“Hey,” I say, finding myself pleasantly surprised by how happy I feel to see her again. “I’m good. To be honest, I didn’t really know I was coming here either. I just found the uniform on my bed this morning.”
“Damn, that would have come as a shock.”
“You’re telling me,” I laugh.
She loops her arm through mine and starts pulling me deeper into the school. “Well not to worry. I made this school my bitch on day one. I’ve got you covered.”
She leads me into a hallway filled with lockers on either side, but unlike BSA, these look as though they haven’t been tortured by a bunch of raging, testosterone-filled boys and it’s kind of refreshing.
The further down the hall we get, the louder the bitchiness becomes and my unnamed friend pulls me closer to her side. “Don’t worry about them. The second they realize that you’re practically the Carrington whisperer, they’ll be bowing at your feet. I swear, Colton has the best parties and these bitches are dying for an invite.”
Well, I guess that’s good to know. I could use that to my advantage, only I’m not sure how I feel about being responsible for bringing other chicks into Colton’s world. Call me a jealous, insecure loser if you must, but I kinda like being the sole torturer in his world.
She brings me to a stop and within seconds, girls are flooding around us. “Hey, Drix. Who’s this?”
Drix? What the hell kind of name is that?
“This is Ocean,” she beams as though she’s introducing her new baby girl to the world for the very first time. “She’s practically a sister to Colton. Lives with him and everything.”
Mouths drop as I cringe from the term ‘sister.’ “Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod. You know Colton?”
Annnd … so it starts.
Girls start begging for my attention and just like that, I become the most popular girl in school and I don’t know whether I should be happy or terrified about it.
Drix gets rid of the girls and soon enough we’re left with just her close circle of friends. A girl leans in and offers me her hand, something I’m starting to realize is just the formal manners these girls have been brought up with. “Hey, I’m Jess. I think I met you at that party. At least, I think it was you. Did you give me a tattoo?”
My eyes bug out of my head. I fucking knew that shit was going to catch up to me. “Ummm, possibly.”
“Oh, shit. Don’t look so freaked out. I love it.”
The bell sounds and Jess rolls her eyes. “Shit, I better go. I have Mrs. Mirran taking over my homeroom this week and if I even think about being late she’ll whoop my ass.” Drix laughs and Jess looks back at me. “Listen, stick with us alright. With me and Hendrix at your side, you’ll be good. We can hook you up.”
Hendrix, huh? I kinda like that. It suits her. I had her pegged as a Katie or a Tara, but I like her originality, it suits her willingness to step outside of the box and be the one girl who was willing to approach the new girl and make my day a little more bearable. She did it on the boat and at the party and for that, I’m grateful.
With that, Jess scurries away and I meet Drix’s eyes. “Come on,” she says, looping her arm through mine once again. “I’ll show you to the student office to get your orientation pack and then you can tell me why Charlie Bryant was dropping you off.”
Chapter 13
This afternoon has sucked.
I walked through the doors of the Carrington mansion feeling like a complete idiot. Milo and I didn’t exactly have a chance to speak today after Charlie intervened this morning, so Milo had assumed I didn’t need a ride home.
Big fucking mistake.
Day one of being a private school girl was exhausting, and then getting to the end of the day only to find myself walking was a pain in the ass. I should have called him during the day to say hi and ask if he could swing by to pick me up. He would have said yes and I would have been saved the torture of getting my own way home.
Freaking Charlie. I know he didn’t intentionally mean for that to happen, though, maybe he did. Maybe he was hoping for me to call him, desperately needing him to save my ass and give him the chance to be my hero.
Yeah fucking right. I’d rather walk than give in to him like that. Don’t get me wrong, Charlie is an absolute sweetheart. He really is one of the nicest guys I’ve met in Bellevue Springs and not to mention, he’s an absolute fireball when making his way around the female anatomy, but apart from that, there’s nothing. To me, he’s just like one of my boys and I’m not prepared to go and screw up a good thing when I know it’s not going to go any further than just great sex.
