“Bad example, RaeRae, ‘cause now we’re all picturing you with your pants around your ankles.”
My eyes snap to Royce’s just in time to see him slapping at the air like he’s smacking ass and I can’t help it, I bust up laughing.
Captain reaches over and pops a chuckling Royce in the back of the head and Maddoc frowns at me.
I shake my head, licking my lips, ignoring how all three sets of eyes have zero self-control and each land on my mouth.
“Okay, you guys are way too dick-driven for a girl to be in your mix. Maybe you should rethink—”
“Out of the car, Raven. Time to put on a show.”
A show.
Right.
I try the handle again and the damn thing opens.
I attempt to delay this little sighting they’ve clearly set up, but Maddoc is quick to tell me to hurry up.
All the boys, sexy and domineering in their own way stand at the front of the vehicle, tall and broad and untouchable, even by the rain it seems as the sky begins to clear. Gone are the easy smiles and teasing grins. Their eyes are empty, their stares blank.
This is who the world gets – cool, cold and calculated.
I hitch my backpack up over my shoulder and slowly move for them. I meet each one’s stare, nodding as a silent message passes, and not just between them, but for me as well.
Here, they’re not three boys who need more, they don’t smile at donuts, or enjoy the rain.
Here, they’re the Boys of Brayshaw and nothing else.
So why did I get to see a little from the inside?
An even better question, why does it make me feel ... I don’t know how I feel.
Annoyed. Confused.
Optimistic...
I shake it off and together the four of us make our way up to the front. Once we hit the doors, Maddoc grabs my elbow and pulls me to the side.
I look to him with drawn in eyebrows, but he glances away.
We stand there a few moments and then the doors burst open, a man in a suit leading one of the teachers out, shining cuffs slapped across his wrists.
His head is down but as he passes it pops up. He spots the boys and pales, jerking his stare forward.
My eyes follow them down the steps and around the corner.
I didn’t even spot a cop car.
I turn around right as a girl shuffles out, fear I recognize etched in her eyes as she cradles herself more with each step, a seemingly loving mother crying at her side.
The girl’s eyes discreetly lift, quickly skating past the guys and instantly her tears fall. She grips her mother’s hand, giving me a tight smile as she passes.
I cut my tense expression to Maddoc, but his eyes follow the mother and daughter to their car at the curb.
And then nothing else is said.
Royce pulls open the door, winking at me as I slide past him and again we fall in line. Every few feet more join, falling behind us. Leo, the guy who gave me a ride to the party, being one but he doesn’t acknowledge my presence, which is fine. The rest of the guys I recognize from gym – their teammates, I think.
No females walk over. But oh, do they stare.
When their feet stop moving mine do too.
Captain looks to the guys behind him and everyone scatters.
“She was abused,” he tells me.
I nod, having gathered that, but it doesn’t explain what just happened.
Cap nods and walks away, leaving me, Royce and Maddoc.
Maddoc gives knuckles to Royce then glances to me.
He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth as he walks backward, his head tipped back the slightest bit. It’s sexy as shit, the bastard.
“See you in class, Snow.”
I nod, unable to look away as he turns and walks off.
Girls call his name as he passes, but he pretends not to hear them and continues down the hall solo.
“Look away, RaeRae. Your nipples are getting hard and your bra has no padding.” Royce eases the tension with his fuck boy ways.
I roll my eyes and head into class, not bothering to turn around when I say, “How would you know?”
“Baby, I know my tits, all right. And yours? Plump and high and perfect. Little jiggle, slight movement. At best you’ve got a scrap of lace or that thin satin.”
I laugh lightly and he shouts, “Ha! Knew it.”
Definitely not lace or satin, but some other stretchy material. It’s cheap, simply put, so not much coverage.
“You’re a horny bastard, aren’t you?” I ask him as I slide into my seat.
He looks at me with a squished expression. “No shit, Rae. I’m a boy.”
