Mr. Heartbreaker Jordan Marie Page 0,37

on. I hear Parker is single these days,” she replies with a snide smile.

“You’re crazier than hell if you think my brother would want anything to do with you, Lindy.”

“Not your brother, idiot. Parker Hale,” she snaps, mentioning BMA’s star quarterback. I roll my eyes, because Parker only has eyes for the new girl, Demi, but if that makes Lindy Parker’s problem and not mine, I’m good.

“Then shouldn’t you go bother him?” I sigh, frustrated that class is almost ready to begin and there’s still no sign of Violet.

“Gee, Violet putting in a transfer really has you acting even more hateful than normal. Fine, I’m out of here. You can watch my ass walk away because I know how well you used to like it. You can kiss that goodbye, too,” she mocks, but I ignore everything she says, except for one thing.

“Hold up,” I snap, grabbing her arm and pulling her back around. I don’t do it gently, either, but I don’t really care. “What are you talking about? What do you mean that Violet put in for a transfer?”

“She dropped off the request this morning in Mr. D’s office when I was in there. I heard Ms. Jansen mention she was putting in for a transfer to some no-name school in California,” she laughs.

She keeps talking, but I ignore her. I’ve only got one thing on my mind. I’m going to find Violet and find out what in the hell she’s thinking. Then I just might spank her ass. I get she’s pissed at me and I get that I’ve pushed our connection, but this isn’t how you handle things. She’s not allowed to run away.

I ignore the voice inside my head that says my avoidance of dealing with this has been my own form of running away. I want Violet. I’ve wanted her from the first moment I laid eyes on her. She has no reason to feel the same, but there’s an attraction between us and she feels it just as strongly as I do. I need to remind her of that.

Maybe I need to remind myself.

24

Violet

I stuff the last of my junk into my bag and flop down on the worn-out mattress. This place is a pigsty. It’s not like I’m going to miss it. I am going to miss Rooster and Gladys though. I hated giving up. It’s not like me. I should tell Mike to go fuck himself and dare the school to kick me out. I signed the morality clause, so there’s no way legally I could fight if they kick me out and doing so would put a permanent mark on my record and cause me issues with any college—not just Ivy League.

I’ve gone over it and over it in my mind and it all boils down to the fact that Mike Huntington is an asshole. It’s not him I’m mad at though.

It’s myself.

I’ve only known Mike for a little over a week really. He’s not pretended to be a nice guy. He’s never shied away from the fact that he’s an asshole. I mean, he basically tried blackmailing me to get closer to me. If that’s not a damn red flag, I don’t know what is.

The problem is that he didn’t have to blackmail me. I enjoyed being around him. I enjoyed the attention he gave me.

And I loved the way he kissed me.

I even liked the way he kissed me in front of the others at school. He would grab my hand and pull me in, his lips gliding on mine and whether the kiss was short or long, when we pulled apart he would whisper two words that I’ve never heard much in my life and never truly felt until Mike. “Hello, beautiful.”

A girl can apparently get addicted to that, even after a week and even when she should hate the man that says it. I shake those thoughts and that longing away. I have bigger issues.

I don’t really want to leave Black Mountain. That’s never happened to me before. It’s not because of Mike or school either. It’s because of Rooster. I’m afraid if I leave, there won’t be anyone to take care of him or Gladys. That’s silly, of course. They took care of themselves before I moved in, but I like to think I’ve made a difference. There are days I even fool myself into believing that I’ve managed to help Rooster gain a little weight.

I know Gladys has. I almost smile when I think