The Touch of a Villain: An Enemies to Lovers High School Romance (The Boys of Clermont Bay Book 1)

by Holly Renee

  I tucked my phone back in my pocket and tried my hardest to concentrate on what the teacher was saying. But as every minute of the class ticked on, my heart began to race, and my headache worsened. I was going to have to deal with Beck in my next class.

  I was going to have to deal with him over and over again, and I was going to have to figure out how to not be affected by him.

  But I wasn’t sure if I could do that.

  When the bell rang, I stuffed my things in my bag and shuffled out of the classroom before Cami could catch me. I moved to the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror of the packed room.

  “You’re Josie, right?” Some girl I had never seen before asked as she applied lipstick to her lips.

  “That’s me.”

  She smirked before slowly placing the lid on her lipstick and turning toward me. “I heard about you and Beck. Ouch.”

  I narrowed my eyes and tried to calm the urge to run.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Him and Cami. You and him.” Her gaze flicked over me, and I knew that she was watching for any sort of reaction. “The rest of us already knew the score when we’d been with Beck, but I heard that you looked shocked.”

  Nausea rolled in my stomach, and I swallowed the heavy saliva in my mouth. “I haven’t been with Beck.”

  “Oh.” She acted genuinely shocked. “Then it’s a good thing you found out now.”

  There were other girls moving around the bathroom, in and out of the stalls, vying for a fraction of the mirrors, and I could tell they were all listening to our conversation.

  “Thank you for the heads-up, but there’s nothing going on between us.” And there never would be.

  “Good.” She nodded. “I think Cami knows about most of us.” She winced as if she was actually ashamed, and my nausea threatened to boil over. Beck had been with this girl? She had known him intimately, and I was… I had no idea what I was. “They are on again, off again all the time, but he always goes back to her.”

  He always goes back to her.

  I had no idea if her sole intention was to wound me, but she had. No matter what I thought I did or didn’t feel for Beck, her words had sliced through me and my breath caught in my throat.

  The warning bell rang, indicating that we were going to be late for class, and she quickly grabbed her things. I didn’t look at her again as I moved. I barely saw anyone.

  All I could see was him with her, with Cami, with me.

  Beck could have any girl he wanted, and apparently, he did.

  I shouldn’t have been shocked by that fact. He was who he was, and there was nothing that would happen to change that.

  I moved into the classroom and as soon as I looked up, I saw him. He was staring at me, watching the doorway for when I arrived, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe as I stared at him.

  I avoided his side of the room altogether and quickly claimed a seat as far away from him as I could.

  I could still feel him staring at me, but I didn’t dare look up.

  Beck was bad for me. He was bad, and I knew it.

  It was right there in front of my face, and I couldn’t be an idiot about that fact anymore.

  Whatever game he was playing, I was done.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Josie

  “My friend Allie is going to meet us here if that’s okay.” I sat on Cami’s bed and looked around her room.

  “That’s fine.” She came out of the closet holding a dress that looked tiny. “There will be a ton of people here tonight.”

  “Everyone from school?” I hadn’t really gotten to know anyone yet. Not other than the nosy questions and the uninvited stories about Beck. And there had been plenty. The girl in the bathroom had only been the first.

  Apparently, people thought it was their place to keep me informed.

  It didn’t matter that Cami liked me, or at least she was acting like she did. Every trip to the bathroom, a girl stopped me to tell me about how heartbroken Cami was when she heard that Beck had something going on with me. I assured them all that there was nothing going on.

  Because there wasn’t.

  Not anymore.

  “Yeah. The whole school will be here, a few people from Clermont High, and a few guys that have already graduated.” She held the dress up to her body and looked at herself in the mirror as she turned this way and that. “I’m going to set you up with someone.”

  She looked giddy, as if the thought had just come to her, but I knew better. I knew this was her way of telling me that Beck was off-limits to me, and she was going to try her best to make me off-limits to him.

