Noble Savages: A Dark Bully High School Romance Multi-Author Box Set

by Kent, Rina

  He peered over at me, his eyes narrowed.

  I ran a frustrated hand through my hair and perched on the edge of the bench. “If you want to go to MIT, then go to MIT. You don’t have to let everyone else's perception of you define who you are or what you do with your life.”

  He held up his hand before I could continue. “I get it… I’m just thinking out loud. Sorry I brought it up.”

  I sighed before climbing onto his lap and running my hands through his hair. He didn’t smile, so I knew I’d said too much… again. But he wouldn’t stay sour with me long. He couldn’t.

  “You know MIT is in Cambridge,” I said, biting my lip and resting my hands on his chest. “Which is awfully close to Boston.”

  “I know.” The faintest smile came over his face. “How the hell would I get rid of you then?”

  I stuck out my tongue and snapped it back in my mouth when Camden’s fingers reached out to pinch it. “You’re too predictable,” I said, leaning forward to peck his cheek.

  “Am I?”

  I nodded, grinning.

  Camden’s hand came up my back and he flipped us so that I lay on the bench with him on top of me. He covered a hand over my mouth and bent to whisper in my ear. “Or maybe you’re too easy.”

  He cringed when I lapped my tongue on his palm, and he pulled his hand away before wiping it on my jeans. “And gross,” he joked, shaking his head.

  “Nah, you like it.”

  Bending and giving me a peck on the lips, he smiled. “Yeah… I really do, Eden. I like you a lot.”

  Before I got the chance to tell him I liked him a lot too, his lips captured mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, opening my mouth and letting him massage my tongue. His fingers pressed to my jeans and he rubbed in exactly the right spot. How the hell he could find it that fast every time was a mystery.

  “We can’t do this here,” I whispered into his mouth, urging him off me.

  “Why not?”

  “Because.” I laughed, pressing harder against him until he finally let up. “I’m already the school slut. I don’t think doing the football quarterback, in the bleachers, in the middle of the school day, would help my reputation.”

  “That mouth of yours has gotten so dirty.” He clucked his tongue and shook his head. “Can I tell you a secret, though?”

  I shrugged, bracing myself for the joke I could see dancing in his eyes.

  “You’re not the school slut anymore.”

  The air thinned, and all the white noise around us disappeared.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means nobody’s talking about you.” He winked. “Fixed it.”

  I searched my mind for some evidence of truth to his words. I hadn’t been paying much attention to gossip the last few days. I never really paid attention to it as much as it was shoved in my face, but now that I thought about it, nothing came to mind. The passing insults seemed to stop a couple days after Hunter stood up for me to his friends, but Camden was right. It’d been crickets.

  “And how did you fix it?”

  “By calling Leilani out in the cafeteria. Full disclosure, I didn’t realize it was going to take all the attention off of you, but it did… You’re welcome.”

  Two steps forward, sixteen steps back.

  “You fixed it by calling another girl a slut. Great.”

  Camden sat up and squinted. “Do you have any idea all the shit she’s said about you? You don’t need to feel bad for Leilani.”

  “I’m not the type of person that can feel good about that, Camden.”

  He let out a frustrated breath and rolled his neck. I frowned at the bell ringing in the distance and shoved the remaining food back into the paper bag. I could tell he was trying. With the texts and phone calls, walking me to class, eating lunch with me. He’d said he’d never had a girlfriend before, so this was all new. And I wasn’t exactly being open with him about what I expected. It wasn’t fair of me.

  I really should just tell him what I want.

  “I’m not going to be around much tomorrow because of homecoming, so I’ll probably just see you at the game, okay?”

  “Are you coming over tonight?”

  He shook his head. “I told Hunter I’d hang out with him and a few of the guys tonight.”

  A few of the guys. Gotcha, so I’m not invited.

  “Oh, okay.”

  We started down the steps together, and when we made it to the grass, he threaded his fingers through mine. I followed his gaze to the field, to the spot they’d taken me.

