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Chapter One
Sure, I once believed in fairy tales…until I was about five. Then I realized that the world was full of assholes and there was not a single fairy godmother in sight.-Sawyer
Sawyer
Shit, it’s hot out here. Drops of sweat run down my neck and slide underneath my coveralls. Damn, Georgia in late August is no joke. I’ve lived here my entire life and the heat still gets to me. Every Southerner knows the secret to surviving summer down here is to sit in the air conditioning all day. Only chumps like me get stuck waiting outside for dipshits like my cousin. I would sit inside my truck, but the air conditioning hasn’t worked in that thing in twenty years. The only way the piece of junk still works is by me constantly working on it. I sigh when I remember the sports car I used to drive.
I shift my stance and stick my sweaty hands in the pockets of my coveralls. I hate standing here while people openly gawk at me. And they do. Girls twitter behind their hands and give me sly winks. Guys openly point and guffaw. Yeah, I get it. How the mighty have fallen.
Once upon a time, I was one of these assholes. Actually, it’s only been three years since I walked the hallowed halls of Riverton Prep. The school hasn’t changed on the outside or the inside for that matter. It still has the same manicured lush green lawns and elegant brick archways. I’m sure it still has the same asshole teachers, and the same privileged snotty kids. The elite of the South love to send their kids to this school and brag to their rich friends about it.
I swallow nervously and shift my feet again. Riverton Prep is full of wealthy kids all too ready to talk about the scandal involving yours truly. Even though it’s been a few years, everyone has a long memory when it comes to a juicy scandal. Damn if I’ll hang my head though. I may no longer have the money to travel in the same social circles with these people, but I still have a bit of pride left. I was once their king, after all.
I look around and try not to catch anyone’s eye. Unfortunately, a blonde with the fakest rack I’ve ever seen thinks I’m looking at her and mouths ‘hi’ at me. I do my damnest to find anything else to look at. Three years ago, hell even two years ago, I would have taken prep school girl up on her flirtation and bedded her that very day. Now, these girls only want to sleep with me so they can piss off their rich daddies and I’m no longer interested.
I sigh. Come on, asshole, hurry up. I mentally try to prod my bratty cousin to appear so I can leave this damn school. It’s bad enough that I have to be here, but playing chauffeur to my cousin makes me feel slightly sick to my stomach. With Brad’s foreign sports car getting maintenance at the car shop where I work, my boss volunteered me to tote him around. From millionaire playboy to poor errand boy. Sounds like the plot of a really crappy Netflix movie, right?
I slouch back against the truck, debating whether I should just sweat out the wait in the hellish heat of the truck.
A loud thump and a whimper cause me to straighten again. I look around to see a girl frantically trying to pick up a ton of books from the sidewalk as others watch and laugh, or simply walk around her. Based on the cocky smirk of the jerk walking away from her, and the way he tosses his football up in the air, I’m assuming he slammed into her.
I watch for a moment as she tries to grab all of the scattered books. Blankets of curly red hair cover her face and I can see that the hem of her school uniform skirt is torn where she fell. No one offers to help her. Of course, they don’t. I think of my mom and the disappointment she would feel if I simply stood here while this girl tries to recover her books and her dignity. Frustration tears through me. Damn my mama and her determination to raise me into a southern gentleman. I have to help this girl even if it will put a target on my back yet again.
I jog over and start gathering up her books as rapidly as I can. How the hell was this girl even carrying so many damn books? There must be at least twenty here. I hold up one of the smaller paperbacks and eye the cover. A half-nude man with long, dark hair holds a woman close while her breasts threaten to pop out of her corseted dress. Dang, this is definitely not what I read when I was in school.
“Love’s Only Desire?Required reading?” I can’t help but question as the redhead finally gathers herself and slowly stands.
The brightest green eyes I’ve ever seen in my life stare back at me. They glitter with anger and embarrassment. She flushes and snatches the book out of my hand.
“I’ll have you know it’s an extremely well-written novel.” She stiffens her back and glares up at me. “Thanks for the help, but I could have gotten everything myself.” I raise an eyebrow at her slightly snotty tone. The nerdy girl with the kinky taste in books has a bit of an attitude. I find myself grinning.
