“What do I always get?” I ask, groaning as the delicious scent causes me to salivate.
“One scoop of peanut butter toffee, one scoop of chocolate-cherry blitz with fudge on top and one cherry,” she recites my order by memory.
“Damn straight.” My stomach growls again as we place our order, my eyes finally drifting away from the sweet delights in the refrigerated case, to the man standing just behind it.
Draven Malone, one of our classmates, gives me a secretive smirk as he prepares our order. Well, hello.
We go to stand at the cash register, and it gives me time to get a superb look at him. He’s been in my grade since kindergarten, but I never really noticed him until now. Shallow, I know, but whatever.
I mean, I’ve seen him in passing plenty of times, but haven’t had the pleasure of introducing myself. Such a shame, though. He’s perfection in that little apron of his.
It seems, with summer, that not only has he shed his braces and glasses, but he’s bulked up. He’s about the size of Davis now, but just a tad bit more defined. Damn good spank bank material if I say so myself.
Especially, I give him another once over, if the outer package doesn’t stray too far from what’s hiding underneath.
“Draven Malone,” I coo, ramping up for a brief exchange of flirtation.
“Hi, Jessalyn.” He blushes, putting our desserts down on the counter.
His eyes catch mine, and I flick my gaze down his body. I suggestively lick my lips as my eyes settle back on his. “What have you been up to all summer?”
I can practically feel Karma rolling her eyes into the back of her head. Seriously, I can, but it doesn’t have any heat behind it.
She can wait and gawk if she likes. Now that she’s with Davis, I don’t have a wing-woman anymore. So, I have to get my kicks somewhere.
Leaning a hip against the counter, I get a buzz of giddy excitement. I think I just found my first conquest of the year.
Resting my arm on top of the register, I’m all prowess and surety as I flick my hand out, running the tips of my fingers along his side. He visibly shivers under my touch, which lights a fire inside of me, urging me to see just how far I can get “good boy” Malone to go.
Let’s hope it’s more than just his body that’s changed since last year.
“I, uh …” His eyes heat to a blistering degree as he stares down at my exposed cleavage.
“Oh,” I flirt, licking my bottom lip before taking it between my teeth. “Don’t hold out on me. I’m not much for delayed gratification.”
His Adam’s apple bobs with the effort, his chest rising and falling just a little faster than before.
Damn. He is hook, line, and sinker, and all I had to do was a little flirting.
He probably won’t last much longer than that in bed, which would not be a crowd pleaser. Again, let’s hope I’m wrong. At least, for my sake.
An audible gasp of shock releases from Karma, but it’s not like I’m going to pay attention to that. She’s always a little uncomfortable with how strong I come on to the men I want. Not like it is old news. But I guess to Karma, she never can prepare herself for as raunchy and dirty as I can get.
That’s me. I give no fucks, take no fucks—but I fuck really well.
The moment his eyes break away from mine, though, all the high I have from roping him in dwindles. And when it does, that’s when I feel a disturbingly familiar heat racing up my back. I’m sure whatever it is, it’s in my head. It’s been years since I’ve felt the electricity, the heat, and I don’t look for that to change anytime soon.
Fear, and dare I say, loyalty shines bright in Malone’s eyes when he peers over me. He’s clearly staring at something, or should I say, someone. Maybe I shouldn’t push it out of my mind just yet, because clearly, there is someone standing behind me. And clearly, Malone seems to have forgotten all about me as his gaze connects with theirs.
Hell, he’s not even worrying about the money Karma slaps down on the counter. He’s just mute, as if waiting for instructions. Weird.
Feet shuffle closer, Draven’s eyes grow wider. But that’s not what has me choking on my saliva. It’s not what has horror coating my insides.
The heat, I wasn’t imagining it before.
It’s still as heady as it was two years ago.
Still as intense, as seductive, as I remember it.
