Maybe you can get to know us both and see how things evolve before any choice is made? But we need to be honest with him because I want to kiss you again, Ayla.”
And his lips find mine, as warm and soft as I remember them.
It's a brief kiss but it carries the promise of more kisses, more of his sweet flavour, of his solid body against mine.
“I want to take you out on Sunday. Just me and you. Say yes, please?”
He links his fingers with mine and I feel my heart beating so loud and fast in my chest that I almost can't bear it.
“And you’ll speak to Alex?”
He nods.
“And you promise that this hasn't got anything to do with making Michelle jealous?”
“I swear. I haven't given that bitch a thought since you walked into me last week. I couldn't care less about her, Ayla. And I don't even care if Alex decides to ban her from all social events at school. I’m done protecting her ass. Will you go out with me?”
“Yes.”
Michelle
“I SWEAR, I HAVEN'T given that bitch a thought since you walked into me last week. I couldn't care less about her, Ayla. And I don't even care if Alex decides to ban her from all social events at school. I’m done protecting her ass.”
Sam’s words feel like a dagger right in my heart: they cut deep and they make me bleed.
I know I cheated, more than once but...
I started dating Sam because Alex wouldn't give me the time of day on sophomore year and before I knew it, Sam was in love with me and Alex is a loyal friend.
So I kept dating Sam because he is the second most popular guy at school and I admit that I would indulge in a few distractions when he was too busy with football season or playing happy family with his besties, who always took priority to everything else.
I just realised that I actually cared for Sam, that I was in love with him exactly two weeks ago: after I saw him look at Ayla in the hallway.
He looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
He’d never looked at me that way, not even when he’d said that he loved me.
Or after our first kiss or our first time.
And if little Miss Innocence with a big mouth, thinks that she can have Alex and then fuck around with Sam too, I’ll show her.
Hold on a second...
I saw Tuna give Ayla doe eyes when he thought that Alex wasn't looking and maybe, I can find a way to destroy Ayla and destroy the A-Team in the process too.
And I know just how to do it and who can help me.
So I go find EM in the backyard: he’s laughing about something with Jenna and Tuna, Char is sitting nearby, following the conversation and I know that Alex is gone to allow Josh access to the property which will take a while, because this place is huge.
This is the right time to strike, before Alex comes back.
I ask EM if I can talk to him in private: he looks at me with his light green eyes and excuses himself with the others.
When we are out of sight and earshot, I tell him what I want.
EM is a computer genius, a hacker in fact, and I already used his skills to hack into the school system and change the scores of my tests so that I would be really close to the A-Class and could make my parents demand a retest.
Then he hacked into the system to give me the answers to the make-up test I had to sit.
In exchange for his help... I had sex with him.
It wasn't much of a sacrifice to be honest because I admit that EM became hot in the span of one summer: he went from Egg Man to Extra Hot Man.
However, he’s always been shy with girls - duh! He was short, fat, wore thick glasses and braces. And he knew that if he wanted a shot at the A-Team, his virginity was the first thing that had to go.
Especially if he wanted a shot at breaking Jenna and Josh up.
It's funny how guys gain a complete different kind of confidence once they get rid of their V-Card.
So ironically, after destroying his social life during freshman year, I agreed to help him rise to the top this year.
“What? Come on, Michelle, why do you want to mess with Alex? Didn't he warn you enough—”
I roll my eyes: fucking guys!
I always have to explain everything. I swear, men are so slow!
“EM, I doubt that Alex will ever allow anyone else in the A-Team.
If you start by creating cracks in their friendship, he’ll let you in easier.”
My words find fertile ground and he agrees to do my bidding.
EM has created a hacking app that allows you to text someone posing as a different phone number and once you get a text back, you can hack into the whole phone and even all the apps that phone is logged into, including social media.
So, my plan is simple: I’ll have EM text Ayla pretending to be Tuna and asking her to meet him by the private beach at the edge of the property.
Tuna: Ayla, meet me at the beach in five minutes, please. Sam and I spoke to Alex and he agreed that we can all date you. I want to talk to you. You know I like you...
And then we text Tuna displaying Ayla’s number.
Ayla: Tuna, can we talk? Alex understands that I like both you and Sam and we need to talk. He isn't mad at us. Please meet me at the beach in five minutes.
I smile, pleased with my plan.
“Let’s give those two about twenty minutes and then Alex will get a text from Ayla, asking him to meet her at the beach. And also Sam, same message. And then...”
I have everything I want in motion but EM seems hesitant.
“Michelle, I understand that you don't like Ayla and that you are mad at Sam and Alex but can't you just—”
“No! I can't!”
I snap.
“Trust me, I’ll get you into the A-Team. But to get in, you’ll have to get rid of one of the others. I’ve heard Alex say more than once that three is the perfect number.”
EM is so gullible for a tech genius that it isn't even funny.
Before the night is over, I’ll have Sam back and Ayla will be so ashamed that she won’t have the courage to show her face at school ever again.
