Sadly, the water’s not cold enough to cool off the image of her ass that’s still burned into my head.
“Holy fucking shit,” someone squeals behind me as water gets splashed and people laugh and mess about.
I stand waist high in water and watch their antics suddenly feeling totally deflated about tonight and the year ahead.
“This is fucking stupid,” I mutter to Mason when he comes near.
“Right? Wanna go grab a beer?”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
He eyes me nervously but being the loyal best friend that he is, he nods and follows me from the water, leaving the rest of our class behind to enjoy themselves.
14
Amalie
“Where the hell’s our tent?” Camila complains once we’ve made our way back to dry off.
The space next to the boy’s tent where we pitched ours is completely empty. “He wouldn’t, would he?” I don’t mean for the words to be said aloud but I realise they are when Camila, Noah, and Shane all turn to me.
“Who?” Camila asks but by the narrowing of her eyes toward the football team I know she doesn’t really need me to answer the question. “I’m gonna fucking kill them.” She strides off toward where they’re all sitting around drinking, mostly with the cheer team on their laps.
“Babe, wait,” Noah says in a rush, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. “You going over there and making a scene is exactly what they want. Don’t feed the animals.”
“But they have all our stuff, our clothes, our underwear.”
Noah’s teeth grind but he doesn’t release his hold on his girlfriend. Leaning into her, he whispers in her ear quiet enough that I can’t make out the words. When he pulls back, she stares at him for a few seconds, a silent argument passing between the two of them but eventually, her shoulders sag and she says, “Fine. But I will make them pay for this.”
“Here,” Shane says, handing me his towel so I can dry off. I hesitate to take it, aware that I don’t want him to think there’s more to this but in reality, I’ve not got many options right now. “You guys can crash in with us. It’s a four-berth, they’ll be plenty of space.” The excitement that shines in Shane’s eyes makes my stomach twist with dread. I really don’t want to hurt him, he seems like one of the good guys, despite his involvement with the football team.
“I think maybe I should just go home.”
“What? No. Noah’s right, that would mean they win and I’m not losing to those assholes.”
“I get it, Camila, I do. But you don’t need to fight this battle with me. I can just go, and you can continue like I was never here bringing this kinda drama into your lives.”
“You about finished?” She stands toe to toe with me, her hands on her hips, her head tipped back so she can look into my eyes. “You’re not going anywhere. I invited you because I wanted you here, we want you here. Fuck them and their childish games. Let’s show them you’re made of stronger stuff than that. I know you’ve got it in you because you wouldn’t be here right now if you weren’t.”
She’s right, I know she is, but that doesn’t stop me wanting to run home and hide under my duvet from the arsehole that’s trying to ruin my life more than it already is.
“Come on, have a drink and let’s try to enjoy the rest of the night,” Noah encourages, handing Camila one of his t-shirts.
When I turn to look at Shane, he’s also holding out a shirt for me to wear. I take it from him, grateful I don’t have to spend the night in only my bikini, but I question my decision to put it on when I realise it’s his football jersey with his number on the back. I may not know all that much about American high schools yet but one thing I do know is that giving a girl your number is a big thing.
“Don’t you have anything else?”
“That’s my only clean one.”
After a few seconds of staring at him and a little encouragement from Camila, I slip it over my head, feeling better about myself almost immediately having some skin covered. My string bikini might be massive in comparison to what some of the other girls are or aren’t wearing, but it doesn’t mean I’m comfortable having that much of my skin on show. I might have grown up in the fashion industry and around models who are more than happy to pose in next to nothing, but that’s not me. I’d much rather be hiding behind the camera with my dad, than front and center of the attention with my mum.
With Shane’s giant number ninety-nine on my back, I settle myself on the sand with the others and accept a bottle of beer when it’s handed to me.
I didn’t have any expectations for what tonight was going to be like. Hell, I had no idea what was going to happen seeing as Camila kept the details a secret from me in her attempt to build my excitement, but I can honestly say I didn’t expect any of it.
As I look around at the students still splashing about in the sea, the ones who have coupled up and are rolling around in the sand, and then the separate party that the football team seems to be having higher up the beach, I wonder how this became my life.
Even though it happened to me, it’s still hard to believe that your life can change in the blink of an eye. The friends I thought I had in London that would be my friends for life are mostly now gone. Even Laurence, the guy I thought I might have had a future with hasn’t been in touch for weeks. While I’m here starting a new life, they’re all embarking on theirs at their chosen universities and moving on...without me. It stings that we’ve already lost touch but really, I didn’t expect it any other way. I can only hope that the guys I’m surrounded by now might be a little more loyal, or at least stick around long enough to help me through the next few months as I settle in and hopefully find my place. If they don’t and whatever this thing is with Jake gets too much, then I’m not sure what my future might look like.
I’ve always been the kind of person to look forward and see the positive in things, but as I sit here wondering, I can’t help thinking for the first time in my life that going backward is a serious possibility.
“Hey,” Camila says, lightly elbowing me in the arm to drag me from my thoughts. “Everything okay?”
