Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

“And me?” I question. “Downstairs before you blocked him. Would he have hit me?”

His brow flinches. “He thought about it but once he realized you had my protection, he wasn’t willing to see it through.”

“Why did you do that?”

He shakes his head. “Next question, Jade.”

I let out a sigh. There’s so much I could ask and I should be hitting him with it but one more wrong question and I’ll be sent out of here without another answer. I need to tread carefully. Something tells me he’s only letting his walls down because of the bullshit with his dad. Any other time and I’d have been kicked out of here before I got to taste his lips on mine.

“Why has your dad been putting on the nice guy act for me and my mom?”

Colton shakes his head again but this time it’s not because he doesn’t want to answer, it’s because he’s just as clueless as I am. “I don’t know,” he says, his eyes going far away as his hand moves to my waist. He pulls me in between his knees and it’s almost as though he hasn’t even realized he’s doing it.

Our eyes are at the same level but he doesn’t look at me, he just keeps staring off out his bedroom window, deep in thought. My hand falls to his shoulder and on instinct, slides up around the back of his neck and it’s like his body calls to me.

“Why are you friends with Jude? You realize he’s a dick, right? I mean, you’re a dick, but he’s like on a whole different level of dick. You belong as some domineering, arrogant CEO in a boardroom, swimming in pools of cash while he belongs behind bars, convicted on rape charges.”

Colton presses his lips into a tight line and while he’s not agreeing, he’s also not disagreeing and that speaks volumes.

Silence falls between us and for once, it’s peaceful. It’s not the awkward, irritated silence from this morning or the frustrated and confused silence from the ride back home. It’s just kind of nice … it’s right, that is until he looks back at me and stands. “You should go.”

It’s like flipping a switch and for a moment I wonder if both he and his dad suffer from bipolar disorder. I stumble back a step and in doing that, both our hands fall to our sides, killing anything that was lingering in the air between us.

I meet his eyes for a short moment. Neither of us say a word, it’s just silence until I turn and walk straight out his door, my heart, body, and soul a complete mess.

Chapter 16

I walk into my math class just in time to hear Mr. Weathers’ sarcastic booming voice. “Alright, guys. Congratulations. Your disastrous behavior last week has earned you all a seating chart. Check the chart and take your seats. These will be your designated spots until the end of your senior year. Learn it, love it, live it.”

The fuck? No.

Everyone looks horrified as Mr. Weathers stands at the front looking as proud as punch. We all look around at one another, wondering if we take a stand what kind of action would be taken against us. There are too many personalities within this classroom, all of which don’t mix well.

Knowing better than to try and fight the system a second time so soon after the first, I reluctantly make my way over to the whiteboard and begin searching for my name.

“Get a move on, guys. We’ve got a lot to get through today,” Mr. Weathers says, earning a loud groan from the students. He smirks to himself before saying in a singsong tone, far too pleased with himself. “If you were going to be salty, then you should have brought the tequila.”

I smother a laugh. Despite how much I’m cursing the guy for giving us a seating chart, I also think he’s kind of awesome. It’s only the first day of my second week and I haven’t really had a chance to get to know him as a teacher, but so far, he’s made a good impression. His tequila comment goes a long way in helping me forgive him for the seating chart. Who knows, he might have seated me with Milo.

With the boys all pilling in behind me to get a look at the chart, I make it quick.

My eyes scan over it, searching out my name and when I find it, my stomach sinks. Colton fucking Carrington. How is it possible for one infuriating human being to ruin every little aspect of my life?

The guys start shoving behind me and I make quick work of squeezing out of the crowd, annoyed that my ass was grabbed in the process. I glance up and find that the ass grabber was Charlie and for some reason, it doesn’t annoy me as much as it should. Charlie is cute and while he’s a bit of an ass, he’s also fun and flirty and I know he doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s just living life, trying to enjoy himself and in doing that, he chooses to bug me, but in a good way, not the infuriting way Colton does.