Christina and the Rebel Affair (Scandalous Series Book 6) Read online

  “Not really.”

  I met Christina over the break. We chatted about trivial stuff, the weather, whatever. Went out for a couple of drinks and ended up back at her place. She told me she was looking for work after moving to town. I told her I worked at the surf shop. It wasn’t a lie. I did work there. Only it was more a seasonal thing. Or whenever dad pissed me off enough that I begged for shifts just to get out of the house.

  “How is that even possible? Who gets naked with someone they don’t even know?”

  Someone who needed a distraction.

  A person trying to move on. Get over an ex…or lost love. A person who constantly questioned “what if…?”

  “Me.” I grinned at her.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Did you miss our conversation this morning about nipple clamps?”

  Christina was kinky enough to provide the perfect distraction, at least for the time I spent with her. During that time, my mind was so out of it that I couldn’t even remember my own name. But…when I was alone, nothing could distract me enough, and all I could think was I just needed an extra twelve months, and everything would have fallen into place. Everything would have been perfect. Mine. Right.

  “Oh, my god. I don’t want to hear any more.” She covered her eyes. She was so easy to torment.

  “Nipple clamps, Audrey. Can you blame me for not wanting to talk so we can get straight to the good stuff?”

  “Stop. Please.”

  Even with a boyfriend seven years older, she was still so innocent and naïve. I loved embarrassing her. She got this cute little flush to her cheeks, and her eyes fluttered closed as she looked down at her feet.

  “What? I’m just trying to give you ideas. Maybe you want some suggestions for you and Brody.” I laughed, tilting her chin up to look at me.

  She pushed my hand away. “We don’t need ideas, thank you very much.”

  “Really? Do tell.” I leaned forward and stared into her dark brown eyes, urging her to answer me and secretly hoping she wouldn’t. I really didn’t want the dirty details of what went on in her room after we ended our nightly video chats.

  “A lady never tells.” She pursed her lips and lifted her nose in the air, faking a British accent.

  “Prude.”

  “Slut.”

  “I take offence, bro.” I clutched my chest as though I was in pain.

  Audrey shrugged. “You’re the one sleeping with your teacher.”

  “And you’re in a relationship with the guy who saved your life, who is also related to the family taking care of you. You’re practically brother and sister.”

  “Gross, Bennett. Don’t twist things into something they’re not. You know damn well we’re not related. And—” She was cut off by the bell ringing.

  “Well, as much as I’d love to continue this interesting conversation, we have class. Let’s go, cupcake.” I stood and reached down to her. Pulling her to her feet, I grabbed both our bags and threw my arm over her shoulder and escorted her to her locker.

  The kids at this school sucked. All of them. They were obnoxious. Rude. Cruel. And they didn’t have a compassionate bone in their bodies. Except maybe for Lucy, the tiny blonde in our art class. She was sweet.

  I hated the thought of leaving Audrey alone for a moment in this place. She’d get eaten by the wolves. And as hard as I tried to get my class schedule changed to be with her, my father wouldn’t let me.

  “Don’t destroy your life over some broad,” he said. But it was Audrey, and she wasn’t some broad. She was the best person I knew. My best friend. My bro. Her strength and courage were an inspiration, and I hated leaving her to fend for herself.

  The scars she carried, both physical and emotional, were what made her so special. She’d lived through a tragedy, been through more than most people would ever have to suffer in their lives, and she came out the other side intact.

  The guys were dicks, and the chicks were bitches. Many of them never failed to point out that Audrey looked different, but not all of them. Most would just ignore her, which in my opinion was just as bad as ridiculing her. Still, no one ever stood up for her or reached out to speak to her unless they absolutely had to.

  It had been the two of us since day one when we bonded over our mutual disdain for returning to school. And it would always be the two of us. I looked out for her every chance I got, and no one messed with me. Perks of being the six-feet, four-inch son of the principal.