  “I don’t know about that.” I laughed and pulled a pair of jeans out of my bag. I hadn’t realized the attire for her party was going to be so dressy. I hadn’t brought anything that even compared to her dress.

  “It will be good for you. There’s some real eye candy coming tonight.” She winked at me in the mirror before turning in my direction and eyeing my jeans. “It doesn’t have to be anything serious.”

  “I’ll think about it.” That was the most I would give her even though it was a lie. If Beck had taught me anything, it was that a guy during my senior year in Clermont Bay wasn’t a good idea.

  It didn’t matter how good of eye candy he was.

  But Cami didn’t need to know all that. She didn’t need to know that her boyfriend/non-boyfriend would be my first and last hook up in this town. I felt bad enough about it on my own.

  “What else did you bring?” She nodded toward my jeans, and I winced as I brought out a black band t-shirt. “I can work with this.”

  I didn’t have a clue what she meant until she pulled out a pair of scissors and ran them along the knee of my jeans. I reached out to stop her before I remembered that to girls like her, clothing was nothing. It didn’t matter that I had worked for about four hours to be able to pay for those jeans.

  It was nothing but fabric to her. Just like I was just another girl to her boyfriend.

  By the time Cami got finished restyling my jeans and me, I looked almost unrecognizable in the mirror.

  If Cami didn’t like me, she wasn’t showing it. She had made me look the best I had ever looked. She had ripped my jeans in a way that made them look like they were meant to be that way, my band t-shirt was knotted at my waist, and the smallest sliver of my stomach was showing. She had lined my eyes with a slick black eyeliner that winged out at the sides, and she had left my lips perfectly nude.

  I felt good. Even if none of these people liked me except for Allie. I still wanted to impress them.

  And even though I shouldn’t, I wanted Beck to see me too. I wanted him to see me and regret the things he had done. I wanted him to regret lying to me about Cami and everything else that had ever passed his lips.

  Cami, who looked like she was bred for this life. She was in a skin-tight dress that I would never be able to pull off. It was barely longer than my t-shirt had been before she tied it up.

  But she looked incredible. Her blonde hair was piled on her head in a large bun and her makeup was flawless.

  I understood why Beck would want her. I was sure the entire school did too. Cami was gorgeous, and she knew it. She was confident and didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of her.

  She was so vastly different from me.

  Her friends were the same. I knew that their names were Becca and Ashley, but I couldn’t remember which one was which. They hadn’t really spoken to me much since we had been here. They were clearly comfortable in Cami’s house, but they didn’t seem comfortable with me.

  I tried to not let that bother me.

  These girls were temporary in my life. They didn’t matter.

  By the time we left her room for the party, there were already a dozen or more people hanging around. I had a feeling that Cami’s must have been a normal party spot because no one seemed to feel out of place. They were pouring drinks from her makeshift bar on the dining room table and laughin
g as the music beat through speakers.

  I had no idea how Cami wasn’t worried about her house. The place was massive and covered in decor that I knew had to cost a fortune, but she didn’t seem concerned at all as she poured us both vodka and soda into cups.

  I accepted the drink without a complaint and took a quick sip as I checked my phone. Allie was on her way, but I needed her here now.

  I may have had to suffer school without her, but I refused to suffer this party.

  “Josie, this is Chad.” I was leaning against the wall as Cami walked up to me with a guy I had never seen before. If he went to Clermont Bay Prep, I didn’t recognize him.

  “Chad. This is Josie.” I pushed off the wall and reached out my hand to him when he pushed his in my direction.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Chad.”

  “Likewise.” He was handsome and his smile was kind.

  “Do you go to Prep?” I took another sip of the drink and tried to calm my nerves.

  “I did.” He nodded. “I graduated last year.”

  “Oh, cool.” I scanned the growing crowd. It felt a little weird that he would still want to be partying with a bunch of high schoolers, but I guess these were his friends.

  “You going to Prep? I swear I would have remembered you.” He grinned and his eyes sparked with mischief.

