by Mina Thorne
I covertly pressed my thumb on the home button to snap a pic of Barrett while he was talking to Elaine.
And like it was magnified on a thousand as it echoed through the huge dining room, the camera sound exploded from my phone and Barrett stopped in mid texting spree and glared at me.
"Did you just take my pic?" he demanded in a low voice.
I went furious red and said, "No."
"I heard your camera, you just took a pic."
"My phone is on silent. I don't know what you heard."
"Is there something wrong down there?" Dad asked, looking concerned.
"Nothing at all," I replied and shot Barrett a desperate look to plead with him to shut up.
He smirked and without his eyes leaving mine, he said, "Everything's just fine, David."
"Excellent. I like seeing you two get along."
"Me too, darlings," Elaine purred but gave me an ice cold glare that felt as if she could see right through my soul.
I looked away from both of them and concentrated on my food while my phone buzzed like mad.
Finally after a few moments I looked down and say message after message from Brie and Maddy going on and on about Barrett.
"Holy shit, he's HAWT!"
"You're gonna fuck your brother!"
"Hell, I'm gonna fuck your brother!"
"When can we come for a visit?"
"Or do you mean cum?"
"Hahahahaha!"
"You guys are hilarious, but I have to eat now," I texted back and muted the chat before I made sure my phone was on silent.
Barrett was staring at me when I looked up and he motioned to me while our parents were deep in conversation about the new boat Elaine wanted to get for the lake house.
I shook my head, not understanding what he was getting at.
He motioned again and I realized he wanted me to hold up my phone.
I did, and shrugged my shoulders in question.
He raised a single eyebrow and made a motion like a camera.
He wanted me to take a photo of him.
I smiled and felt at last like we were making a connection. I held my phone up and opened the camera app. Barrett's stunningly beautiful face came into focus and I took a pic.
But he gave me a cocky grin and pointed below the table.
I didn't get what he meant, so I shook my head again. He pointed again and made the camera motion before he dropped his hands below to where he'd been pointing.
I had no idea what he was getting at, but I put my phone under the table and pointed it at him.
I took a pic and he maintained eye contact with me while his full, sensual lips were twisted into a crooked smile.
I pulled my phone back up, expecting to see a note written on a napkin or him flipping me the middle finger.
But nothing had prepared me for what I did find.
I gasped and my hand fluttered to my chest in shock.
My heart thudded in my chest and my pulse sped up as the my center turned to molten desire and instant confusion.
The photo I'd taken showed Barrett's hands grasping himself underneath the finely appointed dinner table.
Just below where the gold trimmed designer china was set with a chef's prepared high end meal next to silver cutlery and the finest cut crystal goblets, Barrett had exposed himself to me.
And it was huge.
It was as beautiful as he was.
I looked back up to seem him smirking again, both hands on the table and a satisfied glint to his eye.
He'd shocked me alright.
He'd gotten me good, played quite the prank.
But he'd also intrigued me.
And in spite of my confusion and recognition that this was wrong, there was that primal part of me that knew it was right.
It was so right.
I wanted to see more.
I wanted to see it all.
Chapter 7
Barrett ignored me again after that although I felt like I could feel him whenever he was in the house. His presence was like a beacon for my hyper charged senses, I could almost feel the hair on my arms stand on end when he was near.
I had three days before I started classes at Westview Academy and Kit helped me get everything together, from notebooks and expensive pens to a MacBook and AirPods for my homework.
It was a whirlwind of shopping and hair appointments, getting my nails done and a full wax. I loved it all, except for the waxing. Don't know if I'll ever do that again.
I also updated my number to something local so I didn't feel like I was still mentally in LA. I sent it out to everyone on my contacts list but only a couple people replied.
The first morning of school I thought I was going to throw up. I tried on my school uniform over about ten different bras before I settled on one that wasn't going to show through the fabric of the white polo shirt.
The plaid pleated skirt in the gold and green of Westview Academy hung just above my knees and the white socks with the embellished WA logo on the front pulled up to just below my knees.
I had a V-neck dark green pullover sweater to complete the ensemble, but the late summer air was still too warm to wear it.
I folded it and put in the new backpack I'd picked out. I'd gone overboard and spent a hundred bucks on it. I felt like I was prepared for anything with my sleek leather pack.
I slipped my feet into utilitarian black leather flats that had come with the uniform, tousled my hair to add some bounce to my curls and applied very light makeup.
I headed downstairs half an hour before we had to go so I could have breakfast and make sure Barrett didn't have to wait for me.
After yesterday I was hoping to start my day off without him doing something shocking or provocative.
I'd deleted the dick pic and restored it, then deleted and restored it again a few times until I took one long last look at it under my covers last night and got rid of it for good.
I was too ashamed at how much it turned me on and heated me up… and how intrigued I was by Barrett's dismissive countenance and darkly erotic looks.