Tuna
MY PHONE PINGS WITH a text message.
Ayla: Tuna, can we talk? Alex understands that I like both you and Sam and we need to talk. He isn't mad at us. Please meet me at the beach in five minutes.
What?
My heart starts beating faster in my chest: was this what Alex and Ayla were talking about when I saw them leaning against the kitchen counter?
Wow!
I was hoping that Alex would understand that both Sam and I want to get to know Ayla better, but I wouldn't have thought that it would be that easy.
Alex is talking to his Father right now, after the housekeeper contacted him and complained about having to clean up after our parties.
I don't see Ayla outside: I thought that she was with Alex or Sam but she must be on the beach.
So I run there: it’s a good five minute walk from the backyard where Jenna, Josh, Michelle, EM, Char and a few other people from our A-Class are eating pizza and playing bullshit with a deck of cards, waiting for the more fun games to begin when our host has finished speaking to his Father.
Everyone was quite disappointed that we won't be able to use the pools: so it will probably end up being some party games, more drinks and maybe a dip into the ocean later, if the temperature doesn't drop too low.
I arrive at the beach and she's there, on the weathered wooden dock that stretches out into the dark sea water.
The sea breeze moves her long red hair like tendrils of spun silk.
The soft illumination on the dock makes her beauty seem ethereal and my hear rate kicks up a notch.
I approach her and she gives me the sweetest of smiles.
“I’m so happy that things are ok with Alex and Sam...”
I’m a super fit football player, a running back too, but I feel breathless: it isn't the run from the garden
to the beach, it’s the anticipation of having Ayla in my arms.
“Yes. It's good that we can get to know each other out in the open. I didn't want to lie to my two best friends anyway.”
My hand wraps around her waist and I pull her closer and her scent is so subtle and yet amazing: I smell soap and flowers.
I look into her green eyes and lean closer to her until our lips are almost touching.
“I’ve been dreaming about kissing you since you got off the bus on the first day of school.”
I know I should probably play it cool and not tell her how much I’ve wanted this but this is what she does to me: being cool doesn't matter.
What matters is that little smile, the light in her eyes and how much I want this kiss.
So I take her in my arms and I touch my lips to hers.
And fuck!
I’ve kissed my fair share of girls but I’ve never felt lips as soft as Ayla’s.
I start gently, just in case she changes her mind but as soon as I start moving my lips against hers, she kisses me back with the same abandon I feel.
She opens her mouth for me, letting me explore her softly at first and more and more hotly when she matches each of my strokes with some of hers.
I kiss her for several minutes: her hands are around my neck, our bodies are touching and life seems as perfect as I didn't think it could ever be.
6.
Cruel Intentions
Alex
MY PHONE PINGS WITH a text message the very second I hang up the call with my Father .
Ayla: I want to be alone with you. Meet me at the beach in twenty minutes?
A smile spreads on my face: dude, I’ve never liked a girl as much as I like Ayla!
This improves my mood straight away: I managed to convince my Father to let me have parties in the pool house as long as I stay at the top of my class and reconnect the cameras, since EM’s little trick didn’t trick the RGS security system.
It looks like the message was sent about twenty minutes ago, so I rush off to the beach.
It's a completely private stretch of beach, so it's totally safe but I don't want her to think that I stood her up or give her time to change her mind.
I run like the wind, crossing the backyard and not even taking notice of my friends who have probably eaten all the pizza by now.
When I get to the dock, for a second I think that my eyes are deceiving me: I see two figures on the wooden platform.
One looks like Tuna, his broad shoulders and muscular frame unmistakable in the soft artificial lighting.
The other one is Ayla and they are kissing.
“What the fuck is going on?”
I clench my fists, resisting from pulling them apart and punching Tuna to a bloody pulp... Just barely.
They stop kissing and look at me as if I were crazy to get angry.
“Dude, calm down. I just—”
“You're just shoving your tongue down my girl’s throat, asshole!”
I’m so mad that I can barely find any words and their stunned looks worsen the situation: they don't seem concerned to have been caught, they look more surprised by my anger.
As if it were all right to hook up behind my back.
“Alex, why are you so mad? You said it was ok, that I could date both Tuna and Sam.”
Is she crazy?
“Sam? What the fuck are you talking about?”
Ayla's eyes widen in surprise:
“Tuna texted me saying that he had spoken to you about it. That you weren't mad that both he and Sam like me and want to date me.”
I’m about to call her on the load of bullshit that I’m hearing when Tuna objects.
“Hold on a minute... I didn't text you shit!”
Ayla whips her phone out of her purse that is sitting on the floor.
“Yes, you did! Alex, I swear, if he hadn't told me that you were ok with this, I would have never let him kiss me!”
Tuna’s head jerks back as if she’d slapped him.
“Jeez, thank you! It’s good to feel wanted!”
“I didn't mean it that way! What I meant is that if you hadn't told me that you had spoken to Alex...”
Tuna looks livid but I know my friend well enough to know that his anger is mixed with hurt.
