Play With Me: Diamond In The Rough 1

by Hart, Rebel

  “Rae…”

  “What?”

  I sighed. “You know Allison and Michael aren’t going to want to talk to me.”

  “We won’t know until we give them a chance, you know.”

  “I know this. Michael doesn’t like me.”

  “Michael fought alongside you yesterday.”

  “Yes, for you. Because you got hurt. Not because of me, or some brotherhood or some shit.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Come on. If we don’t get started, we’re going to be late. You can come home with me after school and get your bike.”

  I grinned. “Oh, really now? Will your mother be home?”

  All she did was giggle, giving me an answer that suddenly made me want this entire school day to be over.

  We walked hand in hand through her neighborhood, and I got a good look at it. There was trash lying around in the streets. The lawns were filled with dirt and mud rather than freshly-trimmed grass. The homes had crooked porches and dilapidated roofs. Rae and her mother honestly lived in the best house on the block. Which still wasn’t saying much. It gave me a glimpse into the life Rae led. The dark shadows that shrouded this place. The smell that hung in the air around the homes, no matter how hard the wind blew.

  But, once we got to the exit of the neighborhood, I paused.

  “What is it, Clint?”

  I licked my lips. “This could ruin my image, you know? Walking to school with some girl. Not riding in on my bike waiting for all the girls to flock to me. It’s hard work being a bad boy, you know.”

  She snickered. “Well, your image sucks and could do with some damaging.”

  But when I looked down into her eyes, I knew she understood how sincere my words were. This was a big step for me. Something different. Something I didn’t know how to navigate. And she gave my hand a comforting squeeze before leading the way. We started out of her neighborhood, holding hands tightly as we walked up the block. Hell, even the sidewalk changed from a darker tinted, cracked concrete to the nice, white, smooth concrete I’d taken advantage of my entire life.

  Then we stopped.

  “Allison! Michael! Hey!”

  Rae’s voice filled the air and I looked up from the concrete, watching as confusion rolled over their faces. Allison trotted toward us, with that confusion morphing into surprise. Michael didn’t seem the least bit entertained by the idea of seeing me.

  I didn’t blame him.

  Allison stopped in front of Rae. “Hey there. What’s going on?”

  The two girls hugged one another, forcing Rae to drop my hand. Michael walked up and stood beside Allison, squaring off with me like he was ready for another fight. And what was worse was that he didn’t look as if he’d been in a fight. He had no cuts. No scrapes. No bruising. Nothing. Whereas my eye was still swollen a bit, I had a black eye underneath it, and the cut on my lip had bruised up.

  Michael scoffed. “Yeah. What’s going on?”

  Rae took my hand again. “Nothing. Just walking to school.”

  Michael darted his finger between the two of us. “He’s walking you to school.”

  Allison shoved him with her shoulder. “Michael.”

  Rae shrugged. “He’s walking with us to school. Got an issue with that?”

  I looked over at her warily before I cleared my throat.

  “Hey, Mike. I just wanna—”

  He cut me off. “It’s Michael, thanks.”

  I nodded slowly. “Michael. I’m sorry, you know, for the whole fight and everything. It happened at a time where I was angry at shit in my house, and I took it out on you.”

  He nodded. “Anything else?”

  I paused. “Well, thank you for jumping in yesterday, too. You’ve got some serious fight, and I was impressed.”

  “Well, I didn’t do it for you. I did it for Rae. But you’re welcome. For not letting you get killed out there.”

  Allison swatted at his arm and I looked slowly over at Rae. But again, all she did was squeeze my hand. Like that was supposed to reassure me things would be all right. She stepped closer to me, leaning her cheek against my arm. And as I turned my head back to her two friends, I saw Michael’s eyes ignite with anger.

  While Allison’s eyes filled with happiness.

  Michael rolled his eyes. “Will he be walking with us every morning?”

  Rae shrugged. “I don’t know. Part of that is up to him. But I’d really like it if you two gave him a chance.”