With a roll of my eyes, I pull open my bag, I take out my last maple bar. I tear it down the middle and offer him half.
He takes it with a wink and shoves the entire thing in his mouth.
“Look at us, RaeRae. Sharing sweets.” He speaks with his mouth full, not bothering to swallow as he leans close and my eyes narrow. “Wanna share something else sweet with me?”
I snort and face forward.
The teacher comes in and class starts instantly.
The boys have picked me up every day this week and it’s starting to mess with my head. I don’t know how to handle consistency at other people’s hands. It makes me anxious. I go to bed wondering if they’ll be there and wake up with the same question. It’s annoying, but I can’t help it. I’ve never known constant. Things, people, only ever come and go in my world so when something is repeated I sit and wait for the reverse.
So today, to get rid of the knots in my stomach, I left before they could possibly arrive, just in case they didn’t. An hour and fifteen minutes before school was even set to start, to be exact.
It’s chilly, but fresh outside so I opt for the hill out back that overlooks the courts.
There are a few guys out there shooting hoops, I can’t see who they are from here, but I can tell their game isn’t as strong as the boys’ is.
Okay, why is that the first thing I notice?
“’Sup, Rae.”
I look to the side to see Bass walking up. “Bishop.”
“Saw you head this way pretty early this morning.”
“Yeah.” I look back to the courts. “I’m not a fan of regularity.”
“I can get that.” He drops down beside me, laying back on the grass so his face is even with mine. “Just another way our parents fucked us up, right?”
“You have parents, Bass?”
“Define parents?”
I scoff and look to the sky again. “Right.”
“So what’s up with you and the Brays?”
I shrug against the grass. “Nothing.”
“You sure?”
“I am.”
“Not sure they’d agree with you.”
I sigh. “Yeah, me either.”
This time it’s him who scoffs.
We lay there, just chillin’, until the first bell rings, warning us we have ten minutes to get to class, and then we make our way back inside.
The second we step through the door, the whispers start, and the dickheads in the hall purposely part ways, making sure the angry eyes at the end of the walkway have a perfect view of Bass and me.
And son of a bitch, why do I instantly get a sick twist in my stomach.
While Captain looks passive, Royce looks a little put out, and Maddoc .... well, Maddoc is fuming. I’m talking hellraiser ready.
Chills break across my skin at the possessives he’s exuding. His gaze is greedy and I’m not sure he’s aware of it.
“Sorry, Bishop,” I whisper from where we stand. “Didn’t think this one through.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bass speaks under his breath. “I came to you today.”
“Yeah,” I mumble, doubt easily heard and Bass turns to look at me. “But green runs the world, remember?” I shrug and walk away so he doesn’t have to decide whether or not to.
The boys don’t wait but meet
me halfway, glares in full effect.
“Don’t push us, Snow,” Maddoc whispers, disapproval polished in his eyes.
He’s the first to walk off, then Captain, but Royce hangs back.
He steps forward, eyes narrowing farther by the second. He pulls a bag from his backpack and shoves it in my chest before turning around and storming off. I don’t need to open it to know it’s half of his sprinkle donut.
I don’t know these guys any better than the next, but for the first time in maybe, well ever, I feel like I let someone down.
I don’t like it and unfortunately for me, I spend all morning stressing on it.
I drop into my seat for third period and wait for Maddoc to enter and take his.
Neither Royce or Captain said a word to me during our classes together and I found myself irritated over it.
And that only irritated me more.
I admit, I like their banter. It’s fun and easy. Natural like.
Whatever that means.
I lay my forearms against the desks, keeping my eyes on the door.
It takes a good fifteen minutes after the final bell before Maddoc finally rolls in, in no kind of hurry. His face is a perfect mask, hair mused and collar stretched.
The sight has my mind racing. Thoughts of what, or who, sexed him up making me grind my teeth.