Charlie needs a little spitfire who’s going to put stars in his eyes. He deserves to find the real deal and soon enough, he’s going to realize that it’s not me. I’m too messed up to be his girl. He's not dark enough, not tough enough. Not that I need a man by my side, but if I had to pick one, it’s going to be one who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, a real alpha who’s not going to hold back, and who’s not afraid to tell me no. I need a strong, fierce man, not a boy who’s still playing games.
I make my way around the kitchen, getting everything ready for dinner as mom cleans up after another long day of work. “How was your first day of school?” she calls from the bathroom, speaking over the sound of the water as she washes her hands. “Did you meet any nice girls?”
“I guess,” I call back. “They were alright. Though, they’re more interested in how I can get them closer to Colton than actually getting to know me.”
I hear mom’s heavy sigh as she walks out of the bathroom and appears back in the kitchen. “That’s a shame,” she says, grabbing our plates and taking them over to the table. “Just give it a few weeks and you’ll be able to weed out the good eggs from the bad ones.”
“I hope so. There was one girl, Hendrix, who I met a few weeks ago. She seems alright. She’s no Nic though.”
Mom turns her back but not before I see her subtle eye roll. “You can’t keep putting Nic so high up on that pedestal. He’s just a regular boy, just like the rest of them,” she tells me. “One day you’re going to realize this.”
“I’ve never really understood your aversion to Nic. He was great until he cheated, but as a friend, he’s always been amazing.”
“He has,” she agrees, coming back to the kitchen counter for the cutlery and soda. “But I want better for you. I want you to have more than a shitty dead-end job, living in a town that’s overrun by crime, and coming home each night to a man who has blood on his hands. Do I need to remind you that Nic will be taking over for his father soon enough and I don’t want a target like that on your back. The West Side Wolves would do anything to stop Nic getting into power because they know he’s a game-changer. Just because he has his head screwed on properly, doesn’t make him the right boy for you.”
“So, what kind of boy is the right one for me?”
“Someone who is going to let you fly, not the one who wants to keep you caged. The right one for you is not afraid to let you go because if he truly is your soulmate, he’ll know that you’ll come back to him. A man who keeps you caged doesn’t love you for you, he loves what you can offer him. A man who keeps a woman caged sees her as only a possession and not an equal.”
I stare at the back of my mother’s head as she goes about setting the table and I can’t help but wonder if she’s right. Is that how she thinks Nic really is? Does he care more about me as a possession than as the love of his life? He tells me all the time that he wants me back, but why? He cheated. Clearly he didn’t feel that what we had as a couple was something worth treasuring, so why fight so hard for it?
I put the lid back on the pan to keep the leftover pasta warm as mom drops down into her chair at the table. I start making my way toward her, lost inside my thoughts when a knock sounds at the door, making my heart leap right out of my chest.
I spin around, finding Colton standing awkwardly in our doorway and I gape at him, not because I’m surprised to find him he
re, but because I was so lost inside my thoughts on Nic’s possessive behavior that I didn’t even notice Colton cut in front of the massive floor to ceiling windows to get to the door.
Mom flies to her feet, desperately trying to be respectful of our rich prick boss who stands in our doorway. “Mr. Carrington,” she says, her eyes going wide with fear, instantly assuming that she’s in trouble for something. “Is everything alright? Did I forget to do something?”
“Oh, no. Everything is perfect, Maria,” he insists, waving off her worry. His eyes briefly flick to mine before looking back at mom. “I was actually wondering if I could join you for dinner?”
The fuck?
“Oh, of course,” Mom says, her eyes going wide before she begins fussing around trying to make space for him. I gawk at him awkwardly as he steps through the doorway and heads for the table, wondering what his game plan is. “Did you not like the meal that was left out for you? I can prepare something else and let the chefs know to remove tonight's options from their rotation. I’ll just need a moment—”
“No, no, no,” he rushes out, giving mom a warm smile. “It’s nothing like that at all. It’s just …” he lets out a soft sigh before looking back at mom. “I used to eat with dad every night and now that he’s gone …”
“You’re alone,” I whisper, finishing his sentence.
