1
Rory
* * *
Sometimes I make dumb decisions. Like the time I texted my ex on his birthday.
Happy Birthday! <insert smiley face emoji>
You just cringed, didn’t you? Don’t worry. I’ll feel that shame for the rest of my entire existence.
You’d think a girl would learn from the error of her ways, right? Well, apparently, I’m the type of girl who has to make horrible mistakes multiple times before I learn any type of lesson, something that was being sorely hammered home by the fact I was currently hiding in a bush.
A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, and this was one mistake I refused to regret for the rest of my life. Even if that meant having a branch poke me in places it really should not.
Wrinkling my nose, I started to shift, but the sound of a muffled, familiar voice made me freeze. Forgetting the branch, I tipped my head to the side, peering between the green leaves offering concealment.
His laughter rumbled quietly, a charming sound that set my teeth on edge. I’d been fooled by that husky chuckle, big brown eyes, and athletic body attached to it all.
“I’m serious,” the voice said, not quite as husky as his laugh but still not an unpleasant sound. How entirely deceiving. “You really are more beautiful than any star we saw tonight.”
I had to bite down on my tongue to keep from groaning as my stomach twisted with disgust. What a freaking jerk! He used the exact same line on me!
A giggle. “You’re so sweet.”
The couple came into view, Jonas looking as he always did, teetering the line between preppy and casual wearing a pair of dark jeans and a white polo left unbuttoned at his throat. His light-brown hair was brushed back off his face as if he’d just run his hand through it, and all his attention was focused on the dark-haired girl walking alongside him. She was wearing a flirty skirt that floated out around her hips and a crop top that showed just a hint of her midsection. Her long, thick locks floated out around her as they strolled, fluttering like velvet ribbons in the night.
“You think so?” he cajoled, leaning in to bump his shoulder lightly against hers.
She giggled. “Yes. This is the first time anyone has taken me stargazing on a date.”
I rolled my eyes. Still, I had to hand it to Jonas. Taking his conquests on a date to the campus planetarium was pretty genius. Hell, I’d been excited too.
Until afterward.
I lifted the Canon EOS camera, pointing it right at the couple, then glanced down to make sure they were in frame. I wasn’t sure if the mic would pick up their voices from inside a bush, but if things went the way I was almost positive they would, the video wouldn’t need sound.
“Well, you gazed at the stars, but all I could stare at was you,” Jonas said smoothly, sliding in front of his date and stopping her on the sidewalk.
Even though it was night, the campus had many well-placed streetlamps to keep it from being too dark, which was also helpful in collecting evidence.
“You really are so beautiful,” he murmured, brushing her hair back from her shoulder, letting his knuckles graze over her exposed collarbone.
A knot formed in my stomach as he leaned in and sealed their lips together. It was a gentle kiss at first, but then he deepened it, reaching around to cup the back of her head.
She made a soft sound, and he shifted closer. She pulled away first, ducking her head. “I have to get back now, but this was fun.”
“Already?” He pouted.
I fell for that too.
“Curfew at the dorms is soon,” his date explained.
“Just a few more minutes,” he cajoled, curling his hand around her waist. She had a nice curvy frame, her side dipping in perfectly for his palm.
She smiled, and he kissed her again. The knot in my stomach coiled tighter, the fingers holding on to the camera turning white with the force of my hold. I knew what was coming, and my eyes automatically averted, but I forced them back up.
I had to see. I had to make sure I captured it all on camera. Jonas Hughes wouldn’t get away with this.
A surprised sound zeroed in my focus. Jonas’s hand disappeared beneath her skirt, totally feeling her up. His wandering touch jolted their lips apart, but Jonas just smiled. “Come back here.”
“I have to go.” The girl tried to wiggle away.
He pulled her more firmly against him. And though it was her he was holding, it sparked a memory for me.
How his possessive palm gripped my ass. The biting and clear warning delivered by the tips of his fingers digging into my crack.
Jonas’s free hand went up to drag along the little strip of exposed skin at her waist. “You are so sexy.”
“Let go, Jonas. I have to go.”
“Oh, I’m not done with you yet,” he said, swiping at her skin again.
“Well, I am!” she insisted, putting both palms on his shoulders and shoving.
He stumbled back, and she spun, her skirt floating out around her. Jonas caught her around the waist from behind, dragging her body into his. My hands started to tremble when he thrust his crotch into her ass.
“Jonas!” The alarm in her voice was something I knew well.
He grunted, putting one hand on the back of her head, forcing her to bend at the waist. “Yeah, that’s it.” He grunted, rutting against her. “Let’s go back to my room.”
“No.”
“No?” He pulled her around so they were facing each other. “Here’s good, then.”
He tried to kiss her again, and she bit him.
He howled, jerking back. Anger bloomed around him, polluting the air. I wanted to jump out of the bush and yell, but I held back, wanting to get more on camera.
The sound of skin hitting skin when he slapped her across the face reverberated over the sidewalk. She cried out, putting a hand to her cheek to stare at him incredulously.
“Listen here,” he intoned, taking an arrogant step toward her. “I took you out and showed you a good time, and now it’s your turn to show me a good time,” he insisted, reaching under her skirt with both hands.
“No!” she shrieked, and he lifted her off her feet.
“Please. You were giving me signals all night. I know you’re into me.”
“Stop!” she said, slapping him on the shoulder as he hauled her closer to where I hid in the bush.
Sick inside, I decided I’d had enough and pushed out of the branches and leaves. A few snapped and cracked as I practically fell out of the shrub, stumbling a bit as I went.
His footsteps stuttered, and the girl he was carrying gaped at me.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he snarled the second I straightened and he saw my face.
I smirked. “Did you really think I’d let it go that easily?”
“You really should have.” The dark declaration made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Lifting the camera, I hit a little button and snapped a photo. The flash was like a burst of lightning in a storm.
“You stupid bitch,” he muttered darkly, practically dumping his date onto the pavement.
She scrambled up, staring at me with wide eyes.
“Go,” I told her.
She hesitated, and I snapped, “Run!”