Page 6 of Cruel Start

“In a text.” I knew she was a bitch, but that was all kinds of low after they’d dated for two years. “There’s a party at the cove tonight. Our cousin will be there. Let’s go.” I needed to do something to take his mind off her, and I hoped to find some fun, or trouble. As long as I kept my scholarship, I didn’t care about anything else.

CHAPTER FOUR

ASPEN

The sun beat down, heating my skin and drying little droplets of water. I leaned back on my arms and tilted my face to the sky. At the cliff’s edge, Erin shrieked as she jumped. A shiver of anticipation propelled me to stand, and the rough rock bit into the soles of my feet. I wanted to go again.

I could still hear Erin just before she hit the water. She screeched every time, and I swore it was to get attention. I didn’t bother to watch. Drama followed that one. And while I was thrilled I’d found my people at the new cove, I didn’t mesh well with a few. She was one.

We’d been meeting up for two weeks in the afternoons before my dinner shift at the diner to cliff dive. Most of us tandem jumped. I’d already gone with the group, but Jack and Erin were climbing out of the water for another go, and Aaron had stopped me from taking a turn with a hand on my wrist. He thought it would be cool if we all picked spots on the cliff and went at once. Good with it, I took the opportunity to scan the area below to peek at a few cars that had pulled up.

For a while, I’d held out hope that the hottie I’d run into the other day would make another appearance. Then I could make a better impression. Sadly, he hadn’t. I was over it.

“Did you hear about the party happening here today?” Aaron nudged me with his bony shoulder.

Ah, that’s why all the cars.“No, but I’m up for a party. Is it just our group?” On any given day, seven to ten of us adrenaline junkies were feeding our addiction. And aside from the bullshit going on at home—the parents’ pending divorce, sleeping together, then even louder fights—I was glad we’d moved. The cliffs were better, and I’d found my tribe.

It wasn’t terrible for my sis either. She just spent more time at Dane’s house. His parents adored her, and she would move in when school started and I left. Our parents would hardly know she was gone. They were so fucked up.

That was all good, but it didn’t stop the worry, the bone-chilling hollowness that ate at my soul. The other day, Dad was shouting at Mom about how different his life would have been if she hadn’t trapped him. But she’d gotten pregnant, and that was where his dreams had died.Thanks for that, Dad.

Growing up, they’d both drilled into our heads how important it was to use protection—we were eleven and ten, respectively, for that first conversation. They’d said it was better to stay a virgin, to wait, and not take any chances until we were ready for marriage. My sis had sex after her first month of dating Dane. They were almost sixteen. She said it was the best decision she’d ever made because she knew she would marry the guy someday. After two years and watching how crazy in love they were, I thought she might be right.

Not me. I’d held onto my V-card. I was firmly in the camp that marriage was not for me. Frankly, all our parents’ shouting and mixed signals with the angry makeup sex—shudder—messed with my head. However, I wasn’t convinced holding out was such a good idea anymore.

A car door slammed, then another, and I knew the party Aaron had mentioned was underway below. It had everyone so jacked up, anticipation thick in the air. Aaron directed two of the guys to higher ledges. I took my usual place at the fifty-foot main outcropping. A big group of people had congregated near the edge of the water and fanned out along the open area at the base of the cliffs, where a few picnic tables and a small pavilion were located.

Music infiltrated the space, wafting up to us as we perched on the cliff at various heights. Instead of focusing on all the people below, I pictured the jump and when my body would meet the water. Then Aaron blew the foghorn, and suddenly, hundreds of eyes looked at us as we leaped in tandem.

The familiar thrill rushed through me. All my problems dissolved in that moment of freedom. Then the water welcomed me into its muted, murky abyss. Kicking to the surface, I swam to the shore with my group. We rose from the water to a crowd not impressed with what we’d done. They’d gone back to drinking and partying. I brushed off the lack of enthusiasm. It probably wasn’t the first time they’d seen something like that at what appeared to be a well-used party spot.

It was nearing dusk and not a good idea to attempt any more dives off the cliff. I grabbed my towel and ran it over my legs before pulling shorts out of my bag and shimmying into them. I spotted Erin by a group of girls, and when our gazes met, she waved me over. I could use more friends, so I went.

“Aspen, this is Piper, Teagan, and Tracey.” Erin gestured to three girls, who resembled lifelike Barbies with their flawless makeup, sparkly diamonds, and fake smiles. “I went to Hidden Valley Academy with them.”

Lovely. They were from the rich kids’ high school. I flashed a smile I didn’t feel, but I could pretend with the best of them. No way would I disclose that I went to public school at Hidden Valley High. It was better to redirect the conversation to the future, not linger in a past where the snobs would find me lacking. “Hi. Are you guys going to Thane in August?”

Piper’s forehead crinkled the tiniest bit as she scrutinized me. “You look familiar.”

I shook my head. “My family moved here not too long ago. I doubt we’ve met.”

She shrugged, dropping it. “Tracey and I are going to Thane, but Teagan’s headed to New York for fashion.”

I nodded. The world would soon have another designer who didn’t care about the environment, because Teagan looked like someone who wouldn’t use sustainable resources or fabric dyed with methods in harmony with the planet.

Tracey flicked her flaxen hair so it fell down her back and sneered off into the distance directly over my shoulder. The other girls followed her gaze. Teagan threaded her arm through Tracey’s, concern etched on her features, then murmured that it was time for them to go. Piper looked on with amusement as the two from her group made a hasty retreat. Erin’s eyes grew wide, and Piper’s snapped back to mine.

“Don’t mind them.” Piper’s grin widened. “Messy break up with that one’s brother.”

I looked over my shoulder and froze like prey caught in a predator’s line of sight.It’s him.My heart kicked into overdrive with an added shot of adrenaline.Holy hell.He was even hotter than I remembered.

An electric bolt sizzled between us. He strolled toward me, a wicked half smile curving lips I wanted to taste more than my next breath. Lust coiled low in my belly, and my pulse kicked up another notch. Nothing about him was soft as he moved, his muscles shifting and bunching. My fingers curled at my sides, and I wondered if it would be too forward if I leaped onto him like a koala on a branch. If anyone was going to corrupt me, I wanted it to be him.

A beer dangled from his fingertips, the same hand that had a secure grasp on a bottle of whiskey, and a wave of heat swept through me as I remembered the feel of his hands on my arms, so strong and sure. Tantalizing ideas formed the longer I looked at him. My reasons for holding out weren’t worth it. Even my younger sister wasn’t a virgin. And I would rather not be one going into my freshman year at Thane.

“Pipes.” He spoke to Piper but didn’t take his eyes off me. “Corrupting the new girl already?”

“Phoenix.” Her gaze crawled all over him. “I would love a good corrupting.”

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