The Bad Boy's Girl (The Bad Boy's Girl #1)(11)
When we finally make it to the parking lot of ALHS, I feel like I’m a war veteran; shell-shocked is the right phrase to describe my current state of mind. Unaffected by the fact that I almost had a panic attack, Cole eases his Volvo between two parking spaces. My legs feel wobbly as I throw myself out of the car, far away from Lucifer. In my haste to get away from him, I stumble into a cheerleader and prepare myself for an earful.
But it never comes.
Said cheerleader is nearly drooling as she watches Cole. Not only her; as I look around, everyone seems to be frozen on the spot and staring at him.
Figures. Cole’s return is a pretty big deal. He’s this unforgettable legend to the entire student population. At ALHS, he’s hero-worshipped for the many pranks he’s pulled throughout the years. Everyone knows who he is, even though he’s been gone for three years, and it seems like his celebrity status hasn’t diminished even a little bit.
Joy.
He purposely embellishes his exit out of the car. Why can’t he do what normal people do and get out without the dramatic flair? It’s like watching a really bad episode of Baywatch as he swings one leg out and then the other in slow motion. When His Highness finally gets his sorry ass out of the car, he takes off his leather jacket and swings it around his shoulder. He makes a big show of taking off his aviators and inserting them in the back pocket of his jeans. Then he stretches and pretends to yawn so that his taut muscles stretch and ripple as his shirt does nothing to hide how fit he really is.
I can practically hear each and every member of the female population sigh in barely concealed lust as he runs a hand through his hair. It makes it look even better, dang it. He then does the unthinkable and winks at me, and I’m sure that everyone caught the little moment.
I narrow my eyes at him and scowl. “Who do you think you are? David Hasselhoff?”
This wipes the smirk right off his face and I mentally congratulate myself for the little victory.
“Please—if the ladies saw this,” he points toward his body, “half naked, all wet and glistening, running on the beach, they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves,” he says cockily, and I nod in agreement, surprising him.
“You’re right; it’d be a hard choice between clawing out their own eyes or taking rat poison.”
With that I march right past him knowing that every set of eyes is on me and that sooner or later this will so come back to bite me in the butt.
***
Megan is nearly hysterical in homeroom. I can tell she’s just itching to know if I really did show up with Cole and if I did indeed, how come I’m still in one piece. It is the ideal class to spill my guts since Miss Sanchez’s head currently rests on her desk and drool is visibly escaping from her mouth. I shudder at the sight and focus my attention on my best friend, who is practically whimpering with the need to know what is going on. I also have Beth, who’s pretending to not listen in on our conversation, but I know she’s interested. She’s been stuck on the same page of her assigned reading book for the past fifteen minutes and it’s not because she’s suddenly forgotten how to read.
I tell them everything, starting from how I was forced to go to the Stone residence the previous night to how Cole became my ride to school this morning and by the time I finish venting, Megan’s eyes have turned the size of watermelons as she gapes at me. Beth simply looks amused.
“Doomed, Tessa, you’re doomed,” Megan wails, and I slump in my seat, hitting my head against my desk repeatedly.
“There, there.” She pats my head sympathetically and I glare at her.
“I don’t see what the problem is.” Beth’s gravelly voice interrupts the silence for the first time. I squint in disbelief. She doesn’t think I have a problem? Has listening to all those Led Zeppelin albums finally damaged her brain?
She rolls her eyes as Megan and I give her incredulous looks. “Look, the way I see it, it’s a win-win situation for you. Now that he’s taken the role of resident bully, Nicole won’t come near you, and Jay will realize that there are other guys who are interested. He might actually grow a pair and be the friend you’ve always wanted him to be.”
I splutter in disbelief as I try to make sense of her logic. The words “guy” and “interested” stand out and seem so alien, especially when applied to me, that I think my friend’s gone for a ride on the cray-cray train.
“Beth, which part of him being Hannibal Lecter do you not get?”
“I get it, trust me, but what I get the most is that this guy likes you, and he showed it the best way he could. He’s obviously trying to make amends and maybe you should let him. So maybe his method isn’t the most original, but it’s a classic boy manoeuvre,” she states like she’s discussing the weather, and Megan and I exchange looks, both thinking the same thing. “Sane” Beth isn’t with us today.
“Yes, it’s a classic boy manoeuvre for when you’re in kindergarten. If there is even the smallest possibility that he likes me, he wouldn’t torture me like he does,” I explain patiently, like I’m talking to a child with learning problems.
“Think what you want; I know I can’t convince you otherwise.” She shrugs but adds, “I just feel that him being here isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
For the rest of the day I cannot stop thinking about Cole’s and Beth’s words. For the time being I’m able to tuck them away in a corner of my mind, but I realize that sooner or later, I’ll have to think about them.