Bittersweet (Redemption #3) - Jessica Prince Page 0,10

his face, my back snapped straight, my eyes went wide, and my jaw dropped.

It was him, the cocky jerk from this past weekend. Jensen.

“Holy shit,” Rina hissed in my ear. “That’s totally him. That’s the new guy.” I could hear her, but I couldn’t peel my gaze from the boy who’d pissed me off and made me feel a bunch of other things I didn’t understand just days ago. “Oh my God, I’m totally gonna bang him. He’s so freaking hot.”

She wasn’t wrong about that, he was gorgeous, but there was something in his expression, something that caused a shiver, both pleasant and disturbing, to slither up my spine. I couldn’t deny he was fine; that would have been a bald-faced lie. But the almost manic smile on his face was totally out of place, considering the circumstances, and there was something swirling around in his glassy gray eyes that made my stomach knot up. It was almost as if he’d gotten some sort of twisted high from beating another kid to a bloody pulp.

He got off on the fight the way Rina got off on male attention. That was an unsettling discovery. But what was even more bothersome was the way my heart started pounding against my ribs like it was trying to escape my chest the moment his gaze landed on mine.

Watching the change in his demeanor was somewhat mesmerizing. His eyes shone with surprise for a second before that smile went from crazed to arrogant in the blink of an eye.

“That’s it,” Coach Beck declared as he gave Jensen a jostle. “Principal’s office, the both of you. Move it.”

Another teacher had Ronny by the arm and was leading him through the crowd while Coach shuffled Jensen in my direction.

“Hey, sunshine,” he said, that cocky smile still firmly in place. “Told you I’d be seein’ you soon,” he called over his shoulder as he was led away.

It wasn’t until the crowd all around started to thin out, the excitement of the fight now all but forgotten, that the spell I’d been under broke and I was able to pull myself from the daze Jensen had left me in.

“Uh . . . what was that?” Rina yelped.

“It wasn’t anything,” I answered, turning around and heading for the lunch line, the growl in my stomach reminding me I’d been starving before walking into the chaos of the cafeteria. “Just two dumbasses fighting.”

“Not the fight,” she bit out, following after me and grabbing a plastic tray. She continued prodding, not bothering to lower her voice as we slowly crept our way through the busy line. “He smiled at you and called you sunshine. Do you like, know him?” she asked, her tone holding more than a hint of accusation.

“No,” I answered flatly before giving the lunch lady a smile and taking the small bowl of banana pudding she held out for me.

“It sure as hell looked like you knew him.”

“Look, it’s not a big deal,” I explained, trying to keep my voice down so everyone around wouldn’t hear our conversation. “I was helping my aunt out last weekend, and his house was on her schedule. I ran into him there. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.”

The skepticism vanished from her face as her shiny lips pulled into a huge grin. “Oh my God. That’s perfect. Do you think you could talk to him for me?”

My brows winged upward, almost reaching my hairline. “You’re kidding, right? It’s his first day here and the dude’s already gotten in a fight halfway through it. That’s the kind of guy you want to hook up with?”

She lifted one shoulder indolently, like my concerns were no big deal. “Fighting can be kinda hot. Especially when the guy looks like that. And he won. He beat the shit outta Ronny Culpepper, and no one can beat Ronny Culpepper. That’s a plus in my book.”

“Rina, seriously. This isn’t a guy you want to know. Trust me. He was a massive jerk.”

“And I bet he’s awesome in the sack. Just talk to him for me, please, Shane? I’m not asking you to give me a kidney or anything. Just make me sound really cool.”

“Rina, I’m not—”

But she was done listening. Abandoning her tray on the railing, she started walking backward, blowing me an air kiss as she said, “Thanks babe, you’re the best! Love ya!” She spun around and skipped off, giving a finger wave to a couple of the guys sitting at a table nearby. Then