My mouth opens to yell at him to take his hands off of me. I would rather fall on my ass than have Vance catch me, but I realize a second later that it’s not Vance holding onto me, it’s another guy. He looks oddly familiar. High cheekbones, chocolate colored brown hair that’s cut stylishly, and a pair of hazel eyes filled to the brim with mischief.
“You okay?” he asks, his voice friendly and his eyebrows drawn together with concern.
“Yeah, sorry, I uhh…” I apologize and he lets go of my arm. My tongue feels heavy inside my mouth.
“You’re Ava, right? I’m Clark,” he introduces himself with a grin showing off his perfectly straight white teeth.
“Yes, I’m Ava. It’s nice to meet you, Clark.”
“I was actually looking for you. Looks like you found me first,” he says playfully, his eyes twinkling.
“You were?” I squeak, unsure why he would be looking for me.
He nods. “Yeah. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. I know how hard it is to be the new kid, plus Vance can be a pain in the ass, so I thought maybe you could use a friend to hang out with.”
I get the feeling he doesn’t just hang out with girls often, not without having his dick inside them and if he’s friends with Vance well that’s enough said.
“Oh, that’s…well, that’s sweet of you. I would like that.” Clark’s smile turns wolfish and only then do I remember my lack of underwear and bra. Of course I would run into a gorgeous Greek god without either item on. All the blood inside my body rushes to my cheeks, giving my embarrassment away.
“If you’re free tonight, you could come out with us…” Clark’s voice trails off.
“No fucking way. She’s not coming out with us.” Vance’s voice booms down the staircase a moment before he appears at the top of the stairs. He’s changed and is now dressed in a dark pair of jeans and gray button-up shirt, looking annoyingly handsome as always.
Beads of water cling to the strands of his russet brown hair. My eyes are drawn to his pink lips, and even after what he did to me earlier, I still want him. It’s stupid, and wrong beyond measure since he’s not only my stepbrother but obviously the enemy.
“What are you even doing here? I told you I’d come to your house,” Vance says bitterly.
I wonder how he keeps friends when he talks to them like that.
“I was tired of waiting, asshole. You took forever and I have zero patience, so here I am. Also, she can come if she wants to, it’s a party that the entire campus was invited to. Let the woman choose for herself,” Clark responds to Vance who snorts before turning to me.
“Ava, do you wanna come with us? I promise to keep Vance’s asshole tendencies to a minimum.”
My lips tip up into a small smile.
“No, thank you. I would rather stay home tonight…” or nail my hand to the wall. Clark gives me a small pout.
“Maybe, next time?”
“Sure,” I mumble, trying to avoid another confrontation with Vance who is walking down the stairs, heading straight for me.
“Maybe you’ll put on a bra then, unless the super slutty look is what you were going for,” Vance sneers in passing and I curl my hand into a tight fist.
All I need to do is land one punch, one…
“Just ignore him,” Clark whispers before surprising me by leaning in and giving me a light kiss on the cheek. When he pulls away, he gives me one more smile revealing two dimples that make him look even cuter. With a wink, he turns and follows Vance, who is already at the door. I wait until the door closes behind them before I turn around and walk up the stairs. Back in my room, I flop down onto the bed, the smell of citrus, and soap filtering into my nose. My blankets smell just like that bastard.
Can’t I get away from this guy?
***
It’s the middle of the night when I hear the door open and someone walking in. I go from being half asleep to being wide awake in less than a second. Silently I curse myself for not pushing the dresser in front of the door like I had considered doing.
“Have you been waiting for me?” Vance slurs, walking toward me, his movements sluggish. Oh God no, he’s drunk. My heart sinks even farther. Too many nights I watched my dad come home drunk. It’s a memory of my last I would much rather not relive.
“Get out!” I try to keep my voice strong, while getting out of bed. I can smell the liquor on him, the distinct scent making me recoil.
“Don’t be like that…lie back down,” he mumbles as he staggers toward me. When he’s close enough for me to touch him, I lift my hands and press them to his chest to give him a gentle push toward the door, but his body’s firmer than a brick wall and my tiny push doesn’t even make him budge.