If looks could kill, Mrs. Graham would be dead in her chair. Cassidy is PISSED. But we’re both stuck. She can’t blame me.
I can’t control my mom any more than she can hers. All we can do now is try to make the best of this dire situation. Hopefully, save face for both of us along the way.
I don’t want anyone knowing I’m getting tutored, let alone by her. I’m sure she doesn’t want anyone knowing she’s tutoring me either. People in this school would twist it to sound like she’s doing it to get in my pants.
Though… I cock my head as my eyes travel the length of those long legs. If she wanted to have some hot hate sex, I’d be down. Yes, I’m a pig. I’m an eighteen-year-old guy. I’m not sure what you want from me. Celibacy? Being a monk isn’t my thing.
Plus, just because I think it doesn’t mean I act on the thoughts. I’m not one of those assclowns.
New chapters are posted Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
I know my faults. I’m more aware of them than anyone who enjoys pointing them out. And I know I have a short fuse. It’s just my nature, and I can’t help it or really change it. I try to control it. And given I don’t get into a fight every day, I think I’m doing a damn good job of it. Something about Brant Jones, though, his very existence, the fact I have to see his smug face every fucking day at school, sets me on edge. I wanted to transfer schools after what he did to me. But mom was right. If I did that, it would be giving him a victory. And I will not let that piece of shit win, EVER. So to hear that he propositioned Riko, that he treated her like that. I’ve been seeing red since. She’s new here, and I don’t want her or anyone to ever go through what I did. I’ll kill that fucker before I let him do what he did to me to anyone else.
I managed to make it through the last two classes of the day without incident. And by that, I mean Collin hasn’t tried to corner me again. Maybe he got the memo that I will kick his ass.I gathered my stuff and managed to locate Riko. It wasn’t hard just look for the Frost brothers and assume she’s in the middle. I rolled my eyes, and I approached and overheard them talking.The brothers were calling themselves Riko’s boyfriends. I mean more power to her if she can handle them and the level of hate their adoring fans will throw at her. I’ll help deflect what I can.I snickered, not the least bit surprised that Riko isn’t supposed to date. From what she’s told me in our few talks, her dad is pretty strict. Just another reason to be glad I don’t have one.
Can I not get a break? I had Cassidy cornered, so to speak. She was going to speak. We could have gotten all this tutoring shit resolved. But no. Grace Honeycutt had to poke her fake nose into my business. I don’t blame Cassidy for wanting to take a swing at her. And she just kept making it worse. Piling being an unwanted interloper with being homophobic and racist. I would have, too, if I was the type to hit a girl. It’s on me that I got hurt. I was trying to restrain Cassidy. And well, that’s like trying to control a wildfire. You might get burned in your efforts. I can take a kick to the knee and even my nuts. I can’t take the look of panic on Cassidy’s face and the brief look of pure fear in those green eyes. I don’t know what it is, but obviously, me restraining her set off some alarm bells in her head. And I’ll probably never know what those alarms are for. I rather doubt she’s going to share that with me. You don’t tell your w
I tried to catch Cassidy at her locker before practice, but she was already slamming it shut, walking away when I got there. Fuck. Well, maybe I can catch her after practice. I mean, she’ll still be around for detention. So instead, I haul ass to the gym. We were down one player with Ben in New Orleans for his grandfather’s funeral. But that means one of our bench players gets a chance to play. Not that it matters since Ben will be back before next week’s game. “Did you get to talk to Frost at lunch?” Justin nodded his head in greeting. “No, he was having a private lunch with Riko. I’m not big on being the third wheel.” I shrugged and started to change into my practice gear. “Talk to me about what? Or since you said lunch, talk to Darius about what?” Frost called out as he tossed his bag on the bench next to me. Well, that confirms Darius is in my lunch period. And I’m pretty sure it’s Elijah in English. And so this is Forrest. “Oh, hey, m
Is this karma? Is the universe trying to punish me or teach me some deranged lesson? Whatever I did to piss the universe off… I’m sorry. I’ll never do it again. Just could you maybe stop putting me in unwanted situations with Collin Cole? Please? No. Great. Good chat. I grumbled under my breath as I walked into the house as ordered. Thanks, mom. Not only did you make me be the one that looked away first, but you gave him my full name. Did you have to? I mean, I have no shame in my name. My middle name is an homage to Blaire, and it’s fantastic. But I don’t need my enemies to know my full name. In some cultures knowing someone’s true name, in this case, my full name gives you power over them. Collin may not be the last person I’d want to have power over me but he’s sure the fuck on the list. I glared at James, who was chomping into an apple. “Don’t look at me. He just gave me a ride home after practice.” My annoying br
