Page 30 of Tangled Rose

Chapter 17

The chorus class is pretty typical as far as gender distribution goes. About ninety-five percent female—and given some of the snide remarks I overhear when I walk in, some bitchy ones at that. Thank goodness Aria and I are sopranos, so I’d been allowed to sit with her. In between warm-ups and each song, there’s plenty of chattering among different groups of girls.

Finally, I lean close to Aria and whisper, “Is this how it always is?”

She slides a glance at me from the corner of her eye and calmly says, “Nope.”

“So, I’m not imagining this?”

She gives a swift shake of her head. “Again, nope.”

“Great.” I sit and stew for another few minutes as we go through another song. As we’re changing music, I mutter, “I guess they can say whatever they want.”

Aria shifts toward me, quickly whispering. “Oh, there’s some major jealousy going on. You’re living with one of the hottest guys at the school right now. Actually, three of them. And two of them are currently single.”

“I don’t get how or why they think there is anything to be jealous of.”

“All it took was Beau walking you into the school. That’s what they were referring to when they said you were digging in—like you’re attaching yourself to him. Or Griff. Or both.” She snorts. “Look, you’re fresh meat. They’re trying to decide if you’ll stand your ground, how much you can take, and if you’ll fight back. I’ll do what I can, but get ready, chick. There will no doubt be some catty, bitchy behavior.”

Just then, I glance to my right and catch one girl in particular giving me a hateful look. I frown, unsure what to make of it until she turns to her friend to say something, and I get a look at the back of her head. Now I know why she’s familiar. And I can also assume that’s why she’d made that god-awful face at me.

That’s the blow job queen, no doubt about it. I’d recognize that long, raven hair anywhere. And she’s right here in class with me—and will be for the rest of the year, every other fucking day. This is going to be miserable. I groan under my breath.

When the bell rings, Aria and I leave the room, ignoring the whispers and stares I’m getting.

I clutch at her arm, my jaw set as we walk down the hallway. “Who is that girl?” I hiss.

“Which one?”

“The one with the super-dark hair.” I nod my head in her direction as she moves down the hall ahead of us. “I, uh… I saw her with Beau at the party after you left.”

Aria snorts. “Yeah, I should have seen that coming a mile away. That’s Mandy Nelson. She’s had her eye on him for a while.” She touches her tongue to her upper lip, which I’m starting to notice she does when she’s thinking about something. “I bet you showing up on the scene is making her all sorts of twitchy, especially now that she’s gotten a look at you.”

“A look at me?”

“Well, yeah. You’re cute. And you’re both gymnasts, so she doesn’t even have that advantage.”

My eyes bulge. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Of all the rotten luck. Of all the girls he could have hooked up with—it just had to be a girl on the team I’m joining.

I must have gotten quiet because Aria pokes me in the side with one of her perfectly manicured nails.

“Are you going to lie to me and tell me you aren’t interested in Beau?”

I grit my teeth. “I’m not, I’m— Fuck. I don’t know what the deal is with us. In a few days, he’s managed to piss me off more than once. He’s so freaking cocky, I can hardly stand it. I’ve flipped my bitch switch on him a couple of times already.”

“I would pay money to see you two argue. I bet it’s like the finale of a fucking fireworks display.” Aria gives a laugh. “Beau is so not used to girls like you.”

I tense.

She shoves me. “Jeez. I mean you’re not someone who will fall for all of his lines. You’re made of stronger stuff than that.” She looks me right in the eye. “I wonder if he’s finally met his match.”

I make a horrible face. “He’s so irritating sometimes, and then other times…” My eyes flick up to hers. “Sometimes he’s nice, too. Like when he walked me into school this morning.”

She shakes her head. “The many faces of Beau Danbrook. He’s got the public persona where he’s the perfect football-playing son, but he’s the arrogant ladies’ man at school. He can be kinda sensitive with the right people. He’s also loyal to a fault with his friends.” With a shrug, she smiles as we come to a stop, her eyes twinkling as if she’s up to no good. She points at a door. “That’s our class.”

“Okay. I’m going to run to the bathroom, then. I’ll be quick.” I scoot across the hallway, entering the bathroom and quickly locking myself in a stall to do my business.

The bathroom door creaks open as I’m adjusting my skirt. Before I have a chance to pull open the stall and slip out, whoever it is starts talking. About me.

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