So I decided I would fly under his radar, not call any attention to myself in case he wanted to show me his thickness again.
And I wouldn't know what to do about it, I couldn’t trust myself to not make a bad decision if he exposed himself again.
I padded into the kitchen and several serving staff looked up, startled, before one older lady rushed to stand in front of me and ask, "Is there something you need, miss?"
"I was hoping to eat before school."
"Breakfast is laid out in the morning sunroom," she said with a smile. "Your family is waiting for you."
"They're already up?"
"Yes, they get up very early. Miss Elaine likes to go for a run around the lake before taking her coffee in the sun room."
So much for a sneak attack on the family, it seems they'd crept up on me once again.
"There she is, my princess," Dad said brightly as I walked in.
Elaine nodded and went right back to her iPad.
Dad had the newspaper spread out on the table in front of him, going over long columns of numbers.
Barrett was intent on his phone yet again.
"Good morning," I said and sat down at the round table. It was still large, seating ten or so people, but felt much more intimate than the dining table last night.
I picked up a croissant from a basket in the center and looked around the room.
It was light and airy, completely made of glass with huge doors that opened the entire far wall up onto a patio overlooking expansive grounds that included acres of lawn, tennis courts and a swimming pool from what I could see.
There were exotic lilies and orchid growing all around the edges of the room, giving it a tropical feel, and the white hand carved furniture carried out to the patio where it was all matching.
I had the urge to take my breakfast and go sit on a chaise lounger in the sunshine.
But I didn't hav
e time, Barrett was already starting to grow restless and look at his expensive watch.
I bit into the croissant and Elaine said, "Oh dear, all those carbs. Maybe you should come for a run later. I wouldn't want you packing on weight with access to all this high end food."
At first I was going to toss the croissant back onto the table and pick up some fruit from the cut platter next to me. But I was tired of playing nice, tired of feeling embarrassed for being me, and tired from a lifetime of forcing myself to be kind when other people ran roughshod over me.
I put on a sunny smile and said, "Oh it's quite alright. I have a naturally high metabolism, just like my mother. That's how she's managed to maintain her perfect figure without surgery right into her forties."
Dad sat up and paid attention when I said that, but one glance at Elaine's simmering hot angry face kept him from saying a word about it.
I grabbed another croissant before I was finished the first one and asked Barrett, "When are we leaving?"
"Right now, if you want," he said and glanced down at his mother before he added, "princess."
The ride to school was uneventful. The campus was only a short drive from the house and he gave me the impression that he wasn't a morning person.
When we pulled through the front gates, he drove down a smooth, tree lined paved drive until we reached an imposing stone building that looked more like a gothic castle than a private school. He pulled up in front and said, "You can get out here."
"Where's the office?" I asked, craning my neck to look for a sign or something.
"Up the front steps, to the left. Look for directions there. I have to go park."
"Can't you show me?" I asked, suddenly feeling a little like I was paddling hard to stay afloat and just barely surviving.
"I could but I won't."
"Why not?"
"I've got shit to do and you're too old for a fucking babysitter, princess.”
I shrunk from his hostility and opened the car door, but that anger from this morning flared up and I looked back at him before exiting.
"Fuck you too, brother dear. Kindness makes you a better person, and being a dick ages you. Enjoy having skin like a leather handbag by the time you're thirty, you hate filled prick."
His eyes widened with surprise and his mouth turned up into a startled smile as I climbed out and slammed the door.
I was stomping away when I heard him call my name.
"Stephanie."
I ignored him and kept walking.
"Stephanie, god fucking dammit, I'm talking to you!"
I turned on my heel and glared at him.
"What?"
"I need your number."
"Why?"
"So I can text you when it's time to go home."
I narrowed my eyes, determining if he was setting a trap or pranking me, but he was sincere. His mouth was still curled into a smirking grin, but he was pleased with himself it seemed.
I stomped back and bent over, looked him straight in the face and recited my number.
"Thanks, sis," he said after he tapped it in. "I'll let you know when and where to meet me. And who can tell? Perhaps I'll send you a little more of what you saw that first night. You sure seemed to like it."
"I did not," I sputtered, but he slammed his foot on the gas and peeled out before I could finish my weak protest. I heard his mocking laughter echo in my ears as I turned back and looked for the office.
He was right though, I did like it.
I liked it a lot.
And every once in a while he seemed to like me.
So why was he still being such a jerk?
Chapter 8
I walked back up towards the school, took the front steps and ignored the people looking at me and talking about me as I pushed past them and through the doors.
It was the only private school in Harrisburg, in fact I think it was the only high school at all, and it appeared to be filled with all the usual kinds of people.
Jocks, cheerleaders, nerds and outcasts...but the difference was that every single one of them came from wealth and had an air of entitlement about them. The cheerleaders looked like mean girls on steroids, with their sharp glares and whispered giggles. The jocks all looked like the typical dickheads you'd see in any teen drama. The villains, of course.
