Sol slams the car door shut and joins me and Finn on the sidewalk. Zane huffs out a breath. He’s wearing a pair of sunshades to hide his red eyes and puffy face.
Last night, my brother didn’t come back to the villa.
This morning, I found him in the kitchen groaning and drowning himself in copious amounts of coffee. He looked like the remnants of a natural disaster.
Finn and I didn’t ask any questions. Zane wears his dysfunction like a pair of designer boxer briefs. Since he didn’t spend the night banging on his drums, it means he had a grand old time banging into some chick he’ll never see again.
I don’t need the details.
Slipping a hand in my pocket, I lead the trek into Redwood Prep.
“Ugh, my head.” Zane makes a big show of grabbing his head and bending over.
“If you’re going to whine all day, you might as well have stayed home,” Finn scolds.
I scowl at him. “You’re still buzzed. Don’t bother going to class today and sober up in the practice room.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Zane says playfully.
Sol glances at me. “I meant to ask, did something happen between him and that teacher while I was away?”
“He wishes.”
“She avoids him like he’s got a contagious disease,” Finn says.
“Knowing Zane, he probably has one or two.”
My twin rolls his eyes. “Maybe I got it from Christa.”
“Christa?” I scoff.
“And if she has it, that means good old Dutch has it too.”
“You’re not serious, right? You’re still messing with Christa after everything?” Finn asks.
“No, but maybe I should.” Zane wiggles his eyebrows. “Now that Dutch broke her heart and Brahms got her arrested, I can take advantage of her frail emotional state. After all she’s been through, she’s bound to make some bad decisions.”
“Messing with you certainly counts.” Sol stabs Zane with his elbow.
“You don’t mind, right, Dutch?”
I scoff at my twin. He’s unbearable when he’s hungover, but he’s extra obnoxious today.
“I don’t care what you do with Christa. Just don’t be late for practice. We agreed to do that November Bash for Bex Dane. We gotta tighten up our set.”
Zane flips me off. “Slave driver.”
I ignore him and keep walking.
Inside Redwood, the mass of bodies standing between us and the end of the hallway is thick.
Eyes follow us the moment we step through the doors. The whispers are especially loud today. Thanks to Jinx’s stupid app, questions about my relationship with Brahms are popping up all over the place.
Damn.
I missed when that creep was just selling information to a chosen few. This ‘free the secrets’ strategy is getting on my nerves.
“Damn, this is creepy,” Sol says under his breath.
Finn arches a brow.
Sol gestures to the kids staring at us. “The way they all make room. The way they look at you. In the real world, people don’t give a damn who your parents are. It’s weird as hell to come back to Redwood and remember it’s different here.”
“You’ll get used to it again.” Zane nestles his head close to Sol’s. “You’re one of us. You don’t have a choice.”
I scan the hallway looking for Brahms.
She should be here by now, but I don’t see her by her locker.
A group of cheerleaders sashay toward us, temporarily blocking my view. When they get close, the scent of heavy perfume and spray tans is nearly overwhelming.
Christa’s second-in-command stops me with a hand on my arm. She’s a chirpy brunette with one of those over-eager smiles and the personality of a plastic bag. I couldn’t remember her name if it was tattooed on her forehead.
I glance down at her. “What?”
She bats her eyelashes and presses her body to mine. It feels good, even if it’s slightly annoying to have a complete stranger cling to me.
I allow it because this chick and I haven’t hooked up before. Christa kept a tight handle on her closest friends. The cheerleaders who did approach me, all did so in secret for fear that Christa would blacklist them from the team.
But now that Christa’s lost her power…
“Hey, Dutch.” Plastic Bag bats her eyelashes and licks her lips suggestively. “I’m throwing an underground jazz party this Friday night. You and your brothers are welcome to come.” She tightens her grip on me, her nails skating over my pants. “We can get to know each other better.”
“I’ll think about it.”
She backs away slowly, still shooting waves and waves of I want to screw your brains out with her sultry eyes.
“Forget Christa. I’ll give her friend a shot,” Zane says, still looking over his shoulder. “Damn. She looks down for anything.”
Sol laughs. “Her friend doesn’t want you.”
“She doesn’t know she wants me,” Zane corrects.
Finn looks thoughtful. “I guess we know who Christa 2.0 will be.”
“What do you mean?”
“According to Jinx—”
Zane groans. “Don’t tell me you subscribed to her rip-off app.”
“Of course I did,” Finn says defensively.
I hold back my chuckle. Finn will never admit it, but he’s a huge fan of Jinx. If she ever outs her identity, he’d be lining up for the meet-and-greet.
