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  I turned back to my locker, conscious of his eyes on me and glad I wore the jeans that made my butt look good. A grin spread across my lips, and I locked my locker, only to turn around and have that smile fall away.

  Shane wasn’t alone anymore. Wes and Nelson were standing on either side of him now, smiling and talking with him like they were best friends.

  The only thing wrong with the picture was Shane, who looked about as comfortable as a stool made of snakes. His handsome features were stony, his fists clenched at his sides. My stomach jumped into my throat, and I couldn’t quite tell why.

  Patrice appeared at my elbow. “We should get to class.”

  I frowned over at her. “Not yet. Shane and I were just about-—“

  “Shane forgot he had a prior engagement,” Wes interjected. “I’m afraid we’ve got a meeting. Football stuff, you understand.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, trying to keep the wobble out of my voice. Why was I so scared all of the sudden? Was it the shine in Wes’s eyes? Was it the feeling of tension in the air? “Shane got kicked off the football team, didn’t he?”

  “Dallas, it’s fine,” Shane said.

  “Yeah, Dallas,” sneered Nelson. “It’s fine.”

  “Come on, Shane.” Wes clapped Shane on the back so hard his shoulder jutted forward, but he showed no signs of pain. “Let’s leave the girls to their class.”

  I stepped forward, ready to do whatever I could to intervene. Something about the situation didn’t feel right. But Shane merely shook his head, stopping me in my tracks.

  Then the guys turned and headed off down the hall, laughing and joking like they didn’t have a care in the world. I watched them depart and Patrice tugged on my elbow insistently until I relented and walked to class.

  Chapter 7

  Shane

  “She sure is sweet on you, isn’t she?” Wes muttered in my ear as he and Nelson led me out the school’s back door. The football field stretched out before us, freshly cut and ready for the last few games of the season. I missed playing already, not because I loved the game but because I loved the release. Being battered and bruised after a long, intense battle was one of the only times I felt completely at peace. I always drifted off into sleep without a problem when I was that tired. I hadn’t been sleeping well lately, though I guess that was my fault.

  I wanted to regret punching Rob, especially since I was now about to get it much worse back, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. Maybe it was the hothead in me, or maybe it was what my mom called my “hero complex”, but seeing Rob laid out on the grass was one of the best moments of my year. Hard to regret something that felt so fucking good.

  I didn’t dignify Wes’s answer with a response. He shoved my shoulder and turned me toward the back bleachers. They dropped the friendly charade the moment Dallas was no longer in sight. I preferred it that way. Better to lay all our cards on the table.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are, Kelly?” asked Nelson. “You could never get a girl like Dallas. She’s way out of your league.”

  I still didn’t answer. Engaging with these idiots would be pointless.

  Nelson continued. “You think you’re better than us, don’t you? You think you’re too cool for school.” He spat on the ground. “You’re nothing but dirt under our shoes.”

  We were close enough to the bleachers now for me to make out Rob’s hulking form and the waving beanstalk that was Paul. Great. Could any of these idiots do anything on their own or did they always have to operate as a team? I’m sure Coach would have been proud, but it was fucking inconvenient from where I was standing.

  Wes stepped between the aluminum beams, and Nelson shoved me forward. He was trying to get me to fall to my knees, but I held my balance, staring directly up into Rob’s angry eyes.

  “How’s the jaw?” I asked.

  My first words of the afternoon delivered. Rob grunted angrily and threw a sloppy punch toward my face. I dodged it, smirking, only to receive a hit to the back of the head courtesy of Wes.

  I staggered forward, and Rob delivered a powerful uppercut to my gut. I groaned. Somehow I managed to stay standing.

  “He does think he’s better than us,” Nelson continued. “Why’s that? You think you’re smarter? Better looking? Stronger?” He laughed. “You’re certainly not richer. Though I will give it to you that you’re probably smarter than Paul.”

  Wes laughed and socked me in the shoulder. “A monkey with a typewriter would be smarter than Paul.”