He takes a step towards Ayla and she doesn't budge, looking at him straight in the eye.
“Ayla, you texted me saying that YOU had spoken to Alex and he was ok with us—”
She looks at me, pleading with her eyes and showing me her phone.
Tuna tosses me his too and when I open their text messages... There's absolutely nothing.
“I don't understand! I had a text from Tuna.”
“It doesn't make sense. Ayla texted me...”
They say in unison.
I feel like my head is going to explode, trying to establish who’s lying when Sam’s voice makes me turn around:
“So you didn't even post this?”
He shows us the screen of his phone, open to his Instagram account where a post from Ayla shows a video of her and Sam kissing.
I recognize the patio out of the sky bar at Harry's and that gorgeous floral dress Ayla was wearing last week.
It looks as if the video was shot with the phone propped up on a table: it could have been our table or a table nearby.
The caption on the video says:
‘Rising in the ranks at BHPA one A-Team member at a time!’
“I never posted that!”
Ayla cries out.
I have to admit that this doesn't sound like her but she might have completely fooled me with her sweet girl act, after all she kissed both my best friends.
I decide that I’ll deal with them later but right now I’m not in the mood to party anymore, so I look at Tuna and Sam and say curtly:
“Guys, kick everyone out, please. Tell them whatever you want, I seriously don't give a fuck. I’m taking Ayla home. When I’m back, I want to talk to you both.”
When Sam and Tuna disappear up the path that goes back to the house, I finally look at Ayla again.
She looks troubled.
Good, she should be.
“Let’s go.”
I say starting towards the house.
I keep thinking about how she looked genuinely shocked that I knew nothing of this supposed deal between me and my buddies.
I’m going fucking insane: did she possibly leave her phone behind?
But also Tuna was convinced to have received a text from her where she said that I was fine with some kind of sharing.
And the social media post... She keeps swearing that she didn't take that video nor post it.
The reality is that I don't know her that well, so I can't tell if she's lying.
I know that Tuna and Sam would never lie to me.
We get in my car without passing through the house but it looks like all our friends cars are gone.
I drive the fifteen minutes to her house quietly, without looking at her, trying to figure out what to do, who’s telling the truth, what really happened.
Could Michelle have something to do with it?
I wouldn't put it past that psycho bitch to hack into people's phones.
However, that doesn't erase the fact that my so called brothers went behind my back rather than man up and tell me how they were feeling.
And Ayla...
I don't blame her for liking Sam and Tuna: they're great guys and if I have to think about how popular they are with the girls at school, probably not bad looking either.
And I give it to her that I might be a little intimidating to talk to at times.
But there's one thing that bothers me and hurts like a real bitch:
she let Sam and Tuna kiss her but not me.
Is she lying when she says that she likes me?
Does she want to go out with me only because of the popularity factor?
I don't know and I don't give a fuck about it.
She rejected me and it
hurts like a bitch: she was all coy with me but had no problem making out with my two friends.
I should dump her ass, I really should. But first of all, I guess we weren't really together and secondly...
I still fucking want her so much that it hurts because she rejected me and I should hate her but I still want her more than it's reasonable.
It drives me insane: I could have any girl at BHPA and I want the only one who just treated me like shit.
I stop the car in parallel to the entrance of her driveway and exit my car, going around it to let Ayla out.
It's dark: everywhere around LA they started using these fucking eco-lights that don't illuminate shit.
She doesn't step away from my car, she actually rests her back against the car door I just shut.
“Alex, I... I’m sorry. I seriously don't know what happened. If I’d thought that you didn't send that text, I would have never—”
I cut her short.
“You still kissed Sam. Before the text message. Way before...”
She sighs.
“He kissed me first.”
“You kissed him back! Don't insult my intelligence.”
She nods and takes my hand in hers.
I let her but still refuse to look at her.
“Alex, I’m sorry.”
“So you keep saying.”
“I really am. I know it sounds crazy but... I like you. I really do. Or I would never have gone out with you today. Nor last week.”
I lift my gaze to look at her: damn, she's so fucking beautiful!
My voice sounds husky even to myself when I ask her why.
“Why did you reject me? Why did you let them kiss you but not me?”
“I... I don't know...”
“That's not good enough! If you never want me to talk to you again, this is the way to go.”
She takes my hand in hers: the contact with her skin is so unexpected and I’ve been craving it so much that it almost burns.
And it's the first time that she ever touches me of her own initiative.
“Honestly, Alex? Because you scare me! Because you are so confident and smart and hot. And you aren’t scared to let people know what you want. And you are experienced. I heard everything about all the girls and the hookups. You are everything the girls at BHPA talk about. And me? I only kissed one guy before last week. Only once. He was my best friend and he only kissed me because he was drunk. And then he blamed me for almost splitting him and his girlfriend up. So, I don't know... You came on really strong and everyone told me how you don't do relationships and how you don't even see the same girl twice.”
Beverly Hills Prep Academy The Complete Boxset : A Light Bully Romance Page 7
