Chapter 3
1431 Words
Finally, when I desperately needed air, Easton pulled away and smirked. My stomach tightened and my legs turned to jelly.
“Did you just put your tongue in my mouth?” I asked, trying to sound offended.
“I did,” he admitted without a shred of guilt.
His deep, rough voice sent shivers across my skin. I couldn’t remember ever hearing him speak before, and now that I knew what his voice sounded like, I doubted I’d be able to get it out of my head.
“Well, that was…” I glanced at Nate and Cassie walking toward us. “We need to talk about something important, so for now just play along, okay?”
Easton arched a brow but said nothing.
“Wow, so your relationship with Easton Cash wasn’t one of your lies after all,” Cassie mocked.
Easton’s hands were still resting on my waist, and I couldn’t have been more grateful for that.
“Why would I lie?”
“Oh, come on, Ashley. We’re talking about you. Anything’s possible.”
“You’re wrong, Cass. It’s when we’re talking about you that anything’s possible. Even sleeping with your best friend’s boyfriend. Though honestly, I should thank you.” I slid my hands across Easton’s chest until they rested behind his neck. “Now we don’t have to hide anymore, right, babe?”
“Mmm…” he murmured lazily.
Cassie’s expression twisted while Nate took a threatening step forward.
“So you’re the asshole who smashed my car windows with a baseball bat?” Nate growled, his fists clenched at his sides.
Easton looked at him with little interest.
“Was your car a red sedan?”
“No.”
“A white Audi?”
“No.”
“A black Jeep?”
“A yellow Mustang,” I muttered.
A slow smile spread across Easton’s face and he stared at me for several long seconds before looking back at Nate. The corner of his mouth lifted into a half-smile, as if he had just remembered something.
“Oh, right. Now I remember. You knocked over my motorcycle.”
“I didn’t knock over s**t!”
“Yes, you did.”
“Actually… I was the one who knocked over your motorcycle,” I admitted awkwardly. “Nate was teaching me how to ride that day, but when I tried to park it, I accidentally dropped your bike.”
“So it was you.” His blue eyes locked seriously onto mine, making me swallow nervously.
Was this guy really capable of making someone disappear over a scratch on his motorcycle?
God, he had beautiful eyes…
Wait a second, what the hell was I thinking?
This guy had just shoved his dirty tongue into my mouth.
“I’m sorry, babe. I’ll make it up to you,” I said sweetly.
“Oh yeah?” he asked, leaning closer to my mouth. “And exactly how do you plan on doing that?”
I smiled.
“Oh, you know…”
Cassie cleared her throat, grabbed Nate by the arm, and dragged him away. I hated admitting it, but seeing those two together made me want to throw up. After a few seconds, I quickly pulled away from Easton and wiped my lips with the back of my hand.
He noticed and let out a small mocking laugh.
“And what was that? Do you just go around kissing random guys?”
“What? No! Of course not.”
“Then I should feel honored.” He shut his locker and started walking away.
“Wait, I need to talk to you.”
“Not interested. Though what happened back there was a pretty entertaining show.”
“Please, just listen to me. It’s important,” I begged.
Maybe he pitied me, because he finally grabbed my arm and dragged me into the small maintenance closet on the first floor. I looked at the wet mop beside me and grimaced at the horrible smell coming from it. Then I looked back at Easton, who was watching me with one eyebrow raised.
“Well? What do you want?”
I sighed.
“I need your help. Two days ago I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me and—”
“I don’t know what kind of face you think I have, but I’m not interested in hearing about your problems.”
“Let me finish,” I complained. “Now they’re together. You saw them yourself… The point is, all of this happened at a party. Maddie’s party.” Judging by his expression, he clearly had no idea who Maddie was. “And in a moment of complete insanity, I told everyone I’d been cheating on Nate too.”
He lifted both eyebrows, pretending to be surprised.
“Wow. So you were both cheating on each other?”
“No, obviously not,” I snapped. “I lied and told everyone I’d been cheating on Nate…” I swallowed before finally saying it. “With you.”
He slowly dragged his thumb across his lips, trying to hide a smile.
“I see. So what you want is my cooperation in your little pathetic lie.”
“Yes. I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend for a few days.”
“No.” He didn’t even hesitate.
“But—”
“Listen carefully, blondie. It’s not my problem that your boyfriend cheated on you with one of your best friends, and it’s definitely not my obligation to help you cover up your lie.”
“Easton…”
“People who lie are trash.”
Did he seriously just call me trash?
“I lied because I didn’t have another choice.” My voice cracked, and his expression softened slightly. “Cassie was my best friend and she humiliated me in front of the entire school at that party. Nate cheated on me even after promising me he never would, and I…” Damn it, I didn’t want to cry in front of him. Talking about this hurt too much. “It would only be for a couple of days.”
“Do you want him back?” he asked seriously.
“I don’t know. I just… I just want him back,” I admitted quietly.
His mouth curved into an arrogant smile.
“Girls are so weird. The guy cheated on you and you still want him back. Trust me, babe, if he cheated once, he’ll do it again.”
I lowered my gaze as tears slid down my cheeks. What if Easton was right? What if I got back together with Nate and he cheated on me again with someone else?
Before I realized it, Easton stepped closer and wiped my tears away with his thumbs.
There was something unsettling about Easton up close. Something cold, intense, barely restrained beneath his calm expression. People always talked about him in hushed voices. That he was involved in underground fights. That he came back to school with bruised knuckles and bloodstains on his clothes. That there was something wrong with him.
Looking into his eyes now, I almost believed it.
“How much are we talking about?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“My services aren’t free, pretty girl. How much money are you offering?”
“You want me to pay you?” I asked incredulously.
“I could use some extra cash.” His eyes slowly traveled down my body. “And you look like you’ve got plenty of money.”
“Do you have a drug problem?” The second the words left my mouth, I covered my lips with both hands, wishing I could take them back. Easton looked somewhere between amused and annoyed.
There was a rumor going around that Easton had a serious drug problem, and that he not only used them but sold them both inside and outside the school.
“Maybe…”
“How much do you want?”
“Fifty.”
“Fine. I can give you fifty dollars a week—”
He silenced me by pressing one of his long fingers against my lips.
“I want fifty thousand dollars a month.”
“What? Who do you think you are, some Calvin Klein model?”
He shrugged.
“I’m sure you can find somebody else.”
He was about to leave when I stopped him by grabbing his shirt.
“Fine. I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars.”
A victorious smile appeared on his face.
“Then we have a deal.”
- Writer
