Tessa’s POV“Amanda, we’ve already talked about this,” Brian said, shaking his head at her. “Tessa is my friend—”“Friend is a strong word,” I corrected.“I don’t want them sitting here,” she said through her teeth.“That’s too bad,” Brian said shrugging as he began to eat his salad.“Believe me… I don’t want to be sitting here either,” Ruby muttered as she stuffed a meatball in her mouth.I tried and failed at stifling a smile.“Ew,” one of Brian’s cheerleader friends, Kate, muttered as she grimaced at Ruby. “Do you have any idea how many calories are in that one meatball?”Ruby raised her brows.“I don’t know, but if it’s the calories that make this so delicious, then I’ll eat all the calories,” she said through huge mouthfuls of food.I knew she was doing this on purpose; if she kept it up, I wouldn’t be able to hold in my laughter.“Maybe eat with your mouth closed,” Jake, Brian’s best friend and Kate’s boyfriend, said as he narrowed his eyes at Ruby.“So, how have you been, Tessa
Joseph’s POV“I would love to come to the game tomorrow, Brian. Thank you for the invite,” Tessa’s voice rang across the campus as she smiled up at Brian.I was seeing fucking red.My stomach clenched as a cocky grin spread across his face. Ruby, Tessa’s best friend, looked horrified. I would have been able to hear the conversation, even if Tessa didn’t speak loudly, but it was almost like she purposely wanted both Emily and me to hear her.Emily had turned in their direction too and was watching them.Brian soon turned and walked back toward the cafeteria, and Tessa turned to Ruby.“It’s just one game,” Tessa said to her, shrugging.“I don’t trust him, Tessa,” she said, quickly standing to her feet. “Lunch was horrible. Why are you doing this to yourself?”“He’s going to be playing in the game. It’s not like he can do any damage there,” Tessa said shrugging.She then glanced back in my direction where our eyes locked once more. I felt my entire body tensing and my jaw clenching as I
Tessa’s POV“Why does he have to play with my feelings like that?” I cried as Ruby wrapped her arms around me.“Because he’s a jerk,” she said, rubbing my back gently. “Most men are nowadays. Maybe your post wasn’t far off.”I looked up at her, sniffling and wiping my eyes.“No… my post was wrong,” I told her, shaking my head. “I shouldn’t have written it. Not all men are like that…”She sighed and held me tighter, allowing me to cry into her shirt.“What even happened? He just kissed you and that was it?”The memory of Joseph’s lips on mine surfaced in my mind. His arms around my waist and the feeling of his warmth sent me into turmoil. I hated that I was weak when it came to him. I hated that he still made me feel like this.“He asked me about my relationship with Brian,” I told her through my tears. “He saw me with him the other night.”“He broke up with you,” Ruby said, furrowing her brows together. “Why does it matter who you see?”“I don’t know,” I murmured. “But then we got cau
Tessa’s POVHis lips were sweet.The moment he captured my eyes with his, I knew I was a goner. I couldn’t resist him. He just looked at me so sweetly and he was so incredibly good-looking. My entire heart belonged to him, and I didn’t want anyone else.I didn’t want to imagine him with anyone else either.He let me close the gap between us and wrap my arms around him. He let me stand on my toes and kiss him. Once I made that first contact, he wrapped his arms around me and deepened the kiss. In that kiss, I knew he wanted me just as badly as I wanted him. The doubts, the fears, and the pain had all evaporated from my body.At that moment, there was only me and him.He lifted me into his arms and turned us both around so he could sit me on top of his desk. As I sat on his desk, I wrapped my legs around his waist and closed my eyes as he kissed down the nape of my neck. His fingers traced my collarbone, sending a wave of chills throughout my body.I moved my hands down to the hem of my
Tessa’s POVI thought Ruby would have been waiting for me at our lockers, but she wasn’t.It’s not like her to leave without me when we had plans. I shook my head and put my things in my locker. I sighed as I felt the ghost of Joseph’s touch still fresh on my skin. My cheeks grew warm as I remembered what unfolded only moments ago inside of his classroom.I had just finished cleaning myself up in the bathroom.This could have ended badly for both of us.I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to brush the thought out of my mind. I grabbed my phone and frowned when I saw Ruby’s name appear.“We need to talk. It’s an emergency. Meet me at the game!” She texted.My frown deepened. Something must have been seriously wrong for her to go to the game by herself. My stomach clenched as I shoved my phone into my pocket and slammed my locker door shut. I didn’t waste any time getting to the football field.It didn’t take long to get there; the field was behind the circle campus in its own s
Tessa’s POV“Too many people will see us if we just go over and grab the phone,” I said, keeping my eyes on Amanda’s stuff.“If we don’t, she’s going to expose that photo to the entire world.”“We have to wait until everyone is preoccupied,” I told her. “If Amanda grabs her bag and goes anywhere, we need to follow her.”Ruby nodded in agreement.“Maybe we can get closer?” She suggested.“That’s impossible,” I replied. “All the other seats are filled, and we are already close to the field.”“I don’t mean up here. I mean down there,” she said, pointing to the field.“The field?”“Not exactly. But we can probably get in there,” she said, pointing to the box the players sit in while they wait to partake in the game. It was close to the cheerleaders and also attached to the gym.To be more exact, it was attached to the men’s locker room.“They would never allow us in there,” I said, glancing at her, shocked.She was quiet for a moment as she assessed the field. Before we could say anything
Tessa’s POVRuby screamed as I fell to the ground. I felt blood oozing from my nose. I was so shocked that I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.That is until Liz jumped on top of me and punched me again on the other side of my face.“I saw you try to steal her bag you stupid slutty thief!” Liz hissed. “I’ll teach you what happens when you take what doesn’t belong to you!”Liz swung and punched me again. I was frozen; I had never gotten into a fight before. I wasn’t a fighter. I clenched my fists, about to finally fight back when I heard Ruby’s voice.“Get the hell off her!” Ruby yelled, jumping at Liz and knocking her to the ground.Amanda ran over to Ruby and kicked her in the stomach to get her off Liz. Liz’s hair was now a complete mess as Ruby yanked it out of its ponytail holder.Amanda punched Ruby in the head, and Ruby went rolling off Liz from the impact. Amanda immediately kicked Ruby again as hard as she could in the stomach making Ruby vomit on the ground.“You fuc
Joseph's POV“Fighting is against school policy, Amanda and Liz,” The dean, Constance, seethed. “I expected a lot more from the two-star cheerleaders.”“She tried to steal my bag!” Amanda argued.“It’s true Miss Constance,” Liz agreed. “I saw the whole thing! I was trying to help her!”Constance looked suspiciously at the two girls before looking up at me from her desk. I stood in the back corner of the room with the two security officers who were there after the fight.“That doesn’t sound like something Tessa or Ruby would do. Is there any reason they want to steal Amanda’s bag?” She asked me.I was surprised that she directed the question at me.“I’m not exactly sure,” I said, trying to sound as even as I could. “All I know is these girls were kicking and punching both Tessa and Ruby.”“I see,” Constance said, leaning back in her seat. “And how are they? Are they okay?”“They were beaten up badly. We took them to the nurse's office. I’m not sure if they are still there or if they we