Giving It to the Bad Boy (6 page)

“Hey, Kiera?”

She looked over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

For a moment he looked nervous, which was a strange combination since he was so big and

lethal looking. “I, uh.” He cleared his throat and said. “Maybe you’d like to hang out again?”

Surprise had her mouth opening and closing a few times before she finally said, “What?”

He lifted his hand and ran it over the back of his neck. “Yeah, I mean crazy that I actually think

you might want to hang out with me, but I’m hoping you do.” He cut his eyes to her, and for the first time since she had seen him in the halls freshman year he looked scared. Was he actually frightened of what her response would be?”

“But why?”

His brow furrowed. “Why what?”

“Why do you want to hang out with me?” Kiera didn’t hang out with the same people he did,

and certainly didn’t look like the girls that always seemed to cling to him. She was honestly curious.

“Seriously?”

She turned in her seat so she faced him again. “Yeah. I mean hanging out with me might mean

social suicide for you. Besides, I don’t think Andrea would like me hanging out with you.” Andrea,

with her too-big breasts and perfect body, would go ape-shit crazy at even the idea of Kiera being

seen with Reese. But making an enemy of that girl meant a lot of trouble down the road for Kiera.

“What does Andrea have to do with anything? And why would you think what I care about what

people think?”

No, Reese wouldn’t care what anyone thought. That was something she had noticed about him

right away. “I just thought you and Andrea were … you know.” At his questioning look she said, “A

couple or something. I’m really not in the business of starting crap with girls that would make the rest of my school year hell.” Kiera shouldn’t care about Andrea, but she also knew the other girl was

cruel and ruthless, and even if she did ignore Andrea it would be extremely hard. Kiera just wanted to finish these last few weeks of her senior year in peace and under the radar.

“I’m not with Andrea, or anyone else for that matter. I don’t give a shit what people think, and

neither should you. Don’t worry about her, anyway. She’s more bark than bite.” His upper body was

partially facing her, and she couldn’t help but inhale his scent as it saturated the interior of the car.

He stayed quiet, as if he waited for her to respond. She would probably regret this down the

line, but there was no denying she enjoyed Reese’s company. He was so different from what she had

pegged him as, and she felt ashamed for labeling him by rumors and his appearance.

She didn’t want to be known as one of
those
people who judged and labeled others, and she

needed to rectify that. She threw caution to the wind and said, “Yeah, I’d like to hang out with you, Reese.”

****

Reese watched Kiera head into her house. His heart hammered behind his ribs, and all he could

think about, all he could hear in his mind, was her saying she wanted to hang out with him. When he

asked her a part of him hoped she would tell him to fuck off. Maybe then he could forget about her.

Telling himself that if he just stayed away things would be good, was a big fucking lie. Yet here he was, asking her out for fuck’s sake for what? Did he actually think things would turn out well? He

knew enough about himself that he couldn’t settle down, had never wanted to, not until Kiera had

looked at him with big frightened eyes after he kicked the shit out of Josh. It was like all those years they didn’t speak, didn’t look at each other, had never happened. It was in that moment that he knew he wouldn’t stay in the background any longer.

Before she thought he was some psycho for still sitting in front of her house, he pulled away and

started driving. He had no destination in mind, but going back to school or “home” certainly wasn’t

on the top of his list. His phone started ringing, and he pulled it out of his pocket. Andrea’s number flashed across the screen, and he contemplated letting it go to voicemail, but she would only keep

calling. He swiped his finger across the screen to answer it.

“Yeah?” He didn’t plan on going back to school, so that meant he had one place he was heading

to, the tattoo parlor that Max owned.

“Baby, why aren’t you at school?” Her voice was whiney.

He clenched his jaw and tightened his hand on the steering wheel. “I’ve told you not to call me

that, Andrea.” He took a sharp left and headed a mile to the edge of the city limits.

Andrea exhaled in the dramatic way she always did and said in a voice too saccharine to be

convincing, “I’m sorry, Reese.” The sound of her heels clacking against the tiled floor was loud

enough that he had to turn the volume down on his phone.

“What is it that you need?” After he dropped Andrea off after Haden’s party he hadn’t been

with her in any way. No phone calls, no sex, no nothing. He had explained that whatever it was she

thought they were going to be just wasn’t happening. He never said he wasn’t a bastard, but Andrea

was a different breed altogether, and going straight to the point was the only way he was going to get through to her. She was ruthless and cold and knew how to stab someone in the heart and twist the

blade so it didn’t heal.

“Heard that Kiera Sheppard got in your car and you two drove off.”

“Yeah? And?” The slow, angry exhale that came through the receiver had him questioning why

he was even still talking to her. Andrea didn’t give a shit about anyone, least of all him. She already admitted that the two of them being together would make them invincible, as if her only goal in life was to be some kind of fucking power couple in the halls of Montessa State. Her priorities were

fucked up, and it had taken him seeing an honest and pure girl to figure that out.

“Reese, I thought we agreed that us together just makes sense. She’s a nobody, Reese, a social

outcast.” She didn’t need to say Kiera’s name for him to know exactly who she was talking about.

“There is no ‘me and you’, Andrea. And the fact that you’re calling me and taking all this shit

about Kiera is doing nothing but putting you in a bad place with me.” He didn’t wait for her response.

Reese ended the call and tossed his cell on the passenger seat. The tattoo parlor came into view, and he parked in front of the entrance. The small building was on the rougher side, with fading white paint and in need of a new roof, but anyone who wanted quality ink came to Max’s. A neon sign on the front window flashed “OPEN” in bright blue letters. Reese pushed the front door open and saw Max

working on a client. He took a seat behind the front desk and waited.

