Broken and Screwed 2 (The BS Series) (9 page)

I avoided
everyone for another week. Or, I thought I was avoiding them. The truth was that no one probably cared. I hadn’t heard or even seen Beth in the hallways. Since the professor hadn’t given us a group project, there was no reason to interact with Cord. I caught a few glares from his friend, but after the third one, I realized they were directed at the girl in front of me. She still snickered together with her two other friends, but that was the only interaction between them and Jamie. It’d been quiet from Jesse too. I didn’t know if that was good or not. I didn’t want to contemplate that.

It was Hannah that broke the week of isolation.

My books were spread out on a table in the outside food court when her bag made the first arrival. It was sent soaring through the air until it landed on the seat across from me. My head jerked up, but before I could look around, Hannah plopped down next to her bag.

She began riffling through her bag as her blonde hair slid over her shoulder, masking her face from me. When she glanced up, the same aviators were on and she grinned at me. “Heya stranger. I heard some interesting tidbits about you this weekend.”

I stiffened.

Her lips curved up in a smirk. “Relax. It’s nothing real juicy.” She paused for a second, her mouth pursed in a thoughtful frown. “Is there something juicy? I’m intrigued…no. No, I’m not. Never mind. You’re all closed off and sheltered. I’d have to kiss your ass for you to spill. I don’t care enough to do all that work.”

Did she dismiss me?

And I wasn’t sheltered.

The strap of her top slipped, showing off her bare shoulder and a tattoo design of birds flying down her collarbone. “You can stay all elusive and shit. Fine with me.”

I frowned. This girl was something else, but my own interest was piqued. “What’d you hear this weekend?”

Her lips curved in a sultry come-hither smile. “That you told my sister off. High marks for that one.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t been aware of holding. I thought she was going to say something else, maybe about Jesse, but it was about Tiffany. That wasn’t something I cared about. “Oh.”

A deep chuckle came from her.

As she laughed, her head tilted to the side and her shirt slipped farther down her arm. The girl was oozing sexuality and I glanced around. The guys around our table had taken notice. A few seemed ready to join us. I sent them a glare. That stopped them in their tracks. Nope, I saw one reinforce his smug grin as he strode towards us.

“Heads up. Pick-up Line at three o’clock.”

Hannah glanced over and the sultriness went up a notch.

The guy stumbled in his footing. He almost tripped and fell, but caught himself. Normally this would’ve ended the approach. Not with this guy. His smile never budged. His shoulders rolled back and his cockiness rose.

He was a determined little bugger.

A low deep-throated chuckle came from her again. It was loud enough so I heard, but no one else did. I had to give her some credit. She was good.

When he stopped at the table, I heard one of the worst pick-up lines I could imagine.

“Do you come here often?”

I snorted.

He shot me a glare. It was gone in the next second when Hannah teased, “You mean to this exact table or to this school? Because I do. I go to this school.”

“Oh.” A flush spread from underneath his shirt.

Hadn’t thought that one through, buddy?
I shook my head. I was betting that he used that one at the bars. We were in a city with three other colleges. His chances were better off campus.

“Hannah, this guy bothering you?”

Her sister’s boyfriend to the rescue. From the gloating in his voice, I could imagine his entrance. White horse, metal armor, and maybe even a javelin? I shook my head. When I snuck a peek from underneath my eyelids, he wasn’t alone. Cord was with him, along with Kara’s boyfriend. No Jesse. Why did I never see Jesse with them?

I ignored the disappointment that fluttered in my chest.

“Keep going, guys,” Hannah clipped out.

She was annoyed and glaring at both Cord and Jamie.

“Walk, numbnuts.” Jamie warned the guy with a dark look. “She’s off-limits.”

“Shut up!”

Blood drained from Pick-Up Guy before he left. If he could’ve run without looking like an idiot, I knew he would’ve. Instead, his power walk rivaled some housewives I had witnessed in the mall. They wanted to burn rubber in bright spandex and would’ve been envious of his speed.

“You shut up, Hannah. I’m not going to listen to your sister bitch at me because I didn’t stop another guy from climbing in your bed. That’s all she complains about now. You! I’m getting sick of it.”

Derek clapped him on the shoulder. “At least she’s not bitching about you, man.”