  We swung by her locker, ignoring the crowds milling around us, and grabbed her books before heading to mine. The chatter was incessant. Rumours circulated and recirculated at this school faster than Tiffany got around the football team, and the current story was about Audrey and me once again.

  It wasn’t a particularly original rumour. Everyone assumed we were dating because we were always together—she was my bro—and no one could understand why I would be dating her. Sometimes I dispelled the rumours, sometimes I encouraged them.

  They thought she was disfigured. Weird. A freak. And I knew if any of them bothered to get to know her the way I had, they’d love her as much as I did.

  I walked Audrey to class, handed her books over, and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “Shoulders,” I said as I placed my hands on her shoulders and pushed them back. Audrey sighed.

  If she pushed her shoulders back, she stood taller and looked less intimidated.

  “Head,” I reminded her and pinched her chin between my thumb and forefinger so I could tilt it up, only for her to roll her eyes.

  If she held her head high, she’d appear confident.

  “Ignore?”

  “The losers,” Audrey said, a small smile on her face.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re the only friend I need.” Her lips pulled into a cheesy grin as she repeated my poor pep talk back to me, but it worked. She always walked away from me with a smile. As long as I made her smile, I was happy.

  “And don’t you forget it, bro.” I reached out a fist to bump against hers. “I’ll see you after school.”

  Audrey shook her head. “It’s Brody’s day.”

  Brody. Her hero. Her older, paramedic boyfriend. He worked crazy shifts but liked to pick her up from school as often as he possibly could, sometimes even going so far as to get his shift swapped. They were goofy in love. I internally cringed at the thought, but I couldn’t blame them. He saved her life. They bonded. And they lived in the same house. Things were bound to happen.

  It was my turn to shake my head. “I’ll see you after school. Right here.”

  “Bennett.”

  “Nope, don’t argue. I’ll be here.” Like I was every day.

  “Wasn’t arguing. Just pointing out that I won’t be here after school. I have social studies next period and will be there. Not here.” She wrinkled her nose and tried not to laugh.

  “Fine. I’ll be there, then.”

  “Thank you.”

  I turned her around and gave her a gentle shove toward the door, but not before tapping her ass lightly. Brody would kill me for it if he knew, but I didn’t care, and Audrey did what she always did, ignored it.

  Chapter Three

  Christina

  I’d tried to subtly ask Bailey who the girl with Bennett was this morning without giving away that I knew Bennett more than I should. Other than telling me she was quiet and kept to herself and that I should go easy on her because she’d had a rough time, she wouldn’t give me much information. That was it. It didn’t help to ease the heavy feeling in my stomach. I was so screwed.

  I’d spent two blissful weeks with a guy who knew his way around the bedroom. The kitchen. The bathroom. Back seat of my car.

  A guy who turned out to be my student.

  A guy who might possibly have a girlfriend.

  A guy who, regardless of those last two points, I wanted to see again.

  I’d watched him during lunch from the other side of the courtyard as he sat with her. The quiet girl, Aud
rey. I’d watched him share his food with her. Laugh with her. Even from where I sat in the teacher’s lounge, I could see the way his eyes lit up when she spoke to him.

  What did she have that I didn’t? His eyes never sparkled like that when he looked at me.

  I had just about convinced myself that they were friends and nothing more until I saw him wrap his arm around her and walk her to class. I knew this because, like a dog with a bone, I wasn’t one to give up, so I followed. Right from her locker, to his, to her next class, they walked with his arm around her. He even carried her books.

  What high school guy carried a girl’s books if he wasn’t trying to get up her skirt, or stay there? The only time my high school disaster Chace ever carried my books was when I let him feel me up in the janitor’s closet.

  He kissed her head. Not really the passionate type of kiss he’d given me earlier that morning, but there was something sweet and protective about it. Powerful. Dominating. It was as though he was marking his territory and telling anyone around them that she belonged to him. It was exactly the way I remembered seeing Ryder with Bailey when they started dating. Ownership.

