Rescue Me: Dark High School Reverse Harem Bully Romance (Sapphire Bay High Book 2)

by Naomi Martin

  “Like I said, keep your head on a swivel,” Renee warns. “You should’ve seen that one coming.”

  “Get off her, Renee.”

  It’s a boy’s voice and when I get up, I see that the rest of the girls have scattered, leaving Renee squaring off with a boy I’ve never seen before. His voice is soft, yet commanding. Authoritative. He’s about five foot nine with coal black hair, green eyes, and skin almost as pale as mine. He’s lean—a runner’s build—and has something of a bookish look about him.

  “What’s it to you, nerd?” Renee spits.

  “Other than the fact that I don’t like seeing stuck-up bitches bully people?”

  Renee’s face darkens. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

  I hear the distinctive sound of Coach K’s whistle. “Everything okay over there, Renee?”

  “Fine, Coach,” Renee calls back, never taking her eyes off the boy.

  “Then break it up and get back to work.”

  She smirks at him. “You really are just a collector of strays, aren’t you? Well, enjoy this one.”

  Renee turns and flounces away, and she and the rest of her friends resume their drills. The boy steps over to me, his face etched with concern.

  “You okay?” he asks.

  I try to wipe the mud off my face. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for stepping in.”

  “You’re welcome,” he says, and then grins. “She was right about one thing.”

  “Yeah? And what’s that?”

  “You need to keep your head on a swivel out there. Especially when Renee’s on the field,” he says. “She will hit you from the blindside every single time.”

  “Apparently, I’ve got a lot to learn about this game.” I sigh. “And not just the rules.”

  “I’m Lucas. Lucas Marsh.”

  “Tatum Greene.”

  “Nice to meet you,” he says.

  “Yeah, you too.”

  He’s a soft-spoken boy who looks like he’d be more comfortable in a library or in front of a computer than on a sports field. At least, a contact sports field. He looks like he runs—probably track or cross country or something.

  Although bookish and quiet, Lucas has a commanding presence. There is something compelling about him, something that captivates me. His green eyes sparkle in the sun, and his skin glows like it’s lit from within. Lucas picks up my stick and hands it back to me.

  “So, have you been playing long?” He points to my stick.

  “If you consider an hour a long time. Though I don’t think Coach K is going to keep me around much longer.”

  He laughs. “What made you decide to try out, then?”

  I shrug. “A masochistic desire to let Renee kick my ass?”

  He waves her off. “Don’t sweat her. She’s a bitch. Just don’t turn your back on her. You know, keep your head on a swivel.”

  We share a soft laugh that’s interrupted by the shrill sound of Coach K’s whistle.

  “Hey, new girl,” she shouts. “You want to come back here and learn this game, or should I just cut you now?”

  “I guess I should probably get back.”

  Lucas nods. “Sounds like it.”

  We stare at each other for another moment and then laugh. I turn away to head back to the team, but his voice stops me and I look back.

  “Hey, what’s your number? I’d like to text you,” he says. “If you don’t mind.”

  “We don’t have anything to write it down on.”

  He taps his temple. “I’ll remember it. Got a mind like a steel trap.”

  I laugh and give him my number, then hear Coach K’s whistle again.

  “New girl, let’s go. Now!”

  I hear the muffled sound of the girls laughing and flash Lucas a smile.

  “Gotta go,” I say.

  I turn and run back to where the team is gathered, listening to them snicker as I walk up with mud still drying on my face. Coach K directs a couple of pointed remarks my way before going back to her spiel about the team and what she expects of her players. She fields questions and then gives a rousing pep talk about what it means to be a team.

  Honestly, I tuned her out well before she got to the pep talk, since I know I’m not going to make the team anyway. But I’m going to give it my all and make her cut me rather than quit. At the very least, I’ll be able to get a few cheap shots in on Renee. Maybe, before my last day on the team, it’ll be her with her face in the mud.

  As we walk off the field, I reflect on what a weird day it’s been—and the fact that I now have three different boys pursuing me. It’s a thought that makes me smile.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Oh my God, you’re a total slut.”

  I laugh and slap her arm. “Shut up. I am not!”

  “Three guys?” Katie scoffs. “Yeah, I’d say that qualifies as turbo-slut material.”

  “You are such a bitch.”

  We laugh together and I flop back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. I still can’t quite get over the fact that I’ve gone from not wanting to be involved with anybody to having three guys—gorgeous guys—all chasing me. My phone is constantly blowing up with text messages from them and I barely get a moment’s peace at school, with each one popping up at random times.

  The attention I’ve been getting hasn’t gone unnoticed. People in the halls are looking at me differently these days. There’s almost a measure of respect—perhaps envy—in the eyes of some of the girls. When I walk down the hall with one of the guys at my side, I can feel the eyes on me.

  Of course, all of the attention has come with a downside—Renee. She seems to have made it her life’s mission to make me miserable. She and her minions, be they the Barbie twins or her suck-ups on the team, take pride in trying to insult me in the hallways and humiliate me out on the field.

  “Do you realize you’re, like, the most popular girl in school now?” Katie asks. “I mean, aside from Renee.”