  Michael scoffed. “He attacked me, Rae.”

  I nodded. “And I apologized for that. I got some shit going on at home and—”

  He cut me off again. “We’ve all got shit going on at home.”

  Rae stepped in. “He’s got my kinda shit going on, Michael.”

  And that quickly shut down the conversation. Though I wasn’t completely happy with Rae blurting that out. Or equating my home situation to hers. Or talking about my home situation in general, like I was some fucking charity rehab project.

  Rae sighed. “Anyway, please give him a chance. For my sake. I’ll be spending more time with Clint now, and I’d like there to not always be this fighting and tension.”

  Michael grumbled. “Of course.”

  Allison linked her arm with his. “What he means is that of course, we’ll give him a chance. For both of your sakes.”

  As the four of us walked to school, it was quiet. Rae didn’t speak with them, and they didn’t speak with us. Lines had been drawn in the sand, and we had our respective corners to stand in. And I didn’t want it to be like this for Rae. She deserved better.

  So I cleared my throat.

  “Looks like you got out better from that fight yesterday than I did, Michael.”

  I looked over at him, but all he did was nod.

  “Guess that’s what happens when you don’t run into a gaggle of guys without a plan.”

  I nodded. “Gaggle of guys. I like that. Especially since that one looked like a goose.”

  Allison giggled. “That’s bad, Clint.”

  I shrugged. “Well, he did! And the way he announced his charges every time with that yell of his. I was waiting for him to fluff his feathers out and start chomping at me with his beak.”

  Rae laughed. “Have you ever been attacked by a goose? There’s one that roams our neighborhood. I swear, it’s hellbent on terrorizing every little kid in that cul-de-sac of ours.”

  Allison rolled her eyes. “I wake up to the honking of geese every morning, courtesy of the stupid pond Dad wanted to live beside when we first moved.”

  Michael chuckled. “Harsh words coming from you, Ali.”

  Rae paused. “Ali?”

  We all stopped just outside of the school’s front doors with Rae having a tight grip on my hand. While things had flowed in conversation well enough, now it came to a grinding halt. We all stared at one another, like four dumbasses all lost in the same math class. But as Allison’s arm quickly fell from Michael’s, I knew exactly what was happening.

  And neither of them had told Rae yet.

  Allison giggled nervously. “Um, we’ll talk at lunch. Okay? When it’s just the three of us?”

  Rae’s lips parted in shock. “I mean, I thought maybe—”

  I butted in. “Of course. Just the three of you at lunch. Sure.”

  Michael snickered. “At least someone gets it.”

  I shot him a look as I squeezed Rae’s hand. She nodded slowly, then the two of us ventured toward the doors. But as she pulled them open, I felt my nerves getting the best of me.

  And I quickly dropped her hand.

  She furrowed her brow. “What?”

  I shook my head. “This isn’t a good idea.”

  “Look, Clint. I’m not gonna force you to do something you don’t want to do. But if you can’t do this, that means you can’t do us. I’m not your dirty little secret. I’m not just some rest stop you can park at sometimes. At least, that’s not what I want to be.”

  “That’s not what you are, Rae
. Never. It’s just all happening so—”

  “Fast? Quick? Like lightning? Trust me, I get that. But I’m also not a slave to my image at school. I think we both know that. So, time to choose which one you want more. Your image or me.”

  I watched Michael and Allison slide past as Rae kept the door held open. Allison tossed me a wary look, but Michael could have killed me with the one he gave. Rae deserved better than this. She deserved better than me. But if I was the one she wanted, then I had to do my best. Right? I mean, I understood her position. I couldn't keep us in the shadows simply for the sake of some fucking high school bullshit.

  So I squared my shoulders and stood tall.

  “Fuck ‘em, right?”

  Rae smiled. “Yes. Fuck ‘em. Now let’s go before we’re late for homeroom.”

