Page 42 of Charming Cruel Boys

“Actually Duke and I made plans for after school. We’re going to hang out for a while, so I won’t make the game. What about tomorrow, though? You want to go shopping with me? I have a few pictures of dress styles I like for the wedding. I’ll even let you pick out the shoes.” I give her my biggest puppy dog eyes, hoping her brain will sail right over my mention of Duke and go straight to shopping.If I act casual about it, she won’t even notice, right?

“Wait, you and Duke?”Well, damn.“Is it like a brother-sister bonding thing?”

I cringe at the idea of Duke or Knight actually being my brothers.Yeah, that’s a hard no for me. “No, Duke and I are back together. It’s recent. We’re just settling back into things and seeing where it takes us.”

“Oh,” Sara drops her eyes to the desk and furrows her brows. Then, looking back up at me, she says, “Just be careful, Remi. I know you loved him once, but I’ve heard rumors. Knight’s not the only Ashbury twin that’s been getting around. I should know, Duke zeroed in on me at the first party of the school year.”

A sharp pain stabs at my chest and I suck in a deep breath. I want to offer up a cutting remark about Duke’s sexual history having nothing to do with what the two of us have now, but I bite my tongue. Instead, I say, “Duke’s been great to me. He’s faithful and kind and a real gentleman. I’m not worried.”I give her a tight smile while I fist a hand in my lap until my nails dig into my palm.

As Sara leans back in her seat with pursed lips and gives her attention to the teacher as the lesson begins, I scan my eyes across the rows of students around me.

How many of these girls has Duke been with? What about Knight? Have they shared girls before, the way I wanted them to share me?

I settle into my seat with uneasy jealousy raging in my gut and neediness enveloping me like a too-tight pair of jeans. I need to see Duke. I need to touch him and kiss him and prove he’s mine.

Yeah, that’ll make me feel better.

Except the second I wander into music, the teacher is already front and center and directing us to sit with our partners. Which means I barely get a quick hello with Duke before he walks off to find his partner, a guy, thankfully.Wow, who knew I’d turn into a jealous, possessive girlfriend over a couple of hours?I sit in my usual seat next to Sawyer, who’s still been grumpy with me ever since I chose Duke over him.

My bruising from dear ol’ daddy has faded entirely now, but those couple of days when I thought I’d been hiding it so well, Sawyer kept glancing at it and glaring at Duke. I tried like a bajillion times —okay, a handful of times— to convince him that Duke did not and would not ever put his hands on me, but he was not listening.

Sawyer smiles brightly at me as I unload my music sheets and a pencil. “Hey, Remi. How’s it going?”

“Good, I’m good. You?” I ask as I set out my things neatly and then slowly zip up my backpack.

“I’d be better if you looked at me,”he says softly.

I turn my eyes to his. “How’s this?”I deadpan.

Sawyer sighs and nods, scanning my face carefully. It’s become a new habit of his. “Yeah, beautiful, that’s much better.”

I cannot handle this right now. Sawyer would have been the perfect guy for me in another life, but in this one, my heart is stuck on a pair of— shit, no — ononeblonde guy who makes me feel all tingly on the inside. Sawyer really needs to get the hint and stop flirting. Changing the subject, I say, “So, big game tonight, right? I bet you’re pumped.”

“Yeah, it should be fun. Will you be in the crowd cheering me — I mean,the team— on?“ he asks with a flirtatious smile, leaning back in his seat and spreading his legs in that total dude way.He’s flicking a pencil between his fingers, looking relaxed now that he knows there are no bruises on me today.

“Nope, I won’t be able to make it. But even if I could, I’d be cheering for the whole team. I don’t play favorites,”I scold lightly.

“I wish you would,” Sawyer mutters under his breath just as class starts. I pretend not to hear him, acting like I’m laser-focused on my work.

Soon enough, the bell rings, and I’m walking off to my least favorite class. Calculus. And not just because of the math, oh no. Because I share it with Knight, and he still insists on sitting next to me every single day.Joy.

Keeping my eyes cast down, I move through the classroom and sit in my seat, silently cursing because Knight’s already here. What will today bring? Will I get insults hurled at me or will I be completely ignored? I don’t even know which is worse at this point. And the really pathetic, painful thing is that I still want him. Despite my best efforts, I crave him and his toxic personality. I want to wash away all his sins and secrets and find the man I thought was underneath it all.

Stupid, stupid Remi.

I guess the ignored route is best since I don’t have to hear Knight’s deep, sexy voice. And I can tell within the first few seconds of sitting next to him that that’s how he’s going to play it today.

Class drones on. I struggle through example equations and get called up to solve a problem on the whiteboard. Then Mr. Maxwell practically skips down the walkways as he hands out a packet for the last half of class. Giving it a quick scan, I start to sweat. It’s most of the concepts I’m struggling with. I won’t be able to finish it all.

My chest caves, panic and fear consuming me as I wonder how much this’ll impact my grade. Knight can only help so often between football practices. Maybe I really will have to find a tutor for both of us and keep it a secret from my dad. Because that’s the kicker; he wants me to be naturally smart and ace all of my classes without a single shred of help. To him, asking for help is a weakness. Failing atanythingis a weakness. And weaknesses are punished.

I numbly walk out of the room, falling into line with a crowd of students heading to lunch. Tears burn the back of my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Everything around me fades as I put one foot in front of the other, terrified of what will happen if I can’t figure out my math work.

***

I’m leaning against my yellow Beetle, Chip, after school with a smile on my face, waiting for Duke.My boyfriend.I feel all warm and fuzzy as the words float around in my head. I didn’t think we’d ever have a second chance together, and despite all the stress with Knight lately, Duke genuinely makes me happy.

I spot him walking out of the gym, looking deliciously sweaty in a pair of black basketball shorts and a white T-shirt. P.E. is his last class of the day, so he doesn’t always bother changing into his regular clothes afterward.

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