Broken Hill High: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 1)

by Sheridan Anne

  “I never knew you were into building cars.”

  “It’s what I want to do,” he says, reminding me of the drawings Brooke had found in his room. “Restore cars.”

  “Huh,” I grunt to myself. “I guess that explains why you’re not too worried about college.”

  “Nope,” he grins. “A business degree isn’t really going to help me rebuild an engine.”

  “I guess not, but it would help you to run a successful business,” I say as he passes the rock I had sat on while waiting for Brooke to rescue me last week. He turns the corner and I see all the same lights and people that were here last week. “You don’t want to get into racing?” I question.

  “Nah,” he says. “This is just for fun.”

  “Who are you against tonight?” I ask.

  We drive a little closer and he points out a green car that looks like it’s had a bit of work done to it. “Damien Kelly,” he says. “He was a senior last year.”

  “Is he good?” I ask as I eye the green car, instantly hoping the guy loses.

  “He’s alright,” he tells me. “He blew up his engine a few months ago so this will be his first race with the new one. I’m pretty sure I’ll beat him though. The guy is too cocky.”

  “Sounds like somebody else I know,” I laugh.

  He grins as he drives through all the people, the same way he had done last week, but he doesn’t drive straight down to the track. Nate stops his car and I reach for the door handle. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m not about to be in here when you’re racing again. That shit is way too much for me to handle.”

  “Tough shit,” he tells me. “Do you have any idea what kind of people are here? If one of the boys were here to stay with you, then sure, but they’re not, which means you get another up close and personal view of the track.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”

  “Trust me,” he says, turning towards me. “I wish I was. It’s not easy concentrating while you’re screaming in my ear like a little bitch.”

  “Ahhhhh,” I say with a hard sarcasm. “There’s the good old Nate. I thought I’d lost you for a while.”

  He rolls his eyes and focuses all his attention on the race that’s just starting on the track while I find myself completely zoning out and people watching. I see a few familiar faces that I recognize from school, but not many, though they all seem quite young. “Are all these people from the public school?” I question.

  “Most of them,” he says. “They’re not a good crowd to be around. Most of them are into some pretty heavy shit, but they’re fun to party with,” he tells me. “Your boyfriend should be here.”

  “Boyfriend?” I grunt.

  “Jackson,” he says. “The guy who tried to take you home from my place.”

  I look around the crowd and sure enough, the arrogant jerk is right there with a beer in his hand and a girl under his arm as he screams out towards the race. “Ugh,” I grunt, glad that I escaped from that one unscathed, though, that’s mainly thanks to Nate.

  “We’re up,” he suddenly says, drawing my attention away from the bystanders.

  He starts rolling his car down the hill towards the start of the track and my heart starts pounding in my chest. “Do we really have to do this?” I question. “I mean, I’m sure it’s not too late to back out.”

  “Stop being such a pussy,” he tells me. “I don’t back out of races. Besides, at least you got a little warning this time.”

  I narrow my eyes on him and double check my seatbelt is secure before watching as the girl walks up between the two cars to start the race. “If I have to suffer through this thing, then you better win.”

  “I always do,” he tells me before reaching forward and turning the music right up.

  I try to relax, but a few seconds later the girl starts the race and Nate takes off. “Holy shit,” I groan to myself making Nate chuckle under his breath. I look across at him because honestly, watching the track is too terrifying.

  Just like last time, he races around the track like a boss. I look around him to see where Damien is and find him trying to creep up on the side of Nate, but Nate hits the corner and drifts around it while Damien backs off.

  The fear seeps out of me and I realize that if I don’t focus on the track ahead of us, but watch the race as more of a spectator, then I don’t feel like throwing up. “Hold on,” Nate says with a smirk, showing me just how much he enjoys this.

  I flick my head around to see another corner creeping up which Nate flies around, sending me falling to the side and reaching for something to grasp on to. It’s a good thing I have my seatbelt on, otherwise, I probably would have gone tumbling around. “Fuck,” I grunt, as I catch myself.