Some of the tension lifted from Jamie, but not much. He continued to glower down at Hannah. “Stop being a whore on campus.”

My eyebrows shot up. The guy had balls.

Cord frowned. “Hey, man. We should get going.”

Hannah slammed her hands on the table and shoved to her feet. She glared right back. “Are you kidding me? You are a bigger whore than me. Why don’t you stop dicking around on my sister?”

He moved back a step, but the glower never left. “Whatever. You’re such a bitch.”

“And you’re an asshole. We’re even.”

Derek stepped between them. “I think it’s a good draw. Let’s call it, hmmm? Jamie, march.” He jerked his head in the opposite direction. “We have to meet Jesse anyway.”

Jesse? My head shot up and tingles shot down my spine.

Cord had been watching me and a knowing look came over him now. A knot shifted in my gut and I fought from glaring at him. I didn’t want anyone to notice and start to wonder, but he seemed smug. Why the hell did he seem smug? My eyes narrowed. He had nothing to be smug about.

“Yes, run along.” Hannah waved her fingers at her sister’s boyfriend. “Go play patsy for the real star in your group. No wonder he’s a recluse around campus. Who’d want to be seen with you? I bet you use him to pick up even
more
chicks to cheat with on my sister.” Her lips thinned. “Is that what you do when you guys go out?”

Jamie’s scowl darkened and he jerked forward a step. His hand rose in the air, already fisted.

Cord drew him back. “Stop it. Now.” He turned to Hannah, “We didn’t come over for this.”

“Why did you come over?”

“To say hi to you and Alex.” At her disbelieving look, he held both of his hands in the air. “I swear. That’s all. The guy cut us off when he was coming over.”

“My business is none of yours.” She swept them with a cool cold. “None of you.”

Jamie looked ready to argue, but Derek pushed him forward with his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “Yeah, we’re leaving. See you both.”

Cord went after them, lifting a finger in a goodbye salute.

Hannah extended her middle finger. Before they disappeared into the crowd, Cord laughed back as he shook his head.

I had to give it to the guy. Nothing seemed to faze him.

Hannah folded back down on her seat with a huff. Her eyes latched on me with a deep frown. She asked, heatedly, “How do you know those guys?”

I wasn’t completely honest. “I’m in poly sci with Cord and Jamie.”

“Oh.” She seemed surprised. “Never mind then.”

My eyes narrowed. She was offended at first and that kindled some anger in my gut. What’d she think? I was hoping to use her to get to them? My anger was on a simmer as I asked, “Why?”

“Because I thought you screwed my sister’s boyfriend.” She didn’t mince her words. Then she shrugged, turning back to her bag. “That would’ve made sense why my sister hates you.”

I frowned. She seemed so casual about his cheating. A different thought came to mind. “Does he still cheat?”

“Oh yeah. All the time.”

I was blown away. “Serious?”

“Yep.” She pulled out a different book, along with a highlighter. “It’s my sister’s idea of being modern. She’s such an idiot.”

“What do you mean?”

“Technically, he’s not cheating, but I don’t care. Cheating is cheating. Jamie’s allowed to sleep around for another year. Tiffany has it in her head that if she doesn’t let him do his thing now, he’ll do it later. And she won’t let him cheat on her when they’re married.”

“When are they getting married?”

“The summer after his first year at law school.” A yawn stretched over her, as if she were bored with our conversation. “Anyway, Tiffany locked him down when they were freshman. Now that he knows Jesse Hunt, she thinks that Jamie can use his connections and run for the senate or something.”

“Huh?”

I hoped my jaw wasn’t touching the table. It had dropped so low. I was too dumbfounded. I couldn’t be hearing this right.

“Yeah,” she shrugged again. “Jamie’s dad owns a firm so once he’s done with law school he’ll have a job there. She has it all mapped out. After he’s a lawyer for two years, he’ll start hobnobbing with the Hollywood crowd. She thinks that’ll help him get noticed and when he runs for office, he’ll be a shoo-in.”

“You’re kidding me.”

