"Everything. You look like the quarterback who sleeps with the cheerleader."
I motion to the tattoo on my forearm.
"All right. The bad boy who steals the cheerleader from the quarterback."
"That might have happened."
"I remember. He was devastated. Then you dumped her and she was devastated when he wouldn't take her back."
"Nobody wants to be second choice."
"What anime do you watch?"
"Chloe, do the ink or put the gun down. Two choices."
"I'm not wearing a bikini."
"You are getting in the water."
"You aren't—"
"Yeah, I am. And if you want to work here, you're gonna listen to me."
"But you—"
"Call me a dick face all you want. Tell me you hate my guts. Insult my sexual prowess. I don't care. We both know the truth about the latter."
She bites her lip.
"Your choice, Chloe. The board or the gun. What's it gonna be?"
Chapter Nine
Dean
At eight on the dot, Chloe knocks on my door.
It's easy to tell it's her. Her knocks are heavy. Like the door did her some wrong.
No. It's not the door. It's me.
I did her wrong.
Because I'm pushing her now? Because of high school? Because she straight up hates my guts?
I'm not sure.
But I do know one thing:
Nobody can talk Chloe into something she doesn't want to do.
If she's here, it's because some part of her wants to be here.
I pull the door open with a smile. "Hey."
"Hey." She taps her black sandals together. It's bizarre, Chloe in her don't fuck with me black outfit and sandals.
"You have other shoes."