Giving It to the Bad Boy (5 page)

Kiera tightened her hand on her bag and walked quickly down the hallway. She pushed the front

doors open and stood at the top of the front steps contemplating where she was going to go. Her house was a good hour walk away, but her parents wouldn’t be leaving until at least nine. That gave her two hours to kill. Before she could take a step the front doors opened behind her, and she turned to see Reese standing in the doorway.

“Want some company, or at least a ride home?” The grin he gave her was lopsided and

reminded her of a much younger version of him, maybe not so rough and tough. She looked at his car

then back at him. “I’m harmless, I swear.” He held his hands up and grinned. “Besides, I want to

make sure you’re safe.” His words were sincere, and she felt herself smile and nod. His grin

widened, and he held his arm out for her to lead the way. When they got to his Trans-Am he held the

door open for her, and she ducked her head to hide her smile. For some reason she never saw him as

the gentlemanly type. But then again there was a lot of him that was coming to the surface, and she

was pleasantly surprised. Reese jogged around the front of the car and climbed into the front seat. The engine came to life with a fierce rumble beneath her. She glanced over at him in a bit of awe. He

gripped the steering wheel, and she saw his knuckles for the first time. They were scabbed over, and the image of him pounding Josh’s face came back full force. He noticed where her gaze was because

he quickly shifted the car into gear with one hand and placed his other in his lap.

“Where to, pretty girl?” His light blue eyes regarded her in an almost eager way. His

endearment had a flash of heat racing up her neck and covering her face. Kiera quickly looked away.

“Won’t you get in trouble for ditching?”

There was laughter in his voice when he responded. “Won’t you?” She turned and faced him

and saw the corner of his mouth quirked.

“I don’t want to go home.” At least not yet. Reese didn’t respond, just winked at her and peeled

out of the parking lot.

****

She was in his fucking car. In. His. Car. The scent of her filled the interior, and he had to shift

in his seat when his dick hardened. She smelled like hyacinth, or maybe lavender. Either way she

smelled incredible. He hooked his iPod into the stereo that he just installed. Fixing up and updating his Trans-Am helped keep his mind off other things. “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane came

on. It had been what started to play when he pulled into school. She smiled over at him, and so he left it on, taking it that she liked it. For the first five miles they drove in silence. The lyrics filled the car, and he couldn’t help but find them eerily correct in every word that was sung.

So tell me when you’re gonna let me in. I’m getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin.

Kiera stared out the passenger window, and he felt like a creep for looking over at her

constantly. She was just so beautiful, and he knew from watching her that she didn’t see herself that way. It made Reese want to show her exactly what he saw, but no doubt she would find him strange

as fuck. Hell, they had only officially met a week ago, even if they had gone to the same school for the past four years. He didn’t know much about her, just that she was Alex’s younger sister. Her brother had a killer record as the quarterback for State Montessa, and even years after his graduation still held the record. She was quiet and kept to herself, the complete opposite of Alex. The only two

people he had seen her hang out with all through high school was a girl named Molly and some guy

named Ian. Still neither spoke, yet the lyrics of the hauntingly truthful song continued to play.

I came across a fallen tree. I felt the branches of it looking at me. Is this the place we used to
love? Is this the place that I’ve been dreaming of?

The fact she didn’t want to go home, and wanted to spend that time with him sent a thrill through

his body. He wanted her in the worst kind of way, but it wasn’t just about his physical reaction her.

He heard the speeches she gave in the auditorium, the intelligence and quick wit that came from her.

He wanted her in every way possible: mentally, emotionally, and physically. And he was a bastard

for desiring her, because he was the worst possible thing that could enter her life. He could only

imagine the rumors she had heard, well, not really rumors but the truth. Reese could admit he had

done a lot of shit without a thought about anything else. The thing was Reese didn’t want to step away from her, not now that she finally noticed him.

****

Reese pulled into a small diner on the outskirts of town called Spark’s Curve. It was designed

in a retro fifties era look with shiny aluminum siding on the outside and a checkered awning over the glass front doors. Inside was even more of a blast from the past with red vinyl booths, a jukebox in the corner belting out Frankie Valli and other old school songs to set the mood and feel. A waitress dressed in a white top and puffy black poodle skirt led them over to a table.

“Morning, kids. I’m Judy, and I’ll be takin’ care of ya’ll today. You want somethin’ to drink,

sugar?” Despite the outfit and the high ponytail with the pink bow hanging from it, their waitress had to be in her forties.

“Um, water, please.”

“Kiera, you have to try their hot chocolate. It’s amazing.” Reese grinned wide, flashing his

straight white teeth. It was already in the low seventies and expected to climb by noon, but how could she say no to a face like that?

“It comes with whipped cream.” He wagged his eyebrows, and she laughed.

“Okay, hot chocolate.”

Their waitress popped her gum and smiled down at her. “Smart cookie, although I wouldn’t

have said no to a face like that either.” Judy hitched her thumb in Reese’s direction, and Kiera felt her face heat with embarrassment.

After Reese ordered the same thing and insisted she try their southwest omelet, they were left

alone. The silence descended around them, and she ducked her head. He was acting so out of

character.

“You’re pretty shy, you know that?”

Kiera looked up at him and watched as he brought his glass of water to his mouth and took a

drink. It was such a mundane act, but watching his perfectly formed lips curve around the glass

seemed very intimate. Ugh, her thoughts were going to be the death of her. She didn’t respond, and he sighed.

“I make you nervous, don’t I?”

“Yeah.” The word just came from her, and she immediately felt embarrassed. His laughter had

her growing even more humiliated.

“Hey, you’re blushing.”

