“Thought you were getting revenge on me.”
“Revenge?”
“For the party?”
“Oh. Seriously? I’m not like everyone else, Ti.”
“No?”
“I don’t have time for those kinds of games,” she said.
“Right,” I said. “Sorry. And I mean that. That was a bitch move by me that night.”
“You ran off with Pres,” Beth said.
“I did. I can’t figure them out, Beth. What they want with me. You know? Maybe I shouldn’t care… but I do. They’re rich. They could have anything or anyone…”
“But they want you,” Beth said.
“Right? Wouldn’t that drive you crazy?”
“Sit down, Ti,” Beth said.
I sat at the end of a row and Beth sat at the end across from me.
“I know you’re hanging with Gi and Iris…”
“Please tell me you’re not here to talk about them,” I said.
“No,” Beth said. “I mean, I could tell you things but it won’t matter. Same with them talking shit on me. It doesn’t matter."
“Okay. Good.”
“I’m just saying you’ve been hanging with them a lot. Which is fine. It’s your life. I’ve been trying to talk to you though…”
“And that’s why I’m here, Beth. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for how crazy things are. I’m still trying to figure all of this out.”
“Let me help,” Beth said.
“How?”
“I know what they want.”
“What?”
“You know what happens at the ditch, right?”
“I’ve been there,” I said. “I watched Kip fight.”
“Yeah. And they bet up there.”
“On the fights. Yes.”
“Not just the fights, Ti.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re betting on you.”
“On me?” I laughed. “On me. For what?”
“For you,” Beth said.
“For me. What the hell are you talking about?”
“They know about you.”
“About me? About what?”
Beth rolled her eyes. “Damn, Ti. They know you’re a virgin.”
“What?”
“You heard me. They know you’re a virgin. And they’re betting to see who can… you know… take your v-card.”
My eyes went wide. “What?”
“You’re right. They’re rich. They’re powerful. They can get anything they want. So it’s not money they’re after with you. And it’s not because you’re the new girl. And I’m sorry, Ti, it’s not because they actually like you. They’re putting money together and whoever gets you… wins.”
I quickly stood up. “How do you know this?”
“You don’t have to believe me. You can go up to the ditch right now and see it for yourself. They do this, Ti.”
“They bet on virgins?” I asked.
Beth shrugged. “They bet on whatever they want. It’s not about the money. It’s about who could get something nobody else can. So they can brag to one another. That’s what you do when you’re rich and powerful. That’s how you become the biggest asshole of the rich assholes.”
I swallowed hard. “Virgin?”
“I don’t know how they found out,” Beth said. “Unless you told them…”
“No,” I said. “I never talked about that.”
“I wanted to tell you sooner. Before things got too crazy. I hope you didn’t…”
“What? No!”
My cheeks warmed as I thought about kissing them.
I had kissed each one of them. And then yesterday when they had me pinned against the building… how much I enjoyed that…
“I’m sorry,” Beth said. “I fucking hate them. I hate the Rulz so much. You saw what they did to Denny. That’s what they do. They don’t care about anything or anyone. They will literally do or say whatever it takes to get you to fall for them.”
I slowly nodded.
I looked to the field.
So that’s what it was.
It was about me. But I was some kind of… what? Not a prize. No. I wasn’t the prize. I was just something to enjoy for a second and then toss away. Like… a toy?
I was a toy to them.
“I just wanted you to know,” Beth said. “If there’s anything I can do…”
“You said they’re up there now?” I asked. “At the ditch?”
“Yeah,” Beth said. “I’ll go with you.”
“No,” I said. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I need to see this for myself. I need to think.”
“Okay.”
Beth frowned.
I hurried down the bleachers and turned to look up at her one last time.
She gave a weak wave.
I gave one back.
And then I was off to the ditch.
twenty-two
I parked the SUV far enough away so they wouldn’t know I was there.
My head spun with too many thoughts to process at once.
I didn’t want to believe what Beth said. But in a way it was the only thing that made sense. Pres, Barr, and Kip had everything in their grasp. Doing what they did to me was probably just for fun. Until they came up with an idea to make it more interesting. That would certainly explain the sudden turn in their attitude toward me. Or their desire to get closer to me. Or their wanting to follow me and make sure I got home safely bullshit routine. Or… kissing me.
I licked my lips.
I felt dirty.
And not the dirty poor girl thing either.
I felt used. Dirty.
Like I had done something private and it was found out and spread around.
Like I was a whore.
I walked through the familiar woods and went right to the ditch.
This was the only way I could verify what Beth had said.
And she was damn right.
The three of them stood there.