The meeting with Cassidy actually went better than I expected it to. She didn’t kill me, and other than threatening, neither did her mom. It was strangely nice chilling in her living room. There wasn’t the usual animosity that she threw my way at school.We actually had a good talk. And Cassidy did make some good points. I should try talking to my parents about dropping the class. Why am I wasting my senior year taking a class I hate and don’t need?Another study hall would be more helpful, or I could take Psychology. That might actually be useful in what I want to do. I’m actually thinking about taking child psychology classes in college. I mean, I want to work with kids, so it would be beneficial.So as we sat down for dinner, I decided to take her advice, sans telling them to shove anything up their asses. “So, did you manage to get a tutoring schedule in place with Cassidy?” Mom questioned as she served up eggp
Riko, however, squeezed his forearm, and bam, the angry giant, was tamed. “I suppose that’s true. Thankfully I am a detail-oriented person. I have too much respect for each of them to call them by the wrong name or just call them Frost like a blanket name.” she smiled.“Ooo, burn.” Isaiah smiled, offering his fist to her. Riko seemed confused at first, so Darius lifted her hand and helped her fist bump.The table all laughed as Riko blushed. Seriously, where is this girl from? She’s too damn adorable. And somehow not only managed to tame the Frost boys, but she’s got Cassidy in her corner.“Sorry, not used to the idea of fist bumps,” she admitted shyly. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. There’s plenty of things that my brothers and I will teach you.” Darius winked, making her blush brighter. “Stop it, Darius.” she nudged him with her elbow.“Is he always li
All-day Wednesday, I dreaded Collin trying to talk to me at school. Sure I hoped he wouldn’t because our business was concluded. No more reason to talk at school. I only have to deal with him twice a week after school. Given all of that. Why am I disappointed as I get on the bus with Riko after a day where he didn’t say a word to me or, from what I noticed, looked at me? What is wrong with my brain? I should be happy. I should be fucking ecstatic. I went a whole day without hearing his mouth. He’s just another douchebag jock who leverages athletic accomplishments to climb the caste system that is high school to sleep with as many girls as he can. He’s the enemy. ‘Is he? Or are you judging him without knowing him? Are you profiling him because of Brant? Keeping him at arm’s length or further to protect yourself from your own unresolved issues?’ I sighed as I slumped into the bucket seat. Great, I’m hearing my therapist in my h
Nine, nine years! Can you believe it? It’s been NINE years since we graduated from Ravenwood. It’s insane how much life has changed since my senior year of high school. I know you’re all here to get the deets on our lives since Cassidy and I got together. And I’ll tell you everything, promise. I think I’ve got time to recap nine years before we meet our friends for the holiday lights at the waterfront park. So you already know we both were going to Boston University. We got an apartment together with mild concerns, prompted mainly by my mom. It wasn’t anything super big or nice like Riko and the brothers shared. We didn’t have that kind of cash. So we split rent on a one-bedroom place near campus. We quickly learned that living together would be a nightmare if we didn’t start making some changes. Like I learned, if I left dirty clothes on the floor, they would be thrown at me and told to clean up. I also learned that I get a bottle thrown at my head if I don’t separate recycling
“Collin, come with me.” I whispered, grabbing his arm with our stuff in hand. “Um… okay. Where are we going?” Collin furrowed his brow as I led him out of the dance. I feel no regrets for leaving early. I told our friends we’d find our way home before I went to see him at the drink table. “You’ll see.” I answered, leading him into the elevator. I didn’t let him ask more questions in the elevator as I pulled him down, kissing him. I wanted to stop his questions and ease my nerves. His lips are damn good at putting me at ease. Time to see what else they are good at. My plan was working, at least for the elevator ride. But as soon as it dinged, I had to pull away and lead Collin down the hall to the deluxe garden view room I reserved. “Um… Cass. We’re in the main part of the hotel. What’s going on?” Collin questioned, looking around a bit confused. “While being clueless is one of your cute qualities, I know you are smarter than this.” I rolled my eyes, put my keycard into the l
Things were all falling into place. These last few months of school have probably been the best since I transferred to Ravenwood. And as unexpected as it is, Collin Cole is the reason why. Brant got expelled, and I haven’t had to see his face. Sure, he didn’t do time for his crimes, but he lost his followers, got arrested, and was forced to pay fines for trespassing and damaging Collin’s car. Riko’s been making great strides in her therapy. She was not just getting past her fear of being in the front seat of a car, either. She’s told me she opened up and is working on her issues with her dad and talking about her mother, a woman she barely remembers. Her facing her trauma head-on got me back to my therapist more regularly. My therapist has praised the progress I’ve been making. Mainly my progress in my aversion to intimacy. No, Collin and I still haven’t gotten past heavy petting. But I’m ready for that to change. I want to move forward in our relationship, to know that as we atte
