Audrey
Three months later
I kissed Brody goodbye and climbed into Bennett’s waiting car.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked, handing me a smoothie. I smiled in thanks.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I nodded and kicked my feet up on the dashboard.
After a two-week break for spring, we were heading back to school for the last term. It was going to be a tough ten weeks. Final exams were coming up, so this entire term would be focused on prepping for those. I needed to get good grades because I was determined to get a psychology degree, something I never dreamed was possible a year ago, and certainly never even considered in the months following the fire. But now, everything was perfect. I felt good, and I wanted to help people who were struggling, like I was, to be…better, find peace, move on.
“How was your break?” Bennett asked, wiggling his eyebrows in my direction, knowing full well Brody took me away again for a few days to unwind before school went back.
“Great. It was peaceful and nice to unwind.”
“You sound like a forty-year-old woman. Peaceful and nice to unwind? Sounds dreadful. I want details. Dirty ones. Descriptive. Don’t leave anything out.”
“No. You have an imagination.”
“Yes…yes, I do.” He smiled dreamily and his eyes glazed over.
“Hey, focus on the road.”
“You really want me to use my imagination?”
“I’m not telling you details.”
“I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.”
“What are we, seven? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” I laughed, but I wasn’t going to admit that caught my attention. I sat a little straighter and turned to face him.
“I don’t want to see yours,” Bennett scoffed.
“Why not?” I frowned and crossed my arms.
“Because Brody could kill me, cover it up, and get away with it.”
“Fair point.”
“But I will tell you all the dirty, descriptive details about my break.”
“Please, don’t.”
“She was older.”
“No.” I blocked my ears.
“Like, not as old as Brody, but older, maybe four or five years older.”
“Stop.”
“And she was into all sorts of—”
“Not listening. La-la-la-la.”
“Roleplay.” He turned into the parking lot at school and took his rightful place near the front. Ryder’s old parking spot.
“Urgh.” I climbed out and slammed the door, hoping it would end the conversation. It didn’t.
“Toys.”
“Bennett!”
“Nipple clamps.”
“Oh, my god.” I buried my face in my hands as he walked around to my side of the car and grabbed my bag from my shoulder.
“Kind of painful, not at all unpleasant.” He flashed me a grin. “And—”
“Bennett, please,” I pleaded. “I don’t want to hear it. Really. I’m super happy that you got laid at least once in the last two weeks. There was quite a dry spell there for a while.”
“Once? I’m pretty sure she’s my girlfriend now. And, yeah, the accidental celibacy was totally worth it.” He smiled and grabbed my hand, tugging me toward the front doors of the school.
“Girlfriend. What?” I screeched, choosing to focus on that, rather than his admission that not getting laid was worth it. I knew it was because of me. He knew that I knew it. I appreciated it more than I could ever put into words. He knew I appreciated it. I was happy because of Brody. I was confident because of Bennett Sawyer. And he was all too pleased to take the credit for it.
“Seriously, bro. We spent nearly every day together.”
“Doesn’t she work?”
“Starts a new job today, actually. Kind of perfect since I had to come back here anyway,” he said as we reached my locker.
“Well, I’m happy for you.” I turned to him and grabbed my bag from his shoulder and placed it in the locker before pulling out my books for my morning classes. “Does this mean I’m going to see less of you now you have a girlfriend?”
“I can’t believe you would even ask me that. Bros before hos.” He held out a fist for me to bump.
“Good.” It was selfish, but I didn’t want to share him with anyone else.
Bennett cleared his throat and gave me a pointed look.
“What?”
“Jacket.” He raised an eyebrow and glanced down at my hoodie, holding his hand out.
“I’m cold.”
“No, you’re not.” He snatched my books out of my hands and dropped them at his feet.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stepped back until I was pressed up against the locker like a cornered animal. Bennett stood before me and reached for the zip on my faithful hoodie. “Drop your arms.”
“No.” I frowned at him and hugged my arms tighter to my chest, my mouth twisting into a small smile. It wasn’t that I was scared to remove my jacket. I’d actually become used to showing small parts of my body, like my forearms and sections of my chest in V-neck t-shirts. However, it was still nerve-wracking to remove an item of clothing in public, because it drew attention, and that initial attention made my stomach churn. Bennett helped, though, usually by shielding me from view as I tried to compose myself.
