The Retribution: A High School Light Bully Romance (Beverly Hills Prep Academy Book 3)

by Melissa Adams

  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 softly 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.”

  Knox laughs and for the first time it isn't a tight, little smirk but a full on belly laugh that makes him look younger, almost boyish with his eyes crinkling at the sides and that smatter of freckles on his nose that softens his appearance.

  “Ha ha ha. No. Eww! Margaux, did you hear this?”

  The blonde cheerleader captain walks closer to us with a little amused laugh of her own.

  I think it’s the first time I see Margaux smile.

  “Is that what you think? That Knox and I are dating?”

  I’m confused.

  “Aren't you?”

  “Yeah, no. Knox’s right. Eww. He’s my brother!”

  “Your brother?”

  Margaux shoots her brother a provoking look but I notice a soft glint in her eyes and the affectionate way she touches his arm.

  “Yup. And no, before you ask, we aren't twins, I’m way too good looking to be his twin. Knox turned eighteen at the end of January and my big one eight is at the beginning of November.”

  Knox laughs again.

  “Yeah, she's the good looking one and obviously the hilarious one. I’ve got ... other skills.”

  His voice dips down by a full octave and his grey eyes look suggestively down my body.

  He manages that without looking creepy: something in the way he looks at me makes my heart beat faster and I say yes to going out with him without even thinking.

  “Awesome! If you give me your phone number, I’ll ring it so you’ll have mine. Drop me a text with your address and I'll pick you up at seven?”

  “I don't mind driving to your house. After all that's where the party is?”

  Knox winks at me again, it seems to be a habit of his.

  “The party actually starts at nine. I thought we could go grab something to eat beforehand?”

  Knox and I make arrangements to see each other later and when he hugs me goodbye, I pick up on his scent of soap, mixed with something spicier, like clove. How can he smell so good after a workout?

  I walk straight to my car, deciding to take my time to shower at home, maybe even take a bath and relax before my date.

  There's a little part of me that feels guilty, as if going out with Knox is wrong because of Devon.

  But I silence that part of my conscience because Devon has been acting as if we didn't even know each other, so I don't owe him anything.

  “Hey smalls! At what time can Teague and I come to pick you up to go to tonight’s party?”

  Landon and Teague catch up with me as I’m about to get in my car and I look at their smiles, Landon’s open one and Teague’s sexy, barely there one.

  I noticed that Teague smiles more with his eyes. His lips only quirk up the tiniest little bit.

  I feel really embarrassed, they hadn't even mentioned the party, I didn't know about it until Knox asked me to go with him.

  So I tell them that I already have a date.

  “Aww, man! It's all your fault!”

  Landon complains to his friend and then explains that they’ve spent the last two days arguing about who’d get to ask me out and they only just decided to ask me together since neither of them was prepared to back down.

  “Can I ask you who's your date?”

  Teague's eyes get suddenly serious and intense and I realise that this isn’t just a joke to him.

  He really wanted to go out with me.

  When I tell him that my date is Knox, he shakes his head.

  “I see.”

  I get it that he's disappointed but Landon's smile is gone too.

  “Why? What's wrong with Knox?”

  Landon's the first to talk.

  “Nothing. Just... Knox's a serial dater. He's been out with every pretty girl at school. Except for his sister, obviously. He doesn't seem to keep his attention on the same girl for more than one or two dates.”

  There's a veiled warning in his voice and it totally rubs me the wrong way.

  It reminds me of the way Abi warned me on my last night at the beach, right before I went out with Devon.

  It doesn't matter that Abi was right about Devon's intentions, I just hate that everybody treats me as if I were an idiot.

  So I nod curtly.

  “Ok, duly noted. See you at the party.”

  I get in my car and drive off seething about the fact that everyone wants to tell me who to date: my parents, my sister and now Landon and Teague.

  3.

  A Kissing Game

  Aubrey

  I LOOK AT MYSELF IN the mirror: I’m wearing a chiffon black dress with a pattern of tiny white flowers.

  It has an A line and it hits a few inches above my knee.

  It shows off my generous cleavage without being too slutty.

  High black wedge sandals complete the look and I decided on minimal make-up and my long, dark brown hair is flowing freely down my back.

  I’m excited and nervous about this party for so many reasons: not only the fact that my date is super sexy looking but quite closed off, but also the knowledge that Devon will be there too.

