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Chapter 15
Astrid
I place my phone under my notebook and watch the time wind down. Three o’clock finally flashes on my phone, but we have to wait to be dismissed. The whole week, Bryce and I have met in the stacks, and the entire time, he’s been trying to get into my panties.
At my old school, girls don’t tease boys unless they plan to back it up, but at Stonehaven, I guess the frustration gets them off.
With raised brows, Roni watches me while I take a pair of scissors to my school skirt. “You could take that to a tailor.”
I shake my head. “I’ve got duct tape.”
She rubs her eyes with the palms of her hands. “The things you do.” She watches as I pull my skirt back on, checking the evenness of the hem. “You know when you wash it, the tape will come off.”
I scoff. “I’ll worry about it later. I have to go study.”
Roni laughs. “I’m not that dumb. You think rich girls don’t ho? If I had known what you were up to, I would’ve told you to roll the waistband.”
I look at the scrap of fabric on the floor and then at the crooked hem. Maybe this isn’t going to work, but I don’t have time to do anything about it now.
“I can get away with it.”
Roni looks at my legs and sighs. “You can, and every girl in the dorm will probably cut her skirt by the end of the week.”
I take off for Stonier, marching quickly past the stares. My skirt does look jacked up, but it will suit my plan. When I get off the elevator on the fourth floor, I don’t see Bryce waiting. I walk slowly on my tippy toes and stretch my neck, peeking down the stacks for him. Something brushes against my leg. Probably a stray thread from my skirt. But when it happens again, I turn and look. Bryce is standing behind me.
“Fuck,” I hiss. “Why don’t you make any noise?”
He smiles crookedly. “Rich people touch the floor gently. Remember that.”
I frown at him, not sure if he’s joking or if it’s true. He eyes my skirt with interest, but I can’t tell if it’s good or bad. He looks over his shoulder, but no one is going to be there. It turns out that students can request a book from the stacks and have it left at the desk for pick-up. The only time people go into the stacks is when they can’t wait.
Bryce looks as if he can’t wait.
“Follow me,” he whispers.
The stacks aren’t well lit. Every other row has cheap fluorescent lights, and the alternating rows are without. It’s bright enough to read the bindings but not much else. It’s not enough light to sit down on the floor and read. Bryce walks down a dimly lit stack farthest from the elevator. I watch him move with a confidence that’s sexier than bulky muscles, but he also has strength in his powerful build. I follow him until he turns quickly, boxing me into a corner.
Bryce looks down at my legs as his hand reaches out and touches my thigh. I shiver instantly as his fingers move slowly over my skin. Bryce is an asshole, but he hasn’t turned me off completely. Wyatt may be able to fight, but I’m sensing who’s in charge.
He leans in closer until his lips are near my ear. “What color panties are you wearing? Are they white?”
I laugh and let his hand move up another inch. “Is this today’s lesson? Is this how rich boys seduce rich girls?”
“You’re not rich,” he sneers, “I have no intention of waiting until I meet your parents.”
I smack his hand away. “Being poor doesn’t make me easy. There’s nothing easy about it.”
“There’s nothing easy about you. I wouldn’t waste my time trying if you were. Is that what you think? I fuck and dump? I plan to hold onto you, Astrid.”
Bryce leans in, his eyelids lowering, but I still don’t trust him. He’s too calculating, like he’s memorized a script, and everything he does is deliberate. I watch his lips, and my heart starts to pound despite what I may think. My body knows this boy is hot. I’ve seen that body in nothing but a towel, and I’m curious enough to want to see the rest. I waver as he leans in.
“Come on, baby,” he whispers, his hand brushes my cheek. “We’re wasting time. I want to teach you other things.” His hand lowers, and he brushes my breast. Fuck. I feel that chill start in my heels and fly up past my head.
I back away. “I can’t.”
He shakes his head. “But that’s not what you’re thinking.”
This sweet talk is twisting my ego and knotting my stomach. To have a rich boy falling over me is an enormous social deal. I see the way the other girls look at Bryce while I try to ignore him. But he’s too hungry, too thirsty for this to happen. He can use me to fight, but I won’t let him use me for sex.
I shove Bryce away with both hands, and he almost loses his balance, ending up on the hard floor.
“No, and I mean it. This isn’t a part of our deal. And I’m not going to let it be. What if you get all you want, and I’m worse off than when we started?”
Bryce looks down his nose at me. “Fine,” he says. “In a way, you’re right. Mixing business with pleasure always leads to ruin. Carelessness.” He smiles. “And disgrace.”
He glances at my skirt, and I feel stupid for even trying to lead him on. I don’t have the rules I need for Stonehaven, and until I do, he’s going to keep trying until I say yes.
I shift uncomfortably and then toss my head. “So, what are you teaching me today?”
He smirks. “How to bullshit for success.”
