Page 4 of Pretty Broken Things

A smirk threatens my mouth. Her irritation amuses me. “We need to get a few things straight.”

Her pretty mouth distorts into a sneer, clearly not used to not instantly getting her way. “Do we now?”

I lean against my door, and casually drop my arm on the back of my seat, knowing it’ll piss her off. “Look around you, Contessa. You’re in my world now. You don’t get to snap your fingers and expect me to jump. You might reign at Ocean Bluff, but here I’m the king.”

“Is that right?” she asks, her lips curled.

“You’re welcome to go see for yourself, or you could do yourself a favor and fucking listen for a change.”

She rolls her eyes, and sweeps out her hand. “By all means, lay down the law your majesty.”

The urge to spank her ass to make her lose the bratty attitude pops into my head, but I’m afraid she’d enjoy it.

“Bringing you here is against the rules,” I begin.

Her eyebrow curves. “Didn’t you make the rules?”

I know what she’s trying to do, but I’m not one of her weak-minded sycophants eager to please her. “I did, and I won’t be the one to break them.”

Tessa smirks, and holds her arms out wide. “And yet, here I am.”

“Because you wouldn’t get out of my fucking truck,” I seethe through clenched teeth.

Not concerned in the slightest with my increasing irritation, she rolls her eyes at me again. “Like you couldn’t have forced me out.”

Leaning into her space, I say, “I’ve never, and will never force a woman to do anything.”

“The rules, what are the rest of them?” she redirects me.

“We don’t talk about the Grand. We’re not exactly permitted to be here,” I answer.

“What is this,Fight Club?” she taunts.

I shrug. She’s not far off. Anything goes here. Fighting is part of it. Booze flows freely, drugs aren’t uncommon, and seeing people fucking out in the open isn’t rare. This place is whatever we need it to be. For me, it’s an escape.

She huffs, giving in. “Fine, I’ll play along, if you promise you’ll talk to your mom.”

Inhaling slowly through my nose, I try and fight back my anger. “You’ll do it or you’ll walk your ass home. I’m not promising you shit. My mom and I don’t talk, and I’m not going to initiate a heart to heart on your behalf.”

“Then why am I here?” she asks.

“My question exactly,” I tell her.

Done talking to her, I climb out of my truck in search of Shane, a drink, and a chick. Instead I find Jessica Chambers. Although she technically meets a third of what I’m looking for, Jess is not an option. She wraps her way too skinny arms around me, and looks up at me with a mixture of awe and desperation. Hooking my thumbs under her arms, I carefully pry her off me.

Jess and I have hooked up before, and I’m not opposed to repeat performances, but not with Jess. She’s hot, maybe a bit too skinny, but it’s not her looks that turn me away. She’s stunningly beautiful with long flaming red hair, creamy pale skin, and grass green eyes. Her body is a bit on the waif’s side, but I can’t tell if it’s from extreme dieting or not having enough food at home.

In the Park it’s a toss-up. When I first started playing football in junior high I was the skinniest guy on the team. My saving grace was when the coach saw me throw a twenty-yard pass to Shane, and he took special interest in me. For the next several years boxes of food started showing up on our doorstep. Good thing too, because my father often drank our grocery money.

I understand girls like Jess on a level I never will girls like Tessa. We come from the same world. But that’s also the problem. I know how desperate we all are to escape, and that makes me a target. They hear the hype about my athletic ability and see me as their way out, failing to consider that I’m barely surviving myself.

There’s no way I can save someone else when I’m still fighting to make it day by day. So when Jess wraps her arms around me, I don’t feel a jolt of lust, I feel caged. I try to soften the blows. I extract myself from her hold. “Hey Jess, how are you?”

I’m not as smooth as I’d like to be, and she immediately sees through me. Her bottom lip juts out in a practiced pout. “I’d be a lot better if you would stop blowing me off.”

“Jess,” I sigh. “You’re a sweet girl, but you know I’m not looking for a relationship.”

I can see the wheels turning in her head as she adjusts her tactics. “Don’t be so serious. I’m only looking for a distraction, same as everyone else.”

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