I jump when I hear Dastian’s window open. For a moment, I thought I was caught, but he pokes his head out.
I chew on the side of my lip. “Are you sure you can pull me up?”
He rolls his eyes. “Should I be offended that you think I’m not strong enough?”
I purse my lips tightly together, not wanting to make him upset. It’s not that I don’t think he’s capable or strong enough, I just don’t want him to hurt himself.
Once inside Dastian’s room, I look around, noting that his room isn’t as big as mine, but it’s still large. It’s laid out similarly to my dorm. It doesn’t look like what I would expect a guy’s room to look like—there are no clothes thrown all over the floor and it’s very tidy. I didn’t expect him to be so clean, but I like that he is.
I look at Dastian and find his brown eyes studying me. I wonder what he’s thinking, but I’m not brave enough to ask. Just the fact that he’s looking at me causes my heart to race. I hate that I have this reaction to him, but I don’t see how I can stop it.
Maybe I should date Logan. Getting my heart broken by him has got to be better than pining over a guy who has a girlfriend.
“Who do you think did that to my room?” I ask Dastian, desperate to talk about something. I need to get my mind off of everything that I’m feeling.
Dastian shrugs but looks down. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think it was Braelynn?” I chew on the side of my lip. “She really doesn’t like me. Blaine introduced me to Drew on my first day here and I guess it made her jealous.”
Dastian snorts. “Braelynn is jealous of anybody who talks to Drew, I don’t know why he puts up with it.”
“Maybe he’s just really in love.”
That is the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with for why he would date a girl like that. Maybe he sees something that the rest of us don’t. There is something so romantic about the thought.
He shudders. “I don’t see the appeal.”
“She is really beautiful,” I admit.
Braelynn Cruz might be jealous, but she has no reason to be. If she realized how pretty she was, she wouldn’t be jealous of anybody.
“She’s not my type.” Dastian sits down on his couch, patting the spot beside him. “Certainly we can talk about something more interesting than Braelynn.”
I swallow hard, hesitantly walking toward him to sit down. “Uh, like what?”
He licks his lips, which has me looking down at his mouth. It makes me think about the kiss we shared which is a dangerous thing to think about. I still can’t help but feel like I’ve betrayed Missy—like I’m still betraying her.
Maybe I should go somewhere else tonight—anywhere else. But where would I go? Before I can give it any more thought, Dastian turns to face me.
“I broke up with Missy.”
It takes a moment for his words to register.
I blink. “What?”
“I broke up with Missy,” he repeats.
“But why?”
He furrows his brows like he’s confused why I would ask the question.
“Not for me, right?” I hold my breath, waiting for his response.
“No.” He rubs at the scruff on his jaw. “I mean, not completely for you. I’ve been wanting to break up with her for a while, but I always feel so guilty. Missy is... well, complicated. And we’ve been together for so long, she always guilts me into dating her. You just sort of gave me the motivation to finally end things. I told her it was for good this time.”
My heart is elated and I hate the part of me that is excited. Missy is my friend. I shouldn’t be excited about the fact that her boyfriend of five years dumped her. My excitement is quickly turned to guilt.
“Missy is my friend,” I tell him, scooting over to put a little space between us.
He frowns. “Don’t get me wrong, I think you would be a good friend for Missy, but you should know that she doesn’t really have a lot of girl friends. And for a good reason. She’s... manic. She gets in these moods and pushes people away. I don’t want you to be hurt.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I can take care of myself, Dastian.”
“I know.” He reaches over, grabbing ahold of my hand. “I just have this desire to protect you.”
“Because of Ellis, right?”
He sucks in a sharp breath, shutting his eyes. It’s almost like hearing my half brother’s name is too much for him.
“Where did you hear about Ellis?” Dastian’s voice is tight like it hurts him to even mention Ellis’s name.
“Missy told me.” I chew on the side of my lip. “Am I not supposed to know about him?”
He clears his throat. “You take my bed. I’m going to sleep on the couch.”
From the hard look on his face, I can tell that the conversation is over. I definitely won’t be hearing anything about Ellis tonight.
