You're To Blame 2: A High School Bully Romance (Haven Saints High)

by Brooke Jordan

  “Mason would be a single dad. Wait, no.” I raised my finger in the air. “I forgot.”

  I pressed play on the next video.

  Marisa laid across her bed. Mason pushed her bedroom door open.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes. I’m so tired all the time. This baby is already sucking the life out of me.”

  “Sweetheart, don’t talk about the baby like that.”

  “Soon I’ll be fat.” Marisa rolled her eyes.

  “I’ll love you, regardless.”

  “You’re so sweet. Oh, I forgot to tell you. I talked to the little Alabama peasant. She said she was having problems getting rid of a certain thorn in our side. She said that bodyguard was always in her path. She assured me she will handle the issue.”

  “Good, the look on Tate’s poor, sad face the moment her gold car goes poof will be fucking epic. He’ll probably kill over instantly.”

  They laughed.

  Mason threw his head back and whipped his hand over his short black hair.

  “My buddy Matt did me a solid. He cloned your cell Marisa and planted a camera in your bedroom. That’s how we caught you. Matt was willing to help us even before you shattered his perfect image of his parents’ marriage. Don’t worry, I have these videos copied and hidden in multiple places. If anything happens to me or Chelsea, you and your girlfriend here are headed to prison. Marisa, I have another charge to add to your wrap sheet. My hacker buddy and I hunted down the woman who you paid to say she had sex with your dad. Oh, I have that video too. I paid her and an extra two hundred grand to tell the truth. She admitted she never had sex with your father. She said she slipped a roofie into his drink at the hotel bar, then assisted him to a suite. Oh, Matt was pleased to find out his father wasn’t a cheating bastard after all. Your dad on the other hand was pissed.” I stood, intertwining me and Chelsea’s fingers. You’ve been officially cut off financially.

  She stood seething. “You son of a bitch.”

  “You’re the bitch.”

  “Mason, one more thing. Oh, tell Tyler he gets an E. He didn’t trick me. He knew you were alive too. While you paraded around as me you hooked up with your buddy Tyler. You sent those guys to antagonize and jump me at Tyler’s party. That fucker laughed in the corner while Matt and I beat the shit out of those two guys. You thought because they were bigger, I couldn’t take them. I guess you didn’t count on my buddy Matt. We should have beat the shit out of you and Tyler too. But we didn’t want to ruin a great party.

  I leaned in. “Matt’s a true friend, Mason. What the fuck happened to you? You and I were best friends. Twin brothers. We’re supposed to stick together no matter what. There was a time no one came between us.”

  He jumped to his feet. “You’re wrong! She came between us.” He scowled at Chelsea over my shoulder.

  “You called her name in your sleep.” His eyes narrowed. “Did you know that?”

  I shook my head.

  “Every time she was around there was this unspeakable bond between you two. Yeah, we all hung together, but I felt like a third wheel. I dreaded summers at the lake house. The last time I saw grandfather before the accident I begged him to take me with him to London. You didn’t want me around. All you gave a shit about was Chelsea. I found your secret calendar under your mattress.”

  Shit.

  “It was a countdown calendar to the next time we’d visit the lake house. I forced myself to really like Chelsea. Maybe I’d feel the same way you did about her. I liked her but not as strongly as you. The second she rejected me on the hill. She looked mortified that I kissed her.” He dropped his head. “She crushed my heart. And I wanted to end her...”

  Chelsea clutched my arm.

  “...take her from you. Then I fell off the hill. I thought I was dead. The next time I awoke was in London. While I healed, I reached out to Marisa. She came running. It took some time, but I learned she was the woman who loved me through all of my stupid shit. Did anything for me. I was so hung up on revenge I lost sight of what really mattered.”

  He turned to Marisa and held her hands. “Us. I was a bitter son of a bitch. Doesn’t make it right. Not saying I won’t still hate Tate, but now’s the time to focus on us.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Yup, you two crazies deserve each other. Remember your need for revenge destroyed us, Mason. That’s my niece or nephew growing in her belly. I’ll love that child no matter what.”