“What did Jinx say about her?” Sol asks, genuinely interested. Of the four of us, he’s the one who’s gotten the least hits from the anonymous account.
“Christa left a power void. That chick is the vice-captain and now that Christa’s out of her way, she wants it all. Christa’s friends. Christa’s position on the team.” Finn glances at me. “Christa’s—”
“If you say boyfriend, I’m going to punch you in the throat.”
Zane laughs.
I tune them out. I’m still looking for Brahms, but she’s nowhere in sight. Damn. Where is she? Did I scare her off yesterday?
She was willing to put Christa on blast and call on my father to save her skin, but one little threat from me was enough to cut her at the knees? I’m slightly disappointed. I thought this would be an interesting fight.
We get to the mouth of the hallway.
Something makes my head turn and that’s when I see her.
Brahms.
She’s not wearing her regular uniform today. There’s a bow around the neck of her blouse and her skirt is the normal length, stopping at mid-thigh rather than barely covering her butt cheeks. Her shoes are different too. She’s wearing a pair of scrappy white heels that make her legs look ten times longer.
My body buzzes on sight. I remember wrapping those legs around my waist and sucking on those plump lips. It sends adrenaline spiking straight to my heart.
Brahms glides down the hallway, her head held high. She’s hot as hell and she walks like she knows it.
“You guys are ridiculous,” Finn mumbles. “Both of you.”
I drag my gaze off Brahms and notice why Finn is grumbling. I’m not the only one who’s stopped in his tracks. Zane’s eyes are locked on Miss Jamieson. She’s standing on the opposite end of the hallway, wearing a professional jacket and a short, sexy pencil skirt.
Since we’re standing at the mouth of the corridor, neither Brahms nor Miss Jamieson have noticed us yet. They mingle in the crowd, walking closer and closer.
My body sways toward Brahms, but I don’t move yet. It seems like my intentions are obvious though. When the kids look up and see me, they quickly flatten themselves against the lockers, making a path straight to her.
The chaos alerts Brahms and she glances up.
Her gaze slams into mine. Fear. Guilt. Anger. The emotions flit over her face like bullets firing from a gun.
Tension spreads across my brow. “I’ll be…”
“I’m gonna…”
My words overlap with Zane’s.
I study my brother and realize he’d been about to stalk over to Miss Jamieson. Zane looks past my shoulder and sees Brahms.
We both share a meaningful look.
Before either of us can go after our targets, Miss Jamieson raises a hand. “Cadence!”
“Miss Jamieson.”
The two of them hurry toward each other and collide in the center of the hallway like long-lost sisters. I can’t tell which one looks more relieved to have found the other.
“I wanted to discuss something with you,” Miss Jamieson says in a high-pitched tone.
“Me too,” Brahms mumbles, casting me a quick glance.
Zane folds his arms over his chest. His eyes are glued to Miss Jamieson and he’s chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully.
Brahms and Miss Jamieson fast-walk down the hallway.
“You’re not going after them?” Finn challenges.
“Do they look like they want to be chased?” Zane snaps.
The school bell chimes, alerting us to the start of class.
Sol slaps me and Zane on the back. “I’ll see you lovesick fools in class.”
“Who are you calling lovesick?” I growl.
“Who do you think will be in class? Me?” Zane points at himself.
Sol smiles and walks backward. “Well, I don’t have a choice. Ma already informed me that one bad grade and I’m out.”
My back stiffens. Sol’s family doesn’t have it as well as we do. Plus his mom blames us for what happened in the summer. There’s a lot we have to make up for.
Zane and Finn both wear equally somber faces as we watch Sol trot away.
“You think he’s okay?” Zane asks.
“I don’t know. He doesn’t say much about his therapy sessions.”
Finn glances at me. “Have you asked him to play at the November Bash?”
“He said he doesn’t feel ‘up’ to being in the band anymore.”
“His mom probably pressured him to get away from us. She wants us to die slow, painful deaths.” Zane runs a hand through his hair. “We gotta keep an eye on him. If something else happens on our watch…”
“It won’t.” I jut my chin down. “It won’t.”
The hallway is empty now.
I fling my backpack higher on my shoulder. “Come on. We can’t let Sol go to class alone.”
Zane groans, but he dutifully drags himself down the hallway.
The moment I get inside the classroom, my eyes land on Cadence like there’s a beacon of light over her head. She’s sitting at the back near the window, trying to blend in.
As if she could ever accomplish that.
