Vicious Bet: Don't fall in love! (Sinners and Saints Book 1)

by Alice Ann Wonder

  Ms Polish came out of the lecture hall with her ochre leather bag under her arm.

  "Are you feeling better?" she asked, looking at Sky motherly.

  I had the feeling that she wanted to hold her in her arms.

  That only made her more sympathetic to me.

  "Thank you, yes," Sky replied, making every effort to sound calm. "Just the hormones."

  Benji pulled a face.

  "Oh sooo!"

  Ms. Polish's eyes widened. "When is it going to happen?"

  Rash choked on the limo, while I couldn't help but grin.

  Finally Sky noticed what she had just made clear to our professor through the flower.

  "No", she said hastily and smiled. "Not that! Just permanent menstrual cramps."

  Ms Polish raised her eyebrows.

  "Like this?" she asked again.

  "Yes, really. Runs in the family," affirmed Sky, nervously fingering the side fastener of her culottes.

  Ms. Polish nodded understandingly.

  "Get well soon," she said, giving Sky one last loving look before she walked on.

  "She's really nice," I murmured, lost in thought.

  If she had kids, they were really lucky.

  "Mary Poppins meets Astrid Lindgren," Benji remarked in a spiteful tone.

  "At least we are sure of our grades this year."

  He pushed himself off the wall and told us to go.

  "How?" asked Rash, scratching the back of his head.

  Benji punched him amicably on the six-pack covered by the fine twine.

  "Because yours truly has seen to it that a criminal's cover has been blown."

  Full of satisfaction he buttoned up his jacket again and looked triumphantly around.

  "Campbell is lucky to still be at his post," he said confidently. "He'll make sure that none of the professors this semester fools us."

  "We get it, you're the greatest," Rash said dismissively and looked at Benji defiantly.

  "Oh please, not today," Sky mouthed, bringing my thoughts to the point.

  Rash and Benji loved to flex their muscles from time to time.

  Their cockfights always ended peacefully. Still, they were sometimes quite exhausting. Benjamin King was still the top dog, but Rash liked to challenge him for his position from time to time.

  Usually when he hadn't been to his underground battles for a long time.

  What this was all about, he never confided in anyone.

  But it was obvious that he needed to let go of the pressure from time to time.

  At least he did it in a separate environment. For the rest of the time, Rashid Noel Stone was one of the most controlled people I knew.

  "I couldn't agree with you more," I agreed with Sky and got in between the two guys.

  The rest of the day at college flew by.

  Sky still seemed a little bit under the weather. When asked, "When did you last eat?" she had answered, "Does sweetened tea count?"

  Which, in her language, meant "a day or two ago."

  I bought her three candy bars at the kiosk and insisted that she eat them in front of me.

  "This is torture!" she complained when she opened the second bar.

  "It's all for love," I told her with a smile.

  I knew that she was not starving on purpose. Sky was very sensitive and when she was worried, she didn't eat anything.

  But from the looks of her, she had to eat. I was afraid she might keel over in the next moment.

  "Benji will talk some sense into him," I said as we headed for the parking lot.

  "It's not as if I resent him for not wanting to be with me anymore," Sky explained, opening her Porsche with the push of a button. "But after everything that's been... that he's told me and... the closeness between us..."

  She faltered.

  I tried to block out the image of her and Madox fucking. Something about it had always felt wrong to me... and weird.

  "I just don't understand how he can just dump me like that! I just want what's best for him.

  Resigned, she threw her bag into the passenger seat.

  I stood before her and put my hand on her shoulder.

  "When he calms down, I'm sure he can explain it to you. Maybe something happened to his parents or something."

  It was a pitiful attempt to cheer up my girlfriend a little, to comfort her.

  Madox, like Benji, was unpredictable. He was difficult to judge. Despite everything, he was not a monster and that he cared about Sky was clear as daylight.

  There had to be a reasonable explanation for his behaviour!

  The only question was whether he would tell her.

  ***

  When I came home, Lu was standing in the kitchen munching a leftover donut.

  Bill's housekeeper bought all kinds of sweet pastries with her coffee every other day.

  It was important for Mom to watch her figure, so not every day.

  "How was training?" I asked my little sister and dropped the oversized handbag on the marble floor.

  "Sucks!", Lu replied and made a grimace.

  I giggled because it was covered with chocolate around her mouth.

  "Why?" I asked, and sat down on the cooking island.

  Lu was passionate about riding. So she spent every spare minute at the vice country club taking care of the horses.

