None of these rich, preppy boys have, but they were about to find out that I took no shit.
“Don’t underestimate him,” Declan warned, a little less sad now that he was no longer talking about his dead girlfriend. “He was my best friend once. I know what he’s capable of.”
I met Declan’s worried stare and gave him my best smile. “Soon you’ll learn what I’m capable of.”
Honestly, no one in this school knew me. None of them had come from where I came from, none of them knew how much fight I had in me. The things I had to deal with? The list could go on and on, and many of them were not things a girl should have to handle. But I was here, alive and kicking, and I planned on staying that way.
I’d do whatever it took to protect the fragile boy across from me, even if it included playing dirty.
Chapter Eight – Travis
The first week of classes was nearly over, and I hadn’t gotten another glimpse of Ash. It made me sadder than I was willing to admit out loud. You’d think being the only girl in a university full of guys would make her stand out, but it was like business as usual on campus and in class. Granted, I’d heard a lot of gossip about her during the week, but that’s it. Just gossip.
Who the fuck cared about gossip when the real thing was here somewhere?
I hated gossip and everything that came with it. Things always spiraled along the grapevine. Normal rumors always turned into freakish, outlandish ones, ones that could not possibly be real. You could never trust anything you heard from someone else. Hell, I didn’t trust more than half of the things Sawyer said, and I was his friend.
When Thursday came, I chose to sit in the student union, fiddling on my phone as I watched everyone walk by. So lost in their own lives. I spotted a few of the kids Sawyer had invited to his party—a party he was hoping Ash would come to. How the hell would Ash even know about the party if he was staying away from her?
If I was honest, I wanted her to come to the party too—but not so we could turn her against Declan. Just from our brief interaction a few days ago, I knew she was different. There was a fire in her eyes I recognized, and I was drawn to it like a moth. Even though I hadn’t spoken to her long, I was in the beginning stages of something I knew quite well by now.
Obsession.
I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to know where she came from, what made her who she was today. I wanted more, and with the way Sawyer was so focused on revenge for Sabrina—something I could totally understand—it was the perfect time to get close to her. If he asked about it, I’d tell him I was turning her against Declan, going along with our plan, but really I just wanted to be near her.
Perhaps it was happenstance, or perhaps it was fate, but after two hours of sitting there, pretending to be lost in my phone, I spotted Ash walking in, heading straight for the food court. She went to the pizza place, putting her order in before sitting at a nearby table and waiting for it. I watched her all the while, feeling a hunger deep down that wasn’t meant for food.
Her head wore one of those stitched beanies, mostly her pink hair visible. She didn’t have her skateboard, I noticed, her feet her mode of transportation today. She pulled out her phone, her thumbs typing up something.
This was what I was waiting for. Or who I was waiting for, really.
I got up, sliding my phone in my pocket as I moved past the crowd of students eating in the back tables. A few of them spared a glance at me, mostly because they all knew I was Sawyer’s friend. That’s who I was to them—Sawyer’s friend. His tattooed, smoking friend who always seemed careless.
But these people…they didn’t know me. They never tried to know me. The real me was as hidden to them as it was to Sawyer.
I made it to the table Ash sat at, sliding into the chair across from her. She made no moves to glance up from her phone. At first, I thought it was because she was so lost in it—like ninety-nine percent of the other kids around here on their phones—but then her typing started to slow, and her legs shifted under the table. She didn’t look up at me, but she knew I was there.
“Hey,” I said. A single word, and I probably could’ve said something cooler, but staring at her while she was trying too hard not to notice me made me a little tongue-tied.
Eventually she gave in, bringing her grey eyes to me. “What do you want?” she said, sounding snippy, like I offended her with my greeting. She had plenty of attitude to spare, apparently.
I gave her a lazy smile. “Why do I get the feeling you’d rather be anywhere but here, talking to me?” I laid my arms across the table, waiting eagerly for her response.
