Savage Royals (Boys of Oak Park Prep 1)

Her bikini was bright red and so small her boobs were practically falling out of it. Her skin was tan, her nails manicured, and her hair perfectly styled. She looked like she belonged here, and the curl of her lip when she glanced at me made it clear she thought I didn’t.

“Mason.” She threw the cap of her beer bottle at him, and he glanced her way, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m bored. Aren’t you bored?”

“No.”

The one-word answer was curt, and her lips pressed together in annoyance. Whatever their on again, off again thing was, it’d obviously been off again lately, since in the whole time I’d been hanging out with the Princes this semester, I hadn’t seen Adena and Mason together much at all.

Rising from her lounge chair, she padded over to him, leaning over so far her boobs were practically in his face. “God. You used to be so much more fun. You’ve really gotten boring in your old age.”

Her words were both caustic and seductive, like cruelty was her own personal brand of messed-up foreplay, and I watched something flare in his eyes as he sat up a little straighter. A sting of jealousy pinched me, but I shoved it down. Mason wasn’t mine. He could do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted.

And was this the sort of thing he was into? Had their relationship just been one long hate fuck?

Ugh.

“What do you want to do then?” he asked.

A triumphant smile spread across her face, and she pursed her lips, pretending to consider it. Then she rose fluidly, swaying her hips as she stepped back. “I know. Why don’t the girls put on a little show for you guys? We’ll go out to those stones on the lake, strike a pose, and you all can decide which one of us is the hottest.”

I suppressed a massive eye roll. Was this really what rich kids did for fun? I guessed all that leisure time must get really boring, if they were reduced to this.

“Yeah. Count me out,” I muttered.

Adena’s gaze shot to me, her blue eyes hardening. She stalked toward me, only cruelty left in her voice now. “What’s the matter, Idaho? Afraid your scrawny ass is going to come in last?”

Yes. Just like you’re probably hoping for.

I wasn’t sure if she’d suggested this game as a way to torment me, or if it was just a happy side benefit, but she knew as well as I did that all of us standing up and striking poses would be like playing a game of “one of these things does not belong”.

But everyone was staring at me, and that uncomfortable feeling I’d lived with all last semester was starting to build in my chest again. If I didn’t go along with what she wanted, she’d spend the rest of the day torturing me to make me pay.

I shot a desperate glance at the Princes, but Mason just smirked and arched an eyebrow, settling back in his chair.

A hot stab of anger pierced my chest, and I clenched my jaw. What the fuck? The Princes were supposed to protect me from Adena. They had all semester. Why weren’t they doing anything now?

Feeling betrayed and pissed off, I surged to my feet, chugging the rest of my drink. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

“See? Was that so hard?”

She smirked at me and led the way down to the shore, her minions following along in her wake.

I wanted to shove her in the water, but instead, I stalked across the stones to one a good distance out and stood with my arms crossed.

We’d drawn a pretty big crowd thanks to the fuss Adena had made, and nerves prickled my skin as one by one, each girl struck a pose and held it while the guys on shore voted by applause. The poses started off as pretty classic pinup poses, but they got sluttier and sluttier as we went down the line. The cheers grew louder until finally, Adena pushed her hands into her hair and jutted out her tits, dropping her mouth open and licking her lips with a “fuck me hard” expression on her face.

Catcalls and whoops rang out over the water, and I clenched my jaw in irritation. She straightened and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, adjusting her bikini as she giggled and blew kisses to her adoring fans on shore. Then she grinned viciously at me.

“Don’t fuck up, Idaho trash. Then again, you’re such a slut, this should be easy for you.”

I turned away from her pointedly, looking out at the crowd gathered around the pond’s edge. Mason, Finn, Elijah, and Cole were near the front, standing shoulder to shoulder like they often did.

Fine. They wanted to see something beautiful? I’d show them something beautiful.

But I wasn’t playing Adena’s fucking game.

I hadn’t warmed up, but I’d been practicing diligently every sixth period, and my strength and flexibility had continued to improve, so I knew my body could handle it.

Gently, slowly, I floated into an arabesque.