  A piece of me died all over again. My brother despised me because of my love for a girl.

  “I loved you too, Mason. Your death wrecked me.” I pointed into my chest.

  “My love for Chelsea had nothing to do with us. You’re my twin. Mason, we shared a different kind of bond since birth.” I cleared my throat in an effort to hold back the tears. There was nothing left to say. He ruined any chance of us ever being close again.

  I ushered Chelsea out of the room. Where was the feeling of exuberance? I won. Yeah, I put a stop to their bullshit and a small part of me was relieved. What did I think would happen? That my brother would apologize. Admit he was wrong and that he loved me. My brother came back from the dead, of course I wanted him back in my life. Why couldn’t we return to the states after grandfather’s death and we’d become brothers again?

  The wind had been knocked out of my sail. Chelsea reached inside my pocket and retrieved my keys. Once inside my bedroom, she sat me on the bed.

  “Tate, can you look at me?”

  My jaw ticked and my nostrils flared. I was a fucking mess. “It’s over,” I muttered.

  My fingers gripped the nape of her neck and I dropped my head upon hers. “Sorry...Chelsea.”

  She caressed my face. “I never wanted to come between you two. Our love for each other destroyed you and your brother. I don’t know what to say.” She shook her head as a tear escaped her eye.

  “You were always meant to be my man. I cannot apologize for the love we share. Do you still want to be with me?” Her eyes slammed shut in an effort to brace herself for my answer.

  “Absolutely, Chelse. Yeah, it hurts my brother and I will never be close, but I don’t regret us for one second.”

  She climbed into my arms and sobbed. “It’s over. We’re free to be together.”

  My heart beat again. “Yes, I can express my love for the only woman I ever loved. You.”

  “The calendar under your bed, Tate. Now that was the most romantic thing to date. I will tell our grandchildren that story.”

  We laughed.

  I pulled back and stared into her blue eyes. “I love you, Chelse.”

  “And I love you, Tate.”

  I took her lips like it was our last night together. Finally, we’d enjoy the remainder of the school year. Together.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHELSEA

  Putting an end to Mason and Marisa’s bullshit was gratifying. Tate expressing how he felt to Mason was heartbreaking. He loved his brother. Defended him with every fiber of his being. To learn the person that he built up and placed on a pedestal hated him... Hated him because he felt his love for a girl, was greater than his love for him. Once again, Mason had proven to be narcissistic.

  Tate was deep in thought after we walked away from Mason and Marisa. For a moment, I thought Tate wouldn’t want to be with me anymore. After all, I single-handedly destroyed part of his life. All for just being me. Facing each other on the bed, I tried peeking into his soul to sense his sincerity about us. After the haze over his eyes had been lifted, he crushed my lips with passion and need. It was far greater than anything I’d ever felt with him. It felt freeing. No more holding back. No more grief, sorrow, or confusion. All the cards had been laid out on the table. Tate could have a fresh start with me.

  He paused and stared into my eyes. His fingers traced over my cheeks. “Chelsea Ann Marie Culver, I’ve been in love with you since kindergarten. It’s true, I counted the days until I’d see you again. When we were apart...” He
glanced down and then back into my eyes. “I watched you run Cross Country. Paid a kid to snap pictures of you laughing and smiling. Because you didn’t smile that often thanks to me. I inflicted so much pain on your life.”

  He cupped my face. “I hope we can start over and you can truly forgive me. Baby, I know I don’t deserve you. I am thankful for how deep your love is for me.”

  I leaned in. Our lips barely touched. “The first layer of your pain had been peeled away when you admitted to yourself and to the world I wasn’t to blame. This evening, the last layer holding you back was ripped off. We are free to love each other.”

  His brows rose. “Holding me back?”

  “Yes, Tate. Through everything we’d gone through, there was never a doubt in my mind I wanted to give myself to you. I wanted to be your girlfriend. How we would come together was a different story. For some time, our hate for each other outweighed our love.” I smiled.