  I reached for her and tugged her into the school. She giggled as she rested against me, her cheek pressed against my arm. We walked through the front foyer of the school together, in front of everyone. For all to see. I strutted my shit. I felt as if I were growing taller with every step I took. I walked down the main hallway before Rae took the lead, showing me where her locker was.

  A locker I intended on walking her to every morning.

  As she worked the lock, I started looking around. I took stock of the students. The teachers. Hell, even the principal. And while I assumed everyone’s eyes would be on me, I didn’t see a single soul looking in my direction. Not even in my general direction. I furrowed my brow as I found Roy slobbering all over Marina in a corner. I scanned the room and found the redhead from the party a couple weekends ago pressing herself against one of my other boys. No one had their eyes on me. No one gave a shit who I’d come into school with.

  No one except me.

  35

  Raelynn

  RaelynnOne Week Later

  “Welcome to Grady’s Groceries. May I interest you in a—?”

  The man waved his hand in the air. “Just ring me up. I’m in a hurry.”

  I forced a smile. “Of course, sir.”

  I scanned the groceries as quickly as I could, then bagged them. Cold items in the blue bags, regular items in the yellow ones. Eggs went down first, then the loaf of bread sat on top. Chips in the same bag. Apple juice in another bag. With the frozen vegetables, ice cream, and pint of milk in the last one.

  “That’ll be $18.7—”

  The man tossed a twenty-dollar bill at me. “Keep the change. I gotta go.”

  It bounced off my chest and fluttered to the belt as he scooped up his bags. He lumbered away, murmuring to himself as he walked straight out the doors into the pouring rain. I shook my head as I picked up the bill, cashing him out and setting the change aside. I slipped it into the manilla envelope I had at my register for the manager to collect. Extra money for the store without disrupting the balance of the registers at the end of the night.

  I sighed. “I really hate this job sometimes.”

  Grady’s Groceries was a small store in town that serviced a very specific group of people in the area. It wasn’t a chain. It wasn’t some big-box store. But it always had quality, fresh items. And it seemed as if people were always willing to pay for fresh and quality. Of course, there were items like frozen vegetables and things of that nature. However, that didn’t stop the all-natural crowd from coming in and making my life a living nightmare.

  Is this made with gluten?

  Is this made near gluten?

  Was someone thinking about gluten when they made this?

  “Rae!”

  My manager’s voice ripped me from my trance. “What’s up, Bryan?”

  “We need help stocking. You up for a change of scenery? It’ll be counted on your paycheck.”

  I smiled. “You know I’m always up to help.”

  “Great. Get back to aisle four. Dani’s struggling with the lower shelves. Back’s acting up again.”

  “Got it.”

  I logged out of my register and practically broke into a dead sprint for aisle four. Dani was the resident grandmother. Worked part-time in order to have more money to spoil the eight grandchildren she had. But sometimes she needed a bit of help. And I was more than willing to provide that help if it meant not having to interact with the pompous, arrogant customers that seemed to be out in full force today.

  “Hey there, Dani.”

  She sighed. “Hey, Rae. Sorry for pulling you away.”

  “Now, you know good and well I don’t mind. Whatcha stocking?”

  “This damn cake icing. Why is it on the lower shelf? I keep telling Bryan cooking supplies need to be more accessible to people of my age because we’re the ones that do most of the baking.”

  I took the icing from her hand. “And I’ll make sure the suggestion is heard.”

  I crouched down and began unpacking the items while she took a break. I sat on the floor, divvying everything up and secretly wishing I could pop open a container of icing and start eating it. I unloaded one box before Dani scooted another toward me with her foot. Together we got the baking aisle restocked. Took about two hours, but we handled it.

  Then it was back to my post and dealing with customers.

  “Do you have this, but in blue?”

  I paused. “You want a blue ice cream carton?”

  “Yes. Everything has to be absolutely perfect for this party I’m throwing. Everything has to match. I like rocky road, but I can’t find a rocky road in a blue carton.”

