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Chapter 28
Bryce
“So what? You kissed her. Did you do anything else?”
Pierce smirks when I ask about Astrid. His shit-eating grin makes me want to bash his smug face into bloody halves with my fist.
“Why are you asking?” Pierce leans across the table so I’ll see his asinine smile even better. I already know nothing else happened. Nothing happens here without me finding out. The prick needs a good punch.
I flip my English Lit book open. The four of us are camped out on the first floor of the library in the study section, not bothering to whisper unless it suits us.
“It was a sympathy kiss, you fucking loser,” I reply, thumbing through my book.
“I thought we had an understanding.” Pierce’s smirk morphs into a full-blown smile. “Oh, you thought it would never include me.”
“You’re a cocky asshole,” I reply coldly.
“And a happy fuck you too, my friend.” Pierce laughs and then glares at a kid who sucks his teeth when we won’t shut up. They’d go study somewhere else if they were really smart.
The four of us do have an agreement. We’ll compete for Astrid with our cocks, not our fists. No one will lay claim to her until she chooses one of us. It isn’t unusual to be nonexclusive and share a girl at Stonehaven. Lady’s choice is an old tradition at the school when two guys compete for one girl. But it’s four of us who want the same girl, and nobody wants to lose this one.
Guys compete all the time for girls who have trust funds that would pay off the national debt. Astrid doesn’t have the cash, but she has everything else that promises she’ll be a wild ride. That’s all I’ll admit to wanting, though.
Every day, I sit in class by the window, waiting for Astrid to be summoned to Foxworth, so I can spend time with her alone. And then impress her when I smoothly solve her latest problem. It’s a challenge using our prowess, our money, and our wits to see which one of us Astrid will pick on graduation day. I’ll do whatever I can to get that final yes.
I want someone who seriously loves me and not just what I can bring to a joint union of power and finance. I want someone that I give a shit about and can love back. And if I have to play the game with these guys to get Astrid, I’ll play it. I want the poor little rich girl I know I shouldn’t have. My parents barely approved of Charlotte. But if Astrid picks me, I’ll put up a fight to put a ring on her finger.
“I’m definitely taking her out this weekend,” replies Pierce, still being an ass, “Maybe a drive down to Boston. And get a hotel room…”
“No,” barks Wyatt. “You’re not having her for two days.”
“Interesting choice of words,” replies Pierce, laughing, “And what are you planning to do?” He tilts a brow at Wyatt. “Split a cone with her at the Dairy Queen?”
I have to jump to my feet to keep them apart as the entire room stares at the instant commotion. “Just stop it,” I tell them under my breath. “Remember. No fists. Besides, you know how women are.” I glare at Pierce, who keeps forgetting Wyatt trains to fight. “She’ll baby the loser.”
I glance at doe-eyed Justin, who is pulling his long hair back into a messy tail. He glares back at me sullenly. “I know what you’re thinking,” Justin says, “but women want me because I can make them feel good before I even touch them.”
Pierce scoffs. “No, it’s because you can tell them which shoes match which dress.”
I laugh a little too loud, and despite it being Pierce’s wisecrack, Justin gets on my case. “If you cared, Bryce, you’d leave Charlotte alone and stop pitting them against each other.”
“Don’t help him, Justin,” says Pierce. “And I’m taking Astrid out for the entire weekend. It’s my turn. Final.”
I let it drop for now. Let Pierce think he’ll get his way, but Justin’s shit observation bothers me as I sit back down. Last summer, I wanted a taste of Astrid when I should’ve been securing my family’s legacy with Charlotte. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Astrid wiping down tables. She was unaware that her skirt would rise up when she leaned too far over, showing off those firm thighs, and when she had to scrub a spot, her chest would jiggle as she went at it. Our table was stone quiet as we watched, pretending as if we weren’t interested in a dining hall worker. But that was a lie.
Now, I want Astrid too much to stop thinking about her, but I also feel an obligation to Charlotte that I can’t get rid of. We’re friends and stuck in that zone, but guilt is hanging on to me and dragging me down. Charlotte isn’t happy with that nerd Terri. She looks distracted when they walk hand in hand across campus. I’m not that conceited to think she’s wasting away for me. But I feel bad. Charlotte acts as if that loser is her only chance before we all graduate.
Wyatt speaks up before I can put together my thoughts. “None of us deserve Astrid if we can’t take Ted Leister down.” He looks at Justin as if his father’s existence is his fault.
Justin nods quickly. “We all want her, but we need Ted to disappear first.”
“And after he’s gone, she’ll decide,” adds Pierce, crossing his arms over his chest. His gaze rests on me, but I say nothing. We’ve all agreed to be civil and let the woman choose the prize. Those are the rules. But I intend to cheat.
Chapter 29
Astrid
After school, we decide to meet at the Investors Club in Oberlin to discuss the shitstorm that’s about to pour down. Getz nervously shuffles past me toward his office door, holding a stack of textbooks against his chest. The cocky man I first met in his class has become a skittish mouse around four bold lions. He’s paying back his gambling debt by waiting on the boys.