Maybe it’s for the best. I need to put some distance between Dastian and me anyway. Just because he and Missy broke up doesn’t mean he’s available for me.
I really, really need to stop obsessing over the one boy I can’t have.
Crushed.
I have no idea how I slept last night, but I must’ve fallen asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
Since my mom passed away, I haven’t been able to sleep well. My dreams are full of memories of her and nightmares of her untimely passing. Some mornings, I wake up with tears in my eyes. But this morning, I wake up feeling comforted. I’m confused until I open my eyes and realize that I’m not in my dorm. I’m in Dastian’s dorm, on his bed. I’m scared to move, worried about what the morning will be like for us. Will it be awkward?
Last night, Dastian seemed really upset with me when I brought up Ellis. To be fair, I was warned not to bring him up. Dastian and he must have been close. I can’t imagine losing a friend like that. It must’ve been hard on him.
I hear a door open and close, followed by footsteps. I bravely sit up and see Dastian walking into the room from his bathroom. He’s got a towel in his hand, drying his hair. I’m surprised to see a bright smile on his face.
“Hey, you’re awake.” His smile only widens upon seeing me.
I glance at the window and see that it’s still dark out. A glance at my phone reveals that it’s just after five in the morning.
“I went for a run,” he says, answering my unasked question. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
I shake my head.
“Today’s the first day of class,” he says.
My heart races at the thought of going to class. I get out of bed, pushing the covers off myself. “I should go get ready.”
“Sure.” He swallows hard. “I, uh, had the problem taken care of in your dorm, so you should be good.”
I shiver, thinking about the dead mice. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He grins again. “I guess I’ll see you in the dining hall?”
I nod slowly. “Uh, yeah. I’ll probably eat with Missy.”
His smile doesn’t falter. “See you in class, Vixen.”
I can’t help but grin at his ridiculous nickname. “At least you don’t call me Cinderella.”
He chuckles. “You’re not Cinderella. You were born for this life.”
I don’t know about all that, but I am glad he doesn’t call me Cinderella.
I leave his dorm, thankful that it’s still early. I pick up my pace, heading out as quick as I can. The last thing I want is for anybody to find me leaving Dastian’s dorm. I don’t want to tell anybody about what happened in my own dorm.
While getting my shower, I can't help but think of Dastian and how he was in such a good mood this morning. It's strange to see him smiling and not with a scowl on his face. It makes him that much more attractive, which isn't something Dastian needs help with—he's already attractive enough.
Pushing him from my mind, I head into the dining hall, hoping I don't run into him again this morning. He was enough of a temptation when he
was dating Missy. It's worse now that he's single. Still, I can't date him. Missy is my friend and I don't want to lose her friendship, especially not over a boy. I've seen enough high school romances to know that it's temporary when you're this young. But my friendship with Missy, that could last.
I spot Missy in the dining hall and she waves me toward her, motioning for me to sit down. With a coffee and bagel in hand, I make my way toward her. I am worried that maybe she’ll be sad or upset, but she’s got a huge smile on her face. It’s almost like nothing happened.
Did Dastian really break up with her?
“Hey.” She bounces in her seat as she greets me.
I look at the energy drink in her hand. “Are you sure you need that?”
Missy grins, taking a big drink. “It’s a good day.”
“Because we have to go to class?” I ask. I’m not that excited about going to class. I kind of dread it, actually. I’m just praying I don’t have any classes with Braelynn or her rude friends.
“No.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s a good day because Dash broke up with me.”
I nearly choke on my coffee. “It’s good that he broke up with you?”
Hope bubbles up inside of me. If she really doesn’t like Dastian, maybe I really could date him and still be friends with her.
“Yeah.” Her grin widens. “It means I get to date somebody else until we get back together.”
And just like that, my heart is crushed.
I try to make my frown by biting my lip. “Why would you want to date somebody else?”
“For fun, of course.” She shakes her head at meo like she’s disappointed that I don’t already understand her reasoning.
I want to question her and ask why she would date somebody else if she really loved Dastian, but I can’t do that. What if she realizes the reason I’m asking is because I have feelings for her ex? That wouldn’t be good.
“Did you have somebody in mind?” I ask, wanting to talk about anybody but Dastian.