  I wave her off. “Not even close.”

  “It’s true, though. To have three of the hottest, most popular guys in Sapphire Bay lusting after you? That raises your social cred. Trust me, I’ve heard the whispers.”

  I laugh. “And what whispers are you hearing?”

  “Well, some think you’re banging all three of them. Some say all at one time.”

  I grab her pillow and press it to my face, screaming into it. Once I have that out of my system, I sit up and hold the pillow in my lap.

  “I’m not banging anybody,” I cry. “I haven’t even gone out on a date with any of them yet. Our interaction has been limited to texting and talking at school.”

  “You did make out with Ryan.”

  I grin. “Okay, yeah, I did.”

  “And the smile on your face tells me that you really liked it.”

  I try to stifle the grin, to no avail “I did. He is a really good kisser.”

  Katie grins. “You are the envy of most of the girls in school. Present company included.”

  A million thoughts are swirling through my mind and I feel the frown pulling my lips downward. Unbidden, memories rise inside of me like evil specters from the grave and no matter how hard I try to shove them back down into their crypts, I can’t get them to stop rising over and over again.

  “What is it?” Katie asks.

  “Just…”

  I let my voice trail off, debating with myself whether or not I want to give voice to these memories. Talking about them brings up a whole host of unpleasant thoughts that I’d rather not deal with.

  But then, with everything that happened and how much I isolated myself afterward, I haven’t really talked about it with anybody. I basically just stuffed everything down inside and refused to acknowledge those feelings. I never dealt with them in a healthy, positive way. I was so busy arguing with my dad and trying to defend myself from accusations made by ignorant people that I never got to work on fixing what was broken inside of me.

  Maybe getting it out would be good for me. May
be it would be like purging that well of poison inside of me that rises up every now and then. And, who knows, maybe getting it all out and talking things over with somebody I trust will help dispel the anger I still carry inside of me.

  “Talk to me, Tatum. It’s okay, you can tell me anything.”

  I give her a tight smile. “It’s just that”—my words are slow and halting—“when I moved here, I swore to myself that I would focus on myself. That I wasn’t going to get involved with anybody. I guess what happened back in Norfolk made me think about how I interact with boys—or whether I should right now.”

  “You mean, because of what happened with your ex? Justin, was it?”

  I nod. “That’s part of it,” I tell her. “But there was a guy I was involved with before him. It was when I was a freshman and he was my boyfriend—sort of…”

  My words trail off again as I feel my heart lurch, those old familiar feelings of heartache and betrayal rising up inside of me again. Katie takes a seat beside me on the bed and takes my hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. I look up and see the compassion in her eyes and my eyes sting as the tears well up within them. She says nothing, though, letting me tell my tale in my own way, in my own time with no pressure, and I love her for that.

  “His name was Eric. He was a senior when I was a freshman and he was my first love,” I tell her. “He was my first kiss—I gave him my virginity. I thought we were in love and I really wanted to spend my life with him. He was perfect in every way.”

  “I hear a massive but coming.” Katie’s voice is wry.

  “Big time. He wasn’t in love with me. He was just using me for the sex and laughing about it with all of his buddies. It was a game to them, to see who could sleep with the most girls in school. Freshmen were worth extra points or something.” The tears roll down my cheeks and I can’t stop them. “I found out later that he videotaped us once and showed it to his friends. I have never felt so humiliated in all my life.”

  “God, Tatum. I am so sorry. That is beyond horrible.”

  It was common knowledge around school. Some people bullied me mercilessly about it. All of the students knew but somehow, it never got out to the faculty. And I never told my parents about it. I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but time went by and it never did. So, I stuffed it all down inside of me and tried not to think about it.

  “It’s why I don’t trust people easily. Especially boys,” I tell her. “The thing with Justin—I can’t even really explain that. I guess I was rebelling, in a way. But that experience with Eric and knowing I’ve never really dealt with it was why I didn’t want to get involved with anybody and wanted to work on my own baggage.”

  “That’s totally understandable, Tatum. But what about this Eric? What he did was illegal!” Katie almost shrieks. “Technically, that’s like child porn. He should have gone to jail—”

  “The video never surfaced. At least, not to anybody that mattered,” I interject. “Somehow, the people who could have done something about it never managed to see it. Didn’t even know it existed, apparently. Or were told to turn a blind eye to it.”

  “How is that even possible?” Katie gasps.

  “Because Eric’s father is some bigwig admiral in the Navy,” I tell her. “He’d been tapped for some big position in the government, and I guess you don’t get to that sort of level without learning how to make certain inconveniences disappear.”

  “So, it was just a big cover-up?”

  I nod. “Not that I could ever prove it. And since the problem vanished, I tried to forget about it,” I said. “Besides Mr. Worley, you’re the only other person on this planet I’ve talked to about it.”

  Katie whistles and sits back on the bed, holding herself up with her arms. There’s an inscrutable expression on her face as she digests my tale of woe.

  “Anyway, that’s why, when we moved out here, I vowed to swear off boys for a while. They’re usually more trouble than they’re worth.”

  She laughs. “That is true. But there are some good ones out there, still.”