  And no, I’m not using Knox to make Devon jealous.

  First of all it wouldn't be right and secondly, I doubt that Devon will even give a shit about who I see, considering how he made a point of ignoring me all week.

  He actually pretended that I was invisible, he wasn't just refusing to acknowledge me.

  Another thing that makes me nervous is Landon and Teague's behaviour: Landon seemed really upset that I had a date to the party and Teague didn't say anything but I saw the disappointment in his blue eyes, even if he was trying hard to conceal it and act cool about it.

  But how would I know that they wanted to ask me out if they never even mentioned it, despite having had lunch with me every day this week?

  And also, I mean, surely I could go out with only one of ‘em and not both?

  How were they planning to solve that problem?

  Unless they didn't mind you going out with both of them ...

  I shake my head: the little voice in my head sounds like Abi.

  But I know it's just my fucking subconscious because deep down I envy my sister.

  I know it isn't fair because before meeting her guys, she had the shittiest possible childhood known to man, growing up basically secluded in a convent.

  But she has the hottest, sweetest, sexiest, most amazing boyfriends ever!

  Including my all time biggest celebrity crush, Chaz Atwood!

  Abi’s a sweetheart, so she deserves the doting way all four boys love her but I can't help wishing something similar for myself.

  Damn, even one fucking boyfriend would be awesome!

  Honestly the fact that the only guy I’ve ever felt anything remotely close to love for, is basically pretending that I don't even exist after I gave him my virginity doesn't really do wonders for my confidence.

  I look at my own reflection one last time and tell myself that I can't let one asshole determine the way I feel about myself.

  It doesn't matter if I thought that I was falling for him.

  And this is actually one of the things that hurt me the most: the fact that he said that he was falling for me just to get in my pants and I believed him.

  The doorbell interrupts my reveries and I realise that it's seven, so I run downstairs and open the door to my date.

  And hot damn!

  If I thought that Knox was hot in his academy uniform and in his football gear, it's because I’d never seen him in his street clothes.

  He’s wearing a tight, sleeveless black t-shirt that shows how cut and defined his chest and abs are and leaves his powerful arms uncovered, showcasing a complex black tattoo on his left shoulder and arm that reaches all the way down past his elbow.

  White slacks and black skater style shoes finish off his unpretentious but really sexy look.

  His smile reaches his grey eyes when he looks at me and he doesn't hide his slow perusal of my body.

  I
like the confidence that Knox exudes: he is who he is and he isn't sorry about it.

  It's sexy together with his brooding and slightly ironic attitude.

  “You look beautiful, Aubrey. Come on, we have a reservation, we can't be late for dinner.”

  He drives a sleek gun metal coloured convertible Bentley and his driving is fast but confident and relaxed.

  We don't talk much until he stops in front of a casual looking restaurant with an amazing beach view.

  The building is entirely made of wood and glass: it looks like a giant veranda, all open and airy.

  We’re ushered to a table outside on the patio: the restaurant decor is rustic but welcoming and the relief in my smile must be obvious, because Knox asks me what's up.

  “It looks like you were holding your breath? Do I drive too fast?”

  His eyes are intense and his lips quirk up in a little smile.

  Part of me wants to brush it off but I decide to tell him how I feel.

  “I’m just relieved that you didn't choose a super fancy restaurant. My last date was like that and ...”

  The edge of his hand touches mine on the table: it's intentional and the contact with his warm skin causes a stronger reaction than I’d have expected.

  It’s like a tingling, buzzing little wave that travels up my arm and then down again, flooding me with warmth.

  Knox doesn't say anything, waiting for me to explain further and when I don't, he asks.

  “I assume that it didn't go well? Or you’d be out with him right now, right?”

  His tone isn't taunting, just matter of fact but there's a softness to his deep voice, as if he weren't judging either way.

  For a second, I think about telling him everything about my fling with Devon but then I decide against it because Devon couldn't have made it any clearer that he doesn't want anyone to know that we even know each other.

  Not that I owe him anything but if ignoring me is what he wants, two can play that game.

  “Yeah, it didn't work out. It was a summer fling anyway, I guess.”

  Those words make me sound a lot more blasé than I feel about the whole situation, they hide the disappointment, the heartbreak.