  I keeled forward to my knees but staggered back to my feet. “Is there any particular reason you’re drawing this out? Or are you hoping to bore me into unconsciousness with your half-baked insults?”

  I looked over my shoulder at Wes. His smile fell away.

  “You should be grateful we’re not going to kill you,” he snapped. “You should be begging for fucking mercy.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Do you hear yourself? What are you, some shitty movie villain? Where’s your cape?”

  That did it. Wes let out an angry snarl and came at me fists first. We were the same size, so while I had no doubt that I could beat him in a fight, I knew I was going to be useless against all of them. This wasn’t a fight, it was a beating. Better to get it over with quick.

  They piled onto me, laying kicks and punches everywhere. I tried not to scream, letting out a series of muffled groans as they pummeled me. The pain was intense. Every strike, every blow, sending a series of rattling sensations through my bones. It felt like I was vibrating from the inside out. At the same time, it felt like someone had thrown me in a meat tenderizer and turned it on high. I couldn’t see from the blood that trickled from my nose, my mouth, covering my eyes as I lay on the ground and wondered if maybe death wouldn’t be such a bad idea. It seemed like they were heading that way, too. I’d never known Wes to show much restraint. He was like his father in that respect.

  And then it stopped.

  I lay there, wheezing, blinking through the blood. Their shadows all receded except one. Wes.

  “I think you’ve learned your lesson,” he gloated. “But remember this the next time you think about having a little private chat with Dallas. I’ve got my sights set on her as my next conquest, and I don’t like sharing. Understand?”

  I just stared up at him, trying not to look as battered as I felt. Wes sneered and then turned, and I listened to them stomp back over to the field and away.

  Thank god.

  I managed to turn onto my stomach and assess my injuries. I was tender, horribly so, but it seemed like nothing was too dire. No broken bones at least. We didn’t have insurance so going to the hospital was out of the question. If I was badly injured, mom could fix me up when she got home.

  I groaned, but this time not from the pain. Fuck. Another thing I was going to have to explain to my mom. She already flipped her lid when she found out I punched Rob, but since we barely had time to talk this morning, I hadn’t received the full brunt of her disappointment. This would just add icing to the cake.

  I hauled myself to my feet. That was a problem for another time. For now, I only had to worry about getting my ass home. It was going to be a fun ride.

  Not.

  I made it home in one piece, already feeling a little better. I took my ass to the bathroom and spent a good half hour just cleaning myself up. Blood had soaked through my shirt, so I threw it out, pissed. It was one of my favorites. Not that I had many to choose from since new clothes never ranked high on our priority list.

  After my shower, I staggered over to the kitchen. I grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and noted that Mom had left a casserole for me in the fridge, even though she was pissed at me. It warmed my heart. And since my stomach was rumbling, I decided to heat up the casserole. I turned on the oven and headed for the couch, slumping down with a sigh and pressing the bag of peas to my temple.

  My face received the worst of the damage. They probably hoped to do the same to me as I’d don
e to Rob, but I’d done a pretty good job of protecting my face, and Rob’s jaw breaking like that was a once in a lifetime shot. I got the angle and the force just right. They didn’t even manage to break my nose, though it was pretty fucking painful all the same. Everything was painful. The only thing that didn’t hurt at this point was my dick, and I supposed that was a small victory.

  Wes’s warning to stay away from Dallas circled my head. I already knew I wouldn’t be able to follow the directive. Him telling me to stay away just made me want her more, and him telling me she was his next conquest just made me want to protect her more. The thought of anyone touching her made my blood boil. The thought of Wes touching her was un-fucking-bearable.

  She was mine. I’d laid my claim on her with that fateful kiss, and I meant it. Just the thought of her pillowy lips, so inexperienced yet so eager, made my cock stir. The fact that I could still get hard when my body was hurting so much was a fucking miracle, and since I needed to let loose a little frustration, I decided to go with it.

