by A. M. Brooks
“I get it, Hannah,” I said. “It was a crappy thing to do, but I get not wanting your parents to lose their job.”
“Thank you so much,” she said, jumping up to wrap her arms around my neck in a hug. The alcohol was wafting off of her. I patted her back a few times before she pulled away wiping the tears off her cheeks. “Do you think we can be friends again?” she asked shyly. I wasn’t sure I could trust her again, but I understood the pressure of protecting your family.
“Sure,” I said noncommittally, giving her a small nod before walking away to find Trent.
The fabric on the cabana was heavy as I pushed it back, not at all like the sheer fabric normally used. This was more like a tent. Steeling my spine, I opened the flap ready for another encounter with Roman, only a very feminine squeak sounded from the darkness. I took my cell phone out to shine a light inside. I expected many different scenarios, but the one I was not prepared for was a half-naked Trent lying under a half-naked bumblebee.
“Nora!” he shouted and scrambled to get out from under the girl. I was pretty sure I had Spanish class with her. “Ah, I’m sorry it’s not—”
“Whoa, Trent,” I said, holding up my hands and averting my eyes from all the skin I did not want to see. “It’s cool, we’re friends, okay? I just wanted to let you know I was going home and I had a ride.”
“Oh, okay,” he said, letting out a breath. “I—”
“I’ll see you Monday at school,” I told him before hightailing it out of there. The guilt from earlier was completely gone.
Maybe I had misunderstood Trent’s intentions, he was joking and that thought gave me comfort as I walked back toward the house. Darrian found me the minute I walked in. He hadn’t moved and was still talking to Ethan except Elijah had now joined. His eyes darkened and never left mine as I walked closer. When I was within arm’s length, he snatched out and grabbed me, pulling my body into his.
“Ready to go?” he asked, bending down so only I could hear. I could feel the other Kings’ eyes on me.
Not breaking my gaze from Darrian, I nodded my head. Without another word, he handed the cup back to Ethan before leading me through the crowd to the front entrance. I glanced behind me to see Ethan and Elijah grinning and waving. I blushed again.
Neither one of us spoke the entire car ride. My mind was still spinning at the turn of events that took place. The idea I was in a car with Darrian when a few short hours ago he hated my existence was enough to drive any sane person crazy. I was so lost in thought it didn’t even register at first that we were driving away from the city.
“Where are we going?” I asked, finally turning to face him.
“My parents are hosting a party at the house. We need something more private.”
“Why can’t you bring me to my house?” His hand tightened on the steering wheel. “If you honestly believe I told my dad anything about us, then you really should turn around and take me home.”
“I know you didn’t,” he said, looking over to me. “It still never hurts to be cautious when you’re a King.”
“I could care less what your last name is at this point.” I crossed my arms over my chest holding the anxiety in. Despite the warmer air coursing through the vehicle I still felt exposed and chilled.
“I know,” he said, his hand tightening and that little muscle in his jaw twitched.
By the next exit, I knew where we were heading...to the yacht. I briefly felt panic that maybe he was going to toss my body overboard. I had to remind myself this wasn’t an episode of Criminal Minds, but there was still some alcohol in my veins.
The dock was dark as we made our way down the row. I couldn’t hear music from the nearby bar. It was Halloween, and everything was eerily quiet. Darrian grabbed my hand to help me up the side. It was much like our first night as we sat across from each other, only we were below deck this time to hide from the chilly air.
“So,” I said, looking around nervously.
“So,” he repeated. A hint of his devilish grin showing.
“This is fun and all, but I don’t understand why you couldn’t have just brought me home.” I let the words fall between us.
“We need to finish our discussion from earlier,” he said, pulling my hand in between his larger ones.
“Conversation?” I said questioningly.
“You’re not fucking Nichols,” he said directly. My face heated.
“That conversation,” I said, lowering my head.
“That’s my favorite one,” he replied.
“No,” I answered quietly. “I’m not fucking him.”
“Good.” He took my hand in his, but I pulled back hesitantly.
“Just because I’m not sleeping with Trent doesn’t mean we’re okay. You embarrassed me, Darrian. It’s been hell for me here,” I told him, wrapping my arms around my middle. That tick in his jaw was back leaping with life again.
“My friends are my friends, Nora. We’re family and they understand that being a King means people try and take advantage of you. I can’t let that happen.”
“I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you. My dad wasn’t using you to climb his social ladder and all that shit,” I said again for the second time tonight. “I don’t know what else to say to you to get you to understand that.”
He leaned back in his chair looking at me thoughtfully. Under the intensity of his gaze, I looked down, using one finger to swipe at my tears fiercely. I really did not want to cry in front of him.
“It’s over and done with now,” he finally spoke again.
“No. It’s not over for me. You didn’t live through what I did.” I searched his face for any trace he could understand what he put me through wasn’t okay.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Nora,” he said, leaning back. “The truth came out and I’m doing what I can to fix it.”
“Who told the truth?” I bit out sarcastically, putting air quotes around ‘truth.’
“I heard your friend Hannah talking to Lily about it,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Hannah,” I repeated back not sure if I should be happy with her or mad.
