LOVE IS AN ACTION

Chapter 2

The first time I met Cash, he thoroughly pissed me off. It may have taken me a second to remember why I was so frustrated with him while I dragged my eyes over the nicely packaged fellow but when I did he was smirking at me. The haughty attitude reminded me so much of everyone else at Warren Academy that I immediately had such a fierce disliking of him it almost scared me. It definitely unnerved me to despise someone so soon after seeing them, before we even spoke a word to one another.

He leaned forward onto his knees and pushed a tanned hand through dark chocolate locks that curled just so at the ends. His green eyes were filled with humor as he chuckled to himself; making his broad shoulders shift. After my first year at Warren Academy, I'd quickly learned that keeping to myself in class was much less of a headache than drawing attention to myself and having everyone stare at my department store clothing and non-designer backpack. It was no secret that I attend on a scholarship and that's grounds for juvenile mocking here. This year I'd made it abundantly clear to everyone that I wasn't going to take the same shit as before. Most people got the message.

Aside from the classes that I shared with Liz, I sat myself at the back of the classroom if there were desks and if there were shared tabletops—like in Bio— then I made sure that I sat at an empty one without a partner. I had gotten into the habit of setting my bag on the chair next to me so that as new students came, they didn't look at my chair as available. That apparently didn't scare off the hot jerk that was then smirking at me.

He'd tossed my bag on the floor beside me and immediately began trying to flirt with me. Unfortunately for him, I was kind of a bitch, and not easily swayed by his charm.

"What kind of idiot throws a girl's bag on the floor and then suggests they meet up later to perform sexual favors for each other?" I'd asked in a disgusted voice.

"Do forgive me, Beauté. I forget how aloof Americans can be about sex. The French are often known for our straightforward attitude towards such things." That accent did funny things to my insides, no matter how badly I tried to keep them solid he nearly liquified them without really trying.

"Do forgive me but you aren't in France and I'm not aloof I'm just not interested. If you could find another desk I will chalk this up as a mishap and kindly ignore you for the rest of the year." He smiled at me. A real one, not a smirk. A smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and made him abundantly more attractive. It really wasn't fair.

"I rather like my spot here. In fact, I think this will be my favorite subject." From that point on, I'd decided to hate him. He was more or less as much an enemy to me as Marley Evans was. After class I walked up to Liz for lunch and he followed me. Unbeknownst to me, he and Liz had struck up a friendship in another class and she had told him he could eat lunch with us.

Even when I refused, nothing changed so I stewed silently to myself and any input I added to the conversation was pitiful at best. Cash continued to flirt with me for weeks before he finally got the hint and started dating around the school. It was then that this annoying habit he is demonstrating now came about.

"I love your hair this way." Amanda Locke says as she pushes Cash's hair back. I roll my eyes and mock gag. I hate that he finds it necessary to sit next to me while he flirts with every Tammy, Darcy, and Harley (my version of Tom, Dick and Harry) in the entire Academy.

"Is there a reason that you're over here, Amanda? I kinda want to get this project done so I can get out of here." Amanda's angry brown eyes meet mine and I arch an eyebrow, challenging her.

"Don't mind my little Beauté here, she is all about marks, you know the type."

"I doubt she does. And don't speak for me." I admonish him before going back to glaring at her. She glares back but when her eyes meet Cash's they soften.