“Because I’d rather be anywhere but here, talking to you.”
A chuckle escaped me before I could stifle it. “Damn. That hurts, you know.”
Ash was unimpressed. “I’m sure your ego can take it.”
“My ego is actually very fragile,” I said. “If you’re not too careful, you might just break me, Ash, and that won’t be pretty.” It was meant as a joke, but I knew from past experience it was also a warning. A promise that while I might have a nice smile and a handsome face, my insides were ugly. It was the reason I never showed my true self around other people. The bedroom was when I came closest to letting it out.
She deadpanned, “I don’t break people unless they deserve it. Do you deserve it?”
I couldn’t tell if she was baiting me or not. “I guess that depends.” Her phone screen darkened, meaning all of her attention was now on me. Fully, one hundred percent on me. Her grey eyes were like a storm, clouds on a rainy, dreary day, yet they were so full of life. “Do you enjoy breaking people? I could be into that.”
Her mouth puckered into a frown. “I know what you’re trying to do. I’m not stupid. And just so you know, I’m not going to fall for it. Believe it or not, I’ve seen worse than rich boys trying to get revenge.” Her order was up, and she stood, grabbed her bag and her phone, and went to get it.
I darted out of my chair quicker though, and was able to take it from the student working at the pizza joint. Two boxes. Was she buying dinner for both herself and Declan? I don’t know why, but the thought made me jealous.
Jealous. And I hardly knew this girl. Having jealousy so soon wasn’t a good sign.
“Let me carry these for you,” I offered. “It’ll be my limit for manual labor today, but I’m willing to put in the time.” My fingers were wrapped tightly around the boxes’ corners; I wouldn’t let them go even if she tried to take them from me.
“Oh, what a gentleman,” Ash said dryly, once more not impressed with my antics. Good. I liked that she wasn’t easily impressed. If she was just like any other girl, well…she wouldn’t be nearly as fun.
I followed her out of the student union, aware of all the eyes on us. Sawyer had made a decree of sorts—no one was allowed to touch her, besides him and I. Ash was off-limits to anyone who wasn’t us. Granted, no one knew why she was off-limits, but hardly anyone would go against him. He had the money, the power, the prestige—he could make any kid’s life a living hell like he was doing to Declan.
“I hope you know that just because I’m letting you carry those doesn’t mean you’re welcome in my room,” Ash said, shooting me a look as we headed across the giant sidewalk in front of the student union. The beanie held most of her hair in place, but the breeze still tickled its lower pink strands.
“I wouldn’t dream of barging in where I’m not invited,” I said. “In fact, I make a habit of getting invitations first.”
Ash let out a sigh. “What am I going to do with you, Travis?” The way she asked it, almost as if she’d already thought about it, made a certain part of me warm. There had to be more to this girl than met the eye.
My reply came instantly: “Anything you want. Everything you want. I’m down for anything you can think of, but I will warn you now—I’m not very flexible.”
“I am.”
Okay, at that, my dick definitely perked up, even if she was just teasing me. I made
a tsk-tsk sound. “You know exactly how to drive me crazy, don’t you?”
She turned her head to look at me. The way the sunlight danced in her eyes made the grey color seem lighter, more vibrant and lively. “I’ve had a lot of practice with boys like you. It’s why your charm—if you can call it that—doesn’t work on me.”
My charm might not work on her, but my body did. I caught her staring at my tattoos more than once. She’d be a liar if she said she didn’t like my body…but that’s not what she said. She knew exactly what to say without lying and without telling the whole truth.
“Then I guess I’ll have to try harder,” I said, giving her another grin. “I like you, Ash.”
She had to do a double take as we were walking, and she probably wondered if I really said that. Ash might say she had experience with guys like me, but there were no other guys like me out there. I was unique in every way, and soon enough she’d realize it. “This is our second conversation,” Ash said, the suspicion clear in her gaze.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
“No.”
