“How dare you?”
I lift my hand to slap that insolent look off his face but I never quite have the chance to because the closet door opens abruptly and then everything happens quickly but I feel frozen, looking in front of myself in a daze.
Max is pulled back violently, all the way out of the confined space we’ve been standing in.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, dude? She said no! To whatever the fuck you tried to do to her, she said no!”
Reece is yelling at him while Chaz is trying to hold him back.
Max looks at his former best friend with an unyielding, cold stare.
“That’s none of your business. It's between me and my rally girl.”
Reece roars while his fist makes contact with Max’s face.
“Don't call her that! You, asshole!”
I hear the crunching noise of bone against bone and Max stumbles backwards but doesn't fall.
Reece jumps on his ex-best-friend with another roar and the two men roll on the floor in a flurry of fists.
I hear several girls scream and I realise that I’m one of them, only when Chaz, Pryce, and Scott manage to pull the two fighters off of each other.
One of Max’s eyes is already shutting closed and swelling up while Reece's bottom lip has a cut and his right hand is bruised and his knuckles are bleeding
Pryce is holding him upright and I support him from the other side.
“Let’s go home, boys.”
12.
Twisted
Abi
THE DRIVE TO CHAZ'S is quiet.
Pryce is driving and Chaz is riding shotgun while I sit in the back next to Reece.
I’m pressing a tissue against his lip but I can't do much about his bruised and bleeding knuckles until we get home.
It isn't bleeding a lot but by the way Reece winces whenever it touches something even by accident, I guess it must hurt like a bitch.
Once we’re in the house, I make a beeline for the kitchen and grab a bag of frozen peas to put on Reece's hand.
“Ouch ...”
His dark blue eyes are veiled by pain and I don't think it's all due to his physical injuries.
I don't say anything for a while, holding the cold peas against his hand until he finally breaks the silence.
“What? Why are you looking at me that way?”
My gaze softens: I’m really not mad at him.
“Thank you for coming to my defence, Reece.”
He tilts his head to the side in a silent question and when I don't say anything, he asks:
“But?”
I shrug.
“But nothing. I just don't want you to get in trouble because of me. I know that Max was being a complete asshole but you threw the first punch. If he wanted to make trouble for you, he could. He could get you suspended or even kicked off of the football team.”
I expect some kind of harsh rebuttal. In the short time I’ve known Reece, he’s shown me that he fights for what he believes in. Which is his best and worst quality at the same time.
But this time, he surprises me.
“You're right. I shouldn't have punched him. But it doesn't mean I wouldn't do it again, Abi. He put his hands on you and he was disrespectful. And I know that you can hold your own. I guess he’s been rubbing me the wrong way since the first practice this year. The way he walks the school hallways as if he owns it. And he’s turned coach against us. Which is especially despicable of him, since he knows how much Pryce needs to shine this year if he wants to be scouted for an excellent college. That's the reason why Chaz and I are still playing for a team where everyone looks at us with clear hostility.”
“What do you mean?”
Reece explains that Pryce's dad is a retired NFL quarterback. He played for the Cowboys most of his career.
Pryce's grandpa was a very famous NFL Coach.
So it's expected that Pryce will follow in their footsteps but there's this huge amount of pressure on him that he has to make it on his own.
“After what happened with Max, Chaz and I didn't wanna play ball this year. The further we stay from Max, the better. But Pryce feels that he plays at his best with us by his side, so...”
My next words come out in a rush, almost without me realising it.
“This is one of the reasons why I love you guys. Your friendship is ...”
Reece’s smile is both sweet and full of heat but not totally devoid of a little teasing.
“Oooh you love us, huh?”
“Shut up!”
I laugh smacking his sore hand with the bag of frozen peas that I’m still holding onto.
“Ouch! You're so violent. That little blonde, angelic look is just a decoy to attract your victims, isn't it?”
I love Reece's playful side.
I haven't seen it surface much but I must admit that when he wants to be, he’s really funny.
This time though, I’m careful not to use the L-word.
“Aww, you discovered my evil plans!”
I go along with the joke but Reece takes the bag of frozen peas out of my hands and places it down on the breakfast bar right behind the stool he’s sitting on.
I’m standing between his thighs and he pulls me closer, so that our chests are touching.
“Abi, has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?”
No.
Aside from him, Chaz, Pryce, and Max in his own weird, a-hole way, no one has ever told me.
But I don't say that to him, I don't think he really expected an answer because he cups my jaw with one hand, making me tilt my head to expose my neck to him.
His lips are so soft and warm and his kisses make me feel alive in a way that I’ve never felt before.
Now I know that he wants me, that this isn't just a power play, I enjoy this feeling without worrying about what it means.
He pulls me down onto his lap, until I’m straddling him.
He uses his lips, tongue and teeth to kiss down to the base of my neck and I feel my body reacting to it with rushes of heat that collect between my legs.
