a parking spot and slam my fists on the steering wheel. Goddammit, why can’t I be a normal high school senior who doesn’t have to think about anything other than video games, partying, and getting laid?
I step out of the car after turning off the ignition and stagger into the school…late, as usual. I don’t think I’ve made it to first period this year so far. The click of high heels behind me makes my spine stiffen. A pair of thin arms snakes around my waist, long-red fingernails digging down the front of my rumpled white button-down.
I stop in my tracks, letting out a frustrated sigh. I’m not in the mood for this today.
Especially today.
“You haven’t called me, Xander,” Melina says in a whiny voice. “Where have you been?”
I peel her hands off of my chest and turn to glare at her. “I’ve been busy.”
She narrows her caramel-colored eyes. “Busy doing what?”
“It’s none of your business,” I grunt, sweeping a hand through my tousled hair. “Look, I’ve got to get to class. I don’t have time to talk.”
Melina’s lips curl upward into a sinister smile and she closes the space between us, pressing her tits against me. “Xander, I don’t like being ignored. You should know that. You should also know that I will fuck up anything that gets in the way of what I want,” she hisses. She pulls away, the disturbing expression morphing into something much sweeter. I swallow a groan. More fake bullshit. Jesus Christ, I don’t need this shit. “And you’re what I want. What I always want,” she whispers, gripping my hand and pulling it to her chest, raking it over her shirt.
I yank my hand away. “I’m not interested,” I say in a cold voice.
She smirks and folds her arms over her ample chest. “You say that and then you always come crawling back because you know how good this pussy is. You won’t find another one like mine and you know it.”
“That pussy is tired and I’m done with it.” My jaw twitches.
Her eyes narrow. “Oh, so now that the bitch is back, you think you can just throw me away like trash?”
“You said it, not me.”
“She left you, remember? For months and months, you hated her. You tortured her when she showed up here and I backed you up!”
“Nobody asked you to do anything. I can handle myself just fine. I did it before you, and I’ll do it again once you’re gone,” I growl.
“You need me! I thought you were smarter than that, Xander. I thought we understood each other. We both have a lot to gain from this arrangement. Do you really want to throw it all away on a girl who doesn’t give a shit about you? She doesn’t love you. Her father would never allow it!” Anger flickers in her eyes and her cheeks stain pink. She’s pissed off because she has zero control over what comes next and she damn well knows it.
“Our arrangement?” I scoff. “Give me a fucking break. You like your place here at this school,” I seethe. “That’s why you’re always hanging off my dick. Your father lost everything when his company imploded, and you know that without me, you’d be at the fucking bottom of the food chain. I don’t need you or the network you think you have. In fact, I can destroy that network as fast as I helped you create it if you’re not careful. So you’re gonna take your threats and swallow them, Melina. My dick has free reign to fuck whoever I want…and what I want sure ain’t you.”
The look of shock is priceless, and I’d like to take a picture but I don’t have time to stand here for a second longer.
I smile at her and put my hands on her shoulders. “If you so much as look at Charlotte when she’s back, I’ll make you wish you were going to Oak Hurst High with the derelicts instead of Ridgeview Prep.” I sweep a strand of hair behind her ear, seeing a vein throb in her neck. She wants to lash out, to claw out my eyes right now, but she won’t dare. She knows what she’s got to lose. And yeah, she was a good lay to pass the time, and she helped me claim my place here before her father buried himself. But I’m not that forgiving, and until I can figure out who I’m up against, everyone is the fucking enemy. I lean