“Sure.”
“I really am sorry about earlier. The joke kinda backfired on me.”
“It’s fine.” It already feels like it happened a lifetime ago.
“Here, have a drink and come dance with me, this is meant to be a party.”
Taking the plastic cup from her hand, I swallow it down in one and allow her to pull me from the sand. We make our way to the makeshift dancefloor, Noah and Shane hot on our tails.
A shiver runs through me as I turn to start dancing and when I flick a look over my shoulder, I find exactly what I’m expecting. His eyes on me.
Ignoring him, I turn back toward my new friends, plaster a smile on my face and attempt to do exactly what I should be doing, enjoying myself.
15
Jake
It seemed like a good idea in my head but now that I’m sitting here watching her wearing his fucking number, I realize that I’ve screwed up.
Something possessive that I don’t want to identify sits uncomfortably in my stomach and causes my muscles to bunch. The need to go and rip that fucking bit of fabric from her slender body is all-consuming. My fingers wrap around the bottle in my hands with an almost painful force.
“What the hell is wro—” Mason follows my line of sight. “Oh.”
“Yes, fucking oh.”
“I told you it was a bad idea.”
“I expected them to lose their shit not just continue like they don’t care.”
“You can never predict girls, bro. You should have learned that by now.” My teeth grind, I can usually predict girls like Chelsea and Shelly perfectly, they almost always do what I expect. But the new girl, she’s different. Yes, there’s fear in her eyes every time I get too close, but she doesn’t back down. She’s not afraid to go toe to toe with me and fight for what she believes is right.
Maybe she is right
, a little voice in my head says. So what she looks just like the bitch who abandoned me, that doesn’t mean she’s anything like her.
Downing the beer in my hands, I reach for another, needing to drown out stupid ass thoughts like that. The hatred and anger has been festering inside me for years, now isn’t the time to start questioning my intentions. The frustration I’m feeling needs to drive me forward, not turn me into a fucking pussy.
“You were right about Chelsea,” he says, dropping beside me.
“Oh yeah?”
“Like a fucking vacuum cleaner.”
Throwing my head back, I laugh at the shocked look on his face. “I told you it was good.”
“I think she might have ruined blow jobs for me. No one else is ever going to compare to that.”
“So what you saying? You gonna tie the bitch down?”
“What after she’s had half the school’s cocks in her mouth? Na, I’m good thanks. I need to figure out a way to find a good girl who can suck like that.”
Shaking my head at his noble intentions to find himself a nice little girlfriend, I refrain from pointing out that he’ll probably need to stop acting like such a dog before that happens. All the good girls are going to turn their noses up just like he is at Chelsea.
“You didn’t really get her on her knees in the trees earlier, did you?” He nods toward where she’s still dancing with Shane and my heart squeezes painfully in my chest.
“I’m not one to kiss and tell, Mase.”
“Only because you don’t kiss ‘em but you always get sucked and tell.”
Shrugging, I cast my eyes over the others, looking for some girls to watch who don’t make me want to murder anyone. “Nothing to tell. She sucked, I came. Dare done.”
“Bullshit. She wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot barge pole after the way you’ve treated her. And to be honest, I don’t blame her.”
“I don’t need your opinion about this. Surely you’ve got enough of your own issues to be worrying about what I’m doing. After all, your girl’s sucking his cock tonight instead of yours.”
“She’s not my fucking girl.”
“Exactly, and that’s the whole problem, isn’t it?” He blows out a calming breath. It should be enough to stop me baiting him, but I’m in full-on asshole mode tonight. “I don’t even know what you see in her. She’s nothing special.”
He turns his murderous eyes to me, they’re almost black with his anger. For a second I think he’s going to come at me again. But at the last minute, he throws his beer bottle down the beach and climbs to his feet.
“Fuck you, Jake. Fuck. You. When this all blows up in your face don’t come crawling to me.”
He storms off, going to join some of the other guys in the team. My eyes narrow on the Rosewood Bears jersey below me, and fury fills my veins. All of this is her fault. My life was...fine before she showed her face. Now I can’t escape the anger of my past like I was once able to and my best friend since childhood just turned his back on me.
All. Her. Fault.
And I’m going to make sure she fucking well knows it.
16
Amalie
The bright dawn sunlight filters through the thin fabric of the tent and when I come to, I realise that I’m hot and seriously uncomfortable. Trying to move, I soon figure out why that is. Shane is wrapped around me like a freaking snake, his arm hanging over my ribs, the weight causing an ache through my chest. The ground we’re on, after giving up the air mattress to Camila and Noah is solid and I’ve got a lump of sand pressing into my hip.
Trying my best to slide from his hold, my arse rubs against his crotch. A low moan rumbles up his throat, his length grows against me and his arm tightens. I panic. There’s no way I want him waking up and discovering we’re in this position. Every time I look at him, his eyes darken with desire that has my stomach knotting for all the wrong reasons. The last thing I need is for him to think I wanted this.
