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“Good morning,” I greeted them with a smile.
“Sit, sit. You’re going to be late.”
“She’s fine. Lila is rarely late for her classes,” Grandpa said. He winked before taking a sip of his tea.
I winked back because I knew he had my back. Always.
Grandma handed me a plate and patted me on the cheek. “How’s school, sweetie? You’ve been holed up in your bedroom or the library. We haven’t had time to talk.”
“It’s going good,” I replied around a bite of my pancakes. “I like my teachers. Do you guys need help at the store? I can come over during the weekend.”
Grandpa waved a hand, shaking his head. “No need. We can handle it.”
I held back a smile. He refused to acknowledge that he was getting older, and they did, in fact, need help. Both of them were in their seventies, and they could no longer run the grocery store on their own. But Sven Wilson was stubborn.
“How about we put a hiring sign up? I’ll do the interviews and even train them for a few days.”
“Maybe that’s a good idea,” Grandma agreed, a tender smile on her lips.
“Got it. I’ll put the sign up this weekend. I’m sure you’ll get plenty of students who want to work part-time.”
I quickly finished my pancakes and stood up. “Thank you for breakfast.” After quickly pecking them both on the cheek, I waved goodbye and ran out of the house.
The cold breeze of October hit me, and I breathed in the morning scent. It poured last night. The smell of grass after the rain teased my nostrils, and it soothed me.
If it were any normal day, I’d say today was going to be good. But my days were no longer normal. Not since Maddox decided I was his plaything.
It’d been a week since the Medusa argument, and Maddox was still irritating as always, if not worse.
God give me patience.
***
I was standing in line in the cafeteria, waiting to get my food, when I saw him. Our eyes met, and Maddox stalked closer, as if he was on a mission. Shit.
I quickly put my earphones in and stared hard at my phone. Maddox came to stand behind me, the heat practically rolling off him. I could sense people staring at us, again… waiting for another dramatic scene. I’d quickly become everyone’s favorite joke.
Berkshire Academy was a shark tank.
You see, in Berkshire, only the strong survive. The weaker are preyed on, chewed up, and spit out like garbage.
Maddox was on the top – the pack leader. He was the King, and he wore his crown with a cocky grin. He was untouchable to his rivals, and he was every girl’s favorite dick to ride.
And I wanted nothing to do with him.
His body brushed against mine as he slid closer to me. Maddox nudged me with his elbow.
I ignored him. "Hey, Garcia."
I scrolled through my playlist, refusing to acknowledge him. "Damn, are you ignoring me?"
When I didn’t reply, Maddox let out a mock gasp. "You wound me."
I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time but continued to ignore him. I didn’t expect him to be so bold, but when he reached forward to pull my earphones out, I released a low frustrated growl.
My body swiveled around, and I faced him. The first thing I noticed was that he was wearing his full Berkshire uniform today. The navy blazer molded to his chest and shoulders like it was tailored made, especially for him, and the beige slacks didn’t hide how strong his thighs were. Instead of putting his hair into another messy man bun, he left it loose today. The tight, blond curls ended up a good inch above his shoulders.
"Do you know that when people have headphones in... it means they don't want anyone to speak to them? That's the universal sign for Stay-The-Fuck-Away-From-Me-And-Don’t-Speak-To-Me,” I snapped, loud enough for the people around us to hear. Ugh.
If looks could kill, he’d be seven feet under right now. Irritation bubbled inside of me at the fact that I had been checking him out.
Yeah, he was hot. So what? Maddox was a fine specimen to look at. Too bad, he had an aggravating personality.
Maddox leaned closer, a little smirk playing on his lips. His hot breath feathered over the skin of my exposed neck, and when he whispered in my ear, his voice was low and deep. “I'm not everyone though. I'm special.”
He pulled back, his blue eyes glinting with mischief. “And I know you want me to talk to you. We didn't see each other yesterday, and I wasn’t in class today. Miss me, Sweet Cheeks?"
Ha! I had two very peaceful days, and I wasn’t complaining.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I let out a laugh with absolutely no trace of humor. "Cocky much?"
"I love the sound of that word coming from your lips." His gaze shifted to my lips for a second, watching them with rapt attention before he met my eyes again.