  “I told you to hold on,” he says as he hits the gas and shifts up into top gear to speed down the final straight of the track.

  I roll my eyes and he looks across at me with a proud, smug grin. We haven’t even crossed the finish line but he knows he’s already won it. “I’m pretty damn good, huh?”

  “Eh,” I say with a shrug. “You’re not bad. My R8 could have beat you though.”

  “Ha,” he laughs as he crosses the finish line and brings the car to a stop. “Do you want to make a bet?”

  “You know, I would,” I grin. “But I think I’m busy that day.”

  “Uh huh,” he laughs as the car comes to a complete stop and all the people around the track start running down to congratulate him.

  “What is this?” I laugh. “People treat you as though you’re some sort of celebrity around here.”

  Again, he looks across at me with that proud, smug smirk. “Because I am,” he says, making me groan. He looks back at the crowd of people and cringes. “Ugh.”

  “What?” I ask, trying to look around the crowd for whatever has him cringing.

  He nods his head straight forward and I look that way. “It’s Ashley,” he groans. “She won’t leave me alone. I swear, she’s sent me over one hundred text messages over the past week.”

  “You’re kidding?” I laugh.

  “I wish I was.”

  An idea strikes and I grin at Nate. “You really want to get rid of her?”

  “More than you could possibly know.”

  With that, I unbuckle my seatbelt and he watches me with a curious gaze. “You asked for it,” I tell him before climbing across the center console and coming to a stop on his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck as I straddle him and he grins back at me as his hands slide down to my ass.

  I seal my lips to his and he responds instantly, making my body burn with need. His hands roam over my back, ass, and thighs while mine fist into his dark hair, holding him closer.

  It’s hot and quick, and when we pull away from each other, we’re both gasping for air. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he tells me.

  “So, you keep telling me.”

  “Do you believe it yet?”

  I bite down on my bottom lip as I watch him. “Getting there,” I tell him.

  I know that answer isn’t good enough for him, but it will have to do. He tilts his head to look around me and grins when he sees Ashley. I turn and watch the show as she stomps her foot and screams out before turning and huffing away. “You know,” he tells me. “This is going to make people talk.”

  “Let them,” I say with a shrug. “How’s it any different from when they talk about it being a different girl? Which is all the time by the way.”

  “This one means something,” he murmurs while pulling me in closer on his lap. I can’t help but melt into him and press my lips to his again. “Half the stuff isn’t true anyway.”

  “Really?” I say against his lips. “So, you didn’t screw Jessica McMillian in the biology lab?”

  He cringes.

  “Or Laney in the back of this very car before doing her doggy style over the top of the hood?”

  He cringes again.

  “Or, Sa-”

&nbs
p; He cuts me off by crushing his lips to mine again. “Ok, maybe most of it is true, but I didn’t screw Mrs. Phillips in the teachers' lounge.” Oh, thank god. “It was in the biology lab.”

  “Are you kidding, right now?”

  “Yeah,” he laughs. “She’s too old for my liking.”

  “You’re such an idiot.”

  He grins back at me. “Come on,” he says before pushing me back. “Screw saying hi to all these people. I want to get this party over and done with so I can take you home.”

  “That’s fine by me,” I tell him as I get myself comfortable in his passenger’s side chair. “But you better make it good otherwise I’ll have to do it myself.”

  He looks across at me with a smirk that could melt my underwear right off my body. “Now that I’d like to watch.”

  I shake my head and cross my arms over my chest. “Get moving, Romeo.”

  With that, he laughs to himself and peels out of the race track. Twenty minutes later, we’re pulling up at Parker’s place, ready for a good night.

  Chapter 18

  The second Nate and I step out of his car, we go our separate ways, just as we do at school. I walk around Parker’s home and squeeze myself through the throng of bodies as I watch Nate with a scowl as the bodies just seem to part for him before a beer is thrust straight into his hand and girls start gravitating towards him, hoping to be the special one he chooses to bury himself in tonight.