She sighs, leaning back in her seat. “Yeah, um, I thought about giving Logan another shot, but word on the street is that he only has eyes for a certain brunette girl everybody is calling Cinderella.”
I roll my eyes. “Please, he does not like me.”
“I heard he took you home to meet his parents.” She raises an eyebrow at me. “He’s never done that before. Logan doesn’t take girls home to meet his parents—ever.”
I sit up straighter, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. My heart races at her words. “You really think he likes me?”
She nods. “I was skeptical at first, just because it’s Logan, but the fact that he took you home to meet his family is a big deal. I think he might really like you.”
Logan actually likes me.
Well, that certainly complicates things. Or maybe it makes them less complicated. Because if Logan likes me, maybe I can date him and get my mind off of Dastian. Clearly Missy isn’t over Dastian and she’s under the impression that they’re going to get back together. And maybe she’s right—they’ve been together five years. There is no way that Dastian seriously dumped her to date me, at least not seriously. He, like her, probably just wants a fling until they get back together. I don’t take relationships lightly. If I date Dastian, it will be because I see a future with him.
Do I see a future with Logan?
I look across the dining hall and I spot Logan sitting with a guy from the soccer team. He glances over at me and winks when he sees I’m looking. I sigh, looking away.
I have no idea what I’m doing. All I know is, I wish I could call my mom and ask her for advice. She would know what to do. She always knew what to do.
“Since you’ve decided against Logan, who else do you have in mind?” I take a sip of my coffee as I turn my attention to Missy.
She pouts. “I’ve always wanted to date Blaine, but he’s one of Dash’s best friends—he’d never go for me.”
“Blaine is cute.” But she’s right. He would never date Missy because he’d never want to hurt Dastian.
“I’ve also considering dating Alex.”
“Alex?” I don’t recognize the name. I’m pretty sure I didn’t meet an Alex.
“Alex Chen. He’s Chinese, and his dad owns, like, half of China.” She sighs. “He would never date me though. He’s never dated any girl at this school.”
I nod. “What about Peter? He’s cute.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Ew, no. I mean, sure, he’s cute, but he’s Peter, you know?”
I don’t know, but I nod anyway.
“Maybe I could go for Drew.” She smirks. “It’s about time somebody breaks him and Braelynn up.”
I give her a pointed look.
She rolls her eyes. “Fine. I’ll leave Drew alone.”
“Thank you.”
“Maybe I’ll go after Colby.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “He’s way too serious, but he’s adorable.”
I recognize the name Colby—he was the guy who helped me when I first arrived at Lockwood Academy. He is cute, but she’s right about him being way too serious.
“And Dastian won’t mind?” I ask, taking a bite of my bagel.
She grins. “He never has before. Besides, we already know the breakup is temporary. We’ll be back together before the end of the month, you’ll see.”
Her words absolutely crush me, but they are exactly what I needed to hear. Dastian Graham could never possibly go for a girl like me.
Maybe I should give Logan a shot. Maybe he’s not the bad boy that people warned me he was. Because that is the only way I’ll be able to stay away from Dastian.
It’s for the best.
So why does my chest ache so much at the thought?
THE END.
Episode two is coming soon!
Author’s note.
Thank you so much for reading the first episode of Rich Kid Prep. If you wish to continue reading about the characters at Lockwood Academy, you can read them for FREE on Kindle Unlimited! Episode two will be up soon!
To keep up to date with all my releases, be sure to sign up for my newsletter! http://eepurl.com/hbWjOT. You can also check out my website for upcoming releases and teasers! https://victoriagracewrites.com.
If you’re interested in reviewing this book in exchange for a free ebook, send me an email at: [email protected]. I’d love to have you join my ARC team.
More by Victoria Grace.
Rich Kid Prep:
Episode One
Episode Two—coming soon!
Paradise High:
The Island Life
My Endless Summer
No Good Deed—coming soon!
About the author.
Victoria Grace is a young adult author who loves writing sweet high school romance. Her books always have happy endings and swoon worthy guys. When she isn’t daydreaming of new stories, she loves spending time with her family and going to church.
Rich Kid Prep: Book 1 Page 9