Pres dressed in his usual all black, muscle and size pouring from him. That look of rich asshole yet the face of a guy not afraid to take on the world. Barr smoking a cigarette, making it look like a style instead of a disgusting, deadly habit. Running a hand through his hair, not worried that it was usually messy. Because he knew that his version of messy hair was fucking sexy. And finally there was Kip. In a white sleeveless shirt, similar to the one he wore when he had been fighting. Those lean and toned arms of his looking delicious. The blonde hair, blue eyes, whispers of whatever promises were needed to get you into bed…
I gritted my teeth.
Pres reached for something in his back pocket.
That’s when I put another piece of the puzzle together.
When they were cornering me… and they walked away… they gave something to Pres.
Money.
For their bet.
For me.
My jaw dropped as Pres opened the envelope and slid his thumb along the cash.
“It’s all here, brother,” he said in the voice that changed my life. “Anyone care to throw a little more in for fun?”
“Sure,” Barr said. “I’m down.”
“Fuck it,” Kip said. “I’ve got something in mind here that’ll end this.”
“Not too fast though,” Pres said. “I’m liking this one. This cat and mouse thing helps to kill time.”
“No complaints from me,” Barr said. “I just want to watch her smoke a cigarette with me…”
“Or watch her ride that big wave,” Kip said with a laugh.
Something came over me and I walked forward.
Right into the ditch.
Right up to the Rulz.
“Well, look at this,” Kip said as he realized I was there. “You looking for a fight, girl?”
Pres casually slipped the envelope into his back pocket. “What are you doing here, sugar?”
“This is a dangerous place, love,” Barr said.
I walked right to all thre
e and put myself in the middle of them.
“Can’t be dangerous with you around, right?” I asked. “I mean… you wouldn’t let anyone hurt me, right?”
“Of course not,” Kip said. He touched my arm. “Something happen?”
“I didn’t see you last night at the beach party,” I whispered.
“Tell us if something happened,” Barr said.
“Was it those pricks with the guitars?” Pres asked. “Fucking pussies think strumming two chords does the trick…”
“No,” I said. “Nothing happened. It was just boring without you. I missed you.”
Pres grabbed my chin and grinned. “Of course you did, sugar. But we’re right here now.”
“I just wanted to say hey,” I said. “Make sure you didn’t bail on me.”
“Never, love,” Barr said.
“We’re just getting started,” Kip said.
I forced a smile and stepped back. “Good. When’s the next fight?”
“Whenever we say,” Barr said.
“I love a good fight,” I said. “There can only be one winner, right?”
“That’s right, girl,” Kip said.
“I have Gi and Iris at my house,” I said. “Hungover. I better go check on them.”
“We’ll be following you,” Pres said.
“I hope so,” I whispered.
The second I turned, the smile left my face.
My eyes welled up with tears and I ran out of the ditch.
Fuck the rich fuckers.
Fuck the poor fuckers.
Fuck everyone.
I stood outside the ditch and waited until they were gone.
I watched as Barr flicked his cigarette to the ground like he always did. Never putting it out.
The Rulz were gone and I stepped back into the ditch.
Alone.
Pres, Barr, and Kip were going to be looking for me soon. To follow me. To flirt with me. To protect me. I could point to anyone and they would beat the shit out of that person. I could get anything I wanted from them.
All because they wanted one thing from me.
One of them wanted to be the first to sleep with me.
So they could have bragging rights?
I was a trophy.
Excited to be had for a few minutes and then thrown into a box and stacked up on a shelf in the garage.
It felt fitting though.
Standing there in the middle of the ditch.
It’s where they came to fight.
Where they bet money on fights.
Where anyone could bet money on fights.
And that was a good thing.
Because this was now a fight.
It wasn’t a fucking conquest. It wasn’t a fucking contest.
And it wasn’t a fucking bet either.
For as rich and as powerful as they were… they were wrong.
Sure, I was the dirty poor girl with the junkie of a mother.
Sure, I was faking my way through BFH, thinking of what Claire said to do… to just adapt to survive.
But there was one thing Pres, Barr, and Kip fucked up.
Wherever they got their information from… wrong.
I wasn’t untouched.
I wasn’t a virgin.
Which meant they were betting on something that had already been taken.
And that meant it was my turn to fucking destroy them… one by one.
Want more #bfh?
BAY FALLS HIGH continues with UNLoved and it’s AVAILABLE … just go to Amazon.com and type in ‘Jaxson Kidman Bay Falls High UNLoved’ to order your copy today!
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* * *
UNLoved
one
“Never?”
I put my head back and let the sun brush against my face. Which was really the only thing I had going for me at the moment.
Because I was now apparently a fucking science project to Gi and Iris.
All because of something that wasn’t exactly a secret but I guess to them it was. And I guess it was big enough of news to the Rulz that they wanted to have fun and bet on who would get me first.
The get something from me that was already gone.
“Never, what?” I asked Gi with enough attitude that it warranted a head nod from Iris.
“I mean, it was just with Devin?” Gi asked. “Never anyone else?”
