“You callin’ me a liar?” He steps closer and the hairs on my neck stand.
“If the jock strap fits.”
He slides closer, his eyes cutting to my lips before hitting mine again. “Why are you so much trouble?”
“I’m not,” I tell him, my eyes zeroed in on where his tongue sneaks out to lick the corner of his lips. “I’m silent ‘til pushed.”
“And why do I wanna push you?”
My gaze snaps back to his. He’s even closer now. “Because I push back.”
“You kiss back?”
“Try it and find out.”
He moves in, gripping me by my ribs so he can put me where he wants me, with my back against the lockers. His dark eyes study me, trying to dig beneath the surface. Not sure what he hopes to find, but there’s not much on the inside.
I’m jaded, trailer park trash with nothing to lose. My life, minus a detail or two, is in a ten-page file in a group home down the street, a file he’s read.
“You fuckin’ Bishop?”
“No.”
“Plan to?”
“I’m not one for planning. I’m not known to stay in one place long enough for that.”
“That’s not a good enough answer.”
I pop a shoulder.
“You piss me off.”
“You piss yourself off. Stop butting into my business and everything would be fine.”
He growls, his head dropping as his grip tightens, his fingertips pressing into my back.
Heat stirs in my abdomen and my chest inflates.
A light chuckle leaves him, and the sound, low and dirty, has my skin burning. But then something shifts in his eyes, like the heat and playfulness was detected by what plagues him on the inside and he switches gears, eyes now hollow and hard.
“You’re predictable, Raven.”
“Yeah.” I drop my head back. “How so?”
“You come in here without a fight, let me put my hands on you without shoving me off – like you’ve done to every other motherfucker in this school when they’ve touched you.” His lips move to my ear. “I knew you’d let me, though. Just like I know, under this silk skin you wear like armor, you pretend what others think rolls right off you, but that’s an act, isn’t it? There’s one thing that gets to you. One thing you can’t stand.”
“Yeah, big man, and what’s that?” My heart rate spikes in annoyance as he attempts to psychoanalyze me.
“Everyone thinking you’re your mother’s daughter.” Before I can respond, he spins us, so I’m falling against him, his back now on the lockers. His eyes harden, his voice now brasher. “How many times do I have to tell you, Raven? I don’t need to pay for sex, especially not when you already gave it up so easily. Proposition me again, and I’ll have your ass sent straight back where you came from. We don’t want trash in our school.”
My forehead creases but before I can say anything laughter rings in my ear.
My stare is slow to shift.
A half dozen gym students have filed into the hall.
Their laughter rebounds off the walls, hitting like a wave down the long hall only to ricochet right back.
Blood pumps fiercely against my temples, taking over my vision for a short moment before I blink long and hard, forcing it away, bringing myself back to right now.
They open when Maddoc shoves me away, and I stumble, falling back onto the pile of shit on the floor. His eyes are full of spite. “Let me catch you trying to pick up clients at our school, Snow.” He makes it a point to look at my feet, deeming me worth less than the dirty floor beneath them, a deep frown on his face as he shakes his head.
And I can’t breathe.
I start to sweat, my skin begins to itch and I can’t feel my hands. My gaze travels from person to person, finding each stare more ruling than the last.
When my eyes snap back to Maddoc, it’s not just him I find, but the other two now at his side.
The tripod.
The boys of Brayshaw High, three strong.
They felt threatened by my actions, actions that helped them more than hurt them, but regardless, were out of line as far as they were concerned.
Here, you’re not allowed to have your own moves if it messes with theirs.
They pulled me in, brought eyes on me, made sure everyone knew good and well who I was and where I came from. All so the bomb would hit that much harder when it fell.