Chapter Nine RHETT

I watch Willow Lancaster pause in the doorway of our class, seemingly scanning the room. I take note of her uniform, and how she’s put her own spin on it. All that lush, glossy dark hair is pulled into a ponytail again with a dark blue ribbon looped into a bow. She’s got her jacket on and it dips in at the waist, the buttons undone almost showcasing the fact that her tits strain against the front of her white shirt.

The girl has got curves for days. I curl my fingers into a fist, fighting the urge to go to her and touch her. If I even made the attempt; hell, if I merely mentioned it to her, she’d most likely flip the fuck out and tell me to kiss her ass for all eternity.

And why does that have such an appealing ring to it?

The bell rings, jolting her of the seeming trance she fell into, and she takes a step forward, stumbling a bit when a couple of dudes barge through the door, knocking right into her.

I leap to my feet and rush toward her, glaring at the dumbasses who pass by me.

“Watch the fuck out.” I growl at them before turning my attention to Willow. “You all right? Did they hurt you?”

When I touch her sleeve, she takes a step back, like she needs the distance. I let my hand drop, my gaze sweeping over her to make sure she’s in one solid piece. “I-I’m fine. It was no big deal.”

“You almost fell.” I lighten my tone, telling myself to chill out. “You keep doing that around me.”

“I don’t know why I’m so clumsy.” Her smile is shaky. “Thank you for watching out for me.”

“No problem. I got your back, Will.” I glance around, my gaze touching on everyone already seated at their desks, most of them blatantly watching us.

Willow notices too. “We’re causing a scene.”

“Who cares?” I shrug.

She starts walking and I keep pace with her. “I do. Like I said, it was no big deal.”

Without another word, she settles into her desk, her backpack landing by her feet. She bends forward, that ponytail swinging as she unzips her backpack and pulls out her notebook and a set of colored pens and highlighters.

Damn, this girl is serious. It’s a photography class for Christ’s sake. Why does she need to take that many notes and make them fancy?

Because she’s a fancy chick. That’s her deal. A beautiful, rich but prissy girl who wants things to look a certain way, and I’d bet big money she’d expect whatever guy she’s with to act a certain way too.

That’s not me. I don’t conform to anyone. I am who I am and I know sometimes I can be a lot.

Scratch that, I know most of the time I’m a lot, but my parents never tried to stifle me or expected me to act like someone I’m not when I was a kid. If anything, they indulged my individual quirks. My dad is pretty outrageous. That’s part of his charm. Anyone who knows my dad even in passing, has something to say about him.

I want that too. Not that I want to be a duplicate of my dad, but I want to be memorable. I don’t want people to forget me.

Most of the people who go to this school are like Willow. Wealthy beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed or lived with. And my family is rich. My dad is a retired NFL quarterback who made millions back in the day, but we’ve still got nothing on a lot of the families whose kids go here.

Especially the Lancasters.

But I don’t let any of that bother me. I can hold my own with this group, and pretty successfully. I know I’m a solid football player and they’ve never seen anything like me play for their school team. Lancaster Prep was known for being an elite high school that only the richest of rich attend. They focused on academics but never sports. Not really. Not until Westscott became the new headmaster and changed things up.

And brought me in.

Mr. Chen starts talking, droning on about landscapes and catching certain light. I shift in my seat, already bored, and when I glance over in Willow’s direction, I realize she is too.

Her head is bent, her chin almost touching her chest, the ends of her ponytail sliding around the side of her neck. Her rosebud lips are parted and her eyes are closed.

Is she … sleeping?

I watch her for a few more seconds and she doesn’t move a muscle, save her chest rising and falling with each breath she takes. Little Miss Studious is definitely asleep. And I find that oddly …

Cute.

“You all seem a little distracted this afternoon so why don’t we go outside and I can show you what I’m talking about,” Mr. Chen announces. There’s a lot of shuffling as everyone starts to move, save for Sleeping Beauty right next to me. “Bring your backpacks. I doubt we’ll go back to the classroom before the bell rings.”

Nice. I prefer being out of the classroom anyway. Being stuck at a desk and not able to move for fifty minutes sucks big time.

People are rising to their feet, grabbing their stuff. Chatting loudly as they all start heading out of the room, following Mr. Chen. Only when someone laughs does Willow startle, lifting her head and glancing around the room in confusion.

I’m standing right next to her desk, waiting for her to notice me. And when she does, the puzzled look on her face is almost funny. But I don’t laugh. I don’t think she’d like that.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re headed outside. Chen’s gonna show us what he’s talking about versus just give us a boring lecture.” I nod toward her backpack. “Grab your stuff.”

She glances down, her movements slow as she reaches for the strap of her backpack.

“Mr. Bennett? Miss Lancaster? Are you coming with us?” Mr. Chen lets his irritation bleed into his tone. Grumpy asshole.

“We’re coming,” I answer for the both of us.

Willow scrambles, sliding out of her desk almost too quickly, and I swear, she’s gonna fall again. Luckily, I grab her arm, my fingers curled around her elbow, keeping her steady. She sends me a grateful look, shaking her head at herself. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“You were napping, Sleeping Beauty.” I try to keep most of the amusement out of my voice because I don’t want her to think I’m making fun of her.

“I was not.” She sounds downright indignant. “I don’t fall asleep in class.”

With that final statement, she starts walking, heading for the door. I’m so dumbfounded by her response it takes me an extra second or two to launch into action, but once I do, I’m chasing after her, surprised at how fast she is.

“Here’s the thing,” I say once I’m right beside her. We’re all walking down the hallway toward the double doors that are on the east side of the building. Willow and I are the last stragglers behind everyone else, and no one is paying attention to us. Not even Mr. Chen. “You were sleeping. I saw you.”

She sends me a scathing look, clearly irritated. “I’m sure you’ll go tell everyone too. How Willow Lancaster fell asleep in class.”

I rear back a bit, the anger in her voice telling me she’s already written me off as a snitch. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not an asshole.” I push open the door for her. “Who hurt you to make you so damn defensive?”

Willow comes to a stop at the top of the steps, her shoulders sagging. I stand next to her, waiting for a response and the one she gives me is unexpected.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m being a little … ridiculous.”

“It’s cool.” Shoving my hands in my pockets, I head down the stairs, skipping a couple of them and jumping to the ground. “Maybe you’re grumpy when you first wake up.”

“I am not,” she insists as she scurries down the steps, picking up her pace to keep up with me. “I think you enjoy giving me grief.”

“Can’t lie, it’s kind of fun.” I grin at her.

She scowls at me.

“You need to lighten up, Lancaster. Life doesn’t have to be so damn serious all the time.”

“How am I being too serious?” Her voice rises and I glance toward the rest of our class ahead of us, wondering if they can hear us. No one is paying us any attention though. They’re all laughing and having a good time.

“You act like you have a …” My voice drifts, and I reconsider what I’m going to say.

Yeah. I shouldn’t say that at all. Knowing her, she’ll get pissed at me. And I think she actually likes being angry with me.

“I act like I have a what?” she prompts when I go quiet.

“It’s nothing.” I shake my head. Smile at her.

That scowl remains on her face. It’s a good look for her though. She’s beautiful. Like, I could stare at her face for hours beautiful and it still wouldn’t be enough.

“Oh, it was definitely something. You should just say it, Rhett.”

I stand a little taller at her saying my name. I like how it sounds coming from her, even if she’s irritated with me. “You don’t want to know.”

“I really, really want to know.”

A ragged exhale leaves me and I stroke my chin, knowing I’m going to regret the choice I’m about to make.

“I was going to say you act like you’ve got a stick up your ass all the time.”