Colton’s gaze comes back to mine and he presses his lips into a firm line before finally nodding.
Mom sucks in a sharp gasp before flying across the room and enveloping him in her arms. “I’m so sorry, my sweet boy,” she says, holding him tight as his eyes widen in confusion. “I should have been more thoughtful. It must get so lonely in that big house by yourself.”
“It certainly has its moments.”
Mom pulls back and gives him some space to move before pulling out a chair at the table and offering it to him. “You can join us whenever you want, Colton. My table is your table.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Munroe. It’s awfully kind of you to take me in like this. I hope I’m not intruding.”
“No, not at all. I’m actually quite used to it,” mom says. “With Ocean having her four boys, my dinner table was always filled with hungry bodies. I’ve actually been struggling to remember to cook less each night now that it’s just me and Ocean.”
“I can imagine.”
“Yes, well Ocean …” Mom’s eyes flick to mine. “OCEAN! What are you doing? Don’t just stand there. Dish him up a plate. The poor boy must be starving.”
The poor boy? Oh, no. She’s got this all wrong. Colton Carrington is far from a poor boy. Wicked, lethal, dangerous, cocky, prick, sexy as sin. They’re all the kinds of words that I would use to describe him. Definitely not poor. Not to mention, he also wouldn’t know what starving would feel like. I bet he hasn’t missed a single meal in his life.
Colton looks back at me and his lips pull up into a grin, realizing he’s completely won my mother over with a sob story about being lonely in his big mansion. I don’t doubt it. He probably is lonely, but the loneliness didn't start because his father died. It started way before that and I can guarantee that it doesn’t bother him as much as he’s putting on. If he was really that lonely, he could have called a million people who would have jumped at the chance to keep him company but instead, he chose to come here and have dinner with me and my mom.
He’s up to something. There has to be an ulterior motive that’s either going to embarrass or humiliate me, either way, I’m going to be ready for it. Though, there’s also a slight chance that he’s here hoping to screw my brains out.
As mom walks back around to her seat, I can’t help but flip him off and enjoy the way his brow shoots straight up. His eyes darken and just like that, it’s on.
How dare he play the lonely, broken billionaire and come in here and creep his way into my mother’s heart. That’s a twisted little game he’s playing. If he breaks her, there’ll be trouble.
“So, Colton,” Mom says, giving him a warm smile as I reluctantly grab a bowl and dish up a serving of pasta. “Tell me about yourself.”
“There’s honestly not a lot to know,” he says. “Mom and my sisters left when I was sixteen and never looked back so it’s been just me and dad ever since. Well, me, dad, and whatever gold-digger he was sleeping with.”
Mom’s lips pull into a tight, sympathetic line and she reaches across the table to squeeze his hand. “I can’t imagine how confusing and painful that would have been for a young boy. Do you keep in touch with them?”
He shakes his head. “Not really. You saw for yourself just how passionate they can be. Mom had originally taken me with her, but when dad came looking and I went with him, she turned her back on me too. She claims that I’m just like him.”
I shake my head as I walk back to the table with his dinner. “You’re nothing like your father,” I tell him. “It doesn’t take a genius to see that.”
He looks up and meets my eyes as I slide the bowl down on the table in front of him. “Are you sure about that?” he murmurs low. “Because honestly, I don’t know anymore.”
I nod, captivated by his eyes, and unable to look away. “Yeah,” I tell him, reaching out and dropping my hand to the back of his neck, curling my fingers into his dark hair. “You’re nothing like him. He was ruthless and cruel, and yes, often you can be that way too, but under all your layers, you have a heart buried in there and I see so much in it. You’ve protected me from the bullshit, dark world of Bellevue Springs every step of the way despite the way I've constantly pushed you away. You’re a good one, Colton, you just have to believe it.”
Colton’s hand raises to my lower back. “You’re worth protecting, Jade.”