“Yeah, she was scared or some shit,” he said quietly.
“Because of Mikayla and her dad,” I said forcefully. “How can you not have seen that she lied about the whole thing because we were getting close?” I asked. The truth was right there. How blind Darrian was to Mikayla’s antics though I wasn’t sure about. I’d seen them argue a few times. I’d seen her win when she wanted something too.
He rubbed his hands over his face.
“Look, things with Mikayla and her family are complicated. You know this. I have to be diplomatic with her. It’s over now. I’m sorry you got hurt, but I’m doing what I can to fix it.”
I thought back over the past week and remembered all the smiling people, people being nice, being invited to the party, apologies left and right, and now tonight.
“Fine,” I said, shrinking back. “It’s all fixed. Then why do you care about what happens with Trent and me?”
He watched as I sat there. I could feel the energy change as his eyes roamed around my face thinking of what to say.
“I don’t share,” he said. “I don’t do exclusive, I told you, but if we’re together I won’t be fucking anyone else and neither will you, but you’re not my girlfriend. I’m not your boyfriend. We’re just hanging out.”
“Is my pussy good enough for you now, King?” I asked, baiting him. Wanting him to remember what he said about me in front of everyone.
I heard his knuckles crack under the table where he had retreated to with my harsh words. One look at him told me he was fighting with himself. He wanted this to be easy and I couldn’t help the evil smile that curled my lips.
“I shouldn’t have said that.” His words came out hard and gritted. Darrian King didn’t apologize often. It was evident in every line of his body.
“No,” I said, tears stinging my eyes again. “You shouldn’t
have. That was low.”
“I know,” he said, knuckles cracking again. “I can’t change that it happened, Nora. I can fix it. Make people know their place again, but is it worth it if you can’t get past it?”
I let his words sink in, thinking them through. I saw the way other girls and guys looked at him. Fear and admiration but mostly fear. I hadn’t seen him alone since we ended at the beginning of the school year. When I remember back to the summer, he was all about me even though we weren’t exclusive. Still, the verbal abuse and humiliation haunted me, and I knew I would be a fool to just pretend it never happened. Could I not be exclusive with Darrian? Could I move past it like he wanted?
“I don’t know,” I said aloud. My shoulders felt weighed down. The exhaustion from the past month washing over me. I looked up again and Darrian wasn’t across from me, instead he was right next to me. His warm hands cradled my face before his lips touched mine softly. It sucked that I wanted this when I knew the hurt was inevitable.
“Everything will be better,” he promised, his eyes searching mine. I wanted to believe him.
“What if there is another rumor that me or my dad is trying to take advantage of you?” I asked, resting my forehead against his. He shook his back and forth, his nose gliding against mine softly.
“I’ll trust you until there isn’t a reason to. I’ll talk to you first next time.”
“Promise?” I asked quietly.
“I want this thing with us to work. You are definitely not like anyone else,” he replied, giving me the words I wanted to hear, the words that brought us together the first night at the beach while sliding his hands to cradle my face again. Taking in a shaky breath, I gave in.
I’m not sure what I was expecting that following Monday at school, but it wasn’t Darrian sitting on the front steps, looking perfect in his faded blue jeans, dark green button-up, and tan Timberlands, waiting for me. The smile started before I could stop myself. Last night he had said he would meet me out front but given our history so far, I was skeptical. He stood as I got closer, a knowing smile on his face. When I finally reached him, he wrapped both arms around my head, pulling me to him. He smelled delicious. I felt my knees weakening and all I wanted to do was lean into him. He pulled back looking down at me.
“Hey,” he said smiling again.
I smiled back. “Hi.”
“You ready?” He tilted his head toward the building. I shrugged figuring it was now or never. Darrian stepped back slinging his bag farther over his shoulder before taking my hand and leading me to the door. When we stepped in, Ethan and Elijah were right next to us walking toward my locker first. I noticed the locker door was shiny and had a fresh gloss of the grey paint over it. The guys chatted about their upcoming basketball schedule while I quickly shoved my stuff in my locker. Looking over, I caught sight of Olivia and waved. She smiled at me politely before turning and walking away. I stood there confused for a second before I heard the commotion and whirlwind of the rest of the crew in front of my locker. Sensing my uneasiness, Darrian wrapped his arm around my shoulders without missing a beat of the discussion.
“Are you coming tomorrow night, Nora?” Whitney asked, giving me a warm smile.
“Uh,” I stammered, caught off guard by the question.
“She’ll be there,” Darrian said laughing. “I just hadn’t told her about it yet.” Everyone seemed to be okay with this turn of events.
“Good,” Ethan said, poking my side. “We need as many pretty fans as we can get.” I blushed.
“Can’t wait,” I said finally, even as butterflies zoomed in my stomach. The five-minute warning bell sounded just then sending everyone in different directions. Instead of leaving to his class, Darrian walked me to English, Elijah at my other side until we reached the door.
“See ya at lunch babe.” Darrian dropped a quick kiss on my lips before turning and hurrying to his own class. I stood mystified for a second before hearing Elijah’s small snicker that I remembered he was there.
