THE MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER van that chauffeured us to and from Astor hadn’t even fully stopped in front of the gates when Daire yanked the sliding door wide and jumped out.
“Jesus, man, what’s your rush?” Travis grumbled, in no hurry to move as he leisurely sipped his coffee. At least, I assumed it was coffee. No telling what was in that tumbler.
“Someone’s excited about junior year,” Preston said, adjusting the strap of his bag as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. “Never thought it’d be Daire.”
Daire rolled his eyes. “I don’t need anyone opening a fuckin’ door for me.”
“Speak for yourself.” As East joined them, he patted Daire’s cheek and smirked. “But thanks for doing the honors. Will you be driving us back later too?”
I shared a look with Gavin and Donovan before we moved from the back of the Sprinter. Travis was still lounging in his seat, and I kicked at his ankle as I passed.
“You plan on coming with, or is there a leather pants convention in town I don’t know about?”
“That was last week,” Travis said without missing a beat. He took another sip of his drink and followed me out of the van, just in time for our driver to shut the door after us.
“Thanks, Scotty.” I clapped our new driver on the shoulder and gave him a smile. His eyes widened in surprise before he nodded once.
“Of course, Mr. LaRue.”
As he took off, East sidled up beside me, batting his lashes. “Anything for you, Mr. LaRue. Fancy a lift? A drink? A fuck?”
I laughed and shoved him away from me. The pompous ass. He even looked the part in a tailored suit he’d paired with an ascot and gloves. It was almost impressive, considering Manhattan would be under a heat advisory today.
But my best friend and roommate considered reputation and style above pretty much everything, and I couldn’t deny his wardrobe had rubbed off on me. Except I’d never be caught dead in a damn ascot. As it was, I had the neck of my short-sleeved white polo undone to keep the collar off my neck, but I carried a tan jacket in case of a classroom freeze-out.
We passed through the main gates and into the quad, where hundreds of students milled in the shadow of the towering red brick building.
First day of school—it wasn’t exactly the highlight of my year, but the way I figured, the sooner we started the sooner we’d get the hell out, right? It wasn’t like I wanted to prolong my schooling career any longer than necessary, especially after what happened at the end of last year.
We gathered over by one of the benches and dropped our bags and asses down onto it. Daire moved off to the side and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket, and before he could even get it up to his mouth, Donovan was cursing him out.
“Don’t even think about lighting that up around me.”
Daire leveled him with a you shittin’ me? look.
“Unlike you, I care about my fucking body and make a living off it, so if you want to suck on a cancer stick, do it somewhere else.”
“Van…” Gavin—Donovan’s brother and the youngest of our crew—shook his head.
“What? You telling me you want to smell that shit? I’m getting ready for one of the biggest shoots of my career. I’ve got to be in tiptop shape, and—”
“Yeah, we got it.” Daire rolled his eyes. “No need to get your panties in a fucking wad.”
He wandered away from the rest of us to lean up against one of the trees, where he proceeded to light said cancer stick and shoot Donovan the finger.
I chuckled. “Good to see the trip to Milan brightened his attitude. Anyone would think he was the one who’d been sentenced to the summer in New York.”
“You know Daire, not happy unless he’s unhappy.” East smirked. “Hell, he probably scowls when he comes too.”
“Not something I ever want to find out, but thanks for the visual.”
“What can I say? That’s what friends are for.” East looked around the quad, tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves. “Speaking of coming, did you manage to find anyone in the city this summer that you hadn’t done that particular pastime with? Or did you have to go double-dipping while we were off sampling some Italian delicacies?”
The subject of my absence on our yearly summer vacation was East’s favorite topic of conversation since they’d gotten back last week. For years we’d been jet-setting around the globe, living life to the fullest, but this year I’d been grounded by my father and had to make do with Manhattan as my playground for summer fun.
That wouldn’t have been so bad if anyone worth having fun with hadn’t gotten on a plane and left the city. So to say the pickings had been slim the last couple of months was putting it mildly, and East was right—anyone that had been left, I’d been there and done that, and I wasn’t one for do-overs.
“You having fun, basking in my misery?”
East side-eyed me, his lips curling. “Always. So is that a yes, you found someone? Or no, you had to double-dip?”
“It’s a ‘none of your fucking business.’ Since when did you care so much about my sex life?”
