Rowdy Boy

My nostrils flare. This guy has balls.

But if I say no … I’ll only prove what these people from my old school said about me. I’ll only give Cole more reasons to talk about me to his friends. To everyone who would listen. He could ruin my reputation within seconds. And that would mean a quick game-over for my new start.

“Do I really have a choice?” I raise a brow at him.

He knows damn well the power he holds, and he loves using it to his advantage.

“Guess they were right about that too …” he says.

“About what?”

“That you weren’t afraid to back down, even when you should.” He releases the branch and sits down on the rock only to slide down into the water, without ever taking his eyes off me. “Even when you know it’s going to end badly for you.”

I swallow hard. I don’t know where he got this information or how anyone would ever know me so well … unless it was Sam. No, no fucking way would she ever spill the beans on me, let alone attend a party like this. That isn’t like her, but then who did Cole talk to?

He wades through the water, coming closer and closer until my heart beats in my throat and my lungs feel constricted. Even in the darkness, his eyes still glimmer provocatively, and it feels as though he’s fucking me with his eyes. It makes me cower underneath the water until it covers my chin, as though it’ll hide the fact that my body is leaning toward his.

“Truth or dare, Monica …” he repeats. “What’s it going to be?”

“Only if I go first,” I retort, staying put despite his sexy body towering over mine.

“Bold,” he replies. “But I’ll play. Truth.”

“Who told you all those things about me?” I ask.

He smiles. “Wrong question to ask … But fine, if you really care that much, her name was Jenny.”

My eyes widen. Jenny. As in best-friend-of-Layla-the-bitch-Jenny? That same Jenny who bullied Sam and did despicable things? That Jenny?

“Looks like you two know each other,” he says.

And if I fucking know those whores from Falcon Elite Prep.

If I ever see their faces again, I’d probably punch them so hard someone would have to call an ambulance. They deserve every inch of pain for what they did to Sam … for what they did to me.

“She doesn’t know anything about me,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Enemies?” His eyes narrow. “Good to know.”

“Forget it,” I say. I don’t want to give him even an inch of power over me, but I guess it’s already too late for that. “Is she here?” I ask because if she is, I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind.

He raises a finger. “My turn.” The smirk that follows is insufferable. “Truth or dare, Mo?”

I sigh out loud and fold my arms. Guess I’ll have to postpone my search for Jenny. “Fine. Dare.”

He seems disappointed. “People say you’re too afraid to try something new. So I challenge you to jump off that ledge.”

I snort. “What? That rock you were standing on? Easy.”

He points up at a much, much larger one. “That one.”

My whole body turns frigid just from the height. Fuck. Am I going to do it or am I going to be a chicken, just like Jenny told him I was?

Fuck Jenny. She might’ve been there watching me when Layla did all that shit to Sam and me, but she does not know me. And whatever the fuck he heard coming from her mouth is a blatant fucking lie.

So I push past him and march out of the water, heading straight for that rock. I climb all the way to the top and look down at him, smiling right there in the water. It’s really fucking high.

“Are you scared?” he yells.

I shake my head. I wasn’t ever scared of anything, way back when … back before all this happened …

I want to remember what it feels like. What it is not to fear a single thing in this world. To feel invincible and on top of the world.

So I scream out loud, “Here I fucking come!”

And I take a run and jump out into the nether.

It’s quick but fast, so fast I can barely breathe, and then I hit the water feet first. The cold water rouses my senses, and the rush of adrenaline that follows feels so damn good.

Cole cheers me with a few claps. “Knew you had it in you.”

“Oh, shut up,” I reply, splashing some water at him.

But it doesn’t faze him. Instead, he wades closer and closer until we’re right in front of each other again, my heart still beating out of my chest.

“Truth or dare,” I say, as my eyes struggle not to follow all the tiny beads of water trickling down his tattooed chest.