Rowdy Boy

“I told you not to get close, and you still did it,” she hisses. “Why? You wanna get revenge on me so badly?”

“No,” I scoff. “Or maybe yes. It depends on when you ask.”

“Fuck you,” she growls.

“Are you done now?” I ask, contemplating whether I should just hang up on her. It would probably make her fume … and yell at me in public. That would make a nice show.

“She’s not your toy, Cole! Don’t fucking use her to get to me. I told you to stay away for a reason!”

I sit up in my bed. Now it’s getting interesting. “What reason?”

She’s suddenly quiet as a bird. “Nothing, it’s none of your business, and she’s none of your business either.”

“Oh, she’s all of my business now,” I retort, my tongue darting out to wet my lips. “Tell me more.”

“Fuck you. You’re an asshole, and you know it,” she says.

“Call me more names. It turns me on,” I jest.

“She’s not some girl, Cole. She’s my cousin. You don’t get to use her and throw her away too.”

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about,” I say. “What did she tell you?”

“It doesn’t matter what she said. You don’t get to ruin her, too,” she says.

“Ruin? Who said anything about ruin?” I muse. “If anything, you’ve only gotten me more interested. So tell me … what’s the big secret?”

“What?” she mutters. I can clearly hear her getting choked up on the other end of the line.

“You wouldn’t be so determined to keep me away from her if it wasn’t for something … something you’re not telling me …” I add.

“There is no secret,” she hisses, which makes me believe she’s lying because she always hisses when she lies. “Don’t get near her again, don’t invite her, don’t say anything to her, got it?”

“I do whatever the hell I want, and I don’t need your fucking permission,” I reply. She’s getting on my nerves now. “As a matter of fact, you threatened me. You shouldn’t have …” A smirk spreads on my lips. “Because now I’m only going to try harder.”

“COLE! No!” she yells. “You’ll fucking break her heart and her body.”

“Body? How?”

Her body? How strong does she think I am?

Unless she means something else … I wonder.

“Don’t. I don’t need to tell you anything. Just stay away, or I swear to God,” she growls.

“Tell me what it is, and then maybe I’ll listen,” I say.

“Over my dead body,” she says through gritted teeth.

She hangs up the phone, clearly enraged.

Definitely interesting.

Because nothing in this world can anger Ariane … except for two things.

Not getting enough attention and someone messing with her family.

And one thing’s for sure … If Ariane tries to keep something away from me, the more I’m going to latch on to make it mine.

And I definitely want to find out what it is she’s protecting.

Monica.

You just got a whole lot more interesting.

Chapter 12

Cole

I grab the apple off my tray and eat it in plain sight of maybe fifteen girls that are all staring at me with big blue eyes, sighing as I lick my lips after swallowing. Jesus Christ. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined so many thirsty girls waiting in line just to get a taste.

I always thought it’d be the endgame. That this is what I was doing it all for. But really? This apple tastes better than all those girls ever could. None of them capture my attention, and the only girl who actually does isn’t here.

I take another bite, throw it down on my tray, and look at my buddies, wondering if we should skip the rest of our classes so we can practice. If I can’t get my hands on the only girl I’m interested in right now, at least I can hone my skills.

One last sip of my Coke ends in a coughing fit.

Michael’s rolling a fatty right in front of me, right here in the cafeteria. What in the …?

“What the fuck are you doing?” I growl at him, glaring him down.

“What?” he mutters, sticking the joint in his pocket. “It’s for later.”

“I told you that’s not what we do,” I bark. When he joined our group last, I explained the rules to him. No alcohol and no drugs. Keep a clean track record to have a better chance of making it. I thought I made that clear, but apparently not clear enough.

“Throw it out,” I add.

“Fuck no,” he scoffs, looking at Tristan and Benjamin as though they’d support him, but they wisely stay out of it. “What am I supposed to do with it then?”

“Flush it,” I answer.

“Why? Give me one good reason,” he says.

“Because it’s our fucking rules,” I say through gritted teeth.

I don’t do fucking drugs.

Not here, not anywhere, never.

I don’t judge others who take them at a party, but I gotta draw the line when he brings this shit into school. No fucking way am I gonna let him taint our reputation.