  And then he straightened her back, grasped her chin, his eyes blazing to life when she smiled up at him with all the adoration in the world.

  I swallowed the bitterness in my throat.

  She wasn’t anything special, from what I could tell.

  Then they fist bumped.

  And I was confused again. Fist bumps were reserved for friends. Not lovers. But the kiss on her head and the book carrying, that was something for couples.

  My head was spinning as I moved out of my hiding spot and walked past her classroom. Bennett had gone in the other direction, so I glanced inside to see her sitting alone in the back corner, head down, hair covering her face, shoulders slumped. She was a stark contrast to the girl she appeared to be when she was with him, and I didn’t know why. I really didn’t see why he was so enamoured with her.

  As though sensing I was there, her head lifted, and she looked straight at me. Her eyes narrowed and her back went straight. She stared me down, completely unimpressed. I should have been in Bailey’s class watching and learning, but, not one to back down from a challenge, I angled my head and studied the girl who was in Bennett’s arms moments ago. Did she know who I was to him? Had he been stupid enough to tell her? Maybe she was jealous. Or furious. I couldn’t tell.

  It was when she brushed the hair out of her face that I noticed her scars—they seemed to cover one side of her body—and I realised who she was. Bennett and I didn’t really talk about a lot of personal things. Our relationship, if you could call it that, was…had been more physical than anything. But when he did open up and talk, he always spoke of this girl. His friend who had lost her entire family in a house fire and had almost died herself. She was that girl.

  My heart pounded in my chest, and my palms were sweating. The heavy feeling in my stomach intensified as we stared at each other. She was more than a friend to him, I just knew it. There was something in the way he spoke of her that made me think there was more to their relationship than friendship. But it was easy to brush it aside and ignore it when I didn’t know who she was. When she was no one to me. Now, though, I had to see her every day. She’d be in my class with him, and there was nothing I could do about it.

  Bennett and I were over the moment I walked into Bailey’s classroom and I saw him sitting there. I couldn’t have an affair with a student. It would destroy both our lives, our reputations, everything. But it didn’t mean I wanted to see him with anyone else. With her. The girl with the scars. The girl who was more important to him than I was.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, turned, and walked away without another glance.

  Bailey was furious when I walked into class late. Nothing new there.

  “Sorry, I got lost.” My excuse was weak, and she knew it was a lie. We’d spent five years at this school. I knew my way around just as much as anybody else.

  The look she gave me caused shivers to run up my spine. I smiled. The girl finally grew a backbone. I guessed Ryder was right for her after all.

  I sat in the corner of the room and tried concentrating on what Bailey was saying. I needed to pay attention if I wanted to pick up where she left off at the end of the week, but my mind was elsewhere. It wasn’t until the two girls sitting at the table nearest to me started talking that I finally paid attention. To them, not Bailey. She bored me to tears with long-winded explanations. I’d never met anyone who got so excited over literature. Eyeroll. Groan. Whatever.

  The two wannabe princesses at the back of the class had my full attention the moment Bennett’s name was mentioned.

  “He’s so hot.” Girly giggle.

  He was more than hot. It was almost indecent. He was perfection.

  “I mean, his arms.” Insert dramatic sigh.

  His arms were pretty fucking spectacular. Strong. Steady. Capable.

  “Why her?” Scoff.

  Her? Audrey?

  “She’s a freak. He just feels sorry for her.” Hair flip.

  “I’d die if he looked at me like that or put his arm around me.”

  Totally worth it.

  “She’s a slut. Have you seen the other guy who picks her up sometimes?” Raised eyebrows.

  My ears perked up at that comment. Another guy?

  “What, no?” Gasp.

  Oh, my god. Why did I choose to come back to high school? They were so goddamn pathetic.

  “She’s totally playing two guys. Bennett and the guy with the cherry red truck.”