So other than the whole Brant situation, the dance was a good time. Zach’s the only miserable one, and I owe that guy two dozen vegan donuts from Dunkin. Mostly their banana pudding, pb&j, and the pistachio raspberry. The dude would live on those three flavor donuts if he didn’t know he’d have to work twice as hard to keep in shape. I don’t know. Personally, I’m not a big donut guy. To each their own. Speaking of each their own, I’m shocked Amy agreed to come with James. I knew that James asking how I snagged his sister was sus. I just didn’t think he’d have set his sights on Amy, a girl he helped torment about her weight. He better not screw it up. Amy’s a sweet girl, and I know his sister would kick his ass all over the city if he messes with Amy. And how close the girls are, if our girls get pissed at James, we guys will have to beat his ass. Not an outcome he wants, especially with Isaiah and Lucas. But he was good the whole dance. When I managed to take my eyes off Cassidy, I
I don’t know what, if anything, Mrs. Cole did. Collin told me how she made him tell her about Brant hitting him and how pissed she was. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. Mrs. Cole seemed like a sweet lady, maybe a bit pushy about his academics but still sweet. I don’t know if she’s made any progress with the Brant issue. He’s still at school, giving us dirty looks whenever he sees us in the halls. Because of what happened between him and Riko, he got a schedule change, so he’s no longer in the same English class with her. Riko said Mister Frost managed to make sure of that. And well, I guess that shows the Frost name is more powerful than Jones. At least he’s kept his damn mouth shut, and beyond the dirty looks hasn’t come near any of us. I have this feeling something big is coming. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. But I can imagine Brant is just biding his time to make an asshole move. For now, I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, which can I say is fucking weird saying. All I
It would be an understatement to say my mom was livid about me getting detention, especially for being tardy to Trigonometry class. She ripped me a verbal new one on the phone when the office called her to advise I would be staying after for detention. She had Mrs. Clark put me on the phone to give me a lecture. Despite that, I drove myself to school my mom was waiting for me after detention ended. Cassidy’s moms were waiting as well. Unlike mine, they didn't look pissed. When your daughter is Cassidy and is known for protests and stirring up trouble, her getting detention is almost expected. But I’ve never had detention before. I’m smart enough to know which teachers will let a tardy slide and which won’t. Mrs. Graham is one of those that doesn’t make exceptions. No official tardy note from a teacher or school administrator, and she gives you detention. At least the bitch is consistent. I watched Cassidy leave with her moms before daring to approach mine with my head down. I knew
It was very suspicious that I didn’t see Collin after fourth period. The boy had been more reliable than the bus schedule when it came to being there to walk with me after class. It made me nervous. Like, did something happen? He hasn’t texted me. Or is he up to something? Ugh, he better not be up to something. I do not like surprises. And it didn’t help that Brant was giving me the dirtiest looks at lunch, whispering to his friends. What’s his fucking problem? Other than that, his head is wedged up his ass? “Mind if we join you?” Ben smiled as he, Zach, and a couple of other guys from the basketball team sat at my otherwise empty table. “Free country.” I shrugged. I generally eat lunch alone, given I don’t have a lot of friends, and what friends I have don’t have the same lunch period. I can only assume Ben and these guys are sitting here because I’m dating Collin. Not sure how I feel about that. Though I noticed Brant and his ass kissers stopped looking in my direction. So I gu
I still don’t know what James’ angle was, but he supported and defended his sister. Too bad it got me into debt with the plastic bitches. I don’t particularly appreciate owing them. It feels dirty or something. However, I got to tease Cassidy before gym, and I know I left her wanting. A little blue in her lady balls won’t kill her. I’ll be more than happy to address her desires and needs after work. Of course, nothing happens without her initiating it. But the lingering looks she was throwing my way during PE, I feel things might start taking steps forward on the physical side of our relationship. I won’t get my hopes up, though. I thought today would be back on track as a good day. I walked Cassidy to her following two classes, holding her hand both times. Hell, I even snuck a kiss in when I left her at her history class. I was back in a good mood as I headed for French. Of course, I didn’t make it to class. I got yanked into one of the bathrooms and pushed into the counter, hip f
It’s crazy how just the sight of someone’s face can ruin your entire mood. But seeing Brant standing outside of school turned my mood faster than mayo in the desert. Just great now because of that analogy, my stomach isn’t just queasy from the sight of his face but the memory of the time I ate potato salad that hadn’t been kept cold. I felt like I was going to throw up. Maybe if I do, it’ll be on Brant. I hate that he stopped us. I hate it even more that I froze instead of knocking him out when he basically threatened to rape Riko. I hate that my body reacts like this. And it’s not always consistent. Sometimes I don’t freeze, and I unleash my wrath on Brant. But this wasn’t one of those times. I did get a little satisfaction at Ben calling Brant out for having a tiny dick. I got even more when Justin laid Brant out for being disrespectful to Ben. Looks like I was on the nose about those two. I was more than ready to leave it at that. To carry on with my day and, most importantly,