He had a point, but I didn’t give a fuck about what they wanted. If it were the other way around, they’d have slapped a restraining order on my ass so fast, I’d be knocked flat on my back.
“So, I’m supposed to just take it? Give in to what they want? Why?” Double standards pissed me off. It’s not even me they wanted; it was the accolade from being seen with me, which made no goddamn sense either. They never wanted to in the past.
He opened his mouth, but it was Josh who spoke first. “Let’s just go,” he said. “There’s no need to get into an argument over this crap.”
I opened the door and jumped out, checking over my shoulder to see him following close behind. We hadn’t gotten far when I heard the crunch of footsteps in the loose dirt.
“If it isn’t Quinn Dexter,” a high-pitched voice said, coming out from behind a parked car a few spots away.
I slammed my jaw shut. “What do you want, Phoebe?” I ground out between my teeth, but I didn’t stop walking. “Leave me the fuck alone.” She wouldn’t be going any time soon, though, I knew that much.
“But you’re the star fighter,” she purred, quickly catching up and keeping pace. “We just want to catch a glimpse of our hero before he sails off into the night, fantasizing that he’s thinking about us, dreaming that he’s going to make all our dreams come true.” She giggled and reached out for me, but I yanked my arm away the second her fingertips touched me. “Don’t be like that, Quinn. I’ve had real-life experience, remember?” I looked down at her devious smile, her lips pursed, and her dark, conniving eyes staring up at me. “Of course you do.”
I stopped and stepped back away from her. “I don’t know why you won’t let go of this, but I’ve got a newsflash for you. I. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck.” I lowered my head, looking her dead in the face. I studied her features, the dark freckles on her nose covered with makeup, heavily lined eyes, and lashes that were obviously fake. Her pout wasn’t even real. “I’ve done some stupid shit when I was drunk, and you just happen to be one of those things. Why do you think I stopped drinking so much? I’m just glad I don’t remember shit about it.”
Her eyes widened, then burned into me with ferocity. “How dare you,” she growled.
I laughed, straightening up. “You know, if you weren’t such a fucking psycho, you could actually pass for somebody I might consider talking to, but…” I shrugged, letting my words trail off. I walked away and left her standing there.
“Harsh,” Josh whispered beside me, but his laugh gave his insincerity away. “She looks pissed, man.”
“She can cry me a fucking river,” I replied. We reached Josh’s SUV, and I got in the second he unlocked the doors. I clicked my seatbelt into place while he got into the driver’s side.
“You really attract them, don’t you?” he asked, pressing the ignition button. “I don’t know what it is, but shit, you’re a magnet for the crazies.”
Fucking shallow, all of them. They avoided me like the plague before I…
I clenched my teeth, memories of my lonely years flashing through my head. The laughter, whispers about the skinny kid with wrinkled clothes. “They need to do what they used to do and leave me the fuck alone.”
“Then you’re gonna have to figure something out, man, cos even I’m starting to get sick of the attention, and it wasn’t me in the circle.”
“Wow, I never thought I’d hear those words coming from the mouth of Josh, the panty melter.”
He threw his back and howled laughing. “I know, me either. I think I just need a break from the crowd.”
We were twenty-two, barely adults. “Yeah, could be,” I agreed, looking down at my reddened and swollen knuckles. “I’ll figure something out.”
As we drove, I let my mind wander, wondering what the hell I was going to do. All I wanted to do right after a fight was to leave. Sticking around to talk or go to after-parties didn’t interest me at all, not while I was developing bruises fuck-knows where.
It didn’t take long for a feisty brunette with green eyes to pop into my mind, her smart mouth making me smile to myself. I’d wondered why she was kicked out of her previous college. Overhearing that conversation had me intrigued.
“What are you smiling for?” Josh asked, warily. “It’s fucking creepy when you do it for nothing.”
“Just thinking,” I replied, leaning back into my seat, my head relaxing against the rest.
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” he asked, side-glancing me. “Because the last time you were ‘just thinking’ turned out to be you making one hell of a goddamn mess.” Yeah, like he didn’t enjoy the outcome as much as I did.
I turned my head to face him. “I might have found a solution.”
“Oh? Wanna share that insight?”
“Not right now.” I smiled again. “I haven’t figured out the intricacies yet, but it might just work.” If I played it right, I might come away without my balls getting detached from my body.
“Well, I hope it’s not something illegal, Quinn, cos I need to keep that shit on lockdown.”
“Not a problem,” I said, my grin stretching wider. “I’ll keep my hands all to myself.” In more ways than one.
Kinsley
Sunlight beamed down, casting a bright glow, almost angelic, through the trees. The freshly cut grass seemed to shimmer as the swaying shadows moved across the crisp blades.
I closed in on the trio of thick, ancient-looking sycamores, inhaling the sweetness of the manicured lawns. A few darkened leaves scattered below, the burned orange color showing the first signs of the new season, even though the temperatures were still almost eighty-five most days.
“This is perfect,” I whispered out loud while feeling for the bag hanging at my left hip. “Just a couple of shots.” I pulled the long navy-blue strap over my head from across my body and unzipped my Canon EOS.
I stooped low, bringing the camera to my face. Looking through the viewer, I adjusted the lens to zoom in on the old leaves. Pressing the button to capture the images, I kept the leaves to the side of the frame, focusing more on how the light brought out the details of the veins zig-zagging, making intricate patterns that made stunning photographs.
I checked the small digital screen. “Nice.”
I stood and opened my bag, ready to stow my camera. I lifted my head and looked around, allowing my eyes to drift over the growing number of students making their way inside the building. I gently shook my head when a gentle breeze blew loose strands of my dark hair across my face.
I lifted my camera again and snapped a few shots, zooming in a little and clicking again, capturing smiling faces, some seemingly bored, and a few others with a look that could only be annoyance.
I stopped when one face stood out from the rest. New, fresh bruises, reddened skin from scrapes or scratches, and two breathtaking blue eyes focused dead ahead… At me.
After I clicked a couple of times, I slowly lowered the camera, the face disappearing, and during that short time, he’d turned away.
What was he looking at?
I didn’t know, or care to know, but I knew there was something in there that was deeply disturbing, and my insides screamed at me to keep as far away from that guy as possible. Yeah, like I had any intention of getting close—he probably had a girlfriend, or a few—I’d had enough of guys with bad attitudes and superiority complexes. I’d never entertained them before; I wasn’t about to start now.