  “Let’s enjoy this time. Get back on our study schedule. And I can cheer for you and Lake at the games.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  I shoved him back against the pillows. “We can have sex right here for the first time in a long time.”

  I unbuckled his jeans and worked them down his thighs and legs. He kicked them off.

  “I love that you wear T-shirts around me. Means you are comfortable in your skin when we’re together. Now, take it off.”

  A wide grin curled my lips as I whipped it over my head, revealing my sports bra. Tate leaned on his elbow. He pushed the bra over my breasts and sucked my nipple into his mouth.

  “So mine,” he moaned.

  Before I knew it, he yanked the bra over my head, chucked it across the room, and pinned my body against the pillows.

  “I want to hear you call my name.”

  My eyes bulged. “Tate, I will not. Remember what happened the last time?”

  He continued freeing me of my clothes. “I do. But I know for a fact...” Tate reached over and glanced at his cell. “...my parents are still at the theater,” he winked.

  “You can call my name as loud as you want.”

  I bit the corner of my lip. “Tate, I don’t know.”

  He stood and dropped his blue plaid boxers; setting his cock free.

  I licked my lips. Fuck, my weakness had joined the party.

  “Yup, that bastard gets to hear you call my name. Hear you shout out how much you love me. And I assure you I will do the same.” He settled between my legs.

  “No more hiding, remember?”

  My fingers lingered over his muscled, ripped abs. Slowly, I sat up and bit his neck.

  “Are you marking me, Chelsea?”

  I snickered. “Maybe. Tonight, I will post on social media I am in a relationship with Tate Forrester.”

  I felt his lips lift against my hair. Tate pushed my body down again. His tongue slithered around my neck. The hesitation to be free still lingered. Dark Jack and Jill couldn’t torture us anymore, yet the apprehension was there. I’d grown accustomed to living in secret. Tate caressed my hips then dipped his fingers into my heat. I rubbed his back and swept my lips over his.

  The intensity of his fingers circling my clit, held me on the edge. My breath caught in my throat as he sank inside me.

  Pleasure encompassed his handsome face. “Fuck, fuck, you feel so good, Chelse,” he groaned.

  I feasted on his lips as my fingers dug deeper into his back with each deep stroke he delivered.

  “That’s right, baby take it all,” he whispered. His dreamy black locks dangled between us.

  “Chelsea,” he moaned.

  Tate clutched my ass with one hand and with the other he intertwined our fingers over my head. He leaned down tracing his bottom lip over mine. “I want to hear you, Chelse.”

  My brow wrinkled. “No, I won’t scream your name.”

  His lips tipped up at one end. “No?”

  Tate flipped me over and he sat back on his knees. “I know for a fact this is your favorite way to make love. There’s no way you can keep quiet now.” A dark chuckle released from his throat.

  “I want there to be no mistake that they know you are mine,” he bit out, fisting my hair and sinking his teeth into my neck at the same time filling me.

  “Fuck, Tate,” I yelled.

  His head tilted and those tranquil blue eyes roved my face with each thrust. “I don’t hear you, baby.”

  “Asshole,” I growled.

  He laughed then licked under my chin. “I’ll take that, too.”

  His finger circled my clit, and then there was no holding back.

  “Tate, oh, fuck Tate. Yes, give it to me. Yeah, it feels so good. Don’t stop.”

  “Your wish is my command, Chelsea. I am the only man who will ever have you,” he roared, as my body vibrated and shattered against his muscled frame.

  He wrecked me in the best way. My lips trembled against his as we came together.

  “I love you, Chelsea,” he groaned.

  Tate pulled me into his arms as he fell against the bed.

  I peeked at him. “You played dirty, Tate.”

  He leaned over and kissed my nose. “Yup. You aren’t that mad though.” Tate squeezed me.

  “No, that was so good,” I moaned against his chiseled jawline.

  “Chelse, I’m famished. We’ll head to the kitchen after I clean you up.”

  I smiled. “Order a pizza.”

  “No problem, babe.”

