THE PLAYBOY DISTRACTION

Celeste pov If there’s one thing Rosewood students loved more than grades, it was showing off. Every morning, the front gates looked less like a school entrance and more like a car show—sleek sedans, flashy convertibles, tinted SUVs, all lined up like somebody had mistaken the place for a runway. It wasn’t impressive to me. I’d been dropped off in cars like these my whole life. Most kids here had. But to Rosewood, drama was oxygen, and today the air was thick with it. Because the rumors were true. He was back. The matte-black car rolled to a stop, and the crowd surged forward, phones snapping pictures like the paparazzi had descended. Doors opened, and out stepped Zachary King—the boy who had once ruled Rosewood, who disappeared overseas after his mother died, and whose grandfather owned the entire school. Literally. The whole place, the legacy, the prestige… all his family. He didn’t just walk out. He arrived. Tall, impossibly put-together, moving with the lazy kind of confidence that made people stare even when they didn’t want to. The kind of presence that made you involuntarily adjust your posture. Four guys trailed behind him, each one unmistakable in their own way. Mason, the tall, intimidating one, scanned the crowd like a hawk, every step precise. Kai, with a smirk permanently glued to his face, nudged Leo, who leaned back casually, hands in his pockets, clearly amused by the spectacle. And Finn, the most unassuming of the group, walked a few steps behind, looking clean-cut and harmless—but I knew better. friend to Zach, all of them. Untouchable, in their own ways. The whispers started immediately, floating over the crowd like static. He’s back for her. It has to be Beth, right? Of course—it was always Beth. I froze, my stomach tightening. Because his gaze swept the crowd once, uninterested, until it landed on us. Or more specifically—on Beth. Beth, my best friend, tugging at her sleeve… froze. Her eyes flicked up, just once, and caught his. A faint pink climbed her cheeks before she quickly looked away. Of course she noticed. Of course he noticed that she noticed. I scowled. My fist clenched at my side, the familiar heat of protective instinct rising. And then, just as suddenly, his eyes slipped past Beth—straight to me. For a beat too long, Zachary King’s gaze locked with mine. I didn’t flinch. My hand curled tighter, nails biting into my palm. Anger, irritation, and something else—a strange, infuriating spark—burned through me. If he thought he could just waltz back into Rosewood and mess with my best friend, he had another thing coming. He smirked, tilting his head slightly, like he could read every thought running through my head. And just like that, the game began. I glanced at Beth. She was pretending to brush it off, fiddling with her bag strap, but the faint tremble in her hands told me she felt it too—the pull, the stare, the power he carried without even trying. I couldn’t let it happen. I’d promised myself I’d protect her, no matter what. And if Zach King thought he could intimidate me, or play with Beth, he had clearly underestimated me. The crowd around us buzzed, phones out, giggles and whispers blending into a constant hum, but my focus narrowed to the golden boy of Rosewood and the girl he had apparently decided was his target. Rosewood was about to get messy. And I was going to make sure Beth didn’t get caught in the storm.