Page 49 of The Golden Boys
I make it through lunch with no drama, and I’m admittedly confused. There’s been no commentary about my house or my hood. No petty jabs about my drunk-off-his-ass father. The only thing I can come up with for the fight being taken out of West is the weirdness between us over the weekend.
Friday, the kiss that practically made my underwear catch fire.
Saturday, West shielding me from my dad.
Because I’ve been around Mike all my life, I know he only intended to get in my face about defying his BS rules. No, that’s nowhere near okay, but I knew I wasn’t in danger. However, to West it looked like more than that. It looked like my raving lunatic of a father was about to haul off and hit me. That is, until my knight in blindingly white Nikes stepped in.
Apparently, no one’s allowed to push me around but him. But who knows what goes on inside that sick bastard’s mind?
I’m the last one to make it into the girl’s locker room to change, and every set of eyes shifts to me when I walk in. I bypass all the chatter and head straight for Lexi, seated at the end of a bench, already wearing her bathing suit.
I’m dreading this for too many reasons to name, but I need the grade. Failure is not an option.
“I vote we skip and go smoke a joint behind the athletic building,” she suggests.
“Don’t tempt me.”
Right after answering, I grab the bathing suit from my duffle bag. Jules loaned me hers, seeing as how I’ve never had reason to own one.
I disappear inside a stall to change, then return to close my things in the locker. It’s not lost on me that Parker’s girls haven’t taken their eyes off me once. I think it’s pretty safe to say whatever they’ve been discussing since I walked in is likely about me.
Still, I can’t find it in my heart to regret what I did to her, their queen. She tried to take me down, so it only seemed fair that I do the same to her.
Notmyfault I succeeded and she didn’t.
Lexi stands when I start toward the door. Already, the heavy scent of chlorine is freaking me out. I’ve avoided situations such as this my entire life, but Cypress Prep has a knack for shoving me into the worst possible scenarios, which I couldn’t hate more.
The heavy door slams behind Lexi and me, and I observe my surroundings. Pale turquoise tile covers the floor, nearly matching the color of the water perfectly. Gigantic windows make up the upper half of the two-story addition off from the school’s main building. Bright lights hang from the metal beams above and I accept that this will be the setting of my nightmare.
“You okay?” Lexi asks. “You’re shaking.”
I glance down at my hands before tightly crossing both arms over my chest.
“I’m cool,” I lie.
She shoots me a weird look and then smiles. “If you say so.”
Our gazes shift to Mrs. C. as she begins explaining what’s expected of us. However, she only has my attention for the fraction of a second because the door to the boy’s locker room has just burst open.
Like every teenage girl’s wet dream just spilled into reality, out walks more bronzed skin, ink, and muscle than any girl can reasonably handle. The Golden boys and a handful of their teammates line up on the opposite side of the pool and I swear the temp shot up ten degrees. Their quiet conversation lowers to a hum now that they’ve joined the rest of us, but a smile still ghosts on West’s lips.
Ofcourse, I’ve singled him out from the rest.
His dark hair is lightly tousled on top of his head like always. But without a shirt to cover the superhuman physique marked with the dark images adorning his arms and chest, I barely notice much else.
“See something you like?” Lexi teases, letting me know I’m not being as discreet as I think.
“Not at all,” I lie. Truth is, I seeplentyI like. Just sucks he’s so ugly on the inside.
Before averting my gaze, I watch West scan the line where me and the rest of the girls have lined up. There’s a slow burning fire in the pit of my stomach, and with it comes a growing need to know for sure I’m the one he’s searching for. It’s sick and stupid to need confirmation, but I do. In fact, the second his eyes land on me, I glance away, satisfied knowing I was right.
Kissing him has obviously screwed with my head. I’ve thought about it more than once, and what’s worse is that I know it meant nothing to either of us. It was a power play. One that proved his point more than I’d ever let him know.
My eyes are locked squarely on Mrs. C. now, but it isn’t easy to do. Not withhimstanding on the other side.
“Okay, jump in and warm up,” Mrs. C. announces. A cacophony of screams and splashes follows. Lexi joins the others, but I’ve decided it’s probably time to speak up about my limitations.
The whole‘I can’t swim’thing might present a few problems.