right. You're completely right. I behaved like the worst asshole in the world. The only thing that I can say in my defence is that the same morning you left Hilton Head, I got a phone call that changed a lot of things in my life. I didn't know that I’d move to Beverly Hills until last week. And I had to deal with a family crisis, that's why I didn't accept your friend requests ...”
Oh, the fucking things that the heart wants!
I wanna believe him, I wanna throw myself into his arms and inhale that clean scent of aftersun and ocean.
But I don't le
t myself have any of that stuff, because his reasons still don't make sense.
“Ok, even so, that wasn't enough of an excuse for how you’ve been acting at school.”
“I know. I’ll try to explain. Not right now, we need some time alone to talk. In the meantime, I need a favour.”
The fucking nerve on him!
But I really wanna know why he acted how he did, I tell myself that at least that will give me some closure.
However that doesn't mean that I’ll make it easy on him.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me! What would this ‘favour’ be?”
He doesn't look at me when he asks me not to tell anyone how we met.
My first instinct would be to tell him to fuck himself and tell the story of how we met just to spite him.
But on second thought, by not calling him out on his bullshit immediately, I corroborated his version of the truth where we're total strangers.
Telling the truth now, would only make me look like the real loser I am, hanging onto his every word, dying for a scrap of his attention.
“Ok.”
I whisper, not expecting that his next move is to wrap his arms around me and tilt his head towards mine.
Do I want to let him kiss me?
No.
Not until I know why he acted the way he did.
His behaviour hurt too much to allow him to pick up where we left off, if that's even what he wants and he isn't just trying to get laid again.
So I push him away, putting the palms of my hands on his chest and ignoring the way his warmth makes my skin tingle and how much I wanna feel his lips against mine again.
“No.”
I say softly and before he can react in any way to my rejection, Teague's voice reaches us from just a few feet away.
“Hey. Is everything ok, here?”
Devon instantly drops his arms and takes a step away from me, meeting Teague's blue eyes.
“Yeah. I was just checking on Aubrey.”
Teague doesn't seem satisfied with Devon's answer and he looks at me.
“Is that so?”
I nod.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I shouldn't have walked away. I just—”
“Everything is fine, pretty girl. I’m sorry, I wasn't mad at you. The way Landon behaved was just disrespectful.”
The Retribution: A High School Light Bully Romance (Beverly Hills Prep Academy Book 3) Page 4