“What about lust at first sight?”
She studied me as we crossed the parking lot between campus and her dorm. “Yes,” Ash was slow to say. “I believe in that.”
I laughed. “At least you’re honest. But just so you’re aware, I am more than willing to explore the lust you feel toward me.” It was a forward statement, and I was rewarded by watching her cheeks slightly redden.
It took her a long while to ask, “And how would we explore it?” Ash couldn’t even look at me when she said it. She had to intently study the cars we walked by. Each second closer we got to her dorm building meant the sooner I’d be forced to leave her side.
A pity, because I wasn’t done talking to her. If only I could make this moment last longer…
“Well, I’d prefer it involves handcuffs and maybe a blindfold—but I’ll leave the specifics up to you.”
“Handcuffs and a blindfold, huh?” We neared the side door to the building, and she stopped, turning to look at me. The way her stare ate me up, it was almost like she really was thinking about those two things. I wondered if she’d prefer to be the one held back, or if she wanted to be the one in charge. I was always up for a switch. “I never would’ve guessed you’re into that.”
A deep breath filled my lungs, and I after I exhaled it, I spoke lowly, “Ash, there’s a lot I’m into that you don’t know.” Fuck Sawyer and his revenge scheme. I wanted her to come to the party tomorrow for me. I let her take the pizzas from my grip.
Ash must’ve chosen to ignore my last statement. “Well, thanks for carrying these,” she said, shrugging. She was a short girl, maybe five foot tall. She had some curves, but not many. Definitely a thin one.
When she turned to head to the door, I called out, “Sawyer’s having a party tomorrow night. Why don’t you come?”
The look she gave me right then told me she didn’t trust me, which was more than fine, because I hardly trusted myself. All I knew was that I wanted this girl. I’d known it from the moment I first saw her. She reminded me so much of Sabrina, but just from our brief interactions, I knew they were different. Sabrina might’ve come from money, she might’ve been raised to be just as much of an asshole as Sawyer, but she wasn’t.
Sabrina had been kind, mostly, and it was her undoing.
Ash, on the other hand, had a fire deep within her. She knew how the game was played, which was why she currently stared at me as if I’d grown a third eye, right in the middle of my forehead, like I just said the weirdest possible thing anyone could’ve said.
“Why would I come to your party when I know you guys just want to use me against Declan? Newsflash—” As she spoke, I couldn’t help but grin, because who the hell said newsflash anymore? “—if I’m going to side with anyone here, it’s going to be Declan, not you snobby little rich kids.”
Snobby little rich kids. She thought I was just like Sawyer. I couldn’t blame her, because I did hang out with the guy. Besides Sawyer, I didn’t really have many friends—mostly because I didn’t need them. Friends were a luxury of normal people.
My family? Not normal. It was a miracle I got them to agree to college before joining the family business.
What was the family business, you might be wondering? That’s a story for another time. Right now, my mind was focused on Ash. In my family, obsession tended to run deep.
“Just think about it, okay?” I said, giving her a full-blown smile. I’d be charming the wet panties off of any other girl, but her? She had her walls up. Sooner or later I’d be breaking them down, whether she wanted me to or not. “It’s the big white house just off of campus on Front Street. You can’t miss it.”
She glared. “Oh, I’ll be sure to miss it on purpose.” She spun, balancing the pizza boxes on one hand. With her other, she flipped me off.
I laughed as she went into the building, disappearing behind the door. When she was gone, and I stood there on the sidewalk alone, the laugh instantly fell off my lips. Who knew the first girl on campus would be so spirited?
This was going to be so much more fun than I thought.
Chapter Nine – Ash
Inviting me to a party. Who did Travis think I was—some chick who’s never seen a movie in her life? I knew what he thought would happen at this party, or at the very least what he wanted to happen, and there was no way in hell I was going to fall for his tricks. And Sawyer? Rich boys were not my thing. They might be nice to look at, but personality-wise? They were lacking. Cliched but true.
