CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

COLE

She sobs into my shirt, and I just stand here, holding her. Not knowing what the fuck to do for her.

I’m at a loss for words. And I’ve never felt this way before. Just yesterday, I wanted to rip this girl to pieces. But what I didn’t realize was that she is already ruined. She just hides it much better than I ever could.

I bend down and slide an arm under her legs and pick her up. I sit down on the lounge chair, and she curls up against my chest.

I look up at the cloudy sky, and my teeth clench. I don’t like situations I can’t control. And her mother and boyfriend back in California is something I can’t do anything about. Same with Bruce. What if he decides to say fuck our deal and send her back? What the hell do I do then? I can’t let her go. Not back to those worthless pieces of shit.

She calms her breathing and shifts in my lap, sitting up. I reach up and wipe the tears away from her face. And I feel guilty that I still find her gorgeous when she cries.

“You can go,” she says, standing up and dismissing me.

I grab her arm and stand as well. Cupping her face, I stare down into her watery eyes. I hold her cheek, but she looks away from me, biting her bottom lip. You can see the shame written in her eyes. She hates that she made herself look so weak in front of me. That I got her to break so easily.

I love it. Finally something that I can use to get close to her. To make her trust me more. Need me more. No more of this back and forth shit. Even though I liked her fight, I like this more. Holding her. No one has ever needed me before other than Lilly. And that’s a different kind of need.

But as her eyes come back up to mine, I realize that Becky was right. If she asked me to, I would burn this town to the ground for her. No matter who is standing in my way.

I press my lips to hers, needing her as much as she needs someone to protect her from her mother and the boyfriend.

And you.

I’m no better. I hurt her in other ways, and no matter how much I know it’s wrong, I can’t seem to stop.

She parts her soft lips and I kiss her gently, tasting her tears once again and they make me hard. I ignore my want to throw her to the lounge chair and rip off her bikini. Instead, I want to show her that I can be better. That I can be the one to save her. Even if it’s a false sense of security. Because I’m not the one who saves. I destroy.

She pulls away from me first. My hands drop to my sides, and she wraps her arms around her waist as if she’s protecting herself from me. Her instincts tell her I’m no good. That I would be no different from any other bastard who has hurt her. “Please go,” she says, averting her eyes.

For once, I do as she asks.

_________________________________

Not gonna lie. Wednesday sucked not having her here at school with me. I like that I can kiss her and touch her whenever I want, but I haven’t spoken to her. I still don’t know what to say. I know better than anyone that words don’t change the past or heal the scars any faster. And I’ve never been one for chitchat.

Thursday hasn’t been any different. The day has gone by agonizingly slow. It feels like six in the evening, but it’s only lunchtime.

Deke is cramming food in his mouth like usual. Becky is scrolling through her phone, and I’m just sitting here thinking about Austin. About how I could be taking advantage of her three-day suspension. I could be in bed with her right now. Naked. My hands in her hair, her lips on mine. And the thought makes me hard.

“Hey, Cole.” Kaitlin Milton plops down beside me. Head cheerleader. Also a pain in my ass.

“Excuse me?” Becky says, placing her phone down.

Kaitlin ignores her. “I was wondering if you’re free tonight,” she asks, running her fingers down my arm.

“Excuse me!” Becky slaps her hands on the table and leans over it. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” she snaps.

Kaitlin throws her a hard look, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. “I wasn’t talking to you, bitch.”

“Oh, that’s it …” She goes to crawl across the table, but Deke finally looks up from his food and grabs her arm, pulling her back to her seat.

“Not interested,” I tell her, pulling away from her touch.

She looks back at me and giggles as if I just told a joke. “Come on, everyone knows that what’s going on between you and that Ashley girl …”

“Austin!” Becky interrupts her.

“Whatever. Anyway, everyone knows it isn’t serious.” She rolls her brown eyes. “It’s just a dare.”

I stiffen, and Deke’s eyes narrow on her. We don’t make our dares public knowledge. If we wanted them to know what we did, we would spray-paint our names after we completed each one. They know we do them, but they think it’s some little bullshit we do to pass the time.

“Austin is not a dare!” Becky snaps.

Kaitlin rolls her eyes. “That’s not the word in the halls.”

“What are they saying?” Deke asks before I can.

“That one of you guys dared Cole to seduce her.” She smiles at me. “Of course, she fell for it. But you get an entire month to play with her, so you might as well take advantage of it, right? Use her all you can.” She rubs her hand on my thigh.

I wrap my hand around her wrist and yank it off. Her smile never falters.

“Who said that?” Becky growls.

“Bryan.”

Fucking Bryan!

“Well, it’s a lie,” she snaps.

“You, of all people, shouldn’t believe everything you hear. Oh, by the way, congratulations on the baby,” I add, looking away from her.

Becky throws her head back, laughing. “I thought you had gained some weight.” She smirks, and Kaitlin throws her a heated look. Then she gets up and storms away.

AUSTIN

It was finally Friday and time for me to go back to school. I woke up an hour earlier, got ready, and drove myself to school. Cole had sent me a message last night that he had practice this afternoon and wanted to know if I could pick up Lilly after school. Of course, I told him yes.

I didn’t see his car in the parking lot when I pulled up, so I figured he was running late getting Lilly to school. I walk into first period and see Becky in the back in our usual seats.

I plop down beside her and take a deep breath. “Did you know that Deke was the one who recorded Cole and me in the bathroom at the party?” I haven’t spoken to her since all that shit went down at the clubhouse. One, because I haven’t really had the time. And two, because she’s so wrapped up in Deke, it’s hard to get alone time with her, and I didn’t wanna do this through text.

