“Deuce?” they echo.
“Wait,” says the brunette. I should really learn their names. “You call Carter a nickname? That’s not allowed.”
“And he’s shopping.”
Even with my head down, I can feel the three of them boring their eyes into my skull.
“He’s my cousin so he really can’t tell me what I can and cannot call him,” Waif declares. This isn’t going to end well. When I start pawing her in the middle of the hallway, shoving her skirt up and sucking on her neck during passing period, our classmates are really going to have questions.
“Wow. You really must be related because I can’t see Carter allowing anyone else to say stuff like that. He’s kind of…difficult.”
“You mean he’s an asshole,” Waif says. “I know, but don’t worry. I’m here to cut him down to size.”
“Right on.”
I hear the girls exchange high-fives. What a nightmare this is developing into.
“I’m Bea Simpson and this is Emma Williams. We’re both seniors.”
“Cool. You’re coming to the party on Friday, right?”
Again, I feel their eyes on me, waiting for me to deny that there is such a thing. I keep my head down because I do not want this party, but if I say this, I suspect that Waif will invite everyone in this damn mall just to spite me.
“Absolutely. You couldn’t keep us away,” answers Bea. “I feel like you’re going to be a good influence on Carter—wait, what did you call him?”
“Deuce.”
I stand up and intervene because I cannot have the entire school calling me by that asinine nickname. “It’s Carter so unless you have the same last name as me, you aren’t calling me anything else.”
“I don’t have the same last name as you,” counters Waif.
“Not yet you don’t,” I mutter.
Chapter 12
Mallory
I hit the snooze button for the umpteenth time and snuggle up with my blanket. My nerves kept me up half of the night. It feels as though I only closed my eyes a few minutes ago and it’s morning already. Today is going to be my first day at FU high posing as Carter’s cousin. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about, I lied and said I was related to him. I panicked a little when we ran into some of his classmates in the mall and now I have to go with it. I sigh and punch one of the twenty pillows that are scattered around me.
“Not sure what that pillow did to you,” I hear Carter’s deep voice say.
I flick my eyes up to him and almost gasp at how handsome he looks standing over me. “I was pretending it was your face.” I pull the blanket up higher to cover my mouth, which is now smiling. I probably look a mess and he’s as handsome as ever. Carter smirks and shakes his head at me.
“Someone woke up in a mood. You need to get moving. Thirty minutes until we’re out,” he informs me. Those last few words have me jolting up and heading toward the bathroom. Crap. I have to make myself look presentable for my first day in only thirty minutes. After my restless night, I’ll need a miracle to accomplish looking halfway decent. I have a feeling that all eyes are going to be on me.
First impressions are important. I’m not sure why I care what these people think of me but suddenly, I do. I want to fit in. Although Carter can be a dick, he’s giving me an opportunity that I’ll always be grateful for. I have a chance at a new beginning. Finishing high school will offer me more job opportunities if I’m able to say I have a high school diploma. Things don’t seem as grim as they did a few days ago.
I look around this vast bathroom and thank my lucky stars that I picked Carter’s car to take a nap in. I’m still not sure why he’s helping me out but I can’t worry about that right now. I am going to take his handout. Life has given me enough shitty ones that I’m not turning down a good one. I switch on one of the fancy fixtures and warm water starts to spray on me. I let the water wash away my worries for a few minutes before rinsing off as quickly as possible and stepping out. I dry myself with the towel that was hanging on the warming rack and get a move on finding something to wear. I step out of the bathroom trying to hurry and run smack into what I’m hoping is Carter.
“Shit,” he says as his hand reaches out to steady me. A sudden chill runs through me even though his touch is warm to my skin. I was in such a rush that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I look up at him but his eyes are not focused on mine. It’s then I realize that I’m standing in front of him naked. My towel must have dropped when we collided. My hands rest on his chest. “Get dressed. I’m never late,” he half growls but doesn’t let my shoulder go where he grabbed me to keep me from falling on my ass.