  I nodded at his question and smiled. “It’s my first year there.”

  “The new girl?” He chuckled. “That can be a bit rough.”

  “Yeah. They aren’t gentle.”

  He laughed at that, truly laughed, and his smile revealed the smallest dimple on his cheek. Chad was more than just handsome. Something about him seemed charming, even.

  But I couldn’t stop myself from comparing him to Beck.

  His eyes seemed dull compared to Beck’s hazel ones that held so much emotion. His smile almost fake.

  I knew that was harsh. I knew that the way he smiled at me had nothing to do with Beck, but my stomach didn’t tighten when he grinned. My heart rate didn’t kick up.

  “Hey, girl.” Allie walked up, and I couldn’t stop smiling as I looked at her outfit. She was the only other girl I had seen so far who was also wearing jeans. She still looked amazing, but she somehow made me feel more at ease.

  She made me feel like I wasn’t a complete outsider.

  “Hi.” I hugged her, and she whispered in my ear.

  “Who’s this tool?”

  I couldn’t stop my small laugh as I turned her toward Chad. “Allie, this is Chad. Chad, Allie.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Allie.” He gave her the exact same smile he had been giving me.

  “You too. Wait.” She snapped her fingers. “I think I know you. Did you play baseball last year?”

  “I did.” His grin became even larger.

  “I thought so. We almost smoked you guys.”

  I couldn’t stop smiling as his fell.

  “You a Clermont High girl?”

  “Guilty.” She did a little curtsy, and God, I was so glad she was here.

  “Captain.” Carson walked up behind Chad and slapped him on the back. “I didn’t realize you’d be here tonight.”

  If Carson was here, that meant Beck wouldn’t be far behind. I couldn’t stop myself from searching behind Carson for him. I didn’t care if he knew what I was doing. I just didn’t want to be surprised when he walked in. I didn’t want to be caught off guard.

  “Let’s go grab a drink.” Allie pulled her gaze away from Carson to talk to me, but Carson was staring at her. He looked pissed off. Like he didn’t want to see her here, maybe us, but I didn’t really care what he thought.

  I linked my arm in Allie’s. “It was nice to meet you, Chad. I’ll see you around later?”

  “For sure.” He smiled again, and now all I could think about was how different it was from his. He was already ruining this for me, and he wasn’t even here yet.

  Allie and I walked arm in arm through the party, and I was surprised by how many people had accumulated so quickly. I had no idea where Cami was. She had disappeared the moment she dropped Chad at my feet.

  “Where did you find him?” She looked at me like I was insane, but I thought he seemed nice.

  “Cami.”

  “Of course, you did.” She rolled her eyes. She hadn’t said anything about Cami when I told her that she had been friendly to me at school, but I could tell that she wasn’t her biggest fan.

  “He seems nice.”

  “He seems like a douche.” She pulled me to the table and grabbed a bottle of liquor. “Plus, he went to Prep.”

  “I go to Prep.” I chuckled.

  “Semantics.” She waved me off. “You’re nothing like the rest of them.”

  She had a point there.

  “I can find you a nice, hot Clermont High guy if you’re interested.”

  “I’m not interested.” I grabbed the drink she handed me and took a sip. I had no idea what it was, but it tasted far better than what Cami had made.

  “Because of Beck.” She waggled her eyebrows, and I slapped her arm.

  “No. Because I’m not interested.”

  “Okay.” She winked at me because she knew better than anyone else how I was feeling. I hadn’t told her the full extent of what had happened between the two of us, but she knew enough.

  “Plus.” I leaned closer to her. “Beck is off-limits, remember?”

  “Not according to him.”

  “He’s a liar.” That fact was plain and simple.

  “Who’s a liar?”

  We jumped at the sound of Beck’s voice, and I whirled in his direction. My heart skyrocketed without even seeing him.

  “No one.” My answer came out so quickly that even I felt suspicious.

