Page 9 of The Torment of Two

She chuckles. “That does seem like the least Gemma Park class to ever exist, but I’m sure it won’t be so bad.”

“Says the nerd who married her teacher.”

We continue chatting until Bane starts wailing. Once we’re off the phone, I check my appearance one last time before grabbing my backpack and the giant Michael Kors handbag my parents got me for Christmas. The familiar nerves are in place as I attempt to gracefully climb out of my Tahoe.

Breathe, girl.

You’ve totally got this.

I affix my signature smile and start through the parking lot toward the building where my class is located. An old hunk of junk nearly plows over me, forcing me to jump back with a squeal. Several other students in the parking lot briefly look my way. The careless driver whips into an open spot nearby and parks partly on one of the lines.

The idiot drives like Dempsey does.

With a huff, I make sure no other runaway clunkers are about to take me out before making my way safely to the walking path. I can’t help but glance over my shoulder at the perpetrator. Some tall guy in a military jacket and messy dark hair flings himself out of the vehicle. His bag is half open and several papers fly out of it. Of course he doesn’t seem to even notice, kind of how he didn’t even see me crossing the lot.

What a dick.

Turning my attention back to the building, I lift my chin and walk with all the confidence I can muster. A couple of girls whisper and point at me before they both giggle. I give them a small wave that they don’t return.

Being a Park and now a pretty successful influencer, I’ve earned my fair share of notoriety. Sometimes it makes me friends and other times it makes me the butt of a joke. Most often, when people take the time to get to know me, they end up liking me. It’s just getting there that’s the problem.

“Weirdo,” one of the girls mutters as she passes.

I turn just in time to see the reckless driver hot on my heels. It’s then I realize they were laughing at him, not me. He’s absently unwrapping a piece of candy, not paying a bit of attention to the fact he’s about to slam right into me. Right before I start to move out of his way, another big guy pounces on him.

“There’s my boy!”

The weirdo grunts as he attempts to swat away the other guy, who’s now trying to put him in a bear hug. I step aside to watch them. They’re both older than me and one of them wears a PMU letterman jacket with a football patch and the number fourteen below it.

“You’re not in this building today,” Weirdo says, voice low and quiet. “Why are you here?”

“To see you, dipshit. You’ve been avoiding me and I’m over it.” The football guy finally pulls away to grin at his friend.

“Dax,” Weirdo huffs, “I told you—”

“I know,” Dax says with a groan. “Cedarwood comes first. Dude, sometimes you make it difficult as fuck to be your bestie.”

What is Cedarwood?

As though I’ve asked the question aloud, Dax turns his head my way. His green eyes rove appreciatively over my carefully selected outfit before landing back on my face.

“Hey,” Dax says, lips curling into a grin. “What’s up, beautiful?”

“Tell your friend to watch where he’s going,” I blurt out, ignoring his attempt at flirting. “He nearly ran me over with his hunk of junk.”

The weirdo snaps his head up, finally giving me his attention, and pins his light gray eyes on me. His almost creepily pale eyes slice right through me, penetrating me in a way that makes me shiver, and not from the chilly January wind.

“It’s a 1988 Land Rover Defender 90,” the weirdo clips out, scowling, the scent of butterscotch enveloping me with his nearness. “It’s called a classic, not junk.” His eyes dart over me quickly, instant dislike twisting his features. “And the parking lot is for cars. You should have been paying attention to where you were going.”

I gape at him. What a dick.

“Two, bro, chill,” Dax says, moving to stand in front of his friend. “Sorry about that. His dads dropped him on his head a lot when he was a baby.”

My alarm on my watch beeps, reminding me I need to be in class now. I wave off Dax before pivoting and storming away from the two men. What kind of name is Two anyway? And did he seriously just chastise me for nearly getting run over by him?

Rude.

Whatever.

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