Jaded (6 page)

“It’s my brother,” she mumbled just before she answered it and moved into the living room.

When the front door slammed again, I heard Corrigan call out my name,

“Sheldon! Where are you, you freak?!”

I waited as I heard his voice grow louder. Just as he turned the corner, a sly grin spread across his face and he shook his head.

I

laughed.

“I cannot believe you,” he stated as he patted his chest. “You are my idol. I love you. I will always take your side whenever you fight with Bryce.”

“Shut up,” I chuckled and glanced down.

“Seriously, though,” he sobered. “You’re a living legend at school. Again. You told the counselor to go to hell.”

“No, I didn’t,” I corrected.

“You told her to expel you. That’s the same thing. You said ‘screw you.’ I’ve never heard of any student who had the balls to say that.”

“Yeah, well…I was pissed.”

“And frantic,” he added as he hopped up next to me. He patted my knee. “Bryce told me what happened. And thanks, by the way, for covering for me.”

That’s right. I’d forgotten.

“Corrigan, if that kid talks…” I started, concerned.

Corrigan stopped me, “Don’t. It’s covered.”

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“I know, but…Bryce is right. If the cops find out, you know they’re not going to be nice. They’re after Hoodum.”

“I know and seriously—shut up about it,” he said firmly.

I snapped my mouth shut.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered in the next second. “I’m just worried about you, okay?

Bryce said you freaked about the counselor.”

“I know and seriously—shut up about it.”

Corrigan flushed, hearing his own words, but he shut up. He jumped off the

counter and raked a hand through his hair.

And then we watched each other, at an impasse.

Corrigan didn’t want to be reminded how stupid his actions had been—not for the action, but because someone had seen him. And I didn’t want to talk about my counselor freak-out.

“Look,” he began. “Want to go grab something to eat? Let’s go do something.”

Just then Mena came back into the room and stopped short at the sight of

Corrigan, with his back to her.

She stood silent and shook her head to me.

I asked, “Like what?”

Mena mouthed ‘thank you’ and moved to walk down the front hallway. A second

later, just because I was listening for it, I heard a soft click.

“What was that?” Corrigan stopped in his list of possibilities.

I shrugged, but remarked, “Did you know that Mena already goes to our school?”

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“Oh yeah. I meant to talk to you about that. You know her. I saw her talking to you when you took off,” Corrigan accused me as he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the counter. He dragged me up the stairs and into my bedroom.

“What are we doing?”

“You’re changing and we’re going to go out,” Corrigan replied, his voice muffled as he pressed his nose in my closet. A moment later, he produced some leather pants and a barely-there halter top.

“Nice try, but no.” I shook my head and fell on my bed.

Corrigan nearly giggled as he dove back into the closet and pulled out a barely-there skirt with the same halter-top.

Laughing, I pushed him, “Get out. I’ll find my own clothes. And where are we going?”

Through the closed door, Corrigan called out, “Let’s go play some pool or we can go swimming at Chad Yerling’s house.”

I finished dressing and yanked opened the door.

I wore the barely-there skirt, but my sweater nicely covered the top. It hugged in all the right curves.

“Bryce is a very lucky man,” Corrigan mused as his eyes lit up. He suggested,

“You have those black boots that come to your hips. You can wear those…”

I slipped on my flip-flops and walked past him. “Let’s go. You’re driving.”

“Then I’m driving your car.” He jangled my keys in the air.

I whisked the keys from his hand and quickly locked the front door behind us.

Inside the car, I suggested, “How about we go and hustle us some money?”

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Corrigan

cringed.

“What?”

“Let’s just play. Why do we need to hustle?” He glanced at his knuckles.

“Because just playing isn’t fun. Hustling is so much more fun and you won’t get into a fight. Promise.”

He sighed, “I don’t like that look.” He waved a finger in my face. “That look has gotten me in jail before. I don’t like that look.”

I grabbed his finger and pushed it down. “Stop waving your finger in my face.

And you go to jail plenty enough on your own, you don’t need me to get you there.” It was true.

