Chapter 8 - One Of Many?

Asher

It’s been about a week since Liam started tutoring me, and yesterday I handed in my essay. I’m confident in what I wrote, but I can’t help thinking of my father’s taunt regarding my tuition. Knowing my old man would make good on his threat, I know this. As I said, I’m my father’s prodigy, not his son.

“Mr Prince, please stay behind,” Mrs Williams calls as the lunch bell goes.

“Fuck, what did I do now?” I think to myself as I grab my things, and I feel eyes on the back of my head, already knowing that it was Liam staring at me. As soon as the class empties, Mrs Williams gets up and walks towards me, then puts a piece of paper in front of me. I look down, and my heart stopped - it was my essay.

B. I got a fucking B!

I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry! When I looked up at Mrs Williams, she had a smile on her face.

“Is Liam tutoring you?” she suddenly asks, and my heart jumps into my throat. How the fuck did she know? Then she chuckles.

“I knew it. Keep it up, Asher, and you’ll be on your way to OSU next year. We have an upcoming test next week, so cram up.” She says, and I nod before she walks away. I take this as my cue to leave and grab my paper from the desk before bolting for the cafeteria.

Fuck yeah! This grade lifts my spirits a fuck ton! I take out my cell phone and snap a picture of my grade before sending it off to Liam with a thank you. I can’t believe this!

“What the fuck is that smile about? Do I have to fight someone?” Fallon’s voice cuts through my thoughts, and I realize that I walked to our usual table on autopilot. I look up at her and show her the paper with a proud grin on my face.

“Wow, babe! Congrats!” She says and flung her arms around me, planting a kiss on my lips.

“Wanna celebrate later?” she asks with a flirtatious wink that actually caused my dick to twitch.

“I’ll pick you up later,” I say and pull her against me before my lips are on hers in a demanding kiss.

I feel a clap on my back. “Looks like your dad’s money is paying off, Prince!” He says when he sees my paper.

“Fuck, I might just ask you for their number later,” Brock comments as well, and all I do is grin while trying to hide my awkwardness.

If only they knew, they wouldn’t be saying that.

For some reason, Fallon picks up on my mood shift and pulls me aside. “Ash, are you okay?” she asks, placing a hand on my arm.

I frown. “Yeah, I am. Why?” I ask, confused because I know I’ve hidden my emotions well over the last few months. But she shakes her head.

“You’ve been acting strange these last few days, and you completely ignore me on most days as well. Did I do something wrong?” She asks, and I immediately feel guilty.

The truth is, I didn’t know if I still wanted Fallon. Before, when I used to look at her, I would feel pride or even some form of love, but not anymore. It’s like my feelings for her have dried up.

But I couldn’t let her know that - the prettiest girl in school needed to be seen with me.

I cup her cheek. “You have it all wrong, baby. I’m just under a lot of pressure right now. My dad is threatening to sponsor the Mountford quarterback if I don’t get my grades up.” I say, hoping this would get her off my back and lucky me—her face screws up into a worrying frown.

“Oh! Damn, babe, I didn’t know it was that bad. Now I feel stupid for thinking it was something I had done,” she says, and a slight blush crossed her cheek, which I kiss.

“It’s never you, don’t worry. Just give me some time to get over this bump, then I’ll be all yours again.” I say, making promises I knew I wouldn’t keep.

She smiles then. “Okay. Pick me up after school, and I’ll make you forget for a little while,”

Oh, fuck. I said I would go with her, but I had to study with Liam this afternoon. Ah, I’ll tell him that I’ll be a bit late - I could do with forgetting for a little while, even if the sex with Fallon wasn’t the same anymore.

The rest of the day goes by quickly, with some teachers remarking on my progress. How the hell did I get better after only a week of Liam’s tutoring? He was crazy good; I don’t think he knew it yet.

But as I think back to how his face lit up after explaining things to me, I couldn’t help but smile. The guy was cool, but I knew we could never be friends outside of school - not with his sexual orientation in a town that hated gays.

“Prince!”

I snap out of my thoughts, remembering where I was and look up at the coach.

“Pay attention; this goes for all of you! Next Friday is the Fall bonfire and pep rally. I want you all there geared up and ready. Everyone is expecting us to crush Mountford in our opening game, so let’s give them hell for even thinking of stepping foot into our territory!” Coach exclaims, riling the team up.

The Fall Bonfire Rally. Damn, I had forgotten about this. The bonfire signals the start of football season and is held a week before we play our first game. The entire town gets into this, and our games are always packed, so I couldn’t afford to pussyfoot around with this either.

To be honest, I wasn’t in the mood for the pep rally at all, but being the quarterback, I’ll be required to go. Ah, fuck, might as well make the best of it then.

***

Liam

It’s been a weird week for me.

Every time Asher leaves my house, I feel like I can breathe for the first time. His presence is overwhelming in a sort of Alpha way. How I keep my cool around him, I don’t know. Those hazel eyes do something to my insides, not to mention his biceps and sandy blonde hair and his delicious aftershave.

Hmm, I need to stop this shit, or I’ll end up hurt. I’m currently in the school library, and it has been home time for about an hour now, but there was a paper I needed to do a few finishing touches on. This requires my attention for now.

I shake the thoughts of those hazel eyes out of my head and decide to check my messages. The name displayed on my screen could have given me a heart attack - Asher Prince. He had sent this earlier in the day, but as usual, my phone was on silent.

When I open the message, a warm feeling crosses my chest; Asher got a B on his paper! Ah, my tutoring was helping! He thanked me for helping him out and said, I smile at the message while my mind drifts to when he winked at me that first day of my tutoring him. I could have died right there - he was too gorgeous to be alive.

Anyway! I got onto my phone to check the time; instead, I got an even bigger distraction. Asher Prince was not good for my health. Why was he pretending to be an asshole in public, but he’s one of the nicest people in person? Was his reputation that sacred to him?

“Guys like Asher Prince are a dime a dozen, especially in a small town like this. They’ll suck you dry and toss you aside as soon as they’re done with you.”

My mother’s words ricochet in my mind and bring me straight down to earth. These words were true, no matter which way I looked at it. I was being used, and he would probably still allow the bullying to continue while using me. I truly am dumb, even with my full ride to my dream college.

Would I be able to get out of this?

I look up, suddenly feeling as if someone is staring at me, and find myself looking up into the clearest green eyes I have ever seen. It was a guy, and he flashed me a smile before continuing to read the book he was holding.

Smiling, I look down at my paperwork and peek up again, only to find his eyes on me once more.