And the nerds and outcasts even had an arrogant confidence to the way they stared me down as I walked through the halls. The kind of confidence I'd never possessed in my life.
But that hollow feeling in my stomach was filling with fiery determination and by the time I found the office, I was looking people right in the eye and staring them down until they looked away first.
I sauntered through the wide glass doors like I was walking a runway in Milan, channeling my inner Elaine, and stood at the front counter.
"Yes, can I help you?" a kind looking older woman with a severe black ponytail asked me. She smiled though, and it reached her eyes. I liked her immediately, she was an island of familiarity in a sea of chaotic judgement.
"I'm a new student," I replied.
"Oh yes, Stephanie Montgomery. I've been expecting you. I'm Selena Sanford, the admissions and student coordinator here at Westview Academy. I see you got your uniform, that's good. I would like to say we were impressed with your grades from your previous high school. I do hope you're able to keep up the good work here at Westview."
"I'll do my best," I promised.
She went on to go over my class schedule and explained how I could get to the first class. She handed me a welcome package and said, "It has a map so hopefully you won't get lost. If you do, please feel to pick up a campus phone to request assistance. A campus coordinator will find you and guide you to the next classroom."
I thanked her and left the office and got caught up in the stream of kids shuffling along the hallway, pulling me with them like we were salmon heading up a river.
I started to get lost immediately and found myself pushed past the corridor marked, "Southeast," where my locker was apparently located.
"Excuse me," I said but nobody seemed to notice my frantic desperation to break through the crowd.
It was like this one time I'd gone to a Taylor Swift concert with Maddy and Brie when we were twelve. We'd been so crushed by the crowd of people afterwards that we'd eventually had to hole up in the alcove outside a men's bathroom in the stadium and wait until Brie's driver rescued us.
Only today I wasn't twelve and I didn't have anybody to rescue me.
So I decided to rescue my own damned self.
"Excuse me!" I yelled and shoved at a tall guy in a leather jacket. At first I thought it was against the dress code but quickly realized it was a letterman's jacket and he was a football player.
"Hey there, fresh meat," he said with a wolfish grin. "You trying to get my attention? Because it worked..."
"I'm trying to get past you, I need to dump my stuff off in my locker."
"Let me show you the way," he said and snatched my lock and locker number out of my hand. "Three oh seven, that's over here.”
He stalked off through the people, heading back against the crush, but they parted for him like he was some kind of dude bro Moses in the Red Sea. He was arrogant and walked with a long stride that left me trotting to keep up. His hair was brown, but a rich brown with golden highlights that showed up when the sun hit it.
His eyes were brown too, deep and the kind of eyes that would melt your heart and your panties right off if he was saying the right things to you.
And with a deep voice like that with his broad shoulders and his muscled legs...almost anything he said could be the right thing.
He came to a sudden stop in front of a bank of lockers and I ran right into the back of him.
"Easy there, fresh meat," he chuckled. "If you want to climb me like a mountain, we'd better find a private corner."
He spoke with the easy confidence of a guy who had been given everything his entire life. He was like the football playe
r cocky jocks back home in my usual high school, but ramped up on a million dollar trust fund and the unique position of having never wanted for anything.
"I just need my locker, thank you," I replied and stepped back. He turned and I looked up at him with my teeth clenched in determination.
"It's here," he said with a million watt smile that almost knocked me back on my ass. "Your locker, not our private corner."
"I figured," I said and stepped around him, took the lock from his hand and found my spot.
I read the combination, opened the lock and turned back to find him still standing there watching me.
"What do you want?" I asked, looking up into those dark brown eyes.
I wanted to keep my guard up, but he seemed too...nice.
Even though there was a whisper of doubt snaking through my consciousness telling me to be wary of these people, his smile was genuine.
"I wanted to make sure you're settling in. I'm Jason Whittaker, but you can call me Whitt. I'm part of the Westview Academy student welcoming committee."
"You're joking, right?"
"Why would that be a joke?"
"You're a jock. A football player, right?"
"That's me, but does that somehow render me incapable of helping a fellow student? Especially one as damned fine as you, fresh meat?"
"Stephanie," I replied.
"Steph," he said with a grin. "It was nice meeting you. I'll see you around if you think you've figured out where you're headed."
I cringed inwardly when he called me Steph, but figured this guy was hot enough I’d settle with him calling me anything just to hear the deep timbre of his voice.
"Wait," I said as he walked away. "Can you show me on the map how to get to my first class?"
He smiled and said, "I knew you needed me...Steph."
Man, I really did hate nickname but I felt like he was just trying to be nice so once again I let it slide.
After feeling so defensive for so long, it was good to be able to let my guard down a little.
I unfolded the campus map, he traced the path I needed to take with his finger and I thanked him.
He offered to walk me there, but I needed to find my own way so I would remember for the next time.