“Stop giving me that look.” Corrigan sighed when the look intensified.

I stopped at the school’s hangout, The Café Diner. Dumbly named, but everything else wasn’t. It had the best burgers, salads, shakes, and some of the employees would slip us alcohol. Corrigan gave me a twenty when I went inside and marched past the back counter. He stayed inside and moved to one of the tables to chat.

After I struck a deal with the head cook, I walked through the main area and I couldn’t find Corrigan, but Chet pointed him out.

As I moved around the back corner, near the phone booth, I saw Corrigan had his tongue shoved down some girl’s throat.

I took pity and turned to leave.

I didn’t get far when Chad stepped into my path.

“What do you want, Yerling?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

His eyes trailed down and then back up, but not after it lingered on my breasts.

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“Eyes up front, Yerling. Now,” I snapped. “And I’m waiting.”

He grinned ruefully. It was the same grin that I’d seen him use on more than a few drunken girls.

I just sighed on the inside. It wouldn’t be my eyelashes that I’d bat at him.

“You don’t like me much, do you?”

“What makes you say that?” I asked sweetly.

He didn’t answer that, but said instead, “Are you and Scout exclusive? Because I’ve seen him with a lot of other girls, you know.”

Nothing new here.

“If Bryce and I are exclusive, then it’s Bryce and me who should know that.”

“He slept with Lew on Friday at his party.” He shifted when I tried to move

around him.

I sighed and regarded him.

“What?” Chad sent another of his grins that he’d perfected to get into so many pants. Corrigan had a look. Bryce had a look. And Chad had a look.

“Are you telling me this because you’re hoping you have a chance with me?” I asked bluntly.

His eyes widened a bit, but he recovered instantly. “Why? Would you be

interested?”

I leaned closer and whispered, silkily, “I get approached by a lot of guys. I don’t know why you think that you’d have a chance.”

The grin was wiped clean when I leaned back and commented, “Now move

before I move you.”

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I heard a slight hush fall over the diner. Everyone had been watching. Chad knew it. I knew it. I hadn’t cared, but now Chad was all the more humiliated for it. We were at a stand off now…what would Chad do to protect the little dignity he had as a piece of scum?

We stared each other down.

“What?” I asked and crossed my arms again. Still, Chad didn’t move. He just

stayed there, angry and fighting for control.

I noticed that Chet stood up, along with a bunch of other guys in the room.

Chet was good friends with Bryce and Corrigan, but he was also on the football team with Chad. In fact, a lot of the guys that stood up were football players. I wasn’t sure if it mattered because the male dominance placed Bryce and Corrigan at the top, but Chad was just below him.

This might’ve been a showdown to change the social status and Chad might’ve

chosen me to be that symbol.

“You don’t want to do this,” I said smoothly, calm.

In the back we could hear a moan. Corrigan chuckled and hushed her.

“Do what?” Chad asked, feigning innocence.

“What I think you’re doing,” I said firmly.

Chet stepped closer and said quietly, “Leave her alone, Yerling.”

Chad narrowed his eyes at him and asked, softly, eerily, “From what? I’m not doing anything. I’m just standing here.”

Chet came to stand behind me.

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He grabbed my elbow and moved in front. He warned, softly, “Step back,

Yerling.”

“What? You’re going to escort her out? All safe-like and be her knight in shining armor?” Chad taunted. I saw the malice in his eyes and instead of a shiver, I stood at my tallest height.

Two more guys moved around behind Chad, Tatum and Holster. They were both

football players, but they were loyal to Chet first. A part of me was relieved.

That pissed me off. I shouldn’t need to be relieved at the sight of these guys, not here, not in my territory.

Chet prompted me forward and out the door.

Once outside, he asked tightly, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I bit out, my jaw tense.

Tatum had followed us outside, but we all looked and saw that Holster remained inside, right beside Chad.

“What the hell was that?” I clipped out.

“I don’t know,” Chet murmured, tiredly, as he continued to hold Chad’s stare through the diner’s windows.