He licks his lips, those eyes of his, darker than normal, scanning my face as he moves past me for his seat at my back.
My leg starts bouncing as I fight not to turn around and inspect him closer, my need to know far too strong for my own liking.
Then Bass storms in with his shirt torn at the bottom, eye damn near as black as his hair, lip fat and swollen against the silver ring.
He doesn’t look my way and my muscles grow stiff.
Son of a bitch.
I drop back against the seat, annoyed with my own damn self when a sense of relief floods knowing he wasn’t held up at the hand of a female. I feel especially shitty about knowing Bass got the shit end of the stick, or rather, Maddoc’s fist.
Maddoc’s voice hits my ear in the next second, and I force myself still. “You asked me before if I’d tell you to stay away from him. I didn’t do it, but I thought the answer you got was clear. This is what’ll happen every time you don’t listen.” The hairs on my neck stand to attention, goose bumps rising on my arms beneath my long sleeve. “You ... are mine, Raven.”
Because I have zero self-control at the moment, I turn to him.
‘Course he’s not sitting in his chair, like the rest of us. No, big man is braced against his desk. Like a true king, or dominant male making a point, he’s raised taller than the rest of us, his chest strong and straight.
His expression doesn’t change, his eyebrows hold stern, chin lifted so he can look down at me more. He’s daring me to fight him on this, likely wishing I would so he can go caveman again.
Boy’s got so much to learn.
I look from his eyes to his tight set mouth, and back.
And instead of arguing or pushing or anything else he clearly expected ... I wink, then face forward.
If it were possible, I’d swear I heard him smirk.
“We’re going to the grove.”
“Good for you.” I drop my paper in the basket and shuffle out of class, Royce right behind me.
“Oh, sorry,” he chuckles. “Guess that did sound a lot like a comment, huh?”
With a glare, I spin to face him, and he grins wide.
“Let me try that again. We are going to the grove. Meaning so are you.”
“Right.”
“Damn right.” He flings an arm over my shoulder.
“Okay, I’ll bite.” I shift my grin to Royce while shrugging his arm off. “What the hell is ‘the grove?’”
“Circle of cabins surrounding a man-made lake ‘bout three hours north. Tons of sex, lotta alcohol, and more fun.”
“Sounds like a blast.”
“Fuck yeah it is. We go several times a year, party, get fucked up. It’s a three-day weekend. Tradition.”
“Because I’m privileged like you and yours and can take off for three days,” I mock.
He glares and I pop a shoulder. It’s true.
“Look, a three-day weekend with you guys isn’t worth the trouble that being labeled a runaway would bring, and I’m not looking to trade the bed I’ve got for a cot worse than what I sleep on at home.”
“Like that’s... wait.” Royce frowns. “What do you sleep on at home?”
“This isn’t Q and A time!”
“Right.” He nods. “What were we talking about again?”
“You guys leaving, me staying.” I stop next to the girl’s bathroom and he steps beside me.
“Nah, you’re going. Let us worry about Maybell.”
A laugh bubbles out of me. “Yeah, no. No way is that happening. Don’t cause unnecessary issues.”
“Don’t worry, RaeRae.”
I walk into the bathroom with an eye-roll. When I stop inside the door to pull off my backpack, Royce stumbles against me.
The girls in the bathroom shriek and I turn to glare at him.
“Royce. Go away.”
“Nope.” He crosses his arms, widening his stance. “Not ‘til you agree.”
I shake my head with a sigh. “You’re gonna do whatever you want as it is. I don’t know why I even talk or why you’re pretending to care what I said.”
“Aww,” he coos, and I’d swear it’s genuine, damn child. “You’re catching on.”
“And you’re pissing me off.” I cross my arms to match his. “Get out.”
“Hey, Royce,” comes from behind me and I turn to glare and the girl who just came out of the stall.
“Seriously? In the bathroom?”
The girl at least has the dignity to blush.
Idiot.