  Hell, maybe if they’re lucky, he might choose a few of them. The jealousy rips through me and I have to remind myself that we’re not together and remember the fact that Nate was an asshole for nearly five years of my life. I’ve been forgetting that a lot over the past two weeks, especially when he treats me so good and makes me feel things that I’ve never felt before.

  “Tora,” I hear my name being called from across the room.

  My head whips around to find Brooke sitting on Maxen’s lap with a red cup in her hand, and from the look of it, I’d dare say she’s already wasted. I hold my hand up to say ‘wait a minute’ and duck past the kitchen to get myself a drink.

  I find Jesse there, lining up a row of shots for a few girls and I grin as I come up next to him. “You’re here early,” I say. “I thought you would have been, ah… entertaining a little longer.”

  He stops pouring the shots and turns so he can narrow his eyes on me. “And just what are you implying, Tori?” he says, using the nickname he knows I hate.

  I can’t help the laughter that bubbles up within me. “Oh, nothing,” I tell him. “Just that it mustn’t have lasted very long.”

  “I’ll have you know,” he tells me. “I absolute blew that girl’s mind. Three times, actually.”

  “Uh huh,” I laugh as I steal one of the shots and throw it back before pouring myself a drink. “What was the girl’s name?”

  “Why?” he questions. “You want to go and check with her just how good I was?”

  “No,” I laugh. “I want to see if you can remember her name.”

  “Oh, um, it was…,” his eyes narrow further, though this time it’s in pure concentration. “It was… Shit.”

  Laughter comes tearing out of me. “That’s what I thought,” I say before scooping my drink off the table and heading back towards where Brooke’s three seconds away from giving Maxen a lap dance. “Hey,” I say as I fall down into the space beside them.

  “Hey,” she mimics with an annoyed tone. “Where the hell have you been? The party started ages ago.”

  “I was at Nate’s race,” I explain as her eyes narrow on me.

  “Huh?” Maxen grunts, leaning forward to see me around Brooke. “What do you mean you were at his race? Who’d you stay with? We were all here.”

  “What are you talking about?” I question as Brooke continues watching me.

  “Me, Parker, Ty, and Jesse. We were all here while the race was on so he must have left you with someone.”

  “No,” I say shaking my head. “I was with him.”

  “During the race?”

  “Yes,” I say, completely confused.

  “Whoa,” he says, sitting back with a look of astonishment on his face.

  Brooke turns around and fixes him with a hard stare. “You better start explaining yourself or you can go find someone else to screw tonight.”

  He gives her a fond smile before turning back to me. “Nate doesn’t race with anyone. It’s like his golden rule. None of us boys have even been in the car with him while he raced, not even Jess.”

  “Really?” I grunt. “Because he did it last week as well. Though that was because he was trying to scare the shit out of me, which it worked by the way, I nearly crapped myself. Do you have any idea how fast he goes?”

  Maxen nods his head before a knowing grin comes over his face. “Yeah,” he laughs. “I’ve seen it.”

  Brooke gets up off his lap and looks down at me. “We need to talk,” she demands before reaching down and grabbing my hand. She hoists me up out of my seat and pulls me along behind her. She drags me over to the massive staircase and turns to face me. “Spill it,” she says. “What the hell is going on between you and Nate?”

  “Nothing’s going on,” I lie, hating how easily the lie came out of my lips. “We just live together. I was more than happy to stay home tonight, but the boys demanded I get ready and leave. I didn’t even know there was a race on until two minutes before we left.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about,” she says with a crease between her eyebrows, letting me know she’s pissed. “Something’s going on between you two. He hasn’t made snide comments to you in two weeks, I catch you smiling at them all the time, Jesse is suddenly your new BFF, and Nate’s driving you around all the time even though you know how to drive your own car now,” she points out. “You’re my best friend, Tora. You have been for years which is how I know you’re lying to me.”