  I scoff. “If there are, I haven’t met one yet.”

  “Actually, you’ve met three,” she corrects me. “Believe it or not, Ryan, Xavier, and Lucas are all decent guys. They stay out of the drama, don’t run around trying to get into every girl’s panties. Honestly, it’s pretty shocking. As gorgeous and popular as they are, they could have almost any girl at school. Probably a lot of the moms, too, if they wanted. But they don’t. Not as far as I’ve heard, and I like to think I’m pretty well plugged into the town.”

  I cock my head. “Seriously? How is it guys like that aren’t screwing half the town?”

  She shrugs. “Like I said, it’s shocking. But they’re either actually good guys or they know how to keep things super quiet,” she says. “I don’t believe something like that could be kept absolutely quiet, by the way. Not in this town. Which tells me that it actually is true.”

  It’s something I have a lot of trouble swallowing. If there was one constant in all the different places I’ve lived, it’s that good-looking guys always trade on their looks to get into a girl’s panties. Hell, even the guys who weren’t the underwear-model types were always working hard to get laid.

  The one universal truth I had learned over the course of my eighteen years is that guys have some biological imperative to have sex. It’s that way in every town, in every state, and in every country around the world.

  “Don’t get me wrong, they’ve all had their share of girlfriends. And I somehow doubt any of them are sober as a judge and celibate as a priest,” Katie goes on. “They indulge in their fair share of booze, partying, and sex, the same as everybody in school. But they aren’t your typical man-whores. They aren’t like ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the guys in the world who think with their dicks.”

  “That would be shocking if it was true.”

  “As far as I know, it is,” she tells me. “As far as I know, they are just good, decent guys.”

  “Okay, let’s assume it is. That still leaves me with two problems,” I say. “The first is that I swore off guys—”

  “Yeah, you already blew that vow.” She laughs as she cuts me off.

  “Okay fine, I did.” I laugh along with her. “But the second problem is that I have three guys chasing me.”

  “It’s a problem most girls would kill to have,” she replies. “Present company, again, included.”

  “I’m sorry, Katie, I’m making this all about me,” I say sincerely.

  “I’d rather focus on your problems—if for no other reason than they’re more interesting than mine.”

  We laugh together and then lapse into silence for a long moment. I lower my eyes, realizing how stupid this must all sound. Oh no, boys like me; talk about first world problems. But I’m honestly not used to being the center of attention for any one guy, let alone three of them. And my history with men is checkered, to say the least, which adds another layer of complication I’d rather not have to deal with.

  I suppose the simple answer would be to not see any of them; to just cut off all three and hold to my vow. The problem with that thought, though, is that I know it’s not something I’m going to do a millisecond after I have the thought.

  “Which one do you like the most?” Katie breaks the silence.

  A rueful grin curls my lips. “I honestly have no idea. I haven’t been out with any one of them, so there’s no way I can really judge. All I can say at this point is that each of them has something that attracts me. Each one has some quality that really clicks with me.”

  “Well, see? That’s your problem,” she says. “You just need to go out with them. Spending a little time with each of them will tell you who the best fit for you is. Then you can make an informed decision about who to date.”

  I laugh. “You make it sound so easy,” I tell her. “But what if I like all of them? What if I really connect with all of them?”

  She shrugs. “Then you colle
ct a little man harem and become the envy of every single woman in a hundred-mile radius. This is the twenty-first century and you’re an independent woman—you’re allowed to collect as many men as you want.”

  The sound of our laughter fills her room. A moment later, we both nearly jump out of our skins when her door opens and her dad steps in. He looks at the both of us with a stern, disapproving expression on his face.

  “What’s going on in here, girls?” he asks.

  “We’re discussing the potential for Tatum here to have a harem of the most gorgeous boys in school,” Katie informs him.

  My eyes widen and my mouth falls open as my heart drops into my stomach. I nudge her with my elbow and try to keep from screaming in horror that she’d tell her dad what we were really just discussing. Her father, looking every bit the hard-nosed cop in his sheriff’s uniform, looks at us, his face dead serious.

  “Harem, huh?” he asks. “You gonna make ‘em wear little gold G-strings and leashes, Tatum? Because that would be kind of cliché, don’t you think?”

  I stare at him for a long moment and he looks back at me, his face totally deadpan. It’s Katie who breaks the silence with her howl of laughter and her father’s face finally cracks, his smile spreading wide. As they carry on, laughing at my obvious discomfort, my heart finally starts to beat again.

  Slowly, the laughter fades and my face stops burning. I look over at Katie who sticks her tongue out at me, grinning like a fool.

  “So, who are these boys you’re thinking of making a stable of?” Her father asks.

  “Ryan Fitzsimmons, Xavier Michaelson, and Lucas Marsh,” she explains. “All three of them are fighting for her.”

  “They’re not fighting over me. I don’t even think they know each of them are even talking to me.”

  Katie looks like she’s biting her tongue so hard she’s about to draw blood. Her face is red, and she looks like she’s about to burst into laughter. Before I can question her, though, her dad speaks up.

  “Good boys. The lot of ‘em,” he says. “I don’t think you can go wrong with any one of ‘em.”