Only this time, I’m feeling it in a whole new light. I could appreciate it. Revel in the feel of it ghosting along my flesh, if it didn’t belong to the person that strikes nothing but hatred inside me.
“Don’t slum with the trash, Malone,” an eerily familiar voice grinds out behind me, causing a shudder to race down my spine. It’s the same, only deeper, a gravelly, satisfying timbre. “Savoy isn’t worth the time it would take to get your dick hard.”
I can feel the push and pull already. It’s psyching my body out, tricking it into believing it wants what’s behind it.
That will never happen.
This must be a dream. A nightmare. There’s no way I’m standing in the middle of my favorite restaurant with Satan nipping at my heels. Karma—not my friend—has to be playing a trick on me, because this cannot be happening.
My eyes flick over toward Karma, but I quickly find she’s not looking at me, either. Instead, her gaze is as wide as saucers. Equal parts fear and wonder leech from her pores. Her mouth threatens to hit the floor. It’s the same look many people used to shoot his way.
They revered him; made him out to be a king, instead of the devil he is.
“Did you miss me, Savoy?” I literally have no words. They’re all caught on the lump in my throat. A lump that feels very much like the contents of my stomach. “With the way your body is so goddamn tight, I’d wager to say you have.”
How can I miss something I never had? I could cry—either with anger or suppressed longing that still buries itself deep inside me. At this point, I’m kind of scared to see which it will be.
“C-Callum?” I inquire, hating the way my voice sounds so pathetic.
It’s been two years since I’ve seen him. Two years of pain and ridicule. All because this asshole filled my head full of beautiful promises, he had no intention of keeping. He whispered those sweet nectar of possibilities into my ear, then at the first scent of trouble, tossed it all away as though it never existed.
Maybe it didn’t.
Maybe he lied so much his actions transformed. So much so, he actually started believing it. Because I’ll be honest, when Callum screwed me over it took me completely by surprise. I never saw it coming; never even thought he could react so viciously.
He didn’t even allow me the courtesy to explain myself. Tell him everything that happened at his party while I replayed what I could in my mind. His place should have offered a hint of protection from monsters. But, if anything, it only managed to make it easier.
There are things that happened that night I’ll never be able to come to terms with. Ever. An instance no person should ever have to go through.
And, you know what?
Every person in Silver Creek believed the cruel words he twisted inside their heads from afar! Before the dust even thought about setting, his family moved halfway across the country. One day he was there, in my arms. Then the next, he was gone as if he never existed.
Due to his anger and since of betrayal, he turned me into the pariah I am today. All without allowing me five minutes to explain. He just took one look at me, snarled through gorgeous lips of his, and left.
A moment later, I feel a wall of muscle press against my back. His heat, scent, and firmness meld me into the counter. It digs into my hips painfully, eliciting a choked gasp from between my parted lips.
There’s nothing I can do. I’m frozen. Not sure if it’s in shock or fear at the moment.
All I know is that I’ve dreamed of this day. The day he would finally stop tucking his tail between be legs and come back. Fantasized of the ways I would knock him off the ped
estal the people of Silver Creek put him on.
Goddammit! This is my chance to kick him all the way down until he is nothing more than rubble under my feet. I have so much lying in wait to toss at him, so much to unload off my chest. But I can’t do it. The moment finally arrives, and I can’t bring my mouth to find the words I’ve been dying to release on him for two years.
His breath wisps across the side of my neck seconds before his lips press against my ear. “Hmm, so she remembers?”
It’s too much. All of this is too much.
I fucking remember.
I remember every freaking second of it.
The lies, and how they smelled as sweet as newly processed honey. His touch—how they make my inside tremble with need and want.
Still, none of that overshadows anything swirling around in my head. I still hurt. Bleed into the floor at my feet, waiting for the moment the last drop vacates my body. It’s a daily thing for me, but that doesn’t mean I have to be that girl anymore. For just a fleeting moment, I have to find the strength to at least get away from him.
