Now she's right there, her beautiful blue eyes fixed on me and I only allow myself a second to look at her and try to figure out her emotions.
That was one of the things that made me fall for her, how she wears her heart on her sleeve, how open she is about how she feels.
And I see surprise, longing, anger...
I don't blame her for any of those feelings but I can't afford to show mine, so I train my eyes ahead of me and try to harden my gaze and my heart.
Nothing good will come out of a warm and fuzzy reunion.
The reality is that our summer fling was magic because we both could afford to be ourselves on the beach, where all the background shit didn't matter.
It could be just the two of us with our hearts, our bodies, our desires and the stars and the moon, the sea and the beach were only accomplices, merely watching our blossoming love.
But back in the real world I guess that things are more complicated and regardless of my guilt and embarrassment for how I handled things with her, I gotta tread really carefully or this is gonna end up in heartbreak for both me and Aubrey.
I follow the rest of the team out of the auditorium and there are ten minutes before the next period and I’m not surprised at all when we get surrounded by a group of girls.
They're all giggling and finding every excuse to put their hands on my arm and bat their eyelashes.
I’m used to it because it was this way in my old school too: being the star quarterback does put a huge spotlight on me and makes me a desirable date, at least on paper.
But here the girls are different than at my old high school: they're all so perfect that they look like they're straight out of a fashion magazine, or something.
I guess this is what money does, it gets you the best of everything and it's noticeable that some girls have had some surgical help to enhance their ‘appeal’.
“Devon, I’m serious, anything you need, I’m your girl.”
A busty brunette is absolutely all over me but my gaze goes past her and settles on Aubrey.
She's standing behind the girl who’s basically rubbing herself all over me.
Her blue eyes are full of hope and for a second I consider taking her in my arms and kissing her in front of the whole school, telling her that I missed her.
But if she rejected me, I don't think I could take it, so I look away and wrap my arms around the girl’s shoulders and begin to walk away.
I feel her gaze burning holes in my back but I force myself not to turn to look at her.
Aubrey
I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
I don't know why he's ignoring me.
Well, ok, maybe my blurting out ‘fuck me’ when he walked on stage didn't exactly make for a romantic reunion but I didn't expect for him to act as if I weren't even here.
I shake my head and consider that actually, I should've expected it since he didn't acknowledge my existence after that night on the beach.
There's a bunch of unanswered friend requests that actually support the theory that he's not interested in knowing me.
He got in my pants and that must've been all he wanted.
But while Devon’s ignoring me, I meet Teague’s eyes and while his lips are curled in the same little smirk he had earlier this morning, this time the smile isn't reaching his blue eyes.
He's probably noticed how I was looking at Devon and how he completely dissed me and that makes me feel even more miserable for some reason.
I look at the red slip of paper with my class schedule and the map of the school, so I start looking for my class and I don't see Teague until he’s standing right by my side, flanked by another guy.
He looks at my class schedule and this time his smile reaches his eyes.
“A-Class? So you aren't all about good looks and the mouth of a sailor, huh?”
The teasing in his tone is friendly but I still blush under that gaze, there's something about him that makes my blood rush in all sorts of places.
The memory of the way his fingers were brushing against my skin while he helped with my shirt earlier is still quite vivid in my mind.
“Ok, I admit it. My mom has given up about trying to end my penchant for cursing. But in my defence, I was a little surprised.”
He nods.
“It sure looked like it. And it seemed like the cause of your surprise is QB1? Do you two know each other?”
My blushing gets deeper and I deliberately downplay the situation.
I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day without admitting how I know Devon, especially since it seems that he wants to pretend that he doesn't know who I am.
“Yeah. I saw him around in the summer.”
I don't offer any further details and he doesn't press me for more but he nods towards the guy who’s standing by his side with a huge smile on his face.
“Well, this here is Landon. He’s been bugging me about being introduced to you. Apparently cursing really does it for him.”
Landon slaps Teague’s back with a huge grin on his face.
“Ha ha. That's very funny. But yeah, I like girls who aren't afraid to be vocal and what Teague isn't telling you is that he told me that you have the nicest tits he’s seen in a while!”
“Dude!”
Teague did strike me as a really hard to embarrass kinda guy but I see redness starting to appear on his cheeks and the way he diverts his eyes from mine, actually makes me smile.
“Teague, you're lucky you saved me from being run over or there’d be some retribution coming your way for talking about my boobs.”
Landon’s smile widens, it seems that seeing his friend get in trouble amuses him.
“You should take it as a compliment, Aubrey. Teague's seen his fair share of tits and yours were obviously something worth reporting about.”
Landon is slightly shorter than Teague, probably around six two and he’s obviously athletic and muscular but has a more slender build than his teammate.
What draws me immediately to him is his easy smile and the vibrant, light blue of his eyes, definitely a few shades lighter than Teague's.
He has dark brown hair that falls on his forehead in a sexy wave and full, luscious lips that make me immediately wonder how it would feel to nibble on them.