Her eyes widen. “What?”

I watch her features to see if I can tell if she’s surprised or faking it. “Deke admitted to it. And I know you were standing there with us when Cole carried me away.”

She shakes her head quickly. “I swear I had no idea. When you guys left the kitchen, I went outside.”

“But you spent the night with him that night.” When we got to school the next morning, she had ridden with him.

She nods. “He found me right before we left. Came up and asked me if what he had heard was true.”

“Which was?”

“If David and I had broken up.”

“David?”

She nods. “My ex. We were together for two years. He graduated last year, then dumped me over Christmas break. No surprise there.” She rolls her eyes. “But no, I had no idea. I saw a video online, and I tried to show it to you that next morning, but you didn’t want to see it.”

“But you knew Deke had posted it.”

She shakes her head quickly. “No. It wasn’t on Deke’s page. He must have sent it to someone else to post. I’m sorry, Austin.”

I sit back in my seat. Of course not. Then I would know he was the one responsible. “It’s fine.” Nothing I can do about it now.

“But there is something that you need to know.”

“What?” I ask with a sigh.

“Kaitlin sat down with us at lunch yesterday.”

“Who is Kaitlin?” I have no idea who anyone is here. I stick to myself. I don’t talk to any of the kids in my classes. Cole is always with me in the halls and lunch. Everyone stays clear of us.

“She’s a fucking bitch. And she kept coming onto Cole.” My fists clench in my lap at the thought of another girl throwing herself at him. I’ve never really thought about him and other girls, but she had told me that he’s a manwhore. “But he totally blew her off.” I relax a little. “I was about to crawl across the table and snap her neck. She’s thrown herself at every Great White Shark.” She shakes her head. “And believe me, they’ve all had their turns, but each one threw her back when they were done with her. That’s what you do with used-up garbage.”

I laugh.

“Anyway, she said that Bryan has started a rumor.”

I frown. “What kind of rumor?”

“That you were a dare.”

My heart starts to pound at those words. “What do you mean?” I never hear others at school talk about the guys and their dares. I don’t know if they tell everyone about them or if they keep them secret, but I don’t want others to think I do them too. People can’t keep their mouths shut, and if that is the case, then I’ll be caught in no time.

“Bryan is saying that one of the guys dared Cole to seduce you and that he has a month to …”

My eyes narrow on her. “A month to what?”

“Play with you. Were her words.”

_________________________________

Second period, I walk in earlier than usual. I grabbed my books before first period so I wouldn’t have to make the extra trip to my locker.

I’m pissed at Cole for what Bryan is saying. A part of me doesn’t want to believe I’m a dare, but the other part says that is why he is so adamant about not leaving me alone.

I choose the chair in the back by the corner and sit down. The chairs to my right and in front of me are both occupied. I smile, knowing he won’t be able to sit near me. It drops off the moment he walks in. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and his black zip-up hoodie, he demands attention. His dark hair is looking freshly fucked, and I hate that my first thought is that Kaitlin did it. His blue eyes land on mine like he knows where I am, and he walks toward me.

“Get up,” he orders the kid next to me. He grabs his books and scrambles away. “Hello, sweetheart,” he says, sitting down.

I ignore him and look straight ahead.

He leans over his desk. “What’s wrong?”

I turn to face him, and my eyes narrow. “A month, huh?”

His dark brows pull together as if he’s confused. I don’t elaborate. He can figure it out himself.

He goes to open his mouth, but the teacher gets our attention. She writes an assignment on the board before she excuses herself from the classroom. I pull out my pencil, a piece of paper, and the textbook. I start to read when the book is snatched off my desk. I look up to see Cole slamming it to the floor. All the kids turn around to look over at us as the sound bounces off the walls. I ignore them. His hard blue eyes are glaring at me.

He figured it out. Good for him.

“Mature,” I snap, leaning down to grab it, but he kicks it out of the way. “Cole ...”

“You don’t really believe that shit, do you?” he snaps.

“Why wouldn’t I?” I demand. “It makes perfect sense all of a sudden. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

He gives a rough laugh. “Maybe because it’s not true.”

I snort. “Like I believe you.”

“Austin,” he growls my name.

The kids are all still turned around facing us as we argue in the corner. Their eyes going back and forth between us. A few even have their phones out, and you can hear their fingers typing away.

“Cole,” I challenge.

He leans over, his face inches from mine. “We haven’t done a dare without you being present since I caught you that night in the cemetery.”

I glare at him. “Bullshit.”

He smiles, and it’s wicked. “Do you not remember what just went down the other night at the clubhouse? They didn’t even know how I knew you. Let alone dare me to fuck you, sweetheart.” And with that, he sits back in his seat and opens his book.

I continue glaring, hating that he is right. I hadn’t thought of that. They had no clue he had blackmailed me. Well, Deke did. But as far as I’m aware, one can’t dare another without the others present. They have to draw for them.

I look at the guy sitting in front of Cole. His wide brown eyes are on me. “Will you hand me my book?” I ask. His eyes dart to Cole who still stares down at his. “Please,” I growl. Cole had kicked it over under that boy’s desk.

His eyes go back to mine, and then he spins around, facing forward, giving me his back. Ignoring me. All because he’s afraid to help me out due to Cole. “Good grief,” I growl as I shove out of my desk and go over to his. Bending down, I pick it up, and Cole slaps me on the ass.

I spin around to glare down at him, and he’s giving me a smirk. “Bastard,” I hiss.