  “Sure, just give me—”

  “Miss?”

  I whipped my head around as Miss Blue Ice Cream scoffed. “Yes?”

  “Is the bakery going to be making any more cakes? I need a freshly-baked carrot cake for something tonight.”

  I shook my head. “We stop producing cakes at seven.”

  “So no more cakes.”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “What if I pay for the cake?”

  “There isn’t anyone to make the cake right now. The bakery’s completely shut down.”

  “What if I wait for a bit?”

  I paused. “Waiting won’t do you any good. There’s no one here to make your cake.”

  “Well, can you call someone in?”

  “To make your cake?”

  “Yes. Aren’t you listening?”

  Miss Blue Ice Cream Spoke up. “I need help. This is melting, and I need you to help me.”

  I sighed. “Then go put it back so it won’t melt. I can be there in a second to help you track down some rocky road in a blue container.”

  Mrs. Carrot spoke up. “Oh, a blue container? If you like non-dairy products, there’s a rocky road in a nice light blue container at the end of the aisle, on the left. It’s tucked beside the sherbets.”

  Were these people fucking serious right now?

  Thankfully, Bryan came over and busted up the convention. Which enabled me to check out the three customers that had gathered around my register. I checked them out, moving as quickly as I could while Bryan dealt with the crazy that had been dumped into my lap. He checked them out personally, thank fuck. Before disappearing into his back office to take ‘a breather.’

  Like he’d put in some hard work for the day or some shit.

  “And here I thought I’d find you smiling.”

  The second I heard Clint’s voice, a massive smile did cross my face.

  “Just like that one, actually.”

  I giggled. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  He leaned against my kiosk. “Maybe I came to see a gorgeous girl. Or maybe I came to pick up an apple.”

  “Or maybe you came to distract yourself because your father’s back home.”

  “Maybe you’re smarter than you look.”

  I laughed as he leaned over, kissing me on the cheek. Thankfully, we were tanking into my last hour of work before the store had to close down. Which meant not many more people would come in. I leaned my hip against the register, gazing into Clint’s eyes. I enjoyed having him there. He’d already popp
ed in on me a couple of times to say ‘hello’ and grab something for Cecilia. But he hadn’t ever stuck around.

  Until now.

  I licked my lips. “I take it you have nowhere else to be?”

  He winked. “You mean, other than home? Come on, don’t you remember? I reorganized my priorities. I’m a brand new man.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Until your father leaves to go back out of town.”

  He shrugged, and it made me shake my head. He was relentless in all the best ways. I reached out for his arm, patting it softly before his hand fell on top of mine. He brought my hand to his lips to kiss, sending goosebumps traveling up my arm.

  And I watched his eyes follow their trail.

  “It’s okay, Clint. You can stay as late as you want. I won’t tell anyone you hang out at Grady’s Groceries in your spare time.”

  He chuckled. “Bless your heart.”

  “It needs some blessing. It’s been having some inappropriate feelings lately.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? Care to share with a curious ear?”

  “That depends. What are you willing to do for them?”

  “Oh, I like a good barter.”

  “You curious enough to do my homework for me?”

  He smiled. “Not on your life. But, I can hold you close while you do your homework after your shift.”

  “And let your wandering hands distract me? Hardly. I’d end up flunking all my classes.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t do my homework and I don’t flunk classes.”

  “Because the teachers don’t wanna hold you back and deal with you another year.”

  “Potato, po-tah-toe.”

  I snickered. “To answer your question, no. I don’t have much homework to do after my shift. I usually get it done during my breaks on nights like this. Why?”

  “Well, I was hoping I could sweep you away and steal some alone time with you. You know, if your attention doesn’t have to be elsewhere.”

  “Oh, alone time. That sounds nice.”

  “I could make it real romantic for you. A shoulder massage. With some nice lotion.”

  “Can you make that a foot massage? My heels are killing me.”