“Yeah, it’s a nickname my friends use for me since Emmeline is a mouthful,” she explained, twirling a lock of her dark hair around her finger.
It took a fuck of a lot of self-control, but I managed to keep my gaze on her face instead of dropping to her tits—which I’d fantasized about getting my mouth on plenty of times. “Can I call you Emme from now on?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Her quick agreement gave me a little thrill. I tugged her backpack off and slung it over my shoulder, earning myself a pretty smile. “We better get moving so I have time to walk you to class, Emme.”
9
Emmeline
It didn’t take long for people at school to notice something was happening between Corby and me. Between him driving me to school and walking together to classes, rumors started to swirl within a day or two. By Wednesday, Traci and Staci were tormenting me whenever they had the opportunity—which wasn’t that often because they tended to keep their mouths shut when Corby or his teammates were around.
For two blissful weeks, they didn’t have many opportunities to get their little digs in. But it looked as though my luck had finally run out when I spotted them in the hallway only a few spots down from my locker. It was the end of the day, and I needed my calculus textbook to get my homework done over the weekend, so I couldn’t turn around and avoid them. Gritting my teeth, I avoided looking at either girl as I made a beeline for my locker and quickly put in my combination. “Darn it,” I muttered under my breath when the darn lock didn’t open.
“Where’s Corby?” Traci asked.
Out of the side of my vision, I saw Staci press her hand to her ample chest in a dramatic gesture. “Don’t tell me the hockey hottie dropped your lame ass already.”
I entered my combination correctly this time and yanked the locker door open, sighing in relief. Grabbing my textbook, I shoved it in my backpack without bothering to pull anything out first. The bag weighed a ton, but I didn’t care because I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. When the zipper slid shut, I slammed the locker closed and turned the knob on my lock. Unfortunately, I had taken long enough that the cheerleaders had gotten pissed that I was ignoring them and had moved to stand behind me, blocking my exit.
“Aww, didn’t he like your money enough to stay with you for more than a couple of weeks?” Staci shook her head and sighed, pretending to be sad for me. “I thought maybe you had a real chance with him since he didn’t know any better, being from Devil Ridge and all.”
Traci followed her lead, making a tsk-in sound before saying, “Unlike Atticus, who knew he could do better since he actually belongs in Black Mountain, when your little boyfriend definitely doesn’t.”
They were trying so hard to sound condescending, but all I could hear was their jealousy. No matter how many times they’d thrown themselves at Corby, he hadn’t looked at them twice. I’d been backing down from them since middle school, but knowing that I was Corby’s choice gave me enough of a confidence boost to look Staci and then Traci in the eyes and say, “I don’t know why you’d want to throw the whole Atticus thing in my face. It’s been years since that rumor went around the school.”
“Because it’s freaking hilarious that you actually thought you had a shot with a guy like him.” Staci propped her hand on her hip and rolled her eyes.
They didn’t see Chuck—one of Corby’s teammates—strolling up behind them, but he met my gaze and flashed me a grin before tapping them both on the shoulder. I wasn’t sure what he was doing at school when the hockey team had a game tonight and were supposed to be at the rink already, but I was grateful to see him. The girls straightened and turned around, flipping their hair over their shoulders and smiling when they realized who it was. “Hey, Chuck.”
He nudged Traci out of the way and reached for my elbow, pulling me between them. Once I was at his side, he dropped his hand and leveled them with a disdainful glare I never wanted aimed in my direction. “Caswell never took either of you up on your numerous offers, so bringing that shit up to Emmeline makes no fucking sense. If the guy had any sense, he would’ve made his move on her long before Corby got here. He’ll never get another chance now.”
“You act like she’s some kind of prize to be won,” Staci scoffed, her gaze raking me up and down before sweeping her hand down the length of her body. “You’re going to make her think she can compete with girls like us when it’s just not true.”
“What the fuck are you even talking about?” He shook his head, laughing so hard he had to grab his stomach. “She’s worth more than the two of you put together, hands down.”
Traci’s eyes narrowed as she hissed, “Are you really going to defend a little nobody like her for a guy who never should have stepped foot on our campus?”
“Unless he was here to like...clean the floors or something?” Staci added with another flip of her hair.
“Go ahead and look down your nose at him while spending your daddy’s money,” Chuck suggested, shaking his head as he took a step back. “Five years from now, Corby King is going to be earning a few million dollars a year between salary and bonuses, while playing the sport he loves. Meanwhile, you’ll be desperately trying to land a wealthy husband because that’s the only way you’ll be able to make a name for yourselves—by taking someone else’s.”
While Staci and Traci sputtered in shock, something Sarah had said about her most recent stepmother popped into my head. “You can’t make a ho a housewife.”
Chuck made a gesture like he was dropping a microphone and tugged me down the hallway, laughing his butt off along the way. I glanced over my shoulder at Staci and Traci and cringed at the death glares they were sending my way. After we pushed through the front doors of the school and were standing on the sidewalk outside, Chuck finally pulled himself together. “Holy shit, you surprised the fuck out of me back there. I think that will go down as my favorite comeback during my high school years. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“Neither did I. The saying popped into my head, and the next thing I knew, it was coming out.” I pressed my lips together, exhaling loudly through my nose. “But I feel bad. Slut shaming other girls isn’t cool.”
“Don’t beat yourself up too much.” Chuck flung his arm over my shoulder as he walked me toward the car waiting for me at the curb. “Sleeping with guys isn’t what makes either of them a ho. It’s their bitchy attitudes that earns them shit like that. You’ve put up with everything they’ve shoveled your way for years without hitting back. They more than deserve what’s coming to them now.”
“I guess so,” I sighed, pausing to look up at him before I opened the car door. “Do me a favor and don’t mention this to Corby. He has enough on his mind already with picking which school he wants to play for next year.”
Chuck gently bumped the bottom of my chin. “You’re a good girlfriend, Emmeline.”
It wasn’t until I was halfway home that I realized he hadn’t promised to keep quiet about my confrontation with the girls. I really hoped it didn’t become an issue later.