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Max said without looking up from his work. He was currently

inking an anchor in the center of some burly man’s chest. Max might be old as hell, but nothing got by him. Another ten minutes passed, and then Max was cleaning the guy up and seeing him out. He came

to stand on the other side of the counter and stared down at Reese with knowing, dark brown eyes.

“What’s up, kid? And tell me why the fuck you ain’t in school. I thought we discussed this?”

Reese leaned back in the chair and put his hands behind his head. “I didn’t skip just because I

felt like it.”

“No? Then tell me why you are here instead of there. You only got like a couple weeks left,

right?” The sound of buzzing filled the small interior. Jonas’s, one of Max’s employees, was busy

tattooing a customer in the far corner.

“I was helping a girl out.”

Max cocked a bushy white eyebrow at him. He leaned his thick, heavily tattooed forearms on

the counter. “So now you’re ditching class for some pussy on the side?”

Even though Max never minced his words and called it like he saw it, Reese couldn’t help but

get pissed at Kiera being referred to as something like that. Max must have seen the emotion flicker across his face because he made a deep noise in the back of his throat and watched Reese intently.

“So I take it this girl is more than just a little sweet-butt on the side?”

Reese blew out a breath. He had never spoken to Max about Kiera, had never told anyone about

her in fact. The idea of mixing her name in the muck that he hung around with left a bad taste in his mouth. Not all his friends were douche-bags, but the majority of them, especially the older ones, were downright assholes. “She’s a hell of a lot more than that.”

After a moment Max muttered, “Huh.”

“What?”

Max walked around and planted his ass in the chair beside Reese. “Nothin’. I just ain’t never

seen yah clam up like this before, especially not concerning no female. She must be somethin’

special.”

“Yeah, she is, Max.”

“You want to talk about it, kid?”

Did he? A part of him said yes, while another part wanted to keep her all to himself. This was

Max though, the man who had found him wandering along the road when he was twelve. Reese had

been hungry, cold, and dirty. Max had taken him to his home, and his wife, Karen, had fixed him up.

She had died five years back, a hard reality to both of them.

“I’ve wanted her since I first saw her freshman year. She’s everything good and perfect in the

world, and I have nothing to offer her.”

“What in the fuck are you talkin’ about, Reese?” Max slapped his palm right over his heart and

stared at him in the eyes. “You feel your heart beating? You feel the strong, heavy pumping within

your chest?” Reese nodded. “I’ve told you this a million times, but I’m gonna tell you again.” He

leaned forward an inch. “You don’t let anything nasty that has happened in your past affect your

future. You’re strong, smart, and damn good lookin’.” Max chucked him on the chin before standing.

When Reese didn’t say anything Max looked at him again. “You understand me, right?”

Reese’s throat tightened, and he nodded. Max may be gruff and hard-talking, but he never once

let Reese down.

“Good. Now keep me company while I tattoo my next appointment’s ass.” Reese lifted a brow,

and Max chuckled. “Yeah, aint that some shit? Getting his ex-wife’s name printed right on his left

cheek. Told me she would always be kissing his ass.” Reese stood and started laughing.

“I don’t get it. I mean you want your ex-old lady’s name on you for life, regardless if it’s a slap

in her face? Hey, what the hell ever.” Reese threw his hands in the air and helped Max prep the

station before the next appointment came in.

“No more skipping class though, you hear?”

Reese smiled, because hearing Max scold him just proved that there was someone out in the

world that gave a shit about him.

****

The week at school passed by in a blur as Kiera finished up projects before the weekend. Now

that it was Friday and she didn’t have stress of schoolwork hanging over her head, she would be able to breathe easy. She still heard whispers and rumors about what happened at Haden’s party, but

strangely enough they died down mid-week. It could have been the fact a tuba player in the marching

band was found with cocaine in his locker and the attention had been switched off of her.

She stood in line to grab a sandwich when someone bumped her in the shoulder. Reese came to

stand next to her and gave her a big shit-eating grin.

“Hey.” Since he dropped her off at home Monday morning they had only passed each other in

the halls a few times. They shared no classes together, and despite Kiera telling him she wanted to

hang out with him, she had somewhat avoided him, not because she didn’t want to see him, but more

because his very presence intimidated her.

To be honest, she was frightened. She was scared of her feelings for him and of the way she

wanted to throw caution to the wind and give herself to the bad boy. She couldn’t help but let the dark tendril of doubt course through her. She had thought maybe he just wanted to be her friend because he found it funny and a cruel joke. Deep down she didn’t want to believe that, and felt if that really was the case he wouldn’t have helped her at Haden’s party or helped her escape school and taken her to

breakfast. It was her own insecurities that were keeping her prisoner and making her think the vile

thoughts. Reese was above all the petty shit that went on in their school. She could tell by the way he acted with her and how he held himself. She saw that clearly in just the short amount of time she spent with him, but it still didn’t stop her thinking those negative thoughts.

His friends may be assholes, and the girls that hung around him were bitches who stabbed

people in the back as their favorite pastime, but Reese had never done any of it. He kept to himself, didn’t really talk much, not that she ever noticed, and only started shit when said shit was thrown in his face. The rumors about him sleeping with nearly every girl in school were just that, rumors, or at least she liked to think that. So why was she avoiding him like the plague? Because she was afraid

that her already unbalanced feelings for him would climb higher. That was something she could never

let happen. Finding him attractive and wanting him from afar was a lot safer than being close to him and realizing he was actually a decent guy.

Listen to her, sounding like some idiot girl with stupid notions of what she did and didn’t want.

She was wishy-washy because what she wanted was not something she could really have. Over and

over she questioned what he saw in her that made him want to hang out with her. Was it the fact he

rescued her and now he felt like he needed to still do that? Like he was obligated to be with her.

“How’s it going, Kiera?” For a second she was lost in the aquamarine color of his eyes. It was