  “You don’t have to come tomorrow if you don’t want to, okay? I really don’t want you to be tired for your interview.”

  “I’ve been training for this day most of my life, and my flight doesn’t leave until noon. I promise you, I’m fine… I’ll even go to the dance.” I studied his face, watching for some reaction and hoping to see the realization that he hadn’t asked me to go with him.

  No reaction.

  “Well, thanks for the support.” He bent down and kissed me before opening the door to the school and waving me through.

  My face had fallen, and my legs felt heavy as I made it inside. Our classes were in different parts of the building, so Camden let the door shut behind him and grazed my arm as he passed me. He turned around and walked backward. “I’ll see you tomorrow, all right?”

  I forced a smile and nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Eden

  I was late… again.

  My eyes roamed the crowded stands, filled with laughter, smiles, and a whole lot of war paint. Apparently, even an hour before the game was supposed to start wasn’t early enough to get a good seat at homecoming. Not a single empty spot stood out to me.

  “Eden, over here!”

  I was mid-turn, prepared to give up finding a seat and instead perch myself against the railing, when the feminine voice called out to me from the crowd. I roamed the stands again and paused on a set of hands waving. My eyes locked with Sherry, and the sweat on my palms cooled in a sudden breeze.

  I gave a small wave back as if she was only saying hello, but she scooted over, squeezing herself into another woman, and patted the seat beside her.

  I swiped my tongue over the roof of my mouth, desperate for any amount of moisture, and scanned yet again for any other option. There wasn’t one. It was sitting next to Sherry or standing down in the wind pretending I hadn’t noticed the offer.

  I trudged up the stairs and made my way through the crowded bleachers to sit between her and another woman with brown hair and a wrinkled nose. The woman stood out in the crowd, with bright red high heels and an outfit far too decadent for the occasion. It was even worse with her being next to Sherry, who sported Panthers everything tonight, including blue gloves and both Hunter and Camden’s numbers painted on her cheeks.

  “Hey, honey.” She threw her arm around me and rubbed as if she thought I was cold. “Are you excited?”

  I nodded and stared out onto the field where the players were lining up. The boys were in their uniforms, but the girls were decked out in homecoming dresses. I’d never seen so many bad spray tans in one place.

  “Kind of confused, to be honest,” I said, flicking my gaze to Sherry and smiling nervously. “Isn’t the game an hour from now?”

  She put her hand to her chest and threw her head back in a laugh. “Oh goodness, Cam wasn’t kidding when he said you hadn’t come to many games.”

  “What about Cam?” the woman on my other side asked. Her shoulder-length brunette hair blew around her face in the wind. She seemed intent on holding it down with both her hands and intense concentration.

  “This is Eden.” Sherry placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled. “She and Cam are friends.”

  “Ah, well, hello then.” The woman let go of her hair long enough to shake my hand. “I’m Allegra, his mom.”

  My face blanched as she narrowed her eyes at my hand holding hers, probably feeling
the sweat that’d caked my palms.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” I pulled my hand away and slyly wiped my palms on my jeans.

  This was Camden’s mom.

  So many puzzle pieces clicked into place as I stared at her longer than appropriate. His lifeless house? She looked like she belonged in it... as a statue. She had definitely been the decorator. I glanced to the man beside her who I assumed to be Camden’s dad, but before I could get a good look, Sherry tugged on my arm.

  “They’re about to do the crowning.”

  “Crowning?”

  She nodded and flashed me her teeth. “For homecoming king and queen. It’s the reason we’re here earlier than usual. Cam didn’t tell you to be here at 5:30 for a good seat?”

  “No, he just said the game started at seven.” I fished my phone from my pocket to check the time—6:15. So I was technically forty-five minutes late. What the hell, Camden?

  I looked onto the field where Camden, Hunter, and Joshua stood. To the right of them was Leilani, Jade, and Amber. The rest of the cheerleaders were equally dressed up, but stood on the sidelines along with the other players.

