Chapter 4
1723 Words
“Before we make a deal, we need to establish a few conditions.”
Easton smiled in a way that revealed a charming dimple in his left cheek.
“So it wasn’t going to be that easy, huh?”
I shook my head and made sure to put some distance between us. Having Easton so close sent chills through my body, mixed with strange twists in my stomach.
“First, there’s something I need to ask you. Do you have a… girlfriend?”
“No. I broke up with her yesterday.”
“Good, now— wait a second. You broke up with your girlfriend yesterday?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?” I needed to know.
“Because a certain brat started spreading a new rumor about me. Zoe found out and dumped me.”
Wow. So they had broken up because of me.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” He planted both hands against the wall behind me, one on each side of my face. “You destroyed a relationship over a stupid impulse and that’s all you have to say?”
“I really am sorry for ruining your relationship, but look at it this way. It’s better that the two of you broke up because now you’re going to pretend to date me. Oh, and that’s one of the conditions of our deal. You can’t date or get involved with any other girl while you’re with me.”
“What?”
“Not inside the school. Not outside either. Understood?”
“Hold on a second, I’m a man, you know? I have certain needs.”
“Fifty thousand dollars is more than enough to make you forget those needs. Or would you prefer lowering the original rate?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking my posture.
“Why don’t we increase it instead?”
“Shut up. Fifty thousand dollars is already too much.” I let out a sigh and straightened up again. “The second condition is that we’ll have to go on dates.”
“Dates?” Ugh, somehow he looked even less excited about the arrangement. “I can barely survive sharing oxygen with you in here and you expect me to survive a date?”
I pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills worth ten thousand dollars from my purse and held it in front of his face.
“Dates. Take it or leave it.”
His surprised reaction made me smile.
“Now, the third and final condition is that you’ll have to act like you’re hopelessly in love with me.”
I waited for Easton to start complaining.
He didn’t.
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
“Seriously?” I asked, frowning.
“Yeah.” He took the stack of cash from my hand and slipped it into his pocket. For some reason, I couldn’t help noticing how good the uniform looked on him. “What about my conditions?”
“I’m the only one making conditions here.”
“Fine.”
“Oh, one more thing.” I pressed a finger against his chest and lightly pushed him back. “Every time we have to kiss, I want you to keep your disgusting tongue out of my mouth.”
“I thought you liked it,” he mocked.
“Well, I didn’t. Don’t do it again.” I held my hand out to him. “So, do we have a deal now?”
Easton smiled and shook my hand.
What I didn’t expect was for him to suddenly yank me toward him, slide one hand behind my neck, and seal our deal with a kiss.
An annoyed sound escaped me, followed by a soft moan.
My lips parted the second his tongue brushed against mine, and I only let him taste me for a few seconds.
The problem was that those few seconds turned into long minutes.
The way he kissed was so skilled, so addictive, that rejecting him became impossible. Embarrassed by how much I was responding to him, I bit his lip hard and quickly pulled away.
Easton ran his tongue over the small wound and looked at me arrogantly.
“Did you just bite me?”
I was dangerously close to slapping him.
“You’re an idiot.”
He winked at me.
“That’s what everyone tells me.” He walked toward the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here. This place smells like shit.”
When we returned to the main hallway, dozens of students stared at Easton and me walking out of the maintenance closet together with far too much interest. It was obvious they were wondering what we had been doing in there for so long.
“Lose something?” Easton snapped.
Immediately, everyone looked away nervously.
I intertwined my hand with his and walked beside him down the massive hallway. Feeling half the school watching us was uncomfortable, but I guessed it was normal. Seeing me holding hands with the guy who terrified almost the entire school would surprise anyone.
And not just because Easton Cash had a reputation for fighting, breaking rules, and almost killing people on the ice during hockey games.
There had always been something else about him too.
The fact that no one really knew anything about his past, his family, or where he had come from. Easton Cash had simply appeared one day at Northridge University… and ever since then, the rumors had never stopped. Most people dismissed the stories as nonsense.
Others weren’t so sure.
“I can already hear the new rumors,” Easton said, leaning against the locker next to mine.
“What rumors?” I asked.
The expression on his face was full of mischief.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
♡ ♡ ♡
As the day went on, the overwhelming amount of attention I was getting started to become incredibly irritating. People treated me as if I had a sign on my forehead that said danger, do not approach, avoiding any kind of contact with me.
Did being Easton’s girlfriend make me radioactive? Was people’s fear of that guy really that extreme? Even Ted, my desk partner, looked uncomfortable having to sit beside me.
“Ted?” I murmured, getting his attention.
Ted was the smartest guy in class. The reason I usually sat beside him was because we were both part of the student council.
“Yes?”
“Is something wrong with you today?”
He looked at me nervously and swallowed hard. Seriously? The poor guy was terrified!
“N… no.”
“Then why haven’t you spoken to me during the entire class?”
It took him a few seconds to answer. He adjusted his glasses and finally said,
“I heard you’re Cash’s girlfriend and that a guy mysteriously disappeared for touching his motorcycle. I don’t even want to think about what could happen to someone who dares look at his girl.”
That was ridiculous. Besides, I had heard a different version of that rumor. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted by the school speakers.
“Students Ashley Donovan and Easton Cash, please report to the principal’s office. I repeat, students Ashley Donovan and Easton Cash, please report to the principal’s office.”
When I looked at Professor Henry, he stared at me over his enormous glasses with an expression of disapproval.
“Go to the principal’s office, Miss Donovan.”
I frowned, packed my things, and walked out of the classroom with everyone staring at me. Miss Ruperta was sitting in her usual spot behind the reception desk.
Distracted, I approached the glass door that said Principal’s Office in metallic letters and walked in. Principal Presley was known for being the youngest man to ever run a school in Seattle.
“Miss Donovan, please take a seat,” the young principal greeted me.
“Did I do something wrong?” I asked while sitting down in the chair in front of his desk.
A smile tugged at his lips.
“We should wait for your companion.”
The second Easton crossed my mind, panic started creeping in.
The office door opened and a completely unbothered Easton walked in. He sat down in the chair beside me and, after giving me a quick glance, focused his attention on the man in front of us.
“What?” he asked a little harshly.
Was that really how he talked to the principal?
“Easton, I’m glad you’re here.”
“What do you want?”
Principal Presley folded his hands neatly on his desk and watched us with a serious expression.
“As you both know, this is one of the most prestigious multi-campus universities in Seattle. It’s my duty to stay informed about everything happening on school grounds.”
“And?” Easton asked impatiently.
“Rumors spread very quickly. So quickly that even I heard the rumor about what the two of you were doing inside the first-floor maintenance closet.”
“What rumor?” I asked. I had no idea what he was talking about.
“The students are saying you two were doing inappropriate things in there.”
“Inappropriate things?”
“What Ben means…” Easton interrupted, looking directly into my eyes, highly amused, “is that those idiots think we f****d inside the maintenance closet.”
“What?!” I nearly choked on my own saliva. “No! We didn’t! We didn’t do any of that!” I looked at Easton. “Tell him!”
Easton smiled and placed his hands behind his neck, making the muscles in his chest flex.
Oh my God.
Why did the uniform shirt have to fit him so tightly?
“Yeah, we f****d, old man, but relax. We used protection.”
“Of course we didn’t!”
Easton’s brows lifted.
“We didn’t use protection? I thought I made sure we did.”
“No!” This time it was the principal who raised both eyebrows. “What I mean is that we didn’t do any of that in the maintenance closet!”
“He’s right. We did it on the tables in the chemistry lab.”
I shot him a murderous glare. I wanted to strangle him.
“Shut up.”
- Writer