“Since you’re the only one this summer who didn’t have one. You have to admit, that is very unusual for you. You’re usually the one everyone fights over.”
“Ah, okay, so what you’re really saying is that you all finally got some because I wasn’t there.” I looked around the group, who were all rolling their eyes. “You’re welcome.”
“Fuck off.” Travis took a swig—yeah, there was definitely more in that tumbler than coffee—of his drink. “I get plenty whether you’re there or not.”
“Oh, I believe you. I’ve seen the calluses on your hand.”
Travis flipped me off as the rest of the group laughed and East bumped into my shoulder.
“Hey, check it out. Dean’s window, you seeing what I’m seeing?”
Everyone turned then to look up at the main building that towered over the quad, and the large window that looked down onto it. With her arms crossed and a disapproving frown on her face, Dean Hawthorne stared down at us like she could erase us with a blink of her shrewd eyes.
She wishes, I thought, before my gaze landed on the guy next to her.
Well, well, well. What do we have here?
It wasn’t the curious expression on his face that caught my attention, but the fact that said face was seriously hot. Unruly brown curls fell across his forehead as he bit down on his pouty lower lip.
East leaned in. “Revenge. And he looks oh so sweet.”
My lips curved. Sweet, innocent, and the dean’s son that we’d heard would be joining Astor this year? Things were looking up already.
I turned away from the window to smirk at my friends. “Hawthorne does owe me, and he looks like a nice gift.”
Snorts of laughter met my ears as Donovan lifted a brow. “You think it’ll be that easy?”
“I’m sorry, have we met?”
“That’s the dean’s golden child. She’s not gonna let any of us near him with a ten-foot pole.”
“More like fifty and a restraining order,” Preston said, his eyes shooting back up to the window. “Twenty bucks says she’s warning him about us now.”
“You call that a bet?” I scoffed. “Come on, preppy.”
A wicked grin I knew all too well crossed East’s face. “Uh oh, boys. I think Mr. Weston LaRue is looking for a little payback for his summer of abstinence in the city.”
“Abstinence my ass.”
He winked. “If you say so.”
Daire strolled back over, sans cigarette, and crossed his arms over the leather jacket I would’ve been sweltering in. “Care to make this interesting?”
I cocked a brow. “Meaning?”
“You want revenge. Preston wants a bet…”
“Fuck yes,” East said, nodding as he picked up what Daire was laying down. “What better way to get back at the dean than by corrupting her only child?”
“I hardly think that’s fair…for you.” I glanced back up at the window, but they’d both disappeared from view. “He’s not exactly hard on the eyes, and I’m impossible to resist.”
A gagging noise came from Travis’s direction. “Good God, do you hear yourself? Someone get me a bucket.”
“I heard him. And it sounds like his cocky ass wants a bet.” East tapped his lips with a gloved finger and paced around me. “Hmm. Okay, Mr. Irresistible. You think you’re so charming? How about this? If you can make the golden boy up there fall for you by homecoming, I’ll pay for your next summer vacation.”
Hell yeah, now that’s a bet I can get behind.
“Location of my choosing? All inclusive?”
“Destination, the family jet, hotel, meals—”
“And drinks,” I made sure to add, because the most expensive part of any of our vacations was the drink tab we racked up. Our motto being that it wasn’t a good vacation if you could remember all of it.
“Fine, and drinks. But that, of course, depends on whether or not you can manage to keep yourself from being put on probation again. Last time I checked, corrupting the dean’s son would probably be considered student misconduct.”
“Fuck you. And for the record, it might’ve been my conduct up for discussion at that student board hearing, but it was all your asses I took the punishment for. So again, you’re welcome.”
East’s grin showed no remorse as he stopped in front of me. “So what you’re saying is, we owe you the opportunity to go and dip your dick in gold. Tell me, what if he’s not into what you’ve got to offer?”
I looked back up to the window that was now empty, and pictured the gorgeous face of the one who was going to help me get my revenge.
My lips curved into an immoral grin. “Everyone’s into what I’ve got to offer.”
“And if he’s not?”
“Can’t say I don’t love a challenge.”
Behind me, Gavin sighed and mumbled, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
East shot him a look. “Van, tell your brother not to worry so damn much. Let West have his fun. After all, he’s got a reputation to live up to.”