The second bell rings, making me snap out of my flirty mood: the day has been challenging enough already without being late to class.
“I’m sorry guys but, I need to find my class.”
Landon wraps a friendly arm around my shoulders and tells me that he and Teague are both headed to the A-Class too.
“Come on, it's just around the corner. And as a thank you for walking you there, you’ll sit with us at lunch. Deal?”
I nod, relieved to have someone to sit with at lunch and also that he didn't ask to see my boobs or something as a reward.
Landon totally seems the type who’d do that, probably jokingly, but still.
As we enter the classroom, almost all the seats are already taken and aside from the first row that's completely empty, there's one seat in the second row which I rush into and Teague and Landon find two desks right behind me.
I set my book bag down and when I lift my head back up, I find myself staring into a pair of incredible grey eyes.
They belong to a tall guy with a bleach blonde buzz cut and stunningly perfect features which somehow are made less intimidating by a light smattering of freckles on his nose.
He’s wearing a little hoop earring in his right ear lobe and he looks vaguely familiar.
I think he was on stage with the rest of the football players.
It's funny how the typical stereotype is for jocks to be anything but book smart but here at BHPA, academy believes in the old Latin saying ‘mens sana in corpore sano’ (Translation: a healthy mind in a healthy body), so the athletes often end up being really good at academics too.
It doesn't matter how much money your parents pay or how good you are at sports, if you don’t ace the super tough entranc
e exams, you don’t get accepted, period.
And the living proof of this are my brother Alex and his besties, who were all A-Class and star varsity athletes and Abi’s boys were also all A-Class football players.
The hot freckled boy is smiling at me when he introduces himself.
“Hey, I’m Knox. And you are?”
His smile is open but his eyes have a certain intensity that make him look dangerously hot.
If I ever had to imagine how a heartbreaker would look, I’d give Knox's description.
“Aubrey.”
His eyes have an amused glint when he says:
“That's a real pretty name. Much better than ‘Fuck me’.”
I feel taken aback.
“Excuse me?”
His lips open in a knowing smile when he explains that this is what some of the football players are calling me after my earlier outburst in the auditorium.
Great!
I’m at a loss for words, trying to come up with a witty retort when my train of thought gets interrupted by a feminine voice.
“You're in my seat. Move.”
I look up and there's a short girl, with long blonde hair and light blue eyes looking at me with her arms folded over her ample chest.
I really don't wanna sit in the first row and I try to decide if this is worth fighting over: I don't wanna begin the new school year making an enemy but at the same time, I don’t wanna be seen as a pushover by the entire A-Class.
When I don't move, she rolls her eyes, exasperated.
“Look, I sit next to Knox. Ok?”
Oh, I see. He must be her boyfriend.
I don't say anything, still trying to decide what to do, when Knox smirks at the blonde girl and tells her that he doesn't have a problem sitting next to me during class.
“Aubrey and I were just getting acquainted, Margaux.”
She doesn't take kindly to it and snaps at him.
“Knox, don’t fucking push me!”
He gives her a provocative smile and that's what makes me decide to move: I hate to sit in the first row but I really don't wanna get caught in the middle of their fight.
So I collect my stuff and move to the first row, just in time for the teacher entering the classroom followed by... Devon.
Of course!
And of course by now the only available seat is right next to me.
Can I just crawl back into my bed and can this day be just a nightmare?
Devon however sits down and doesn't even acknowledge me, as if the last time we saw each other, we weren't tangled in a passionate embrace, while he was adding a notch on his belt and I was trying to avoid getting sand all the way up my butt crack.
Ok, that's unfair.
It didn't feel as good as I dreamed of, it actually hurt quite a bit but I was in love with him and I still enjoyed being in his arms and his kisses felt so damn good.
And now this.
He’s pretending he doesn't even know me, which shouldn't surprise me, since he’s been ghosting me from the second I left South Carolina.
The teacher is a fifty something classy lady called Ms Webber.
She tells us that by graduation, she hopes that each of us will be able to open a Latin text and be able to translate it without a dictionary.
Or at least a good eighty per cent of the text.
That's quite an ambitious goal: I love Latin Literature but I guess that the language is dead for a reason.
It’s not an easy language.
But our teacher reassures us that she’ll give us all the tools to achieve that goal.
Then she proceeds to tell us the rules that she expects us to follow and the main difference between her expectations and what I’m used to, is that Ms Webber enforces a strict ‘no electronic devices policy’, meaning not only that we aren't allowed to use our personal devices during her class but that all the text books and exam materials will be old fashioned paper and pencil.
Ms Webber seems a tough teacher but she gives out a good vibe, of a fair and compassionate person.
The morning classes go pretty quickly and once lunch time comes, Landon and Teague walk with me to the cafeteria.
They keep up a constant chatter, telling me about which teachers are nice and which ones I really need to watch out for.