Mom’s throat clears and our eyes go wide before our hands are torn away from each other. “Is there something going on here that I need to be aware of?”
“No,” I rush out as Colton’s eyes fall heavily to his bowl of pasta.
His lips press into a tight line before he looks up at my mother. “This pasta looks great.”
Fuck me. Could we be any more obvious?
Mom’s eyes narrow on Colton before quickly flicking to mine, searching for confirmation, but she doesn’t need it, she can see it clear as day. She just doesn’t know how deep it runs. Hell, I don’t even know how deep it runs.
I hastily scoop a forkful of pasta into my mouth, trying to act busy as mom’s gaze settles back on Colton. She raises her chin, somehow becoming the boss. “Are you in love with my daughter, Colton?”
The pasta practically falls out of my mouth as Colton gapes at my mom. His eyes flick to mine before quickly settling back on Mom with a terror on his face that I didn’t know he was capable of. “I, umm … No. Look, I’m not going to lie to you, Mrs. Munroe. I think your daughter is the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of coming across. She’s like a fireball, always ready to throw down and stand up for what she thinks is right, but no, I’m not in love with Ocean,” he says before his brows pinch in confusion and he looks at me. “At least … not yet.”
“NOT YET?” I shriek, gaping at him. “What the fuck is that? It’s a simple no. No, you’re not in love with me.”
Colton laughs and for a brief moment I wonder if he said that just to fuck with me, but it becomes pretty damn clear that he simply doesn’t know what the hell he’s feeling, and any chance to mess with me in the process is a bonus.
“Wow,” mom says, with a laugh, looking at me. “How could I have not seen this happening?”
“Because there’s nothing to see happening,” I say, refusing to look his way. “He might have accidentally kissed me once or twice, but it was … it was accidental. Nothing worth bringing up with my mother.”
“Geez, thanks,” Colton grunts.
Mom looks between us again. “Are you two … together?”
“Yep.”
My head whips around to Colton so fast that I fear it might spin right off my shoulders. “What? You’re insane if you think
we’re actually together. We can hardly stand each other and for the most part of the day, you’re busy bossing me around while I remind you how much of an asshole you are.”
“Don’t act like getting all fired up every time you talk to me isn’t the best part of your day.”
I flop back against my seat and cross my arms over my chest, looking anywhere but at him. “You’re impossible.”
Colton laughs and casually holds out a hand toward mom. “Could you pass the salt?”
My jaw drops and I whip my head back to him. “Can you pass the salt?” I mimic, copying his carefree attitude. “You go and drop all these bombs at the dinner table and then hit Mom with a ‘can you pass the salt?’ You really are insane.”
“I’m sorry,” Colton says, looking back at mom. “Could you please pass the salt.”
Oh, my God. I swear he’s only here to torture me.
“Okay,” Mom says. “Both of you need to shut up and eat your dinner before it gets cold, and then after dinner, Ocean, you need to give Nic a call and let him know what’s going on before he finds out for himself.”
I roll my eyes and pick up my fork once again. “Nic already knows,” I tell her with a low groan. “Not that there’s anything to know.”
Mom lets out a soft sigh. “No wonder that boy’s been coming around so much.”
“Seriously?” I groan. “Can we just pretend this whole conversation never happened?”
“Yes, but don’t think that we’re not going to talk about this afterward.”
My head drops into my hand and my leg shoots out under the table until it connects with Colton’s shin. I watch from the corner of my eye as he jumps and whips his head back to me. “What the hell was that for?” he demands.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Oh, now you want to play stupid?”
“Alright,” Mom says. “That's enough out of you two. Shut up and eat your dinner.”
I gape at mom, surprised by her audacity to speak to Colton like that. After all, he is her boss, but I guess while she’s off the clock he’s just the guy who’s been trying to put moves on her daughter while also doing his best to drive her insane. Though, from the entertained smirk on his face, he obviously doesn’t care.
Cocky F*ck: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 2) Page 14
