Page 18 of The Sweetest Cruelty: Hudson
Again, they all mimicked my accent, which made me feel more like a freak.
Storm introduced me as the new girl from London, which wasn’t accurate, but I didn’t say anything. I glued my smile on, feeling uncomfortable and fake.
Eventually, they settled down. The girl whom Storm pointed out as Tate didn’t come over. She was too busy having what appeared to be an argument with one of the jocks.
Responding to various questions as I was pushed and pulled around, the football that the boys were practising with came flying into the group.
Girls screamed and dodged it. From their reactions, you’d have thought a stink bomb had been thrown over.
The ball bounced into the centre of us, and the boy who’d been arguing with the girl, Tate, jogged over to retrieve it. She watched him from the same spot, her eyes narrowed, and her arms folded. Her body language screamed pissed off.
The cheerleaders parted to allow the guy through, all socking him playfully on the back and muttering.
“So, are you guys back together or what?” the girl who I think was called Courtney said to the guy.
He snorted as he picked up the ball in one hand, and in the other, he held a helmet. “Hell no.”
As he stood up slowly, he blatantly scanned my bare legs, “Well hello, beautiful,” he said with a white-toothed lopsided grin. The way he looked up and down my body with such enjoyment suggested he liked what he saw.
He was tall and blonde, his hair almost gold; too good-looking for his own good. His skin was so perfect that he looked airbrushed, the predictable type of handsome. Talk about a boyband worthy face.
Heat rushed into my cheeks as the other girls fell silent and started nudging each other with their elbows.
“Hi,” I replied with a shy wave.
“Where have they been hiding you?” he said, winking. His face then dropped as Tate shouted something. “Will the bitch just give it a rest,” he added under his breath.
“I suggest you go deal with Tate and stop eye-fucking other girls,” Storm huffed.
“In a minute, Summers, keep your panties on,” he chuckled with an eye roll.
“Fuck me, you’re pretty. The guys think I’m gay. Would you like to help me prove them wrong?”
I couldn’t help but laugh as Storm feigned, shoving her fingers down her throat at his cheesy pick-up line. “Does that shiteverget you laid?” She scoffed.
“Every time, baby. What’s your name, sweetness?”
“Molly,” I replied before anyone else could cut me off.
“British too. Well, Molly. You’ve made my day.” I flinched as he surprised me by planting a kiss on my lips and then jogging off backwards. “Catch you later, gorgeous.”
As I watched him spin around, I could feel all eyes on me, and I touched my lips with my fingers. It was then that my eyes locked with Tate’s. Oh dear. She lookedfuriousas she stared daggers at me before dragging her attention back onto Golden Boy. He’d stopped in front of her but seemed to be concentrating on the football he was tossing up and down rather than her.
“Oh dear. That doesn’t bode well for you,” a girl with chocolate-coloured eyes and hair said.
“What?” I questioned, lowering my hand.
“Stop stirring, Hannah,” Storm scolded.
Once the footballer drama was over, the girls started chatting about someone called Straker and his party the previous weekend. I wasn’t stupid. I had upset the Tate girl and was now being given the cold shoulder. I faded away and found a space in the seating area at the back. It’s not like I could have joined in as I wasn’t at the party they were so excited to talk about.
Storm did scan the area for me at one point with a puzzled expression, and when her questioning gaze locked on mine, I held up a finger and pointed to my phone. She seemed appeased and continued chatting with her squad.
Checking my messages, that lump in my throat doubled as I thumbed back through old messages between my mother and me.
Biting my lip, I lowered my phone. I couldn’t allow anyone to see my misery. If they did, there may be questions, ones I didn’t want to answer.
Then the whistle went, and my eyes were drawn to the boys on the field again.