She tilts her head down. Her long, brunette hair falls against her chest. Sunlight pours through the windows, giving her an angelic glow.
But I know she’s far from an angel.
There’s a monster trapped under her innocent, fresh-faced beauty. If there wasn’t, the connection between us wouldn’t be so thick.
Her restless brown eyes slide up and meet mine. Suddenly, my chest does this weird twist. It’s startlingly similar to the sensation I felt around Redhead.
Except now it’s happening with Cadence.
Feeling a sense of annoyance and wanting to avoid any more of those heart palpitations, I jerk my gaze away.
Once we get to our seats on the opposite end of the class, I throw my backpack on the desk. I’m annoyed and fighting it, but it’s taking over me.
Why is Cadence still under my skin?
She’s just another girl—one who lied to me, tugged on my chain and then revealed herself to be a twisted little mastermind with her own agenda. I shouldn’t be feeling anything but pure hatred for her.
Breath ragged, I clench my fists. I’m going to burn all those sappy feelings I once had for her alter ego until I’m pure as freaking snow. There’s no way I’m going to let Cadence have that much power over me.
For the next couple minutes, I zone out of class until I hear the music teacher talking about a group project.
“You’ll need five to a group,” she says, walking up and down the front of the classroom.
“We’ve only got four members.” Finn taps a pen against his open notebook.
Sol shoots a look around the classroom, searching for someone to join us. “You guys have anyone in mind?”
“I got a member,” I growl. Clamoring to my feet, I walk straight over to Cadence’s desk.
She stiffens immediately and looks straight ahead as if I’m not there. Pretty impossible to do since I’m hunkering over her desk like a panther over a carcass.
I rap my knuckles on her desk three times. “You’re with me.”
Her voice is tighter than a guitar about to snap. “In your freaking dreams.”
“Trust me, Brahms, the only thing you’re doing in my dreams is burning in flames.”
She leans away. “If the sight of me is so affronting to you, then why do you want me in your group?”
I lean even closer, training my gaze away from her sexy mouth. “This is how it works, Brahms. I give an instruction. You obey it. That’s what peasants do at Redwood.”
Her expression tightens with fury. She plants her hands on my chest and shoves with all her might. The moment her small hands flatten on me, I feel a burn all the way down to my bone marrow.
The intense twisting in my heart gets worse.
Rather than back away, I stand my ground and let the staredown between us intensify.
She leans forward, her jaw ticking. “You do not want to mess with me, Dutch.”
Our staredown intensifies.
I hate that her touch still triggers something inside me. I scramble to cover it up with hatred, betrayal, whatever other insidious emotions I can to keep her from touching the parts of me that are soft for her.
Her brown eyes rip away from me first.
Good.
That’s a start.
“Sit over here.” I jut my chin at where my brothers and Sol are watching with amusement.
“Why don’t you take a hike straight off a cliff?”
She’s pushing back, but I’m tired of this conversation. Without another word, I wrap my fingers around her desk and drag it out of formation.
The chair legs creak on the ground, grabbing the attention of the teacher and all the other groups huddled in to discuss the project.
Cadence grips her desk as if she thinks I’ll tip her over. Her face is fire-red. When I keep dragging her across the classroom, she shrieks and lifts her feet to keep from getting pinned between the chair and the ground.
I move her all the way over to my chair before I release her desk and fall into my seat. She’s sitting so close, I can smell her fragrant shampoo and see the bits of sweat dotting her forehead.
I’m annoyed as hell that I keep noticing even the small things. Like the tiny mole on the side of her neck. Or the way her blouse falls over the band of her skirt.
Damn it.
I swear she’s all up in my head and I need an exorcist to get her out.
“We have our group member,” I announce, stretching my legs out as if I’m not keenly aware of Cadence’s hand that’s brushing against mine.
She sits straight up, her shoulders hiked to her ears and her bold gaze pointed at the wall. Her heaving chest betrays the true breadth of her anger, but she’s not making a scene.
“That’s right.” I splay my fingers over her chin and turn her to face me. “Be a good little girl.”
“Touch me again and I swear your head will go rolling down the hallway like a basketball,” she growls.
I laugh quietly. Does she know how frail she is? How small? Yet she’s so earnest. Means every freaking word. I can’t lie. I love when she challenges me. Watching her fight makes me feel alive.
And that’s just as alarming as the way my heart softens for her.
I drop my head on the desk and feign a yawn. Dryly, I tell my brothers, “Cadence will be doing my part of this assignment.”
I feel more than see her body bristling.
Sol glances toward me briefly, but his eyes shift to Brahms quickly after. “Ignore him. We’re all going to work together.”