  It was an advantage that our mother's husband also had a thing for the four-legged friends.

  When Lu was not at the club, she hung around on Bill's ranch.

  Many times I envied my sister for her passion. She always had a light in her eyes when she talked about the animals

  "Magnus used to skulk around the place all the time, making all sorts of silly comments. He said my attitude wasn't right and felt sorry for Ronald because he had to drag a rider like me around.

  Lu shoved the last bite of donut into his mouth and chewed on it vigorously.

  Ronald was her favourite horse - and Magnus the little brother of Benji.

  He was a universally popular blond surfer who, apart from his immense self-confidence, didn't have very much in common with his big brother.

  "Maybe he has a crush on you," I replied with a shrug.

  Lu puffed away.

  "Excuse me?" she shouted in indignation.

  "Well," I said. "He's always bugging you, he's always hanging around you..."

  I jumped off the sideboard and opened the refrigerator.

  "It sucks so much," Lu whined. "Trust me, he'd rather eat a broom than be nice to me for once. Plus, he's always picking up women Mom's age."

  Lu made a disgusted look on his face while I put the oat milk on the counter. I took two glasses from the cupboard and poured some for her and me

  "Does nobody in the club know about this?" I asked sceptically.

  A moment later I wanted to take back the question.

  Because I remembered that the Kings in this city had a free ticket.

  "Nobody there cares. The main thing is paying customers," Lu guessed and reached for her glass.

  "Should I talk to Benji?"

  "No way!" cried Lu and looked at me forcefully. "Otherwise Magnus will end up thinking I'm dependent on my big sister's help to cope with him!"

  "Isn't that you?" I joked and swiped some chocolate sprinkles off her plate.

  "H-a h-a!", Lu replied with a grin while I licked my finger.

  "Who are you actually going to the Winter Ball with?", she wanted to know now. "James?

  She waggled her eyebrows provocatively.

  I was tense inside.

  To buy some time, I took a big sip of my milk.

  Then I turned around and put the glass in the dishwasher.

  "Josh," I said and reached for my bag.

  "Josh?", echoing Lu, swept her brown braid off her shoulder.

  "Like the stoner-josh who throws these huge parties at the beginning of every semester?"

  I rolled my eyes.

  "He's not a pothead!" I defended the well-known marijuana love
r.

  "What about James?" Lu asked, because I had come home crying after watching the kiss between him and Mackenzie.

  And because I didn't want to tell my sister another lie, when she asked me what was wrong, I said, "I miss James."

  She had drilled a little more, whereupon I confessed that I still had feelings for him.

  That was the truth. Just not the whole truth.

  "You should finally talk to him," said Lu, before she emptied her glass, too.

  "Let's see," I dodged her and reached for her dishes to put them in the dishwasher.

  "Swallow your pride, sis! Besides, so much time has passed already. I don't think he's still mad."

  I respond to my sister's remark with a gentle sigh.

  Then I booted up the stairs.

  "I'm studying," I shouted halfway up.

  "Much spaahaaß", Lu scribbled back. "If you need new batteries - I still have some!"

  A reference to my loud vibrator.

  "You're disgusting!"

  I shook my head in laughter.

  THANK YOU

  Peter Bold - Thank you for taking me by the hand and leading me so far (and also a big thank you to your wife and author, Lana Stone, for taking the time). Without you, my path would have been different, so I am very happy that you took me under your wing!

  Ismene Garber-Arndt - Is it an exaggeration to say that you are my sidekick? (Okay, now much more than that! Anyway, I'm insanely happy to know you and grateful for your friendship)

  Manuela Bartlau & Vero Schlotmann-Thiessen - You improve my stories and my writing style many times over. I am incredibly happy and grateful for what you are doing for me! I don't want to miss you anymore!

  Alexa Adamsky, Kerstin Müller, Heidi Leifgen, Sandra Mairinger, Nicole Kradepohl - A very big THANK YOU! You know what for.

  Claudia Harauer - Thanks for always providing me with such great ideas, motivation and encouragement!

  You have contributed a lot to the book and I wouldn't want to miss your advice anymore!

  My dear test readers - I am very happy to have you in my team. Your warm and attentive nature is a great gift. I thank you for your continuous support and for your loving and sometimes funny words. Your feedback gives me the opportunity to look beyond my own nose and make all future stories even better. THANK YOU ☺!

  IMPRESSUM

  Alice Ann Wonder

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  34414 Warburg

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