His arrival has caught me off guard. Nothing can most days. Not with what happened in the past. But I didn’t have time to prepare and ready myself.
Maybe this is what he wanted, since he likes me being uncomfortable. While he’s laughing behind my back, I can by dying inside and he would not care an ounce.
Just thinking that has blood rushing to my face. The sadistic pleasure he’s probably garnering from my cowered appearance.
“G-Get off me,” I stammer out. Tears of pain prick my eyes.
Not here. Not now. I can’t give them freedom, allowing all these people to bear witness to the utter horror and weakness I feel. To the humiliation, thinking everyone could be remembering what happened between us.
I thought I put all that behind me. Could have sworn it was no longer a problem. I was wrong. It’s definitely a problem, and the devil standing behind me is forcing it to rise to the surface.
“Make me,” he taunts, forcing a sob to catch in my throat as I continue thinking about that night.
His voice is demonic, so unlike what it used to be. It’s deepened to a rich, husky timbre. It’s decadent, manly. But where there used to be an underlying note of innocence, now all I hear, feel, taste, and smell, is darkness.
“Jessalyn?” I hear Karma pipe up in a whisper. “W-Who is this?”
He’s the guy who broke me, Karma. The guy that broke me so thoroughly, I’m positive he still has pieces of my soul buried in his back pocket. Instead, I reply, my throat thick with emotion, “He’s no one.”
“Oh?” he states, his body thrusting me against the counter painfully.
He continues holding me there for several seconds. Silence descends on the ice cream shop, everyone waiting with bated breath to see what he has to say. They’re always waiting for him. They always allow him to do whatever he wants, no matter the consequences. It’s rubbish, disgusting.
But finally, he moves far enough away for me to turn around. I can still feel his left side grazing mine, but it’s enough I can breathe again without fear of choking.
I know this isn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. To be honest, I’m not even sure I’m ready to come face-to-face with the person who shredded my soul and feasted on the bloody meat of my wounds. But I have to. There’s a burning passion inside of me, begging to make him see just exactly what he’s turned me into.
Not that he’d care. But deep down, I know it’ll make me feel better once the shock wears off. At least, a small part of me thinks so.
Slowly, my arm drops away the cash register. My heart leaps into my throat, but I gather as much courage as I have and turn to face him. My breath shudders in my chest when my eyes connect with perfect, non-scuffed, Doc Martin shoes.
They rise, noting the expensiveness of his shredded jeans, then the softness of his black V-neck shirt. It stretches across his insanely muscular body in the most enticing way. They continue to rise, catching on a chin that’s appears strong, chiseled, with just a smattering of scruff lining it.
His skin has a healthy tan, leading me to believe wherever he’s been for the past two years is, a majority of the time, sunny.
“You finished checking me out?” I catch the slight glimpse of silver in his mouth as he speaks, but I can’t stop on it too long, because his words have me jerking my eyes up to his.
My entire world explodes the moment my eyes meet his. It pulls me apart in a thousand different ways before trying to piece me back together once more. Jaded green eyes capture mine, stealing my breath. They’re feral with anger; like two deep pools of liquid fire and ice battling for victory.
The only thing that snaps me out of my trance is the disgustingly, arrogant smirk tugging at lips. That look so foreign, yet so familiar at the same time. The action causes the simmering heat in my belly to release.
“I’m not checking you out,” I seethe. Good one, Jess.
“Sure, you weren’t.” He widens his smirks, then looks over my head, completely disregarding me. “This looks good, Malone. Thanks, man.”
Without another word, Callum dismisses me and picks up both sundaes. I’m too stunned to say anything as he walks away without offering another glance. I can’t stop the questions from rolling through my mind as I watch him, outraged at his behavior.
Callum Lockridge has nothing to be angry over or snippy about. Just five minutes would put a stop to the madness that has been the last two years. But he’ll never give me that, because Callum Lockridge is an asshole.