Another note was taped to the door, and just like the other one, this one was done in a red marker. It said Killer in big, red letters, and I rolled my eyes as I yanked it off the door. I saw our neighbors had their door propped open, and though I had no way to know if they saw who did it or even if they’d done it themselves, I marched over to their door and stepped inside.
The two boys were on their laptops, sitting on their respective beds. Both glanced up when I entered, both of their mouths falling a little, like I was some mythical creature they knew existed but had never seen. The unicorn of Hillcrest.
“Hey,” I said, giving them an obviously fake smile. It was my bitch smile, but I didn’t care. As far as I was concerned, all these boys were complicit. Even if they didn’t do the taping or the writing of the note themselves, they still stood back and let it happen. “Sorry to interrupt whatever this is, but I just thought I’d see if you guys knew anything about this.” I held out the hand-written note, flashing the Killer sign at them.
Neither boy looked like they wanted to speak. More than fine. I was fine with commanding the room, since it was apparent neither of these two could.
“It’s funny, because I’m pretty sure this falls into the realm of bullying, and I doubt the dean would like to hear about his son being bullied by a group of guys who couldn’t get a girlfriend if their lives depended on it.” My eyebrows lifted, and I held in a gasp. “Maybe I should install cameras—then I’d be able to see anyone who walks in front of our door.”
Still, the two boys said nothing, and they continued to say nothing as I left. I made sure to drop the note on the counter in their kitchenette area before leaving. I wasn’t going to take that back to my room.
When I unlocked the door and entered, I set the pizza on my desk and dropped my backpack on my chair. The shower was running, and as I went to the fridge and got out a water bottle, I took a nice, long swig. Puffing myself up to rich boys constantly made me thirsty.
It also made me another kind of thirsty, because when I heard the shower stop, I wondered what Declan looked like underneath the clothes he wore. He didn’t seem overly muscled, but he was most definitely lean. I liked them lean; when a guy’s chest was so muscled his boobs were bigger than mine? It was a bit too much for me. I liked them smooth and flat, although a nicely defined abdomen was always a plus.
By the time Declan came out of the bathroom, I had the TV on and t
he pizza boxed splayed on the floor. I’d just vacuumed yesterday, so the carpet was clean. I threw a look over my shoulder, meaning to glance at him and tell him that I’d brought us dinner—because I rarely saw the boy eat—but my words caught in the back of my throat.
Declan was wet. Obviously. I mean, he’d just come out of the shower, but with his brown hair slicked back, water droplets on his neck, and his dark eyes focused on me? He was…well, even wearing clothes, he was cute. A devastating kind of cute. The kind of cute you dreamt about as a little girl discovering what it meant to crush on someone for the first time.
“Pizza” was all that came out of my mouth, and I had to look away from him, hating that I sounded so awe-struck. It wasn’t like he was naked. He was fully clothed, so there was no ogling to be had. No body to see. No dick to drool over. It was literally as G-rated as it got, and yet I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering to certain places.
Bad, bad Ash. So not what I should be thinking about. Declan was off-limits in so many ways. Even if he wasn’t depressed about what happened to Sabrina, he was my roommate. You couldn’t date your roommate; even hooking up with them was asking for trouble. What if everything fell out, crashed and burned in the worst of ways, and you couldn’t transfer rooms? No, it was best for everyone involved to keep their hands to themselves, boobs in their shirts, and private parts in their pants.
“I’m not hungry,” Declan said, about to go to his desk.
Since he was moving so freaking slow, I was able to dart off the floor and slide myself in his chair before he could do the same. While he was busy giving me a half-hearted dirty look, I pointed to the pizza boxes, finally able to sound more like myself and less like a caveman, “I bought us pizza. Eat some of it with me. It’s not a request.”
Loser: A Dark College Bully Romance (Hillcrest University Book 1) Page 5