Once I think he’s fallen back asleep, I try moving again. He had much more to drink than me last night, almost everyone did. I was more concerned with keeping alert in case Jake decided to give me another visit and to really finish off trying to ruin my night. Thankfully, his burning stare from the other side of the beach was all I was subjected to. He needs to be careful, if I were any other girl, I might start to think his constant attention meant something other than hate. I mean, who in their right mind spends all night staring at a girl they supposedly hate so much when they could be having fun with their friends? Jake Thorn, that’s who.
A shiver runs down my spine at the thought alone.
Feeling confident, I go to lift Shane’s arms off me but I still the moment I hear his hushed voice.
“What are you doing? Go back to sleep.” Dropping his arm once again, he pulls me back tighter against him. Every muscle in my body tenses as his morning wood presses harder against my arse then before.
Nothing about this is right, and it only goes to prove that nothing is ever going to happen between us, no matter how much he might seem to want it. Shane and I are only ever destined to be friends.
“I’m sorry, I really need to pee.”
“Really? Now?”
“Really.” He allows me to lift his arm again and I quickly jump away from his body.
“Be quick.”
I don’t respond because anything I might say to ensure he stays where he is would be a lie.
I wasn’t lying when I said I needed the toilet, but I have no intention of getting back inside that tent.
Pulling the zip shut, I cast my eyes around the beach and my breath catches. The bonfire’s still glowing, and it’s surrounded with passed-out bodies of varying array of dress and empty beer bottles.
There are going to be some serious hangovers when they all start waking up.
Tugging down the bottom of Shane’s shirt, I make my way across the sand and sadly, in the direction of the football team so I can make use of the actual facilities. There’s no way in hell I’m going back in those trees, especially when the sun is only just starting to rise.
My steps slow when I approach a familiar sleeping body. I almost laugh to myself when I realise he’s still facing toward where I was. Creepy fucker.
Taking a risk, I stand there for a few seconds taking him in. He looks much less vicious in his sleep. The almost constant scowl has gone and his forehead isn’t creased in anger. He just looks normal, no... beautiful.
Shaking the crazy thought from my head, I lower my gaze, taking in his sculpted chest and abs before his V lines disappear into his jeans.
His tattooed arm moves and I almost jump a mile. My heart pounds and I immediately back up. The last thing I need while my head’s lightly pounding from last night’s beer and still a little sleep-fogged is to deal with a hungover Jake.
My legs move of their own accord and I find myself practically running toward the toilets and away from any danger.
As I expected, the toilets are deserted although the evidence that there’s been a party is everywhere. Bottles and shot glasses are all over the countertops as well as discarded makeup and dirty wipes while a perfectly good bin sits beneath it all. There’s nothing suggesting it was them, but my mind immediately holds Chelsea and her posse of cheerleaders responsible.
Lowering myself to the toilet, I drop my head into my hands. I have no intention of going back down the beach. I need to find a way to get home and away from the disaster this place is going to be when everyone starts coming back to life. The majority of people here I doubt will even notice I’ve left.
I wash my hands without looking up, I’m afraid of what I’ll see when I do. Over the past couple of months, I’ve had to stare at my broken reflection and I’ve just about had enough of the sad, pathetic look in my eyes that I know has returned. Returned? I’m not sure it ever actually left. More like morphed into a different kind of misery. One where I’ve mostly accepted, although not dealt with, the loss of my parents but hate the life I’
ve now been thrown into. I prayed that I could start at Rosewood high, blend into the background, graduate and move on. But it seems that was a little too much to ask. While I might have found myself a couple of friends, I’ve made one much worse enemy and I can’t see him letting up anytime soon. He’s intent on ruining my life here and something tells me that he’s not going to stop until he gets what he wants. The only thing I can try to do now is to not show that his actions and vile words affect me.
I am better than the bitter person he could turn me into. My gran deserves for me to be strong and not to bring more drama down on her shoulders. My parents would expect no less than for me to laugh in the arsehole’s face. I deserve so much more than this.
With my shoulders a little wider, I walk out of the public toilets with a new lease of life. The sun makes me wince and I allow myself a couple of seconds to enjoy the warmth of it on my face. I’m not used to this kind of weather and I hope it’s not something I’ll take for granted too soon.
Looking down at my bare feet, I suck in a deep breath and prepare for the painful walk home. I know that I should go and wake the others in the hope of a ride, but the thought of having Shane pull me back down to our little bed and wrap his arm around me is enough to keep me moving. I really don’t want to lead him on, but it seems that he’s intent on seeing something that isn’t there.
I’m not one-hundred percent sure on the way home, but I figure as I get farther inland that I’ll start recognising stuff and eventually figure it out. If it weren’t so early, or if some arseholes hadn’t stolen all our stuff, I could have rung Gran for help but that option is out too.
Thankfully, it’s early enough that hardly any cars pass me, and only one has beeped at me so far. I understand why, I’m clearly doing some kind of walk of shame wearing only a Rosewood Bear’s jersey that exposes almost all of my legs.
THORN: A High School Bully Romance (Rosewood Book 1) Page 7