  I let the peas fall to the side and unbuttoned my jeans, pulling my cock out right there in the living room. Mom wouldn’t be home until long after I was in bed and I was going to avoid moving as long as possible.

  My cock hardened to stone as I began to stroke it, filling out until it was thick and heavy. I closed my eyes and thought of Dallas, thought of her spread out before me like dessert. I didn’t know what she looked like naked, but I could just imagine how perfect her tight little tits would be, soft and creamy as the rest of her. I pictured her squirming with pleasure as I went down on her. She would taste divine. Her mouth had tasted divine. I would bring her to new heights of pleasure, show her the depth of my desire, and there would be no going back. I would lick her folds until she screamed, until she seized up with bliss and let go. She deserved to be pampered. She wouldn’t get taken care of by Wes the way she would with me. I would be all about her, and only once she thought she couldn’t take any more pleasure would I finally take mine.

  My hand moved up and down my shaft, squeezing hard as I pictured sliding it into her hot pussy. My balls tightened, and I went faster, the pain drifting off until it was only background noise to a symphony of ecstasy as I got ready to erupt. My fantasy Dallas was on the verge of another orgasm. Her tits bounced with the force of my thrusts. Her mouth fell open as the first ripples of her climax hit her.

  I erupted with a grunt, sucking in a mouthful of air when I realized I’d been holding my breath. I kept pumping my shaft until I got out the last few drops of cum, then I fell back against the couch and panted.

  Dallas was mine. Wes could say what he wanted, he could try what he wanted, but Dallas knew just as well as I did that there was something between us he didn’t stand a chance against. I didn’t care how long it took. I was going to get her, and I was going to keep her.

  Chapter 8

  Dallas

  I took the long way to school again, the one that took me around the backside of the school where the parking lot was. The rain pattered against the hood of my rain jacket, dripping down onto my cheeks. It was too cold for Spring. The weather report said it was going to rain for the next week or so, and that the temperatures would stay in the single digits for at least the next three days. I didn’t like to ride my bike in the rain, so I walked. The colder and wetter I got, the more I wished I’d just stayed home. I didn’t have anything significant going on today, but if I missed school, I wouldn’t have been able to satisfy my daily curiosity.

  I walked through the rows of cars, craning my head this way and that, before I finally accepted defeat. Shane’s bike wasn’t there. It had been missing in the parking lot for the past three days now, and I was seriously worried about him. Nobody I knew had seen him since Wes and Nelson took him away for their “meeting”. When I asked Wes about it, he said that all they’d done was talk and that Shane was probably hiding at home with his tail between his legs, but the longer this went on, the antsier I felt.

  I trudged up the gravel path to the school’s back doors, cursing the weather. I didn’t love the rain. I cursed myself even more for not getting Shane’s phone number before he went AWOL. Even more than that, I cursed Wes. His problem with Shane seemed to extend far beyond football and Rob, but I didn’t understand what about Shane could draw so much of his ire. He was a good guy. I knew he was. Why was everyone so determined to think otherwise?

  Sopping wet, I made my way to my locker and started tugging off my coat. My hair was mostly dry underneath at least, though makeup bled down my damp face. I started fixing it in my locker mirror and was surprised to see Wes standing behind me.

  “Jesus!” I jumped, turning to glare at him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

  Wes bared his teeth in what I’m sure he thought was a smile. Why did I get the feeling he enjoyed seeing me startled? He gave me a once over, returning his gaze to my eyes and winking.

  “You’re all wet.”

  I frowned and wrapped my arms around my chest. The coat had kept my upper half relatively dry, but my jeans were soaked through above my boots.

  “Yeah. I just got back from the waterslides,” I deadpanned. “Wes, where’s Shane?”

  Last time I asked him he got visibly irritated, enough so that I decided not to ask him again. I was tired of his bullshit, and I was tired of people underestimating me and thinking they could intimidate me.

  “How the fuck am I supposed to know?” Wes asked. “I already told you I don’t. What are you trying to say?”