“I would like to ignore him, but he insists on being a pain in the—”
“Finish that sentence at your own risk,” I warn.
“Bite me.”
I turn my head around. My gaze slides lazily down to her lips, ripe for the taking, the pulse that’s throbbing in her delicate neck, and lands on her chest. I can just make the imprint of her bra beneath the white fabric.
“Should I?” I whisper. “You like it a little rough, Cadey?”
Her nostrils flare and she leans back.
“It’s Cadence, right?” Sol breaks in, giving me a stern eye. He turns to Cadence. “You’re new here.”
“Yeah, I’m new,” she mumbles darkly.
“I heard you live around the southside?”
She looks at him suspiciously.
“I used to live there too with my family.”
“Really? Where?” There’s a note of interest in Brahms’ voice.
“Deacon Street.”
“Are you kidding? That’s, like, the lane right next to my house.”
“Man, I remember there was this hot dog stand that used to sell cheese-stuffed corn dogs on the corner.”
“Manny’s.”
“Best I’ve ever tasted.”
“He never changed that oil. Every hot dog was high in salt and sodium and it was the best thing ever.” Cadence smiles so hard her eyes twinkle. “I was crushed when he died.”
“He died?” Sol looks distressed. “What about the hot dogs?”
Cadence laughs.
I raise my head a little off the table and glare at them. What the hell? Are they laughing about hot dogs?
I’m glad when the bell chimes and cuts them off.
“We should exchange numbers so we can meet up and discuss our music project,” Sol says to Cadence.
I grab his arm before he can take out his phone. “She has my number.”
All the smiles and starry eyes Cadence had been aiming at Sol turn to sulfur and brimstone when she looks at me. I smell the depths of hell and have to look outside to make sure there aren’t flames.
“I’ll DM you,” Cadence promises Sol. Without another word to me, she packs up her books, gives me a chilly glare and stomps outside.
Zane smirks. “What was that? I thought you were gonna leave her alone now that you got what you wanted.”
“It’s not over for me,” I state dryly.
Finn arches a brow.
I take off after Cadence. She peers over her shoulder, sees me coming and speeds up.
It’s funny the way she thinks she can escape me. I corner her halfway to her locker. My fingers land just beneath the hem of her uniform shirt and grip her waist. The feel of her soft flesh nearly drives me out of my mind.
I spin her quickly so she’s looking at me and trap her between my body and the lockers.
Flashbacks of the moment I cornered her yesterday singes my brain with heat. But I know better than to think I can slide my hand up her thigh in front of everyone. The way Cadence is looking at me, she’s seconds away from smacking me in the mouth and I doubt I’ll be able to stop her this time.
“What do you want, Dutch?”
“I don’t want you getting close to Sol.” I lean down and whisper against her ear. “Stay away from him.”
“Are you serious?” Her eyes flash with anger. “We’re in a group project together. Even if I wanted to, how the hell am I supposed to do that?”
Kids are starting to take notice of us. I couldn’t care less, but Cadence’s eyes are darting around like it matters.
I close in on her. “You get into people’s heads.” My voice is low and forceful. I need her to understand that I’m serious. “Don’t mess with his. He’s under my protection.”
“You think a guy like Sol needs your protection?”
“From your toxic lies? Yeah.”
I feel a twinge of guilt when I see the hurt snap through her eyes, but I don’t take it back. She’s the reason I’ve been going crazy thinking I was falling for two girls at once. I won’t allow her to play me for a fool anymore, and I sure as hell won’t let her fool around with Sol.
“I hate you,” she hisses through gritted teeth.
I smile. “By the time I’m finished with you, Brahms, you’re going to abhor me.”
Dread seeps into her expression, but she hides it quickly. “Don’t think I’ll take your crap sitting down this time, Dutch. Come after me and the people I care about and I’ll hit you ten times harder.”
“Looking forward to it.” I let the space between us widen again.
Her growl of frustration hits my back as I walk away.
I’m ready for you, Brahms. Bring it on.
Jinx: Everyone Adores A Love Triangle
Who said that wallflowers don’t have thorns? New Girl was seen going toe-to-toe with her Prince Charming in the hallway.
But if I were Prince Charming, I wouldn’t be too worried about the blows from an enemy. New Girl has knights all over the kingdom falling at her feet. Our rising star, Solar System himself, made his triumphant return days ago. But I haven’t seen him smiling like that at anyone else.
Could it be that the royal family is in for a royal betrayal?
Until the next post, keep your enemies close and your secrets even closer.
– Jinx