  “The girls look nice.” Allegra turned to Sherry as she spoke, so I ignored the comment. My ears burned, but I reminded myself it wasn’t an intentional diss aimed at me. She didn’t even know me. And they were Camden’s friends, I couldn’t hate them anymore.

  “They sure do.” Sherry turned to Allegra and smiled.

  Was she ever not smiling?

  Mr. Olstein walked up with the microphone in hand and thanked the crowd for coming to support the Panthers.

  Several people hollered and horns blared each time Mr. Olstien paused his introductory speech, and I had to fight the urge to cover my hands over my ears. If concerts were anything like this, I’d probably vomit every time I walked onto the stage.

  “... And now the crowning of the king and queen...”

  He put the microphone on the stand before pulling an envelope from his suit pocket. The crowd quieted, anticipation clouding the air as if none of us knew who it was going to be. Even I found myself scooting to the edge of the bench.

  “Your homecoming king is... Camden Knight.”

  People shot up from their seats and a wave of energy flowed through me. Screams echoed all around me, and this time I did put my hands over my ears. Sherry extended her hand to me and helped me to my feet just in time to see an obnoxiously large crown being fitted onto Camden’s head. He flashed the stands his smile, but it was the fake one. The only one I’d known him to have before a month ago.

  My lips quirked up, and I clapped along with the rest of them, happy for a completely different reason. This was his senior year, which meant it was the last year he had to don that fake smile… if he chose. I’d focused on wanting to escape for so long that it never occurred to me that someone like him could want to escape too. And maybe, just maybe, we would get to escape together.

  MIT and Berklee. Holy shit.

  I laughed and glanced around at the crowd, feeling their excitement.

  “Yay, Camden!” I screamed, cupping my hands around my mouth.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Allegra staring at me, but I ignored it.

  Mr. Olstein pulled out another envelope and read off the piece of paper. “And your homecoming queen is... Leilani Donavan.”

  More cheers. More screams. The metal stands echoed with people jumping up and down. I smiled and cheered right along with them, momentarily lost in the excitement to get too caught up in whatever that meant. A crown was placed on her head, and she jumped up and down next to Camden. She grabbed his hand and turned to him, her mouth moving as she said something.

  He smiled and nodded, not letting go of her hand.

  My eyes zeroed in on it, but I tried not to think too hard about the gesture. She could be his queen for these five seconds. I’d be his queen for the rest of it. Maybe even in Boston.

  Mr. Olstein gestured for Camden to step up to the mike, and Camden did with Leilani still on his side. He thanked everyone for coming out to support the team, and by the time he was through his first sentence, I couldn’t hear any more of his words. It muffled as if I was at the bottom of a lake trying to hear someone talking at the shoreline. My eyes glued to their interconnected hands, and only one word echoed in my mind.

  Boston.

  Boston.

  Boston.

  Not Lincoln High. Not the Panthers. Not Leilani. Just Boston.

  “So, Eden, why aren’t you a cheerleader?”

  I blinked, just realizing that Camden had stopped talking and the cheerleaders were making their way off the field, probably to change. Turning to Allegra, I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “I said, why aren’t you a cheerleader? Cam is friends with Leilani. I’m sure she could’ve gotten you a spot on the squad.”

  “Eden is in the school’s orchestra. And she’s extremely talented, too, if my sources are accurate.” Sherry winked and patted my back. Had Camden been talking to her about me? Or had Hunter? Please be Hunter.

  A sickening feeling twisted my gut, and I had to take deep breaths to unravel it.

  No. I am not going to be the jealous girlfriend.

  “Ah, that’s interesting,” Allegra said, her flat tone contradicting her words.

  Twenty minutes had passed when the cheerleaders came back out onto the field in their uniforms. The other team had come out too, and the game was gearing up to start. Last time I’d been here I hadn’t caught Camden looking up in the stands once, but already I’d met his eyes several times tonight.

  “Gosh, I just can’t get over how beautiful Leilani is.” Allegra was peering down at her phone, and she leaned it across me to show to Sherry. “I mean, look at this. We looked nothing like that at their age.”