  “All I’m saying is that I haven’t seen him for days and you were cagey about your answer last time. I’m worried.”

  Wes rolled his eyes and snorted. “Worried? Are you kidding me? That reprobate doesn’t deserve even an ounce of your concern. He’s probably in prison. Garbage does as garbage is.”

  Even though Wes was sketchy about the “meeting”, he seemed to be telling the truth about not knowing where Shane was. Heavy on the “seemed to be”. As long as I’d known him, he’d been a horrible liar, way too cocky to be able to pass off a story that wasn’t the truth. Anyway, pushing him further would only irritate him.

  I turned back to my locker and finished hanging up my coat, grabbing my binder and books for my first class. I didn’t dismiss him verbally, but my body language should have been clear.

  When I turned around, Wes was still there. In fact, he’d gotten closer.

  Him standing so close to me brought memories of my last conversation with Shane, where he’d all but pressed my body into my locker with his own. It gave me tingles just thinking about it. All this did was make my skin crawl.

  “Can you move, please? I’ve got to go to class.”

  Wes smirked. “The bell hasn’t rung yet.”

  “I like to be early.”

  “You’re such a good girl, aren’t you, Dallas?” He reached out and twisted a lock of my hair around his finger. I stiffened.

  “I wanna ask you something.” Wes let the twist of hair fall from his finger and inched back just enough that I felt like I could breathe again. Not far enough for me to sidestep him, unfortunately.

  “I’m a captive audience,” I said with a flat expression.

  He chuckled. “You’re funny. I’ve always liked that about you. Other people don’t see it, but I do.” He met my eyes. “Be my date to the prom.”

  A knot of disgust twisted my stomach, but I forced my expression to stay neutral. I didn’t think Wes was a guy who took rejection well, so I had to deliver the blow as softly as possible. One thing was certain—I didn’t want to go to prom with Wes. I’d known that for a long time. I made a new realization at that moment too, however. If Shane didn’t ask me to prom, I didn’t want to go at all. There was nothing there for me without him, particularly if my other option was this leering asshole, who didn’t even ask me so much as he did command me.

  “That’s sweet of you, Wes, but I’m going to have to decline,” I said, trying to sound gentle. “I just don’t see you t
hat way, and I wouldn’t want to risk our friendship.”

  Yeah, that’s right, I thought, as I watched the cockiness drain from his face. I hope you brought a jacket, cause I just pushed you out into the cold.

  My celebration was short-lived. Something else came in behind the smugness. Something worse. Wes’s mouth took on a cruel tilt, and his nostrils flared.

  “You should reconsider,” he said. “I think you’ll find your family isn’t in any place to refuse a request from someone of my family.”

  “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  This conversation was the most aggressive one I’d ever had with Wes. I’d gone through my entire high school career without standing up for myself against anyone, which had earned me a reputation as a good girl, a girl who could be easily pushed around. I didn’t want to be that girl. I wasn’t going to be that girl. I was going to be a star on Broadway, dammit, and like a proper diva, I wasn’t going to let anybody tell me what to do anymore unless they were wearing a director’s hat.

  “It means that it’s in your best interest to go to prom with me, sweetheart. Your dad’s, too.”

  All the heat drained from my body. I told myself the shiver that coursed through me was from my wet clothes, and not from the look of icy contempt on Wes’s face. He was perhaps even more handsome when he was like this, like a precisely carved ice sculpture, but in a way that terrified me. Disgusted me.

  “No, Wes. Please don’t ask again. And that’s not a funny joke.”

  I stepped around him and was surprised that he stepped back enough to let me go. With my binder in a death grip and my sights set on the end of the hall, I started speed walking toward class. The bell rang, and the other students who’d been milling around all started flurrying this way and that, filling in the gap behind me until I was sure that I’d put enough distance between Wes and me.

  He had to be joking, right? Surely he didn’t just threaten my dad because I turned down his prom invitation? Only a truly insane person would do that.