And I know that I’m not the only one affected by what's happening between us because Reece is rock hard between my thighs.
His hardness presses on my panty clad centre and I begin wishing that there weren't any clothes between us.
He must feel the same, because he stops kissing me and his hand lets go of my face to descend to the small of my back.
It stops there to keep me in place as his other hand begins to play with the edge of my cheerleader skirt.
The contact between his slightly calloused fingers and the soft skin of my thighs makes me erupt in a myriad of tiny goosebumps and I feel a jolt of excitement right where Pryce was kissing me the other day.
I’m throbbing and the urge to grind my wet core against his hardness is almost irresistible.
But before I can find the courage to do that, Reece's hand travels up my thigh and stops at the edge of the lace of my panties.
“I wanna touch you, Abi. I wanna make you feel the way you did the other day ...”
“Yes!”
I beg and my voice is so thick with need that it's almost unrecognisable to my own ears but I’m beyond feeling ashamed about what I want right now.
My whole life, no one’s ever cared about my wants and needs and now I know that I want things to change.
Reece doesn't need any further encouragement to move the lace of my panties to one side and touch my bare skin.
“Oh baby, you're so wet ...”
And I’m almost embarrassed about it but the way he says it is full of wonder, he sounds happy about it.
He drags his fingers up and finds that same spot Pryce kissed and licked the other day.
I instantly feel a pleasurable shiver travelling up my spine and I barely realise that the throaty sound that echoes in the kitchen, halfway between a moan and a gasp is coming from me.
That spurs Reece into action and his fingers start stroking and tormen
ting my heated flesh.
At first the pressure is light almost not enough but as my breathing rate increases, so does the pressure of his fingers and Reece knows exactly how to touch me and rub me to reduce me to a moaning, panting mess in a matter of minutes.
Soon every touch, every stroke builds up into this delicious and torturous pressure and I know from the last time that I’m on the brink of that explosion of pleasure and sensation.
Reece knows it too, he feels me tense up under his fingers and he whispers in my ear.
“Let go, baby. I’m here, let go for me. You're so sweet and beautiful ...”
His voice is a low, soft purr and when his finger brushes against the right spot, I explode with a gasp, with my eyes fixed onto his.
“Abi, that was so sexy! Come here, baby.”
He holds me against him, letting me sit on his lap, with my head on his shoulder.
He isn't moving nor talking, just holding me close until I calm down.
And as soon as I'm capable of coherent thoughts, I notice that he's still rock hard in his jeans.
Last time, the guys said that it was all about me.
This time, I want to return the favour.
So I place my hand on his hard chest, feeling his warmth and the erratic beat of his heart.
I look right into his eyes as my hands descend to his buckle and start undoing it.
“Abi, you don't have to ...”
“I want to. But you have to show me how. I’ve never done this.”
Reece nods and lets me open his belt and pop the first button of his jeans.
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn't excited.
I’ve never seen one.
The nuns didn't offer any health classes and our science course was purposefully vague on human reproduction. There weren't any photos of ... dicks.
So I’m curious to see how a naked man looks.
I could've tried to find a photo on the internet but I didn't want my dad to find out in any way.
The wi-fi in my house is all controlled by the super complex Richmond Global network and dad pays for my cell phone bill and I was worried that somehow he’d asked for a detailed report on which websites I visited from my phone.
I know I’m eighteen and this is ridiculous but I’d rather not have to explain to my Dad that I was curious to see a cock.
So, once I push Reece's jeans down, past his knees, I’m confronted with the outline of it through his boxer briefs.
It's big. And for a second I panic.
That huge thing will one day have to fit inside my body and it doesn't seem possible.
Reece doesn't say anything, not even when I grab him at the base and feel that he’s rock hard.
I’ve heard the other cheerleaders talk about hand jobs and how some guys are more sensitive at the base while some prefer to have the tip touched, stroked or licked.
I rub my hand up his entire length and when I get to the top, he gasps.
I stroke him through his underwear a couple of times and it's hard to describe the way I feel when he moans under my touch.
I feel powerful, sexy and excited beyond belief.
When I start undoing the little buttons that close his underwear, he doesn't stop me, he keeps his sexy blue eyes on me and that look’s as thrilling as what I’m about to do.
My hand sneaks inside his underwear and I grab his length at the base again but this time, I feel his warm, smooth skin.
My hand travels up to get a better grasp on him and take him out of his underwear.
I feel that his skin is velvety but not completely smooth everywhere, there are some raised veins and some little ridges and bumps along his rigid length.
“Reece, can I?”
I don't know why I ask, I guess I’m worried about doing something wrong or awkward but he nods without a word.
This is when his cell phone beeps loudly from the kitchen counter with a notification.
His head turns in that direction and what he sees flashing on his cell phone screen must attract his attention because he grabs the phone and I let go of him, a little surprised and annoyed by the interruption to our moment.
But my annoyance is soon replaced by dread when I see Reece's expression change and the warm light in his dark blue eyes is replaced by that cold, angry stare I saw in them until a few days ago.