“Just do your business. I’ll wait.”
My fingers find my temple and I blow out a deep breath. “For fuck’s sake, forget it.”
I push past him, back out the door and he follows, but my feet slow when I spot Maddoc and Captain standing not three feet away, talking with each other.
Both their gazes snap to mine right as Royce’s chest plows into my back again, causing me to stumble forward. His arm shoots out, quickly wrapping around my middle to keep me from face-planting onto the marble floors.
Maddoc’s stare slices to Royce’s hand fixed on my abdomen.
“Damn, RaeRae,” Royce pretends to complain, but his natural flirty fire is easily heard. “Quit stopping right in front of me.”
I pull away from him. “How about stay off my heels or maybe watch where you’re going, or better yet, go away!”
Royce laughs and looks to his boys, nodding his chin their way.
“He tell you about this weekend, Raven?” Captain asks, an annoyingly cautious stare sliding between us.
I cross my arms and frown. “Did he tell me I don’t get a say and have to allow you guys to convince Maybell to let me go, even though it’ll cause problems for me at the house when all the girls see what they’re sure to consider special treatment – because it is?”
“Yeah, all that.” Captain nods and Royce grins, throwing his arm around my shoulder again.
“Sure did.”
I look to Maddoc, but he doesn’t say a word, his mask is in place, empty eyes and all as he studies me.
I hate how one look from him has me on edge.
“We’re leaving now.”
My eyes fly to Captain. “Now.”
“Now.”
“It’s not even lunch.”
“Quit fucking complaining,” Royce chastises me. “And don’t worry about Perkins busting you. It’s handled. Maybell too.”
When my eyes narrow, Captain looks away and Royce grins. “So—”
“Yes, fuck me, we did it behind your back, you were the last to know, you didn’t get to choose, blah blah blah. Get used to it already.”
“You boys are ... for
get it. Fine, whatever.” I sigh. “I hate school anyway.”
“Our shit’s ready. We’ll give you ten minutes tops.”
I glare at Maddoc. “I could pack everything I own in ten minutes. Think I can be ready for a weekend in two.”
“Bring a swimsuit.”
I frown. “It’s November.”
“And there are hot tub parties.” Royce grins.
“Well, I don’t have one.”
Captain looks to Maddoc who nods his chin.
“Don’t worry about it, let’s go.”
With a sigh, I throw my hands out, motioning for them to lead the fucking way.
Once we climb in Maddoc’s truck, I tell them, “If I get kicked out, one of you bastards are driving me all the way back home. I’m not getting stuck in a juvenile hall where I won’t know anyone.”
Captain’s lip twitches but it’s Royce who says, “Deal.” Big man says nothing and then we’re off.
“What is taking them so long?” I drop my head back on the seat.
“Stop whining, it’s been ten minutes.” Captain shakes his head.
“Ten minutes of sitting here. We’ve been in the car for two fucking hours.”
“It’s called a road trip.”
I look out the window with a frown.
Captain turns in his seat. “Never been on a road trip?”
I roll my head across the seat to look back his way. “You’d have to have a car to go on a road trip.”
He studies me. “Your mom never had a car?”
“Once. For about a week.”
“What happened to it?”
“Clientele was low, she ran out of cash and needed a fix.”
He nods, but no judgment shows in his light eyes. “None of your friends back home had cars either?”
Friends. Yeah, people never liked me much.
My face must giveaway my thought because Captain licks his lips and looks off.
“Dated a guy with a car once.” I smirk and Captain’s stare comes back to mine. He lifts an eyebrow. “Didn’t take any trips, but we spent a lot of time in that car.”
Captain laughs, making me laugh lightly with him.
The doors fly open then and in slides Maddoc and Royce.
Maddoc looks to me expectantly.
“Just telling Cap here about my extensive knowledge of a nineteen-ninety Honda Civic ... hatchback.”
Boys of Brayshaw High Page 13
