Torn Apart (Torn and Bound Duet 1)

I push into the building on a mission.

Mia.

These other nerds aren’t going to be able to teach me shit. At least she’s hot to look at. I find her helping a guy I recognize. He spends the entire half hour session eye-fucking her tits while I wait impatiently. It annoys me to the point I’m ready to drag him out of his chair, putting an end to his titty tutor time.

“Can I help you?” a girl with blond hair and a big nose asks. “You wanting to make an appointment?”

“I have one with Mia,” I lie.

She scrunches her nose and taps away on her computer. “You’re Brayden Murphy, right?”

“Yep.” I flash her a smug grin. “You know me from hockey?”

“Yeah. Big fan here.”

I glance at her to see if there’s any interest there, but she does nothing for me. I just want to see Mia.

“Oh, shoot,” the girl says. “There must be a mistake. She has Jordan Renshaw next.”

“Emergency session. Coach said.” I shrug. “I don’t make the rules, I just follow them.”

She frowns hard. “I guess I could move Jordan to later or I could help him.”

“You’re a doll,” I say, flashing her a grin that gets me out of trouble often.

Her cheeks turn pink. “There. All done. You’re next.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.” I wink at her and then saunter over to where Mia sits alone now. “Hey, gorgeous. Miss me?” I toss my bag on the ground.

“Yuck. No. Go away. I have an appointment right now.”

I yank out the chair, flip it around backward, and straddle it. “Me.”

She darts her eyes over to the big-nosed blonde and frowns. “Leighanne? Did Jordan cancel?”

“Coach said this session was urgent,” Leighanne calls back. “Sorry to switch up on you like that. Is it okay?”

Mia starts to open her mouth, but I stop her with my words.

“Please, Mia,” I mutter. “I’ll behave.”

Her brown eyes tear my way, locking on me in an oddly invasive way. I squirm a little under her intense stare. “You’re serious?”

“I need to pass. I have to play.”

“Okay.” She chews on her glossy bottom lip and nods toward Leighanne. “Fine.”

“I’m sorry for being an asshole. Drew brings out the best in me,” I say, my tone dripping in sarcasm.

“Apology accepted.”

“That easy?” I grin at her. “Usually I have to take a girl to dinner to get in her good graces again.”

“This isn’t a date, dummy.”

“Isn’t it against tutoring protocol to call your student a dummy?” I reach over and grab her phone. “But outside of tutor time, you could totally call me whatever the hell you want.”

She rolls her eyes when I type my number into her phone. “Are you always this obnoxious?”

“Always.”

“How do you even have friends?” she scoffs.

Her words sting, causing me to frown. “I have fans. That’s better than friends.”

Rather than coming off as a joke, it sounds bitter and defensive. Mia, unlike the dumb girls I associate with, narrows her eyes, studying me.

“If you tone the obnoxiousness down a few levels, I guess we can be friends, being that you already gave me your number and all.”

“Friends with benefits?” I tease with a crooked grin.

She laughs, rather than getting pissed. “If the benefit is you bringing me Starbucks next time we meet for tutoring, then sure.”

I think she might be flirting with me, but it’s hard to tell with this girl. I’m not going to push her away now that she’s tolerating me, so I simply smile at her.

“Teach me your ways, oh wise one.”

“This is going to take a while.”

“Are you saying I’m a dummy… again?”

Her smirk is saucy and cute as fuck. “Nope. I’m saying I’m smart as hell. Hope you’re fast because you’ll have a lot of work to do to catch up to me.”

“Sounds like a challenge,” I say, lifting a brow.

“If that’s what it takes to get you to pay attention and work, then it was. Now stop flirting and focus.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And don’t say that. Makes you sound pervy.”

“But I am pervy.”

“Brayden!” She giggles, earning annoyed glares from several people around us.

“Sorry. On my best behavior starting now.”

And, for once, I actually try to be good.

I need hockey.

It’s the only thing I have. I’ll be damned if I let a couple of bad grades stand in the way of that.Seeing Drew’s brand-new black Chevy Silverado parked in my parents’ driveway makes my stomach twist into a knot. Why the hell did he agree to come to dinner when he knows we can’t stand the sight of each other? Now, I’ll have to pretend to be amicable for Mom and Dad.

It’s all I do for them.

Pretend.

Which is why I avoid them so much. When I’m not around them, I can be a prick and no one cares. If I’m a prick at home, Mom gets worried. Dad gets disappointed. They try to fix me.