“I’m thinking you do.” I raked my eyes over his face and saw I was correct.

Chet glanced at me, studied me, and then relented, “Chad’s been…a loose cannon lately.”

“He hit on me and I turned him down.”

Chet bit back a grin and guessed, “You humiliated him.”

“No.” I had, but he’d chosen the when and where. That wasn’t on me.

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“Great, well…I don’t think it matters. He’s had his eye on you since eighth grade.

Just…be careful, okay? Tell Bryce about this.”

I nodded mutely and climbed into my car. Instead of going to the pool hall with Corrigan, I turned around the back door of the kitchen and got out to put the beer inside.

And then I headed home, alone.

I was home for another hour before I heard my doorbell ring again. I knew Bryce would probably stop over, but I had locked the doors anyway.

When I got to the door, I saw Corrigan outside, jumping up and down.

“Hey.” I opened the door.

He brushed past me and demanded, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

I moved past him and headed back downstairs to the media room.

Corrigan followed and continued, “I was just around the corner. I would’ve

helped, Sheldon.”

It wasn’t the point. I waved him off, “Chet was there. It was fine.”

It

wasn’t.

Corrigan agreed with me because he cried out, “Are you delusional? Are you

stupid? How screwed up are you?”

I bristled and sent a warning glint his way. I didn’t like insults.

He caught it and bit back his next words, but he said, “Seriously, Sheldon. That was scary, even for me. Chet said it took him, Tatum, and Holster to stand up before Chad finally backed down.”

More than those three had stood, but I guessed that Chet hadn’t informed him of those details.

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“This is huge,” he breathed out, slightly still in shock.

I groaned and pulled a pillow over my head. “Shut up.”

“I cannot—” Corrigan stopped abruptly when the front door slammed shut.

We glanced at each other before Corrigan took off running upstairs.

I stayed put and waited, tense, for what seemed like forever. I even shut off the television and listened, but I didn’t hear a thing. I should’ve gone upstairs. I should’ve contained the situation, but I knew it’d come down to an argument between Bryce and myself or Bryce and Chad Yerling.

I chose to be selfish.

I groaned and moved into the media room where I started playing pool.

I was good on a normal basis, but all my shots were spectacular under pressure.

And my mind wasn’t even on the game. It was on whatever was going on upstairs.

And then I heard the door slam again. I cursed as my arms jerked in reaction.

I waited, held my breath, but I didn’t hear any movements down the stairs. After ten more minutes, I slowly, gingerly, placed the pool stick on the pool table and moved upstairs.

Instead of finding Bryce or Corrigan or both of them, I found a note that had been quickly scrawled on the kitchen counter.

Went out. Be back later.

B & C

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I skipped supper, shot another hour at the pool table, and even watched a movie.

My mind was reeling, but I couldn’t bring myself to call Bryce or Corrigan to find out what was going on.

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It pissed me off because I wasn’t relaxed, laughing, or being satisfied.

I was anxious, pissy, and tense. All three emotions that I hated.

When the doorbell rang at 10:32 that night, I shot off the couch and raced

upstairs.

Instead of seeing Corrigan or Bryce, I opened the door in surprise to find Denton Steele. He grinned at me and skimmed his eyes up and down my body. I had changed to a skimpy tank-top with no bra and pajama bottoms that rested low on my hips. Coral toenails peeked from underneath. I brushed my hair behind my ears. The slight movement teased my shoulders and I felt goose bumps break out over my arms.

“Steele,” I greeted, confused. “What are you doing here?”

“You look good, Sheldon.” He nodded. “I like your hair like that, when you let it loose.”

I touched my hair. It wasn’t anything special, but it was straight, shiny, and the guys seemed to like how dark it was.

Denton added, “Can I come in?”

“No.” But I held the door open and waited as he passed by.

He glanced around the place and whistled, “It looks just like I remembered.” He flashed a grin that girls nationwide swooned over. With his brown locks that were styled to frame his face and those hazel eyes, I remembered why I’d made a play for him before and grinned at the memory of my orgasm.