  “She must be great in bed. Why else would they want anything to do with her?”

  “Yeah, I don’t get it.”

  I sat back and straightened my shirt. Ran my hands over my pants. Tapped my fingers on my knees.

  Two guys.

  Was he stupid?

  Did he know?

  Of course, he did. He was screwing me and probably her at the same time. And neither of them cared. Why would they? They were young. They had their whole lives to figure this stuff out. It was all fun to them, like it had been to me once upon a time. But I grew up, something they had yet to do.

  Pulling my focus back to Bailey and what she was doing with the rest of the class, I ignored the girls and tuned out their gossip. If there was one thing I knew, the gossip mill at this school was rampant.

  After class ended, Bailey pulled me aside to talk.

  “You need to pay more attention, or you’re going to screw up everything all these kids have worked for,” she said.

  “Relax. I can handle it.” I stretched my neck and rolled my shoulders, feeling uncomfortable after sitting in the corner of the room for so long, and glanced over my shoulder, out the door.

  I wasn’t an idiot. I studied. Got a degree and everything. Also, I could hand out revision sheets and notes without her holding my hand.

  “Got somewhere to be?” Bailey asked as she packed away her files and folders on her desk.

  “Yeah. Home. Is that all?” I really just wanted to get out of there, away from the students and Bailey harassing me. Away from Bennett and his little girlfriend. I wanted to go somewhere to clear my head.

  “Yes.”

  I didn’t wait a second longer. I turned and walked out the door without so much as a goodbye.

  “But, Christina,” Bailey called after me. I froze and winced, turning to look at her again. Why couldn’t she just let me leave? “Make sure your head’s on right tomorrow, or I’m going to speak to Sawyer.”

  I nodded once, still frozen to the spot, waiting for her to say something else. There was always something else.

  “Okay. You may go,” Bailey said as she picked up the duster and turned to clean the blackboard.

  She dismissed me, like I was one of her students.

  Me?

  Whatever.

  I was free, at least for the night.

  I left Bailey to do whatever it was she needed to do and
rushed down the hall, in a hurry to put as much distance between this school and me as possible. But I came to a screaming halt, almost losing my balance and slamming into Bennett and Audrey. They were at her locker together.

  “Whoa, you okay there, Ms. Brown?” Bennett asked. His soft pink lips tipped up into a smirk, briefly flashing the dimple on his cheek as he reached out and steadied me. Butterflies took up residence in my belly like they often did when he touched me.

  “I’m fine. Thank you.” I glanced at Audrey, wondering if she knew about me. Deciding to act as natural as possible in case she was as clueless as I’d hoped, I continued. “Just need to watch where I’m going.”

  My eyes drifted to where Bennett’s fingers were still on my shoulders, the heat from his fingertips caressing my upper arms. My heart thudded in my chest, and I swayed on my feet, wanting to lean into his touch. I cleared my throat and shook my head, and Bennett suddenly dropped his hands and stood back. Audrey pressed closer to his side and lowered her head, not wanting to make eye contact with me at all. Bennett’s arm hung around her shoulder and held her close.

  “Right, well, have a good night,” I said and walked away before I did something stupid like question their relationship. I was their teacher, so it shouldn’t have mattered to me at all. But it did.

  He was in high school. I was his teacher, and yet I still wanted to feel his touch. Make him smile. Make him scream.

  And it was so wrong.

  Why? Why couldn’t we have met in another three months when he’d well and truly graduated? Why did he have to be a student? And so damn good looking?

  “Ms. Brown?” A deep voice called my name just as I reached the door.

  So close to freedom.

  I paused, one hand on the door handle, one knotted in a fist at my side, as I turned and smiled at John. “How did your first day go? Any problems?” He returned my smile and ushered me out the door, holding it open for me while his hand on my back guided me out.

  “Great. No problems.” I forced a smile. Other than the fact I had one of your students naked in my bed this morning.