They guide me towards a large table in the middle of the room where most of the football team is sitting.
I take a seat between them and catch Knox’s gaze fixed on me.
He’s a seriously hot guy but I hope he doesn't plan on stirring any trouble because his girlfriend seems the jealous type.
“So, where did you transfer from?”
Landon’s question makes me divert my attention from Knox but while I talk, I feel his grey eyes firmly set on me.
“I attended junior year at Aylesbury Prep but before then I lived in Hong Kong, so I went to school there.”
“Wow, that's awesome! Is your father a diplomat or something?”
I explain that my father owns a company that deals with security technology and that the reason I transferred is that it’s our family tradition to graduate from BHPA.
Landon asks:
“Really? So do you have any siblings who attended recently? I’ve been going to school here since kindergarten and Teague has attended here since freshman year, so maybe we know them?”
When I mention Alex and Abi, everyone at the table turns to listen.
“You're Alex Richmond’s sister? He's still a myth around school. And your sister...”
Knox speaks for the first time:
“Your sister had a bit of a reputation around school. But I never believed it. I think the other cheerleaders were just being jealous bitches.”
Teague and Landon cast an annoyed glance at Knox but they don't disagree.
“Yeah, regardless if the rumours that she was dating the whole A-Team were true, I think Abi was a real nice girl.”
I beam at Landon and tell him that Abi is one of the sweetest girls I know but I don't comment on her dating situation. Instead I ask something that I’ve been quite curious about since I set foot into the building this morning.
“What about the A-Team? I know my brother and his friends started the tradition and Chaz, Reece and the others continued it, who’s this year's A-Team?”
The boys seem to meditate about it until Teague considers that normally the A-Team would consist of football players who were in the A-Class, the elite class at BHPA, reserved for the top one per cent of students who scored the highest academically and exclusively attend AP classes during their senior year.
Landon chuckles, his blue eyes so bright that my gaze is attracted to them like a magnet.
“I guess that could make me and Teague the A-Team...”
“Or Knox...”
Margaux takes a seat near Knox, followed by Devon.
Devon looks at me for a brief moment and then it's as if he forced himself to look away but again, he doesn't acknowledge me.
“Well, the A-Team always got to date the hottest girls in school. We might need to resume the tradition.”
Knox's tone is coloured with irony but his grey eyes are still fixed on me.
“Aubrey, your sister was a cheerleader, are you gonna try out?”
I’m about to say no, that I’m too much of a klutz for it when Devon's voice cuts me off.
“Ha! She's way too accident prone to cheer.”
He seems to catch himself and stops talking or maybe it's my withering look that reduces him to silence.
And if there's one thing I hate, it's when people tell me what I can and cannot do, so before I even realise what I’m doing, I say:
“Actually, yes! I’m trying out.”
Teague looks at me with his little smirk firmly on his face.
“Hmm, I’d like to have you as my rally girl...”
Landon chimes in.
“Or mine!”
Knox is about to say something but I glare at him and he chuckles sof
tly instead and winks at me.
I can feel myself blushing under his unnerving gaze and the fact that Margaux and Devon are both staring and didn't miss this silent interaction isn't lost on me.
IT'S FRIDAY AFTERNOON and I just finished my first cheerleading practice.
Take that, Devon!
Too accident prone to cheer!
I feel like a sweaty mess but when the football players come past us on their way to their locker room, I can't resist throwing Devon a smug look.
I made the team, so I showed him that whatever idea he's got about me, he shouldn't underestimate me.
But of course he walks by me without acknowledging me, most of the time he acts as if I don’t even exist.
The one who acknowledges me even too much is Knox and this time isn't any different.
He’s the last of the guys and he doesn't follow his teammates inside, he stops in front of me looking at me with that unnerving but incredibly sexy grey gaze.
I’m very tempted to just walk away because I spot Margaux a few feet away with her eyes trained on us.
But when I take a tentative step away, Knox’s hand lands on my forearm, keeping me firmly in place.
“Hey, Aubrey, how are you?”
“Just looking forward to a shower. It's still too hot to practice outside.”
His little smile widens and he winks at me again.
“Hmm, you're putting quite a hot picture in my mind but truth be told, I like you a little sweaty too.”
What the fuck is wrong with this guy? Can't he see that his girlfriend is looking at us?
I’m about to say something but he continues:
“So, tonight I’m throwing a party. The first party of the year, before the football season officially begins next week. It won't be a lot of people, just the team and the cheerleaders and a few more people from our class. I’d love for you to come as my date.”
“I ... uhm, Knox, I’m really, really flattered, believe me. But I can’t.”
His smile doesn't falter.
“Why? Did someone else beat me to it?”
Is he for real?
“No. Nobody else asked me. But I don't go out with guys who have girlfriends. And yours is right there and doesn't look pleased. Look, I don't wanna get into any trouble and I don't like drama.”
Beverly Hills Prep Academy The Complete Boxset : A Light Bully Romance Page 65