“After you,” he said, opening the door. I sat at my usual desk and was surprised when Elijah sat down behind me. I stared straight ahead, still worried even though Darrian had said things would be different.
The rest of that first day went the same way. Suddenly I wasn’t a pariah in classes and even sought out to be a partner for a few projects. It was also confusing that Darrian had so much power over so many people. After my last class before lunch, Darrian was waiting outside my door and walked with me to the lunchroom. Olivia was there at her usual table but refused to meet my gaze. I frowned at this. Trent, I noticed was sitting with her and the girl I recognized as the half-naked bumblebee sat next to him. He gave me a head nod as I walked by. It was a relief there were no hard feelings on that side. I honestly liked Trent and Olivia as friends and they had been there for me when I had no one.
“So, the game tomorrow night,” Ethan said excitedly, looking at all us girls. “It’s the Thunder, biggest rivalry, we need lots of cheering. Borderline annoying, got it?”
“We got it,” Lily said, rolling her eyes. I smiled. I knew very little about basketball to begin with but here at Araminta that was a no, no to admit. The basketball team was the top sport here at the school. A new gym had been built just three years ago and was reportedly ahead of its time. Parents purposely enrolled their children at Araminta High for the basketball. I had learned that Darrian was the captain and he was very serious about it. Ethan also played, but it seemed more of a hobby.
“Want to come over after school and make signs for the guys, Nora?” Summer asked.
“Ah.” I looked at Darrian who was already looking at me waiting for my answer. “Sure,” I answered timidly.
Summer hadn’t been straight up mean to me, but she also wasn’t around when I was cleaning degrading terms off my locker. The idea of going to her house with all the girls sounded as fun as dragging myself over barbed wire.
“It will be fun,” Lily whispered close to my ear. I felt a little better knowing she would be going too. Darrian squeezed my knee under the table.
The end of the day came quicker than expected. Lily and the other girls met me at my locker instead of Darrian. I hid my disappointment and worked to calm my nerves. Darrian said things would be fine and they had been. Plus, Lily was my friend and I trusted her. We packed up and I followed them over to Summer’s house, grateful I was able to take the SUV to school today. It was also an easy way to leave if things were too uncomfortable. Summer lived farther out of town than everyone else and closest to the beach.
“Technically, I could be at Northland, but my parents open enrolled me at Araminta,” she explained as we paraded into her home.
“Northland is the Thunder?” I asked, wanting to make sure I had the right information.
“Yup,” Whitney said. She was pulling paint markers and huge cans of glitter from her tote bag. “Northland is our rival team because our schools are so close together, but the biggest competition for our team is Athlos Academia. They are like two hours north of us.”
“Oh,” I said while I grabbed my own red board. “Are they really good?”
“They make it to state every year and they have had four ex-players go pro right out of high school,” Summer answered.
Over the next few hours, we made signs for all our players. I noticed I felt more relaxed around everyone as the night went on. Darrian texted a few times after practice to check in and let me know he was going home for family dinner and would call me later. Things were going good again, but I was still painfully aware how fast things could change.
The school looked like the raven mascot had thrown up red, black, and silver everywhere. Streamers decorated the hall, confetti was spread across the lunch tables, and glittery signs were everywhere, including the ones we made last night. The principal went soft on the dress code as everyone wore the school colors and face paint. Trying to fit in, I had worn my school T-shirt to show my Raven pride. Darrian approved when he met me in fr
ont of the school again, giving me a hard kiss in front of everyone.
We made it through the day with little actual learning and zero homework. I guessed all the teachers would also be at the game or they knew the students wouldn’t do the homework because of the late night. I was still farther ahead in assignments anyway and wasn’t bothered. At the last bell, most of the guys headed right to the gym to get ready. Having a couple hours to spare the rest of us headed out for a bite to eat before going back for the game.
I couldn’t tell who had the crazier fans. By the way the Thunder fans were cheering you would have thought they were in their own gym. Noise roared in my ears as people chanted and yelled. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as we watched warm-ups come to an end. Our guys looked badass in their red jerseys with the black raven head etched in front. Darrian looked fierce, his jaw clamped tight and his eyes narrowed in concentration. I remembered our talk about his love of the game over brunch. Watching him now gave me chills of excitement. Every basket he made and pass completed was done with skill and precision. He never lost concentration. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Understanding hit me on why everyone loved him. He was magic on the court.
No one was surprised when we beat the Thunder 89-62. Darrian claimed most of the points made and Ethan had scored a few as well. Of course, now I knew he was more of a defensive player and it wasn’t his job to rack up points. I decided to join the others while we waited outside the doors for the team to exit. Ethan appeared first, his smile infectious as he slapped hands and hugged people.
“We won! We’re the best!” he sang, letting out a howl. Everyone laughed at his antics, a few others joining in. I jumped slightly when strong arms wrapped around my waist.
“Thanks for coming,” Darrian’s low voice said as he dragged his mouth across the side of my neck. I reached one hand back, running it along the buzzed side of his head.
“You were amazing,” I told him quiet enough so that only he could hear. He placed a soft kiss right below my ear.