Here With You (A Laurel Heights Novel) - By Kate Perry Page 0,18

head. It was so wrong picturing Nicole's nipples peeking through the see-through lace—and such a turn-on.

He quickly shut the notebook and took care to make sure it was in the same spot where he'd found it. Was she pursuing lingerie design and just being quiet about it? His mom hadn't said anything to him about it, and she was tight with Nicole's mom.

If he knew Nicole, it was more likely she hadn't committed to the idea. She'd always flitted from one interest to the next. As a kid, it'd been cute. Now, seeing her designs and how incredible they were, it made him sad.

He went into the shower, not sure what to do about it. Not sure if Nicole would appreciate him doing anything about it, and that was the hardest pill to swallow.

Chapter Seven

"Baby has a new bra," Madison cooed in the locker room.

Rachel stilled as she hooked one of her new bras. The pleasure she'd felt all day, feeling pretty underneath where no one could see, began to dim, and that pissed her off. Her new bras were fabulous—Nicole would reassure her of that. And Nicole was the one who was so beautiful and hung out with Griffin Chase. She was the one to emulate, not sheep like the evil –sons.

"She actually has boobs," Addison said, joining in with her fake laugh.

That was it. Whirling around, she flashed a sticky-sweet smile at the two girls. "I can give you the name of the store, if you want to do something about that." She nodded at pityingly at Madison's chest.

Her nemesis's face went so red Rachel thought she was going to explode. For a second she was afraid they were going to retaliate, but then the PE teacher came into the locker and blew her shrill whistle. "Get going, ladies. You only have five minutes left to shower and go to your next class."

The –sons of anarchy shot Rachel a glare and turned their back on her.

A victory. She smiled softly to herself. Wait till Griffin Chase used her poem in a song. Then they'd bow down.

But she wasn't going to hang around to let the girls gather the one wit they shared. Deciding to forgo the shower to avoid giving them a target, she got dressed before they came back.

As she left the locker room, another girl tugged her arm. Rachel stiffened, turning to look at her. It was Lydia, with the small glasses and big lips, who sat next to her in chemistry. "That was brilliant. Madison and her boobs have had it coming for a long time. I only wish I were recording it so I could put the whole thing on Youtube."

What a horror that'd have been. Rachel shrugged off the girl's hold. "It was nothing."

"It was socially significant." Lydia blinked at her. "Do you know how many girls would have liked to stand up to Madison and her crony but haven't had the guts? You're like a superhero."

"I can't be a superhero. I don't have a cape." She gave her a polite smile and walked out of locker room.

One more period with Madison, she told herself, trudging to English. She'd almost made it inside and safely to her seat when she felt someone fall in step next to her.

Looking up, she relaxed when she saw Aaron. "Oh, it's just you."

"I'm excited to see you, too." He grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. I thought you were someone else."

"Tell me you didn't think I was Matt West, because that pisses me off."

Matt West was probably the only guy in school who was more popular than Aaron. She could tell he was joking about that, especially because she saw them hanging out all the time. But she bit her lip to keep from smiling. She didn't want to encourage him.

He took her bag from her shoulder and slung it over his. "Who'd you think I was?" he asked as he began to walk slowly to class.

She pointed at her bag. "What are you doing? I can carry that myself."

"But this way you have to talk to me." He flashed her his cute dimpled smile. "So who did you think I was?"

"The –sons of anarchy."

"Excuse me?" He stopped and stared at her.

She sighed, forced to stop, too. "Madison and Addison."

He threw his head back and laughed, so loud that everyone around them gawked.

"Shh," she hissed at him.

"That's just too perfect." Shaking his head, he wiped his eyes.

She grabbed her bag from