Chapter nine
STONE
Ican’tbelieveit’s her. The beautiful girl from the beach—the hot as sin girl from the club—is the new Highland reject, and she looks even better than I remembered. When I turned to cuss out whoever knocked into me and she stood staring up at me with those huge green eyes, I almost kissed her there and then. I reamed Winnie out in front of everyone for giving us false information. A guy, my ass. I said it was because we all need to be prepared, but Mason and Reid would’ve known why I was so annoyed. I’ve thought about her nonstop since I met her, and when I end up behind her in class, all I can smell is her. Fresh-faced and with her hair in a high ponytail, I’m mesmerised by the bend of her neck when she turns slightly so her hair moves. What is happening? This isn’t like me, obsessing. I need to speak to Mason and Reid. Three votes from the Elite will stop the Highland bullying that’s about to rain down on her and we can start over. Next time I see her, she’ll be fair game.
“Hey dude,” Mason says as he claps my shoulder, joining me to walk to the car park. “Mystery girl, huh? What are the chances?”
“Fuck, I know. She’s officially Oakview tomorrow,” I reply, and he chuckles.
“Knew it. You’re not wasting any time.”
“Wasting time for what?” Reid asks as he catches up to us.
“Little Highland,” Mason tells him.
“You know Winnie is going to flip,” Reid sighs.
“And? It’s her, you know how Stone has been obsessing over her.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m happy for you,” he says, grinning over at me. “I’m just not looking forward to Winnie’s whining. Although, she might’ve met her match. Did you see Highland roll her eyes at her? Feisty.”
“Feisty works.” I smirk.
On the drive back, she’s all I think about. Not that she hasn’t been all day, since she quite literally knocked me sideways. Winnie can get fucked. I’ve broken the rules before with Mason and Reid, and I think she’s more than worth it.
I was planning on spending the evening with the guys, but Dad summons me home for dinner, which means it’s officially time for the awkward introductions. My mood sours at the thought of meeting them, but the coast is clear when I get in, so I fester in my room for a bit. It’s not like me. I like to be active, either in the gym or swimming or doing something, but I get lost in thoughts of the new girl before Dad calls up to tell me dinner is ready. I head down and throw myself into the seat, not caring about making a good impression at all and looking up way too late. It’s her. She’s fucking everywhere.
“Stone, meet Veronica and Ava.” Ava smiles tentatively at me but looks resigned at my grimace when I can’t force a smile out.
“Hi,” I mumble because Dad is giving me a look, but then I zone out as they continue with the conversation they were in the middle of when I arrived. Everything clicks into place in my brain. The new student is the girl from the beach, who is my brother’s mail-order bride. The Highland reject and my future sister-in-law aren’t separate new students. They’re one and the same. Fucking hell. No wonder Lewis was pissed that she didn’t show, she’s unreal. How on earth he managed to arrange that I’m not sure, but I guess a snooty bitch who’s happy to whore herself out for business is only bothered with the finances, not who they’re agreeing to spend the rest of their lives with. I can’t believe I was about to make a fucking fool of myself at school by declaring her Oakview when this is who she is. I’ve been obsessing over someone who is the typical money-hungry emotionless slut that is so common in this society. Fuck. I was so close to repeating my dad’s mistakes. People in this circle—people who will use whatever they have, bodies included, to get ahead in business—are the worst kind of people, and Ava and Veronica are just that.
“Stone?” I look up, and they’re all looking at me expectantly.
“Sorry, what?”
“Ava says she didn’t see you around today. I was telling her you’d show her around the university tomorrow.” I look over as my dad speaks, and Ava has a smirk on her face. She thinks this is just about her being Highland? It’s so much more than that.
“Sure,” I say, having no intention of doing so. They chat lightly between them for the rest of the meal, with me not interested in joining in and her mother suspiciously silent seeing as she’s the one who actually knows my dad. Maybe Ava’s after him now that he has the control. It shouldn’t surprise me. I escape as quickly as I can and spend the rest of the evening stewing.
The next morning, I’m still just as angry. I tossed and turned all night, so that’s not helping my mood. I’m angry at everything to do with this situation. I’m in the kitchen when she strolls in, chin in the air like a haughty bitch. Somehow she even manages to make Oakview’s uniform look sexy. She’s wearing a short pleated grey skirt and a white short-sleeved blouse with a big grey floppy bow. My eyes drag down her bare legs until she clears her throat in front of me, and my eyes shoot back up to her face.