“Reece, what’s up?”
His voice is low and menacing when he hands me the phone, pointing the screen at me as if it were a weapon.
“You tell me, Abi.”
And if this wasn't like a bad case of de-ja-vu, the whole scene would look quite funny because Reece is still sitting on the stool with his pants still pooled by his ankles.
It takes me a moment to understand what I'm looking at but it's another Facebook post from the same profile that posted about me fucking the whole A-Team on the first day of school.
Now the profile has a photo of me in my cheerleader uniform and a poll attached to the post.
‘Our Football team captain wants me. And he's smoking hot. But I know that I can fuck any boy at this school.
What I want is to be the Queen of BHPA.
Who should I fuck to be the most popular girl at school?’
The A-Team
Max
And people have already started to vote.
It's pretty close.
My eyes go down to some of the comments that are starting to pour in and my eyes fill with tears.
‘Slut!’
‘Abi Richmond's a whore!’
‘I think you should fuck them all. The whole football team!’
‘Twunt©!’
‘Skitch©!’
(Twunt= Twat+Cunt; Skitch= Skunk+Bitch)
The comments are all of the same kind: everyone at school thinks I’m an attention grabbing slut.
If that didn't hurt enough, the boy I have a huge crush on, agrees with them.
I see it straight away in his eyes: he thinks I posted that filth.
“Reece, I ...”
If he yelled at me now, if he flattened me against the wall, trying to resist the urge to hit me, like he did the first time the rumours reached him, I think I’d feel better.
Instead his eyes are dull, he looks tired and defeated.
“I hope they pick Max, Abi. Because I definitely vote for him. You fucking deserve each other. Rally girl ...”
He turns around to leave the kitchen and I follow him, frantically trying to think about what to say other than what I hear my voice yell repeatedly.
“Reece, I swear I know nothing about that post! That isn't my profile. I’ve been with you this whole time, how could I have ...”
He turns around with his hand on the front door knob.
“Come on, Abi! It doesn't take a tech genius to schedule a post.”
“But it's not my profile. I don't even like Max.”
I feel tears starting to roll down my face and I feel so hurt for myself and for the way I know he feels that I’m having problems to breathe.
“Reece, please don't leave. Let's talk about this ...”
He shakes his blonde head.
“Needless to say, that date tomorrow night is cancelled. At least until you decide if you wanna fuck me or Max.”
The door opens inwards and Chaz and Pryce are on the threshold with two bags full of Chinese food.
They know how much I love it and they decided to go get us a late night snack, leaving me and Reece to ‘hang out’.
The look on their faces tells me that they saw the post but I’m surprised when they immediately take my side.
“Bro, don’t be an ass. That doesn't sound like Abi.”
He won’t even look at his friends and tries to push his way past them but Pryce stands in his way, tall and unmovable.
“She didn't even have her phone. She dropped it in my car. It's right here.”
Reece repeats that social media posts can be scheduled.
“Reece, look at that post, read i
t well. Abi isn't that kind of girl. She's not this popularity hungry person ...”
“Isn't she? She went right for us. School hadn't even started and ...”
“So the fact that I liked you guys at first sight is what you're holding against me?”
I don't understand what's bothering him.
“If the shoe fits, Abi.”
I’m fuming now: he isn't even listening to me, he's just so convinced that I’m this little attention seeking whore that I’ve never really stood a chance with him.
And I tell him how I feel.
When he doesn't comment, I add:
“You know, you shouldn't blame Max for not believing you, when you're exactly the same. You're choosing to believe a random Facebook post rather than me. When I’m telling you that I’ve nothing to do with it. If this is the kind of trust you have in me ...”
And when I heard people say that words can cut more than knives, I never thought how true the saying is.
Not until I hear Reece say his next words.
“Trust is a commodity I can't afford.”
Chaz is the first to react.
“That’s bullshit, dude! If you don't trust her, trust me and Pryce. I’m telling you that I don't think ...”
“I’m out. I’m going home.”
He shoves his friends out of the way and walks into the warm October night.
Chaz looks at me and Pryce and tells us to go ahead and eat.
“I’ll be right back. I’m driving him home and trying to talk some sense into that stubborn head of his.”
Pryce
ABI AND I WALK BACK into the kitchen and my heart is breaking for her.
I can’t take the sight of the tears that pour out of those gorgeous blue eyes and the sobs that wrack her chest.
So I do the only thing I can think of and wrap my arms around her.
“Abi, I believe you. Chaz and I believe you. And not because your phone was in my car the whole time. I believe you because I know you’d never post a poll like that. I’m so sorry for not believing you the first time, sweets. I didn't know you then. Now I do and I know that you're kind and sweet and honest. And a little crazy. If you’d posted that, you’d have probably shown us.”
Beverly Hills Prep Academy The Complete Boxset : A Light Bully Romance Page 44
