When Rivals Fall (Bayshore Rivals 1)

Yes. “No,” I croak. My lie must not be very convincing, because Banks lets out a soft chuckle at my words. And just like that the moment ends and Banks pulls away, leaving me cold.

“You’re still a liar, but that’s okay. We’ll break you of that nasty little habit.”

“Can you just go away?” I try and push down the anger, the shame coursing through me.

“No,” he growls. “We won’t go away. Not until we are finished with you.” He takes a step back, putting a few inches of space between us. “Now, let’s go. You might not care about your grades, or classes, but I do, and I don’t want to be late on the first day, so get moving or I’ll toss you over my shoulder and carry you.”

He wouldn’t. Would he? My thoughts must be visible on my face.

“Don’t tempt me, Harlow. I can, and I will,” he whispers so only I can hear him as a group of people walk by. The tone of his voice holds a warning that I shouldn’t want to cross but that I feel tempted to.

“Whatever,” I sigh, rolling my eyes. If they won’t leave me alone, and they feel the need to accompany me to every class, then I’m going to have to come up with a way to make them go away. I’m going to have to come up with a plan.

I’ll beat the Bishop Brothers at their own game.

???

Banks wasn’t kidding when he said they made sure that there would be at least one of them in each of my classes. At first, I didn’t think they would be that ballsy, but I underestimated them. Their need for revenge is very real. It also makes it very hard for me to focus.

My first class with Banks wasn’t so bad, but the one after that with Oliver was horrible. Girls were talking to him the entire time and he was talking back while trying to include me in the conversation, but not in a good way. Of course, when I tried to get them to shut up the professor yelled at me for disrupting the class. By the time lunch comes around I’m annoyed, hungry, and ready to stab all three of them right in the eyes.

“What are we having for lunch, Princess?” Oliver questions as we leave the economics class.

“We?” I ask, coming to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, taking Oliver by surprise. “We aren’t having anything for lunch.”

Oliver rolls his chocolate brown eyes, “You can fight this all you want but I’m not going anywhere, and neither are my brothers.”

He runs a hand through the thick mop of brown hair on his head. I lick my lips, wondering if it’s as soft as it looks. Why am I so attracted to these guys? So what I gave Sullivan my first kiss, who cares, that doesn’t mean I should want Banks or Oliver.

“God, I’m fucking hungry.” Another voice pierces my thoughts, and I whirl around to find Sullivan walking towards us, his lips like a beacon calling out to me.

Jesus. I need to stop thinking about kissing these assholes.

“Well, you’re going to be hungry a little longer because princess here says we aren’t eating lunch together.”

Rolling my eyes, I say, “Neither of you are eating lunch with me. It’s bad enough that I can’t even attend class by myself. Girls keep looking at me, staring actually, and I can see them sharpening their claws. Being around you guys adds unwanted attention. All I want to do is go to class and go back to my dorm. Is that too much to ask?”

Sullivan crosses the distance between us in a second, the closeness of his body is almost too much for me, his sweet scent wafting into my nostrils. Having all three brothers around me is like sensory overload and I’m seconds away from tapping out.

“That’s the point. What do you think it felt like to have all eyes on me? To have people spreading lies about my parents? To be under scrutiny by an entire town?” His words are clipped, and his tone is dark.

Immediately I’m reminded of the seriousness of this situation. I might be daydreaming about kissing them while being annoyed by their presence, but I can’t forget why this is happening, how serious the whole thing is. How much they hate me, and how that’s the driving force behind everything they do, to see me suffer. I cannot get distracted by my irrational hormonal reaction to them.

My stomach starts to growl then, reminding me how hungry I am. I could go back to my room and lock myself inside until my next class, maybe they would go away by then. Doubtful. But, I have nothing to eat in the dorm.

“Fine,” I say defeated. “Let’s go get lunch then.”