Nope, she wasn’t. I could tell from the irritation in her eyes. They flashed whenever she spoke about her sister. They’d been on full blast with her entire explanation. She pressed a hand to her chest and pretended to double over. “She makes me want to gag. She’s so hypocritical. I can’t sleep around, but she allows her boyfriend to bang anyone he wants. And she thinks he’s going to stop. Jamie’s not going to stop. He’s never going to stop sleeping around. He can’t stand her. He can barely stomach the sight of her.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he’s told me.” She gestured to her phone. “He’s been trying to do me for three years. He sends me text messages all the time.”

Holy shit. “Does your sister know that?”

Her lips pressed together. “I’m not that stupid. I’m never going to give it to him and I’m not opening that can of worms with my sister.” Another shoulder went up in a shrug before she hunched over her book. “Anyway, I need to study. Can we postpone this chat session till after I fail my cultural psychology quiz?”

I fell silent, still reeling from everything she’d exposed. I wasn’t sure if it was from the relationship Tiffany had with Jamie or because they assumed Jesse would help them out? I figured they were hoping to use his dad’s connections, but did they not know Jesse? Or maybe it was Tiffany that didn’t know him. Jesse hated Malcolm Hunt. I didn’t know what family stuff had been going on, but I knew Jesse hadn’t enjoyed it. Malcolm Hunt could never be considered a candidate for Father of the Year.

It was an hour later when Hannah called it quits. She shut her book and stretched, yawning all the while. If I had cared, I might’ve been insecure next to her. The girl was gorgeous. She must’ve noticed my look because her arms dropped from the air and she grinned. “Wanna go for dinner somewhere?”

My eyes narrowed. “Why are you talking to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Beth isn’t here. You don’t have to talk to me.”

Her eyes widened a fraction. “That’s some chip you have on your shoulder.”

I scowled at her, though I couldn’t argue. “I like my chip. I’ve named it.”

“Oh yeah?” Her grin grew. “What’s the name?”

With a blank face, I said, “Hannah.”

She barked out in laughter. “Beth said you were cool, not that you were funny. Back to my first question, want to go somewhere for dinner?”

“Like the food court?” I glanced around at the fast food shops around us.

“Nah. I mean off-campus. There’s a nice dive bar with $2 burgers. They’re pretty good. Plus, I wouldn’t mind a pitcher of beer.”

“I’m underage.”

She shrugged. “So am I. They’ll let us in. The owner has a boner for Tiffany so all the staff’s been told to be nice to me.” She rolled her eyes. “Little does he know that I hate my sister and he has no shot.”

“If your sister lets Jamie cheat, does she cheat too?”

“No.” She shook her head as her lips tightened against each other. “She should. She thinks she’s practicing for marriage and she doesn’t want any evidence spread around campus. Tiffany believes that if she ever cheats, it’ll get caught on video and there goes her stellar reputation.”

“What’s her reputation?” High class bitch?

She grinned. “You’ve seen the wicked side of her, but trust me. There are a ton of girls who would kill their mothers to be friends with my sister. It’s nice to be Queen Bee in high school, but this is Grant West. Tiffany’s got connections to the crème of the crop.”

“Who’s that?” But I had a good sense who it was.

“The jerks that were just here. Slap in their leader, Jesse Hunt, and Tyler Kurtis, and you’ve got the starting five for our NCAA bound basketball team. Tell me you haven’t noticed that they’re celebrities on campus?”

Oh yes, I have noticed.
I shrugged at her.

“There are LOTS of girls who would love an ‘in’ with those guys. Derek’s the only one with a steady girlfriend. You know Jamie’s story. Cord hooks up with Chandra, but he still doesn’t like a title on it. I know he enjoys sleeping around. Tyler’s the same.”

My heart began to pound in my chest. “What about Jesse Hunt?”

She frowned for a split second and her eyes grew thoughtful. “I don’t know much about Hunt. He’s gorgeous, but the guys are pretty tight-lipped about him.”

“Does he party with them?”

“Sometimes he’s out with them and sometimes I’ll see him talking to girls, but I haven’t heard much about him. I don’t think he hangs out around campus much. Since he’s the big shot now, a lot of people crowd him. Can’t say I blame him for hiding out. I saw him at the food court once last year, it was after the NCAA championship game and he was almost mobbed. He had to hide in the bathroom until people finally left him alone.”