  “Okay.” He looked between Allie and me. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

  I took a long sip of my drink to try to calm myself down. “I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve been busy.”

  He was looking me over, checking me out without even trying to hide it, and Allie was smiling like a fool. “Doing what?”

  “Work. School. Hanging out with your girlfriend.”

  Allie snorted out a laugh and almost choked on her drink. But Beck didn’t seem affected.

  He didn’t care that I knew about her.

  He apparently thought I wouldn’t care, but he was wrong.

  “You look gorgeous tonight. Has anyone told you that?” His eyes looked so possessive. He looked at me like he wanted me, like he didn’t care that I had just mentioned his fucking girlfriend.

  Even though both of us knew the truth. But that truth didn’t stop the butterflies from taking off in my stomach.

  “Don’t.” I started to speak just as Allie did.

  “Chad Johnson did. He was practically drooling over her when I got here.”

  I wanted to punch Allie.

  “Chad Johnson?” Beck made a face and part of me thought he might be a little jealous. “He’s almost twenty and still hanging out at high school parties.”

  “So, what?” I pushed some hair behind my ear. “His opinion must be wrong?”

  “No.” He shook his head, and I noticed his eyes seemed darker than before. Chad’s eyes weren’t only duller than Beck’s, they were nothing compared to his. “I said you looked gorgeous.”

  He needed to quit saying that. I couldn’t think straight when he said things that he shouldn’t be saying.

  “There you are.” Cami wrapped her arm around Beck’s shoulder and smiled. He tensed under her touch. It was minute, but it was there. I didn’t know if it was simply because I was watching or if it was something more.

  He had to know that I would see them together tonight.

  He had to know that I wasn’t going to just sit here and let him tell me I was gorgeous, then have to watch him with her.

  “Josie, what’d you think of Chad?” She didn’t seem to notice or care that Beck was tense. She ran her fingers through the base of his hair like it was the most
natural thing for her to be doing. Like her hands were so used to touching him.

  “He seems nice.” It wasn’t a lie. He did. He just wasn’t my type. I was apparently into men who were a bit more toxic.

  A lot more toxic, actually.

  “He really liked you.” She winked at me. “He asked me for your number.”

  Beck was staring straight ahead at me, and I felt like his eyes were burning. If he was angry, he had no right to be. He had no right to anything when it came to me.

  “I gave it to him, of course.” She smiled.

  “Of course.” Allie said it so quietly only I could hear.

  “Thanks.” I smiled and tried to avoid looking back at Beck. She was still touching him, and he was letting her. It didn’t matter what he had said about there being nothing between him and Cami. The proof was right here in front of me.

  Even if they were on and off.

  I refused to be anything at all. Not like this.

  “I heard he was a bit of a baseball star. He better than you, Beck?” I cocked my head to the side.

  “Are you fucking with me right now? He’s still in Clermont Bay. Isn’t he?”

  “You’re staying here too.” Cami chuckled, and Beck went stock-still. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  Beck was staying here? I figured he’d be long gone after he graduated. I was sure he had his choice of Ivy League schools just waiting for him.

  “I’m going to get a drink.” Beck shrugged Cami off of him and walked past us all without another word.

  I didn’t know why I suddenly felt bad for him, but he seemed so lost with these people. He seemed so different.

  I knew that I was the one who probably didn’t know anything real about him. These people had been his friends forever. Cami had been more.

  But part of me still felt like I somehow knew him better, that I was the one who had been privy to the real him, and I knew how stupid that made me.

  Beck only let people see what he wanted them to see. He made me see him as something that he wasn’t. All for what?

  To get in my pants? To make my brother angry because he fucked me? Was that his end game here?

  I wanted to follow after him and demand he give me answers, but this wasn’t the place or time. Cami’s face looked tight and uncomfortable, and I wondered what it had to be like to be her. She was the queen of Clermont Prep. Everyone loved her. If they didn’t, they worshipped her. She had everything at her fingertips.