Page 2 of One Spicy Summer

The way they huddle together, eyes wide and unsure, makes me want to laugh. Baby faces, trembling hands. Easy targets. Butamong them is Presley, Rafe’s little sister. And unlike the rest, she’s not looking at the floor. She’s looking straight ahead.

That won’t do.

“Hey, guys, what do wedowith fresh meat?” I ask, loud enough to stop them in their tracks. Eyes drop to the ground… all except hers.

Perfect.

“Hey, freshmen,” I call out, locking eyes with Presley. “Get over here.”

She folds her arms like she’s unfazed. Bold move.

The guys around me whistle and hoot. “I don’t think she heard you, Ry,” Paul grins, slinging an arm over my shoulder.

Switching to myserioustone, I bark, “Now, freshman!” Presley rolls her eyes but steps forward, weaving past her classmates. Defiant. I like that.

“That’s more like it.”

“What do you think you’re doing, Rygaard?” she snaps.

Like she has the right to talk to me like that.

“Speak when you’re spoken to, freshman.” I step toward her, just enough to make her back up. “For the next two weeks, you and your little friends are carrying our books and doing our homework. Got it?”

Her voice is ice. “No.”

I blink. “No?”

Right on cue, Rafe steps up beside me. “What’s up, Ry?”

“Just showing the newbies how things work around here.”

Presley turns to her brother, furious. “Are you seriously letting him do this?”

Rafe shrugs like it’s nothing. “Sorry, sis. Ry’s right. All newbies have to learn the rules.” He drops his backpack at her feet and ruffles her hair like he’s proud. “Pick it up, Presley.”

She gapes at him, a scowl forming. “No,” she grits out. “You can’t make me. None of you can. So stop wasting my time with your immature bullshit and move.”

She turns her back to me.

Mistake number one.

Mistake number two? Thinking just because she’s Rafe’s little sister earns her any favors. “Don’t you fucking take another step, Presley,” I growl.

She freezes.

“Just because you’re Rafe’s little sister doesn’t mean shit to me. Pick up the backpack, or I’ll make sure every day you spend here is hell.”

She scans the crowd, gauging her audience. Agatha, her best friend, gives her a tiny nod toward the bag.

Slowly, Presley bends down and slings the backpack over her shoulder.

“You happy now?” she spits. “You humiliated me in front of everyone.”

I grin. “Everyone? This isn’t even half the school. But by the end of the day? Yeah…everyonewill know your name.”

She mutters something under her breath, just for me.

“Fuck you, Rafe.”

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