“I don’t see a problem there. More booze for us,” I joke, but I’m starting to feel antsy. Hartley’s been in there a long time. It would take Ms. Mann all of five seconds to scrawl her name on the transfer slip.
I peer through the small window on the door, but all I see is the back of Hartley’s head. Ms. Mann is out of view.
What’s the hold up? There’s no way that Ms. Mann doesn’t immediately agree to Hartley’s request.
“Agreed.” Pash’s gold-plated phone buzzes in his hand. He checks the text and then wiggles his phone at me. “You going out tonight?”
“Maybe.” But I’m not really paying attention to him. I twist around to take another look in Ms. Mann’s window. Pash notices this time.
“Dude, seriously? Ms. Mann?” he says with arched brows. “You tired of the Astor girls already? We can take your dad’s plane to New York. Fashion Week is starting up and the city is gonna be thick with models. Or, we can wait for the new QB to come and hook us up with some locals.” He winks and nudges me. “Although there’s nothing like doing something you shouldn’t, right?”
Irritated that he guessed right, my answer comes out terse. “Wrong. She’s too old.”
“Then who is it?” Pash tries to peer past me as I use my big frame to block his view.
“No one. There’s some chick inside and I’m waiting for her to leave so I can make sure I have the assignment correct.”
“The assignments are online,” he says unhelpfully.
“Ah, that’s right.” But I don’t move.
Naturally, Pash is only more intrigued. “Who’s in there?” he demands, trying to shove me aside for a look.
I decide to move and let him investigate, because otherwise he won’t stop bothering me.
Pash presses his nose against the window, takes a long look, and concludes, “Oh. So you are here to see Ms. Mann.”
“I said I was.” But now I’m confused, because why was he so quick to dismiss Hartley as the focus of my interest?
He checks his phone again. “Okay, this is boring. I’ll meet you downstairs in the parking lot.”
As he starts to take off, curiosity gets the better of me. “Why not the other girl?” I call after him.
He turns around and, as he walks backward, says, “Cuz she’s not your type.”
“What’s my type?”
“Hot. Hot, stacked. Hot,” he repeats before disappearing around the corner.
“Wow,” a dry voice remarks. “I’m totally crushed that your friend thinks I’m cold and flat.”
I nearly jump five feet in the air. “Jesus. Can you make a little noise when you move around?”
Hartley grins at me and adjusts the strap of her backpack as she walks. “That’s what you get for lurking outside the door. Why are you still here, anyway?”
“Did you get everything taken care of?” I ask, falling in beside her.
“Yes.” Hartley makes a face. “I guess she figured out it was me who saw you guys, because she was embarrassingly willing to do everything I asked. I feel bad.”
“You shouldn’t. Teach made a mistake, and now she’s paying for it.” It’s meant to be a quip, but it comes off callous, and I recognize it the moment Hartley frowns deeply at me.
“She didn’t fool around with herself, Royal.”
“No, but that would’ve been hot,” I try to joke again, but it’s too late.
“Whatever.” Hartley pushes open the stairwell door and ducks through it. “Either way, our business here is done. Nice chatting with you.”
I hurry after her, practically chasing her down the steps. “Aw, come on, don’t be like that. We’re just starting to get to know each other. We were bonding.”
Her snort bounces off the stairwell walls. “We were not, nor will we ever be, bonding.” She quickens her pace, taking the steps two at a time in order to get away from me faster.
“Never? Why so absolute? You should get to know me. I’m charming.”
She pauses, hand on the railing, feet ready to take flight. “You are charming, Royal. That’s the problem.”
And with that, she scampers down the rest of the stairs.
“If you wanted to make me less interested, this is not the way to go about it,” I tell her retreating back. Her ass looks fine under her pleated Astor Park uniform skirt.
Only when she reaches the other side of the lobby does she stop to spare me an amused look. “I’ll see you around, Royal.” With a little wave, she waltzes out the huge oak doors.
My gaze stays glued to her petite body, and I find myself smiling at nothing and no one.
Yeah…
I think I’m going to bang that girl.
Chapter 3
“Ella told me you fooled around with a teacher today,” my older brother says over the phone a few hours later.
I balance my cell on my shoulder as I strip out of my swim trunks and let them drop to the bedroom floor. I spent the past hour in the pool channeling my brother Gideon. Gid’s the swimmer in the family, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Hartley since I got home, and I was hoping a few laps or thirty would help clear my head. Didn’t help at all. I’m still thinking dirty thoughts about that girl, except now I’m also wet and cranky.
“Easton,” Reed growls. “You there?”
“I’m here.”
“Did you do your teacher or what?”
“Mmm-hmmm, I did. So what?” I answer flippantly. “I’ve hooked up with teachers before.”
“Yeah, but you’re a senior now.”
“So?”
“So grow up. Ella’s going out of her mind worrying about you.”
“She should concentrate on making sure you don’t stray.”
There’s two beats of dead silence while Reed tries not to yell at me. His throat must ache.
I smirk into the phone. “Anyway, thanks for calling, Grandpa. It’s nice to know I can count on Ella to narc me out if I do something wrong.”
“East.” His tone sharpens, then softens. “She cares about you, that’s all. We all do.”
“Aw, I feel so loved.” Rolling my eyes, I grab a pair of jeans from my dresser drawer and yank them up my hips. “We done here, Reed? Dinner’s ready.”
“No, we’re not done,” he says, and even though I can easily hang up the phone, I instinctively wait for him to continue because he’s my older brother, and I’ve always followed his lead. “How’s the new QB working out?”
“He’s not. That busted knee was worse than we thought—he’s out for the season. And his backups are two sophs who can’t throw a decent pass to save their lives.”
“Shit.”
“Yup. I had no idea that anyone at Astor who played sports could be this bad. Why didn’t they just flunk Wade?”
“He would’ve left, anyway. Is Val broken up?”
“Nah, she said he was her rebound guy. Besides, she doesn’t think guys can be faithful when couples are separated.” Can’t blame the girl. Her first boyfriend did her dirty the minute he stepped foot on a college campus.
Reed’s sigh is heavy in my ear. “I know. She’s had a run of bad experiences. I hope her attitude doesn’t rub off on Ella. Keep an eye on that for me, would you?”