  His sculpted ass disappeared into the bathroom. My fingers stroked through my hair. Chelsea, remember you two are finally free. I wondered how Haven Saints high would take the news of Tate and I being a couple again. I guess we’d find out.

  I PLASTERED A WIDE smile across my face as Tate drove into the school parking lot. It wasn’t a ‘I’m thrilled smile.’ More like a nervous smile. Walking into the building with Tate, Lake, and Matt would surely have people whispering. Remember, I’d supposedly slept with all of them.

  Tate updated his profile pic on social media. He’d taken a picture of us kissing after I hopped in the truck this morning. The caption was priceless. ‘She’s mine F%ck off.’

  He slipped his arm over my shoulder and kissed the side of my head. “Chelse, the smile is a bit much. You have to chill.”

  “Are you even listening to the peanut gallery behind us?”

  “Chelsea, and I are over,” Matt said, grabbing a girl’s hand as we walked down the hall.

  “I am also no longer dating Chelsea. I dig older chicks. If any of you gorgeous girls need a date to prom, I’m your guy.” He pointed at his chest as we strolled toward my locker.

  A few girls winked in passing.

  “Chelsea, dating you has made me the new popular guy at school,” he snickered as he dipped down the hall.

  “See you guys later.”

  “Bye, Lake,” I yelled.

  Tate said nothing.

  “Your face will keep that permanent brooding, scowl expression forever if you don’t stop.”

  “I hate they think you were with my best friend and my cousin. I feel like cracking some skulls.”

  Matt cracked his knuckles. “I’m down to bash in faces,” he chuckled.

  We halted in front of my locker.

  “Guys, let's have a great day.” I grinned.

  Tate stepped in the middle of the hall. “Listen up.”

  The students crowded around king Tate.

  “If one more kid spreads a rumor about Chelsea hooking up with Matt or Lake, I will find you and outcast your ass next. It was never true. She was always with me. I don’t care what it looked like. Chelsea was always my woman. Now get to class,” he growled.

  He stepped over and pulled me against his muscled frame. Those deep blue eyes peered into mine under those thick black brows. “You’re fucking mine,” he muttered against my lips.

  His big strong hand cupped my face and his soft pink lips sucked mine into his. My body quivered under his touch. The bell rang, but Tate didn�
�t let up.

  I whimpered into his mouth as I clutched his lapels tighter. “I’m all yours, Tate.”

  He released my lips as if he’d been waiting for me to say those words.

  “Come on, I’ll walk you to class.” His sexy lips widened.

  Finally, a smile.

  No more bullshit. For an entire month, we ate at the mall with our friends. It was relaxing breaking away from the gossip for an hour. Girls still whispered. They didn’t understand why I’d be ok with having a cheating boyfriend. What they thought about us didn’t matter anymore. We were happy.

  Me, Tate, Marisa, and Mason learned to coexist at school and after school. Luckily, we lived across the street from each other. If Tate and me wanted to watch a movie, we could relax at my house.

  Once Marisa couldn’t hide her growing belly bump any longer, she requested a Haven Saints High teacher to tutor her for the remainder of the school year.

  Marisa’s father continued to care for her financially. But she was no longer welcome in their home. Her mother turned her back on her. I had a feeling once the baby was born, they’d get past their bitterness.

  The jury was still out on my friends, Megan and Matt. Maybe one day they’d be together. In the interim, Matt was back to his old self king, man whore of Haven Saints High.

  EPILOGUE

  The crimson V neck long sleeve satin dress drew attention to my breasts. The wide red belt hugged my waist, and the split stopping mid-thigh was sexy. I loved the flowing embroidered lower half of the dress falling over my black strappy stilettos. Connie out did herself.

  She was so busy creating mine and Megan’s dresses; she didn’t have time to give much thought about a date. Lake agreed to accompany her to prom.

  The blaring music pulsated through my body. Our friends abandoned us and ran to the dance floor. The grand ballroom at the popular Haven River hotel was brimming with girls in sexy dresses and guys in their dashing tuxedos. So why wouldn’t my boyfriend let me out of his sight?