“I’m sure you could have, Red, but I handled these with special care so the covers of your classics didn’t get ripped. I would hate for these expensive novels to be tarnished.” I find I can’t help myself. I’m really enjoying baiting this girl so I reach out and run my hand over the cover of the top book.
She pulls the arm laden with books away from me. Those startling eyes stare daggers at me while she fidgets with a large gold heart-shaped locket around her neck. Looking at that locket makes me notice her possibly size DD breasts. (I’m good with girls’ bra sizes. It’s a gift.) Nerdy girl’s rack is definitely not fake. Hey, don’t shoot me. I’m a twenty-year old guy and allowed to be a bit of a pervert.
I chuckle as the books waver and almost tumble out of her arms again.
“Romance novels are vastly underrated. This book has three-dimensional characters and a plot line that keeps one highly entertained. Just because the two main characters are in love and don’t mind showing it does not mean they are trashy.” Her haughty tone makes me cock my head and smile. She’s feisty and she amuses me, which is hard to do these days.
“Yes, I’m sureLove’s Only Desirehas lots of SAT words in it.” I lean over to study the cover again. “The young lady on the cover certainly looks like she’s teaching the man a thing or two about vocabulary.”
My smart-ass comment prompts another glare and has her sputtering. I take the time she’s using to come up with a proper insult to study her. Her red hair has kinked up in this hot, humid weather and it curls wildly around her round face. Her lips are pink and plump, and she has a smattering of freckles on her cheeks that cross over her small, dainty nose. Her eyes are wide and slightly too big for her angelic face. There’s no other word to describe her other than cute. I’m intrigued because she’s as different from the plastic prep girls that attend this school as you can get.
She pushes her shoulders back and raises up to her full height again. She’s taller than your average girl, only a few inches shorter than me, and at 6’3” I like that. She’s curvy too, in a way that makes me think of old pin-up girls. That’s surprising, given that this school is full of wanna-be models who think skinniness is next to godliness.
“Sophia is a lady, and Sir Isaac is a fine gentleman of impeccable taste. Their love story is one for the ages.” She shakes her hair back to look me dead in the eyes and shuffles her books again. “Anyone with taste would appreciate their story.”
“Sweetheart, I stopped believing in love stories a long time ago.” I shrug my shoulders. “But whatever floats your boat. I was just trying to be a gentleman and help you out. My mama would fry my butt if I didn’t try to help a damsel in distress, even if said damsel is a child who still believes in fairy tales.” I lay my accent on thick and wait for her to get mad. I don’t have to wait long. Her cheeks turn ruddy, and she swallows thickly. I can see her internal struggle. She wants to say something equally rude, but there’s also a part of her that clearly wants to act like the good girl she’s been taught to be.
“Yes, well I’m eighteen, so not exactly a child, but thank you anyway for your help. I’ll just be on my way now.” She moves to go around me, and I stop her with a hand on her arm.
“For what it’s worth, I hope Sophia and Isaac get their happy ending. Even if real ones don’t exist.” I can’t help but feel a twinge of envy that someone else gets happiness, even if it is in a novel. For me, each day blends into the next and is only interrupted by the occasional shit storm.
“Well, maybe for rude insensitive jerks like you, happy endings aren’t in the cards, but for some of us they do exist.” She gazes down for a moment and catches her lower pink lip in her teeth. I can actually feel the moment the fight goes out of her, and her shoulders sag a little. Her amazing eyes are shiny when she looks up at me again. “I’ve seen that kind of happiness in person, even if it didn’t last forever.”
I feel a little like I just deflated Santa Claus as I wince and step back. “Hey, I didn’t mean…” I start a lame ass apology, when something small but incredibly strong pushes me out of the way.
“Ronnie, I saw everything! Are you okay? Girl, I wanted to help, but I was trying to get away from Mrs. Maloney. You know how she is. Damn, that woman can talk your ear off! That jerk Steven ran right into you! I’ll kick his ass!” The little girl that almost knocked me over pats Red’s arm in a soothing manner. She glances over at me and flashes a flirtatious smile. “Luckily, you had this fine gentleman to rescue you.” She eyes me up and down and I can’t help but grin at her emphasis on the word fine. She’s half my size and her long black hair is streaked with pink. Her classic school uniform is a little higher than the approved length and her knee-high socks are neon yellow.