“Don’t make me lift it over your head. Drop your arms.”
I sighed. “I can do it myself, you know.”
“I know.” He shrugged. “But it makes me feel needed.” He pouted and blinked his eyelids rapidly.
I dropped my hands. His grin spread from ear to ear, the dimples on his cheeks giving him an adorable boyish quality. Sometimes. He stepped closer and slid the zipper down. My hands twitched, fighting the urge to move up and cover my body that wasn’t even visible, thanks to the long sleeve t-shirt I was wearing and the fact that Bennett was directly shielding me with his body from passers-by.
He slid my hoodie down my arms, balled it up, and leaned over me to throw it in my locker, and then he waited. With clenched fists, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the comforting scent of his cologne as he towered over me, waiting until I was ready.
“Okay, let’s go.” I looked up at him and nodded. He stepped back with a shrug, acting like he’d not done anything for me, when he had. He’d made me feel safe when Brody wasn’t around.
Leaning down, Bennett grabbed my books and tucked me under his arm as we made our way to his locker down the hall. Eyes still followed us wherever we went, whispers were always heard, but no one dared approach us. Most just waved or smiled, some said hi, while others ignored me completely. I was okay with that. Six months ago, I couldn’t walk out the front door without having a panic attack. Now I had my super overprotective best bro by my side, a loving family, doting boyfriend, and the wolf pack. Things were definitely looking up.
After dropping Bennett’s stuff in his locker, we walked to our first class for the morning. English with Ms. Mitchell. She’d not taken Jones as her surname for school because there was already a Mrs. Jones who taught history.
Bailey was standing at the front of the class sorting through papers on her desk when we entered the room. “Hey, guys.” She smiled and rested a hand on her rapidly growing stomach. I could swear she was about to pop. That baby was due any time now.
“Shouldn’t you be on leave by now?” Bennett asked, waving his hands at her stomach.
“This is my last week. I’m just here to make sure you’re all ready for your exams.”
Students began filing into the classroom, so Bennett and I took our seats at the back of the class.
“Welcome back, everyone. I hope you all had a great break,” Bailey greeted everyone once they were all seated and quiet.
“My break was rather interesting, Ms. M.,” Bennett called. I elbowed him in the side to shut him up.
Bailey smiled with amusement. “I’m sure it was, Bennett, but please save us the sordid details. This is English, not health.”
I chuckled into my hand.
“So, as you are all aware by the enormous ball under my shirt, this baby is coming any day now. Which means this is my last week. The school has informed me they have found a replacement teacher who will help get you all through your exams relatively unscathed. However, being I’m so particular about things, I’ve planned out the entire term for you. I have revision sheets for everything that could be on your exams. I have practice exams. I hav—”
A knock on the door interrupted Bailey. She glanced over and smiled at Bennett’s dad standing by the door. “Principal Sawyer. Can we help you?”
“Yes, sorry for the interruption, but I was just having a chat with Ms. Brown about what is expected of her once she takes over your class next week and thought it might be good to introduce her to the class.”
“Sure, come on in.” Bailey leaned against the side of her desk as Principal Sawyer stepped into the room with barely a glance in his son’s direction.
“Class, I’d like you to meet Ms. Brown. She’ll be your teacher for the remainder of the year.” He gestured to the door where a tall and pretty blonde with candy apple red lips was standing.
She walked into the room and glanced around with a smile. Her eyes locked onto mine before shifting to Bennett, who had noticeably buried his head into my shoulder. Noticing our entwined fingers resting on the desk, her lips twitched, and the smile faded as she tilted her head, almost as though she was studying us. She shook her head and plastered on another smile. That was weird.
“Hello,” she greeted the class.
“Christina?” Bailey gasped.
At the same time, Bennett squeezed my hand tighter and cursed. “Shit.”
READ ON for an exclusive preview of Book 6 in the Scandalous series, Christina and the Rebel Affair, coming soon from Limitless Publishing