“Sure did, and I’ll bet the admissions committee at NCU is keeping up with them, too,” she warns.
It’s then that I remember why there’s a gulf between these two, keeping both in the other’s friend zone. Joss is all books, grades, and Advance Placement classes. Meanwhile, Dane never passes up a good time. They’re polar opposites, which works for some, but not so much for them.
“Did you even research the internship programs I emailed you?” she asks. “They’re perfect for the digital marketing field.”
Dane’s stare lingers on her a moment and I know for a fact that he loves her fire, how she scolds him with her eyes, puts him in his place every chance she gets.
“I did. Even made a spreadsheet of each one’s requirements,” he answers after another round of eye-banging.
Joss nearly succeeds at holding back a smile. “Good. Because the thing with my uncle isn’t guaranteed. You need a backup plan just in case.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dane says, cocking his head with the words.
Joss holds his gaze as long as she can, muttering a faint, “Smart-ass,” when she grins. Then, she draws in a breath and her eyes shift across the parking lot.
“So, other than wishing you were here to kill my buzz, how was your trip?” Dane asks.
That smile Joss tried holding back widens now.
“Great, I guess. If you overlook the fact that my dad didn’t let me do anything without hawking my every move,” she sighs. “I did manage to get out and have some fun, though.”
Dane’s brow twitches, and so does the corner of his mouth, but he hides it well with a smile. “I’ll bet. Does ‘some fun’ have a name? Or … names?”
Joss is biting the side of her lip again, but lowers her gaze to the ground instead of answering.
“Well, on that note, I think I’ll head inside,” she announces, passing a lingering glance toward Dane right after. “Call me later. We have a lot to catch up on.”
His eyes don’t leave her when she walks away. With the energy between them, I’m starting to think Sterling and I might have the bet resolved before graduation.
It’s just us three again, heading toward the building with the rest of the crowd. We get stopped a few times along the way, but most know not to even try it. It’s public knowledge that ‘friendly’ isn’t something we do casually. Our circle is small and we intend to keep it that way.
The lines at the staff-run stations are already insane. One to get updated student I.D.’s. One for schedules and locker assignments. Another for anyone claiming a parking space in the student lot.
I have to be here, but I’m definitely not interested. Bored while I wait in line, I scan the atrium, not looking for anything in particular. But then, I spot someone who has me alert again.
Completely alert.
“…The fuck?”
Sterling follows my gaze, straight to the one it seems fate delivered right here, to the very place I rule, the place where my word is law.
“You know her or something?”
“Yeah. Something like that.” I’m intentionally careful with my words.
He doesn’t recognize her, which comes as no surprise. Of the three of us, I was the jackass who couldn’t stop watching her at the bonfire. I’m also the one with a compromising photo of her hidden on my phone.
My brothers know nothing of what I found in our dad’s safe, and I’ll likely keep it to myself, unless I have good reason to reveal what I know.
A few seconds behind, Dane freezes with his mouth half-open when he finally spots her. Then, his brow jumps and he’s taking it all in, the details I refuse to find appealing about her—tight little waist, sun-kissed skin, legs for days, nice size rack, pretty face. Not the typical, magazine-class pretty face, either. It’s unique and ethereal, makes you want to stare. Makes you want to get closer.
She’s the human equivalent of oleander.
Beautiful.
Delicate.
Dangerous.
My feelings are all twisted, edging on two different extremes. The man in me knows she’s on fire, hot as they come. But there’s more to her than that, and it’s that hidden truth that fuels my rage.
If that picture proves anything, it’s that there’s a strong possibility she’s been in a myriad of compromising positions with my father. She looks like the type to do whatever freaky-ass shit he wants. Anything to make sure he doesn’t snap his wallet shut with her greedy little fingers in it.
She isn’t the first. My dad has an M.O. when it comes to these things and it’s predictable as hell. He likes his sidepieces young, usually blonde, easy to manipulate, easy to blind with diamonds and fancy vacations he tells my mom are ‘business trips’.
I eye her, positive she doesn’t even know that dick’s real name. He’s become somewhat of a ghost, the reason for the blacked-out windows on his truck, the reason he’s turned down television interviews with every local news outlet. To some, Vin Golden is the phantom who manipulates this town like a puppet. To me, he’s just an asshole with money.
Whatever the case, there’s only one fact about this situation that matters. This girl’s decided to be my dad’s plaything until he tires of her, which officially makes her my enemy.
I lean in so my words don’t go beyond my brothers’ ears. “I guarantee what I’m about to say won’t make any sense, but I need you both to hear me out.”
The statement is met with two questioning stares.
“What’s up?” Sterling faces me, looking stern before crossing both arms over his chest.
I second-guess myself for a moment, but I know I can’t pull off what I have in mind without their full cooperation.
“That girl is nowhere near as innocent as she looks,” I explain.
Dane laughs and passes another glance her way. “Good. Innocence has always been overrated in my book.”
I’m shaking my head before he even finishes. “No, trust me. You don’t want anything to do with this one.”
I feel my expression morph into an angry scowl when I peer up at her again. I’m over beating around the bush and just tell them straight up.
“We have to take her down. And not just ‘make her cry and write about us in her diary’ type shit. I mean, I want this bitch broken, ground into dust.”
I have their full attention and see the questions brimming in their eyes.
“You know we’ve got your back, but—”
“No questions,” I say more harshly than I mean to, but seeing her again has me feeling like I’ll lose it.
I’ve never had this chance before, to deal with one of Dad’s sluts as I see fit. In the past, I was either too young to step up, or he’d covered his tracks too well. This time, he hadn’t been so careful.
Telling Mom about the late-night phone calls I overheard, or the many other glaring clues I’ve found over the years was never an option. Having his infidelity shoved in her face would shatter her world. Completely. It’s the reason she willingly ignores all the signs, sticks her head in the sand and keeps cleaning and baking like her husband hasn’t fucked half the town.
Dane’s watching her again, my new target. She steps up with a nervous smile to hand one of Headmaster Harrison’s administrators a packet of paperwork.