  “Big hair. Big pearls. That was my motto.” Sherry gave her a kind smile and humored her by looking at the picture before going back to the game.

  As Allegra brought it back across me, I glimpsed it. It was Leilani and Camden together in his foyer. The bright orange tie hanging from his neck matched her dress perfectly, and of course it did. That was his date.

  My throat contracted and I breathed in the cold air, letting it burn as it travelled down my dry throat. His words from yesterday, telling me how busy he was going to be, echoed in my head.

  “Excuse me,” I said, getting up and sliding past people in the stands as quickly as I could.

  “Eden!”

  I didn’t turn around. Sherry’s voice drowned into the crowd as I made it farther away. Paige caught my eye as I hurried down the steps, and the knife in my chest sank another inch.

  She’d warned me.

  Sebastian had warned me.

  Everybody had warned me.

  I passed her and kept my eyes on the metal until metal turned to concrete and I was walking in the parking lot toward my car. All the yelling and cheers were behind me, but I could’ve sworn at least a few of them were in front, pointing their fingers and laughing. Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not yet. Not until I was home, tucked underneath the covers where no one could see me.

  What the hell had I been thinking?

  “Eden!” I kept walking, but Paige’s footsteps crunched on the concrete in a jog. She slipped in front of me and put a hand over her chest, the other hand on her knees as she bent over. “Are you okay?” she asked, out of breath.

  I swallowed and stood as straight as I could manage in front of her. “Yup, just remembered how much I hate football.”

  She stood straight and grabbed my arm when I went to step around her. My eyes narrowed on her face.

  “Wait, okay. Just wait a minute.” She was still panting, and she took a few deep breaths before shaking her head and continuing. “I know you must hate me, and I don’t blame you. I’ve been the worst friend to you, and I hate myself for it.”

  “Glad we got that cleared up.” I tried to step around her again, but she stopped me.


  “Remember at the party when I wanted to leave, and you wouldn’t let us? I was pissed at you, Eden. I felt like I’d been humiliated, and you wouldn’t just let me sulk in it.”

  “So, what, Paige? You wanted revenge for me trying to be a good friend?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I only did what I did because I was scared of them lumping me in with you, and I know that makes me shitty, but that’s not the point. The point is, I get why you did it. I know what you meant when you said we weren’t giving them the satisfaction of watching me run away.”

  Silence filled the air for a few moments as I processed her words. Her meaning.

  She didn’t want me to run away.

  “Did you know he was with Leilani? That he never cared about me? I know—” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes a moment. “I know you basically said it, but… is that the way it’s been this whole time?”

  “I have no idea,” she said, her face contorting in pity. “Honestly, he doesn’t talk much to me unless he’s asking about you, but he stopped doing even that about a week ago.”

  I nodded and pressed my hands to my cheeks, my palms cooling the fire that seemed to have ignited beneath the skin. “That’s about the time I gave in to him…” Despite my best efforts, a tear escaped my eyes and crawled down my cheek, pooling on the tip of my index finger.

  I closed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m so stupid.”

  “You are not stupid, Eden. I’m so sorry that I didn’t try to warn you better.”

  “I wouldn’t have listened to you.” A bitter laugh rumbled my chest. “I didn’t even listen to Sebastian.”

  “Hey.” She gripped my shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes. Her face morphed from pity to determination. She was Paige again. Not the football player’s girlfriend. Not the gossip girls’ groupie. Not my enemy. Just Paige.

  “We’re not leaving here like this because we’re not giving them the satisfaction. You hear me?”

  I planted my hands over the creases of my nose and wiped away the moisture. “What am I supposed to do? They’re all probably laughing at me right now.”

  She looked over my shoulder, her eyes glazing over as she thought. “We find a way to get even. I can say for a fact that he doesn’t care about Leilani either, so there’s not much we can do there… Honestly, I’m not sure there is anyone he cares about, but I’m sure there’s—”