“Why does that matter?” I asked. “It’s not like you need to screw ten guys to actually lose your… whatever.”
“You had us all fooled,” Iris said.
“Fooled? How?”
“You never… I mean, you always…”
I pulled my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose. “Exactly. I don’t brag. I don’t need to brag about what I’ve done. Or who I’ve been with.”
“One guy,” Gi reminded me.
“Just for that,” I said.
“Oh, dirty,” Iris said. “Well, we know you’ve been swapping spit with the Rulz like crazy.”
“Like crazy?” I asked. “Please. It was one kiss. For each. And now I know what it all was for. Why they suddenly had a change of heart for the dirty, poor girl.”
“They want your dirty, poor innocence,” Iris said.
I laughed. “Innocence. What innocence? I haven’t had anything that resembled since I was a kid.”
I looked between Gi and Iris.
They knew better than to challenge me there.
Their lives were nothing but pampered moments laced with drama that made it seem oh-so-fucking-bad when it reality it never was bad.
For me…
I shook my head.
I lifted my toes out of the water and stared at them.
They were the nicest I had never seen my toes. I had only ever painted my toes myself. So to go to some fancy place and have someone take care of my feet, that was new. And it was actually kind of fun. Sitting in a big, comfy chair without a care in the world.
Other than the hottest and baddest three guys in BFH throwing money at each other because they wanted to have me.
I still hadn’t figured out all of that yet.
But I would.
I would dig into them, lead them on, and find a way to hurt them.
At the very least, I would use them the way they wanted to use me.
So now the name of the game was to fake it, lie, adapt, and see where this entire thing ended up. As long as I kept the truth to myself, I would be fine. And not the truth of whether I was untouched or not. The truth that I didn’t belong in BFH. And I wasn’t going to be in BFH for forever. This was all temporary. For the sake of Mom. And if the Rulz wanted to mess with me, I was going to mess back. Because I’d eventually be gone and they would move to someone else to bother.
“So what are you going to do?” Gi asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Beth wasn’t lying. She could have not told me too. You know?”
“Don’t even try it,” Iris said. She stood up and walked away from the pool leaving wet footprints. “That fucking bitch always has an agenda.” Iris looked back. “Even with this.”
“Yeah, but what’s the purpose of telling me then?” I asked. “It’s kind of stupid. I mean, everyone could think what they want about me. Including them. I’m the one who knows the truth. Well, me and you two.”
“And Devin,” Gi said.
“Shit,” I whispered. “I bet that’s how it happened.”
“What?” Gi asked.
“Devin,” I said. “That fucking moron.”
“Why?” Iris asked.
“When we broke up, he told everyone I refused to do anything. Call it backwards or whatever, but where I’m from, you’re looked down on for being prude. Like if you’ve hooked up with a bunch of guys…”
“It’s cool,” Gi said. “Being a whore is a rite of passage.”
“There’s a tattoo for you,” Iris said with a laugh.
“Better suited for you,” Gi said to Ir
is with a wink.
Iris showed both her middle fingers and gave a fake laugh.
“The point is,” I said, “Devin spread it around that I wasn’t willing to do anything with him. Which wasn’t true. We were together and broken up like three or four times… and each time we got back together…”
“Oh, you got back together,” Gi said slowly lifting her arms dancing to no music.
“Right,” I said. “So something must have spilled from there to here. I don’t get how though.”
“Don’t underestimate the Rulz,” Gi said. “I mean it. You never know what they’re up to. What they know. How they know it. Or what they’ll do.”
“Makes me wonder if I should just tell them,” I said. “Honestly. At first, I was so pissed… so fucking pissed. But I knew something was up, right? I knew there had to be a reason for what they were doing. I found the reason. Why not just expose it. Laugh in their face?”
“I don’t know, Ti,” Gi said.
“Screw that,” Iris said. She hurried back to the pool and towered over me. She blocked the sun and looked down at me. “I will drown you in this pool if you do that.”
“Oh? Love me that much?”
“You tell them that… or laugh at them over it… they’ll destroy you. I’m saying that as a friend. Okay?”
“Iris is right,” Gi said. “I mean, if you wanted to tell them, you probably can. But not in a bitchy way.”
I swallowed hard.
I guess I forgot about their power for a second there.
My memory reminded me of what Barr did. Just for a kiss. Or the fact that they always seemed to appear at the worst possible times.
“You should just ride it out,” Iris said. “And I’m saying that as a bitch who doesn’t care if you get hurt.”
“Ride it out,” Gi said. She laughed. “I’m sure there will be a lot of riding…”
“I’m not riding anything or anyone,” I said. “Ever.”
“Never ever, girl?”
I gasped and turned.
Speaking of worst possible times…
The Rulz were here.
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UNtouched: a bay falls high novel Page 21