“What?”
“I should be asking you that. What’s your issue?” she asks me right back. I can’t trust myself to speak to her right now, so I dump my bowl in the sink and walk away, hearing her scoff behind me. Like I care what she thinks of me.
“Wow, you look like someone shat in your cereal,” Reid comments. I join them after slamming my car door so hard I’d be surprised if something’s not broken.
“Yeah, shouldn’t you be all chipper, with hearts in your eyes?” Mason adds.
“She’s Lewis’s rent-a-whore.”
They both stare at me wide-eyed as they process that information, well aware who I’m talking about, and I storm away, not wanting to discuss it any further. I don’t mutter another word all morning, my teeth clenched and jaw set into a tight line. We’re sitting on our benches in the middle of the grassy courtyard at lunch when I spot her coming out of a door along the building opposite us.
“Are we still not liking her?” Reid asks when he follows my gaze, playing casual off well.
“Of course we’re not, Reid,” Winnie says, and even though I give her a look for daring to talk to him in that tone, I don’t disagree. I won’t suddenly decide to play nice with Highland just because she’s hot. Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking yesterday, but now she’s not even available, so how I feel about her is irrelevant. Reid throws me a look, but I ignore it. “Did you see her car?” Winnie laughs, and I wonder what happened to it. I assume she still has the gorgeous one from the beach. I didn’t see it on the drive when I left, so it must’ve been in the garage if she’s driven it here.
“No, why?”
“Someone slashed her tyres and sprayed ‘slut’ on the windscreen.”
Slut.At least they’re going with the truth. Mason nods his head to behind me and I turn to see Ava walking right over to us. She added high heels to her outfit after I left, which makes her legs look endless.
“What do you want?” Caitlin asks, but Ava completely ignores her. Ballsy.
“Can I get a lift back later?” she directs to me. I don’t answer, and she rolls her eyes as she leans down into me, assaulting me with her scent. “Can we get over this childish fucking school thing?” she asks quietly, not wanting the others to hear her peace offering, I guess. As if that matters.
“Stone,” Caitlin whines, hanging onto my arm. “Why are you cosying up to the scum?” Ava doesn’t even look at her, standing back upright with a cocked brow, still looking only at me. Her green eyes stare me down, and I have the urge to see them hooded with pleasure. Not that I ever will, but I can’t help my reaction to her. As much as I don’t want to encourage Caitlin, I want to push Ava away more, and clearly she thinks we have some secret camaraderie going because she’s moved into my home. Well, fuck that. I’m not risking any of the social standing my dad has worked so hard to get us all on being lenient to a Highland slut who fucks for business. I lean back away from Ava and throw an arm around Caitlin’s shoulders at the same time. One, for show, and two, because if Ava’s that close to me again, I’ll explode.
“No thanks, I don’t want a blowie in the bathroom,” I say casually, and Ava’s eyebrows shoot up near her hairline.
“What?!”
“He wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole,” Winnie sneers, but Ava still doesn’t even spare her a glance, so I continue.
“Look, I know you’ve tried to use your body to get your way for most things up to now, but I’m not interested in having a go on the dirty little Highland slut.” Winnie and Caitlin cackle, and Ava’s eyes blaze as I finish, not paying attention to the small crowd that has formed to hear what I have to say to little Highland.
“I wouldn’t fuck you if it’d save my life,” she fumes before storming off. Guilt tries to make itself known but I push it back down, and by the end of the day everyone has the memo—all I hear are whisperings of the new dirty little Highland slut. That was easy.
I half expected her to have grassed to her mum and to be getting an earful when I get home, but at dinner, everything seems civil. Clearly she’s happy to deal with the shit at school herself, although she’s quieter this evening than last, and my dad seems to notice.
“How was your day, Ava?”
“Great. Very enlightening,” she says, and I can only just see her eyes and the disappointment in them. I keep my own expression neutral, like I couldn’t care less what she thinks.
“Oh? Did Stone show you around?”
“Stone showed me plenty.” Dad is mollified by that, not noticing the edge to her tone.
“Stone’s good like that.”
“He’s definitely something.”