Fuck Ashley.
I’d opened up to her, and she’d used my past as a knife to sever all ties. That left me free to fuck whoever I wanted. And from now on, that’s all I would do. Fuck and duck. Keep all my thoughts, feelings, and history to my damn self.
One of the girls I had my eye on approached me before second period. She wasn’t a cheerleader, but the tight sweater baring her midriff and the tiny skirt swinging dangerously around her upper thighs was a dead ringer for our school’s cheerleader uniforms.
Yup, she’d help me move on from Ashley quite nicely.
Smooth as ever, I leaned my elbow against my locker and slowly slid my gaze over her body, more than happy to give her the attention she was seeking.
“I like your team spirit, Jasmine.” I nodded at her outfit.
Her cheeks reddened, and she tipped her head down like she was suddenly shy.
What seemed like a brilliant idea struck me. I reached into my locker and grabbed my old jersey. The one Ashley had thrown in my face when she broke up with me.
In our school, it was a big deal to give a girl your jersey. Wearing it announced who she belonged to. It was sort of an unwritten rule that team members only let serious girlfriends wear their jerseys.
I had no intention of getting serious with anyone again. But why should my jersey have to suffer?
I leaned into her space and pressed it into her hands, whispering in her ear, “I think this will look good on you tonight.”
Her jaw dropped, and her eyes bulged. She stared at the bundle of shiny white and red material. Her chest rose and fell faster, drawing my attention to her large—
Was she hyperventilating?
“Easy.” I touched her shoulder. “It’s not a proposal.”
That seemed to snap her out of it. “Thank you, Logan,” she gushed.
“Can’t wait to see you wearing it while you’re cheering for me.”
“I always cheer for you.” She leaned up on tiptoes and kissed my cheek.
She was forward, but sweet about the kiss. I caught a hint of something spicy and floral as she nuzzled up to me. Before she withdrew, I turned my head, catching her lips for a quick taste.
She gasped, then sighed into my mouth, pressed her weight against me and threw her arms around my neck.
Okay, this was more than I was seeking, but fuck it.
I wrapped my arms around her and kept kissing. She was shorter than Ashley. I had the urge to pick her up and pin her against the lockers so I could explore her softer, curvier body in detail.
Murmurs and excited noises echoed through the hallway. We were probably giving our classmates quite a show.
Someone cleared their throat next to us. Loudly.
We broke apart. Jasmine swayed on her feet and I steadied her with a hand on her lower back.
Mr. James, our biology teacher, glared at both of us before aiming his serious teacher face at Jasmine. “Miss Baker, do you have a class nearby?”
“N..no…” she stammered.
“Then take yourself to the correct location.” His tone didn’t leave room for argument.
Still buzzing from the kiss, I squeezed Jasmine’s hand before she left. My silent way of saying ‘let’s finish this later.’
She nodded and blew me a kiss before strutting down the hallway, carrying the jersey above her head like a trophy.
Mr. James cleared his throat again. “Mr. Randall,” he snapped.
I slowly turned to face him.
“There’s a time and place for public displays,” he lectured. “This is neither the time nor the place.” He scanned me from head to toe, shriveling the last of the erection Jasmine had given me. “Shouldn’t you be focused on winning tonight’s game?”
“Don’t you worry.” I patted him on the shoulder and gave him my cockiest grin. “I’ll score tonight.”
“Get yourself to class,” he grouched, but I noticed the corners of his mouth wobbling like he appreciated my brashness but couldn’t let me know by smiling.
“I see you’re rebounding nicely,” Jensen said as I met him at the end of the hallway. He lifted his chin in the direction Jasmine had gone. I turned and found her wiggling her fingers at us. She’d already slipped into my jersey and knotted it above her waist, exposing enough skin to catch a twinkling navel ring.
She’d probably get a dress code violation before the end of the day, but the visual would stay with me all afternoon.
I returned the wave.
“Damn,” I muttered.
Jensen groaned in disgust. “Well, at least she’s a step up from the—”
“Don’t say it,” I warned.
“She is trailer trash.” Ashley’s sharp voice wiped the smile off my face.
“Like I said, a step up from you,” Jensen quipped.
I elbowed him in the ribs.
“Why do you care?” A tinge of anger crept into my voice as I stared down at Ashley. I’d bared my soul to her, and she dumped me while implying I was a murderer in the making. As far as I was concerned, that left me free to give my jersey, and anything else of mine, to whoever I wanted. “You ended things. I’m moving on.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “You don’t have to do it so fast or so publicly. Giving her my jersey, really? It probably still smells like me,” she whined.
“You mean like wet dog?” Jensen asked.
She scowled in his direction. “Screw you.”
“We don’t have time for this.” He gripped my arm and yanked me sideways.
Ashley’s glare followed us all the way to our next class.
Jensen and I parted ways after History. I managed to avoid Jasmine and Ashley for the next two periods, although people were already talking about Jasmine and me kissing in the hallway and getting busted by Mr. James. I listened to the gossip with a smug smile but didn’t confirm or deny a thing.
At lunch, Jensen found me outside the cafeteria.
His worried expression set me on edge.
“I need to talk to you.” He motioned me toward the doors that led to the parking lot behind the school.
We walked outside, both of us heading toward my truck. We’d take cover by the tailgate of my truck. Each twitchy movement and glance he threw over his shoulder tightened a knot in my stomach.
“What crawled up your ass?” I asked when he finally stopped moving.
He met my eyes. “Did you tell Ashley about your parents?”
The lead in my stomach that followed me home the other night returned with a cold stab.
“Why are you asking?”
“Did you?” he insisted.
I shoved my hands through my hair. “I told her a little.”
His jaw clenched. “Why would you tell her of all people? You know that bitch can’t keep her mouth shut.”
“Don’t—” She wasn’t my girlfriend anymore, so why should I care what Jensen called her? “That’s why she broke up with me.”
“Fucking cow.” He banged his fist against his thigh. “Wait, what do you mean?”
I gave him a brief version of Ashley’s explanation.
For a moment, he stood there slack-jawed and stunned, speechless. “What kind of ass-backward nonsense is that?”
I shrugged. “I shouldn’t have told her.”
“No. You shouldn’t have.” He flung an arm toward the school. “One of your douchey football bros cornered me in the hall and asked me about your parents.”