Boarding with the Bad Boy [COMPLETE + BONUS published edition]

THE BOARDERS: 03

Lo

I wasn't particularly keen on joining Jared Weaver for dinner. It wasn't clear right away whether he knew who I was, but as soon as I saw him, I knew exactly. And I had no interest in his friendship. Except that he caught me snooping through Sam Evans' and my new dorm, and I felt weird enough about it that I said yes when he asked me if I wanted to eat.

I regret it as he leans toward me, his face shifting into a mischievous grin. I think it's meant to be endearing, but it only serves to piss me off. "So, confession time," he starts, tossing a French fry into his mouth. "Pretty sure you and I have some history. Indirectly."

"Oh yeah?" I clench my teeth. Here we go.

"Yeah," he says. "You don't happen to remember—" his eyes shift behind me as a shadow falls over our table. I glance up from under my stolen trucker hat and realize:

1. I'm wearing a stolen trucker hat.

2. I'm looking into the gray-blue eyes of the hot guy from Brandon's jeep this afternoon.

3. I am in deep, deep trouble.

He's even more gorgeous up close. While Jared has "prep boy pretty" written all over him, this kid is about as far from my Remington stereotype as physically possible. He's tall, lean, still wearing skinny jeans and the black t-shirt. His broad chest is covered by a band logo and a leather cuff is wrapped over one of his strong wrists. His face is framed with a dark mess of tousled hair, free now of the hat he wore earlier. His light eyes and smirk—complete with the lip ring that sends butterflies loose in my stomach—take in my obvious admiration from under raised eyebrows. There should be warning bells going off in my head, but the burning space between my legs is completely oblivious.

"Yo, Weaver," the newcomer—Lip Ring—says to my dinner companion. "What the hell happened earlier? I texted you three times."

Jared checks his phone and looks up at the Adonis behind me, nonplussed. My heart sinks. I can tell from the way Lip Ring's looking at me that there were no text messages. He's here because I am.

I'm so focused on him—on keeping my cool and ignoring his smirk (it's deadly)—I barely notice when Brandon joins the scene, his eyes cold and locked on me.

"Already throwing yourself at a second Weaver brother, huh, Somers? Guess I shouldn't have expected you'd waste any time."

I turn my glare on Brandon as Jared grunts a low laugh. So they know about Seb. I wonder what story they've heard.

"You are that Lo, then," Jared says, grinning.

"I've known Somers for years, Weaver," Brandon drawls before I can speak. "Trust me, she's even more of a bitch than she is a slut. Not worth your time."

"Hey, come on now." Jared says, eyes lighting on me. "No need to be a dick. As of tonight, she's a Remington Eagle. We may as well welcome her to the family."

Brandon snorts. "Why bother? Family means fuck-all to Logan."

"Don't you dare," I snarl, starting to stand.

"Ott, chill." Jared puts a hand over mine, willing me to stay seated. "I don't know what kind of history you two have, but let's give the girl the benefit of the doubt. Far as I can tell, she's just an innocent newcomer."

"Is she?" Lip Ring speaks to me for the first time, raising his pierced eyebrow. My mouth goes dry. "Are you innocent, newcomer?"

I part my lips to retort, but my mind is blank; nothing's coming. Lip Ring watches me, waiting, and my teeth sink over my lower lip as I try to pull myself together.