Dammit!
“Ugh, you’re making it worse,” Kiera said but couldn’t help but smile. She certainly didn’t like it being pointed out, and she had always hated the way she turned red at the drop of a hat.

“I’m sorry.” The sincerity in his voice had her looking up at him. He still had a small smile on

his lips, but there was a softness reflected in his eyes.

“You come here a lot?” He started laughing, and she lifted a brow, wondering why in the hell

he thought her question was so funny. “What?” Crossing her arms under her breasts she waited for

him to get control of himself and respond.

“Nothing.” He chuckled a few more times than sobered. “Your question just sounded like a

really bad pick-up line.”

For a moment all she did was stare at him, but then couldn’t help it when she started laughing as

well. “Okay, I’ll give you that one.” She wiped the tears form the corner of her eyes and smiled

widely. When was the last time she had actually laughed? She couldn’t even remember.

He leaned back in the booth and threw an arm over the back of it. “I actually come here a lot

when I just want to get away, yah know?” He stared at her intensely.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” And she did, especially now that everything seemed to be

spiraling out of control.

He was quiet for several long moments, but then said, “You want to tell me why you were

crying in the hall?” Why did he have to follow up a happy moment with a question like that? When

she didn’t answer he said, “Was it because of what happened at Haden’s party?” His voice had gotten

harder, and a look at his face showed a mask of darkness had covered it. It was clear he was angry,

but she was perplexed why he would care how she felt. Yes, he had helped her, but she didn’t think

any guy would care so much if a girl was still emotional days later. It didn’t seem like it would be in their genetic make-up, but then again Reese was turning out to be totally different on so many levels from how she first perceived him.

“I don’t really want to talk about it.” There was no way she was going to tell him what she

heard Andrea say, or that she had broken down and had absolutely no control over her emotions. That

was laying it all out, and Kiera wasn’t that comfortable around him.

“Okay, fair enough.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. She couldn’t help

but stare at the swirling ink that covered his flesh. “Just so you know, I’m here if you want to talk to me.”

His words took her back a bit, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you being so nice to

me?” For a moment she thought she saw a flicker of surprise cross his face, but he quickly hid it. He leaned back in the booth and took another drink from his water. He had thrown up a wall because of

her words. Before he could answer their waitress brought their cocoa.

“Ya’ll’s food will be out soon.” She popped her gum, gave them a grin, and turned to leave.

There was a moment Kiera thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he did speak, and his words had her

pulse increasing.

“Contrary to what people say about me, I’m not a coldhearted bastard.” A muscle in his jaw

clenched when he gritted his teeth. “At least not all the time.” His grin was anything but pleasant. “I do care about when a girl is almost raped.”

He had successfully made her feel like the biggest bitch in the world. “I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s cool. You don’t owe me an apology. It isn’t like my reputation is all that great

anyway.” He smiled, but he was kind of sad.

He wasn’t at all like she thought. “You hold yourself so different from what I’ve seen at school.

It’s like the guy I see at school isn’t the same one in front of me.”

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

The waitress came by and set their food in front of them. “If you kids need anything just give me

a holler.”

The smell of ham and cheese filtered up from the omelet, and Kiera’s mouth watered. She

wasn’t much of a breakfast person, but her appetite had been nonexistent over the weekend. “It smells great.”

“It tastes even better,” he said over a mouthful of food. Kiera dug in, and before she knew it her

plate was empty and so was her mug of hot chocolate.

For several moments neither said anything. She looked out the window and watched the cars

drive up and down the small street in front of the diner. When she turned back it was to see him

intently watching her. Nervousness washed through her, and she started twisting her napkin in her lap.

“What?”

“You didn’t tell me if it was a good or bad thing.”

“Oh.” Kiera cleared her throat. For some reason Reese made her feel extremely vulnerable. “I

didn’t mean it in a bad way. I guess I can’t really compare since I don’t talk to you at school or

anything, but you seem…” She certainly didn’t want to offend him, not after everything he had done

for her. The lyrics for “Earth Angel” played from the jukebox, and she let her eyes look over at it. An older couple, maybe in their fifties, swayed to the music. It was a bit strange, but cute nonetheless.

“Like a total douche?” His question had her looking at him again. He cocked a brow but smiled

to show her he was teasing.

“I don’t think I’d go as far as calling you a douche.” And just like that, he put her at ease. “You

seem angry at school.” Kiera wasn’t going to bring up the fact he also seemed destructive with his

life. He slept around, drank, smoked cigarettes, and got into fights.

He looked away from her and stared out the window. He suddenly seemed upset, and she had

offended him. Calling him angry seemed far less insulting then being known as a douche. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

“Quit apologizing, Kiera.” His voice was hard, and she instantly felt uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry.”

His bark of laughter had her eyes widening and her looking up at him.

“You’re something else, Kiera.” His grin took up his whole face, and she felt herself smiling in

return.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” She threw his own question back in his face. For several

moments he didn’t respond, just watched her with his incredibly sexy blue eyes.

“It’s a very good thing.”

By the time Reese dropped her off at her house her parents were gone. A beat of awkwardness

filled the interior. “Creep” by Radiohead played through the speakers, which helped to fill some of

that silence, but it was still a little uncomfortable. She was in Reese Trenton’s car, had just eaten breakfast with him, and now he was sitting in front of her house. It was surreal to say the least.

“So, thanks for the escape route and breakfast.” Kiera was horrible at the whole teasing thing,

but Reese’s smile didn’t make her feel like such an ass.

“Any time, Kiera.” God, would she ever get used to hearing him say her name?

She grabbed her bag from the floor and reached for the handle. Before she could climb out of

the car his words stopped her.