  “There’s not,” I argue as I look around and find him. “Look,” I say, pointing him out. She spins around to find him to see the same gut-wrenching scene that I do. Nate Ryder with a girl pressed up against his chest and his arm wrapped around her body. “If something were going on between us, that’d be me, but it’s not.”

  She narrows her eyes on me again and I see the moment she decides not to believe me. “You’re an idiot to get involved with him,” she tells me. “Or have you forgotten how he treated you over the last five years? Because I sure as hell haven’t. I was the one who had to put you back together each time.”

  “Brooke. There’s nothing going on,” I tell her. “He’s just being nice because we have to live together.”

  She presses her lips together as she considers me and is about to say something when we hear someone calling out. “You,” a screechy voice yells.

  We turn and find Ashley storming up towards me with her finger pointed right at me. My eyes flick across to Nate who I notice is watching the show with interest.

  Ashley storms right up into me and presses her finger into my chest. “You’re a slut,” she yells for everyone to hear. “What do you think you’re doing with him? He’s mine.”

  I step back away from her but she follows right along. “You go and act all innocent like you’re this precious little angel, but we all know the truth. You’re a boyfriend stealing whore. You were in his bed last week and all over him tonight. Don’t act like I didn’t see you together in his car, rubbing yourself all over him. He’s going to come crawling straight back once he realizes you’re nothing.”

  My eyes cut across to Brooke who looks at me with absolute betrayal and my heart breaks. She presses her lips into a hard line before turning on her heel and disappearing, leaving me to deal with Ashley.

  I can’t help but push her back a step. I don’t know what it is but living with the Ryder brothers has me growing a new backbone. Last week it was Elle and now Ashley. “Don’t you dare come and get up in my face like that,” I tell her as I push her back again. “Nate doesn’t want you. He never did. You were
n’t his girlfriend, remember? You were nothing but an easy screw to him. You were convenient and you ruined a good thing by running your mouth.”

  Her face flames, but I’m not quite done. I’ve got the knife in, but now I need to twist it. “I wonder, Ash. Did he ever race with you? Did he ever let you in like that?” I get in nice and close and whisper just for her to hear. “Because he lets me in like that all the damn time.”

  A scowl fixes across her face and she gives me a hard stare before pushing me back. I laugh as I go flying back a few steps but she doesn’t come after me, so I keep going. “So, what if I was all over him at the race?” I tell her. “I’ll probably be all over him again later, and then probably tomorrow, and the next day, and then the next. And you know what’s better?” I question. “He doesn’t have to pretend with me.”

  Ashley reaches her boiling point and launches herself forward. I can either run away or I can put up a fight, and with my best friend angry at me and my life a complete mess, I meet her in the middle.

  Her hands come at me like claws and she scratches my face while I end up with a big chunk of hair between my fingers. She screams but we keep coming at each other.

  Someone screams out ‘catfight’ and suddenly there are people crowding around everywhere.

  An arm wraps around my waist and I’m hauled back from her as Parker shoves himself between us. “Stop,” Nate says in my ear before looking up at Jesse. “Get her out of here.”

  With that, Jesse moves like lightning. He grabs Ashley around the waist and throws her over his shoulder before disappearing out the door with her screaming for him to put her down.

  Nate grabs me by the shoulders and spins me to face him as everyone watches on in interest, wondering what the fuck is going on here, as usual, whenever me and Nate are facing each other, it’s bound to end with him saying something to shut me down.

  “What the fuck was that about?” he roars, giving my shoulders a shake.

  I find it impossible to remove the scowl off my face as I look up at him. “She started it,” I tell him, resisting the urge to tell him to fuck off. I mean, he already knows exactly what it was about. He was right there when I kissed him in the car, he was all for the plan then. He heard what she was yelling and I’m sure as hell that he heard what I was saying back. If anything, the douchebag should be thanking me.