Dynasty (Boys of Winter 1)

I wouldn’t be surprised. That seems to be the code this school lives by. Carver, King, Cruz, and Grayson can’t seem to do any wrong, despite every move they make being super douchey. How the hell do they get away with this shit? Any other student would have been reprimanded and then crucified the second the door opened.

Realizing that the teacher is just cool to stare at him for the next hour, I turn my gaze back to Cruz’s, finding his heavy stare already on mine and his eyes sparkling with laughter. “Can I help you?” I ask, narrowing my eyes and daring him to make a smartass comment just so I can kick his ass.

He shakes his head, making a show of getting comfortable in his seat. “Nope, I’m good,” he says, throwing his arm over the back of his seat. “What about you? How was your morning?”

Ahhh, it all makes sense. The boys want to know what happened when I went back to get my stuff this morning, so they sent the one guy who could flash a devastatingly reckless smile and make me cave like a little bitch. Well, I have news for them. They’re going to have to try harder than that.

“My morning was great. Though it would have been nicer if I didn’t have four guys leering at me.”

“Oh yeah?” he questions, playing along. “Sounds like a good time to me.”

“It was … mostly.”

“Mostly?”

I nod before scanning my gaze back to the teacher who just ignores the fact that we’re having an open conversation in the middle of her class and gets on with her lesson plan. “Yeah, I just feel like it would have been a lot smoother if someone wasn’t trying so hard to get into my pants all morning.”

Cruz sucks in a sharp gasp, his hand falling to his chest. “What? No. I’m wounded.”

“What? You?” I ask, pulling back and feigning confusion. “Why would you be wounded?”

“Wait,” he says, his brows dipping as he watches me. “Aren’t you talking about me?”

I shrug my shoulders, only now just realizing how much fun it’s going to be to fuck with him. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”

His eyes widen before he shakes his head and flops back into his seat, a heavy sigh pulling from deep within him and drawing the attention of the students around us. “I fucking knew King was trying to make a move. That motherfucker. I knew it. He was being far too shady at breakfast.”

“King?” I ask, my brows furrowed, as I fight a laugh. “Do you think King is into me? Hmm, I didn’t get that vibe from him.”

“Huh? Then who the fuck are you talking about? Carver?” I shake my head and he scoffs. “No, now I know you’re lying. There’s no way Grayson was trying to get his dick wet. There’s just no way. I’m sorry to break it to you, babe, but you must have been reading that situation wrong. He wasn’t trying to get in your pants. Me, however,” he says, a wild grin splitting across his face. “That’s a different situation.”

I can’t hold back my laughter any longer, and as he watches me, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and his face falls. “You were talking about me all along, weren’t you?”

I nod. “Yeah,” I say, leaning over and nudging his shoulder. “You make it far too easy to fuck with you.”

Cruz groans and the look that crosses his face when he realizes that he’s been played is honestly the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen, as just for a split second, he looks like a vulnerable little boy, but his hard lines and cocky demeanor come flying back. “Let’s cut to the chase,” he finally says. “What happened after you left this morning? I’m assuming that since you’re still here in school, you just went straight through your window and out again like you promised. You didn’t try to beat the shit out of Kurt?”

I press my lips into a hard line before glancing up at the teacher and then indicating down to my work. “Shhh,” I tell him, quickly glancing his way. “I’ve got work to do.”

Cruz lets out a soft, pained groan and leans forward onto his desk before pulling out his phone and busily texting, most likely sharing what he’s learned with the guys, despite the fact that I technically didn’t confirm nor deny anything.

He gets distracted with his phone and I get busy trying to catch up on the work I missed from the first half of the week, and before I know it, the bell signaling the end of class sounds through the school, and I’m finally able to pack up my shit.

I walk out of class with Cruz right on my heels, silently following me as I make my way to my second class of the day, only Cruz falls away the second I reach the door and find Grayson already sitting in the classroom, his ass perched in the chair right beside the one I usually take.