He’s not the one that had their life ripped apart. Instead, he everyone saw him as the victim in our relationship.
He’s nothing but a boy; an insufferable boy that still has no idea how to listen to someone other than himself.
“Jessalyn?” I hear Karma tentatively murmur beside me, but I still can’t take my eyes off Callum. When he comes to a stop, my eyes drift over the other occupants of the table. There are three boys I’ve never seen before, staring daggers back at me.
I can’t stop my reaction when my eyes narrow into deathly slits of irritation and fury. The feeling is as paper thin as my fragile strength, but I refuse to cower to any of them. Particularly, when I allow more than just those four to come into focus. That’s when the heat sets in, a pearl of sweat sliding down the back of my neck as the flames in my stomach roar even higher.
Only, this turbulent set of flames is one of humiliation and devastation.
He’s sitting at the booth as if nothing is wrong. As if he didn’t just tilt my entire world on its axis, then sit back and laugh while some co-ed sucks him off.
The same booth that aided in my downfall.
Just seeing him sitting there again, without a care in the world, has the painful memory breaking free. Claws like I’ve never felt before sink deep into my mind, forcing me to fall prey to its deathly allure.
I’m lost, and the only thing I see is Callum and that motherfucking booth.
CHAPTER 5
I’m so nervous. My stomach is nothing more than a case of flurry butterflies flapping all over the place. It’s, like, I can feel each individual, feather-soft tipped wing as it caresses the lining of my belly.
Not that it’s a bad feeling, per se, but it is different entirely. It’s a dissimilar emotion than what my father evokes in me. Instead of being lost and terrified, it feels like I came home after a long adventure, full sated. A sense of security and safety wraps around me like a warm blanket of trust.
Also, the only time I feel this way is when he’s near me; when he’s staring at me as if I’m the only girl in the world. It’s almost enough to take my breath away.
Someone like Callum shouldn’t even glance my way. As an alternative, he should be with a member of the queen bee squad at school. That’s where he belongs. It’s where he fits in at. With his wealth and gorgeous looks, he doesn’t belong with a nobody like me.
Yet, when I asked him about that on our second date, he seem
ed to grow upset by the mere mention of their names. Not that I blame him, they’re no fans of mine, either.
Still, it was like he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, believe I brought them up to him. But I was only speaking the truth, begging him to realize I was right. Except, he didn’t. Not even once. Didn’t even entertain the idea like I know most guys our age would.
He completely and utterly rebuffed the idea. And I can’t say I’m not happy, either. That would be a lie. Even though he should be with one of them, Alessandra more specifically, even though I hate her freaking guts with a fire burning passion, I’m glad he chose me.
So, I stopped talking about them. Didn’t even think to murmur their names, even in passing. Because I knew what would happen if I did. Callum would clam up. He’d still hold my hand, walk me to my classes, and give me a parting kiss on the cheek. But he wouldn’t be with me, if that makes sense. And I desperately needed him with me everywhere I went. His laughter, his touch—the way he made me feel like the only girl in the world.
I crave his attention more viciously than I have anyone else's. It keeps me going, even on the days I don’t think I can make it at home. Just a text from him lights my entire world up, and I don’t want that feeling to go away. Not when there was nothing else to look forward to.
Debra and my father aren’t speaking to each other again. The only attention I get from either of them are in passing. And I never live for Debra’s attention, because she’s nowhere near as nice as my father.
So, I’m being selfish. For the first time in my life, I’m being a self-interested girl with egotistical actions. I’m not even sorry for it, either. Because this is the first time, in so long, I’ve actually been honest to God happy.
By the time our fourth, fifth, and sixth date came and went, the ball of dread in my stomach started to loosen. It made room for the fluttering feelings I have now, and any time I see Callum when I get to school or go to his house. It’s been that way for the past six months, and honestly, I don’t think it will end anytime soon.
Break Me, Baby: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance (Silver Creek High Book 1) Page 4
