5. Vaughan
CHAPTER 5
VAUGHAN
T hen: Three years ago
“Holy shit!” Thomas hollered beside me as I threw the sports car I was driving into reverse out of my driveway.
We’d just flown into the Hamptons that morning, and by we, I meant my parents and me. I fucking hated this pretentious town. It was way worse than any other city my parents owned real estate in, including my hometown in Massachusetts.
My family was top-tier when it came to the elites of the world, and anything I ever wanted, I had at the drop of a dime. Case in point was the brand-new Ferrari sitting in the custom garage, simply waiting for me to test-drive it.
“This baby has some power,” he added, chuckling.
Thomas and I had been friends since we were ten. His family also vacationed there, and we often got into trouble together. How else were we supposed to pass the time in this stuck-up town?
“Did you check out the rack on your new neighbor? Damn, I’d pay good money to see what was beneath that bikini top.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snapped.
The truth was, I was an asshole, and I owned it, making no excuses for it. There was no reason to deny it. I accepted that title a long time ago. I spoke my mind, and I didn’t sugarcoat shit. Whether it hurt someone’s feelings or not, that was their damn problem, not mine. Life was too damn short to pretend to be something I wasn’t.
My reputation followed me everywhere. I got more pussy thrown at me because of it. See, girls loved the bad boys. The ones they thought they could change, they wanted the challenge, the rule breaker, the game changer. The ones who fairy tales were made of and the happily ever afters when Prince Charming swept you off your feet, and you rode off into the sunset looking deeply into each other’s eyes or some shit like that.
It was bullshit.
Every last bit of it.
I did what every other nineteen-year-old guy would have, given the power I had with my last name. The only difference was that I wasn’t subtle about it at all.
Why hide it?
That was what got you in trouble.
End of story.
But having a stranger, a hot-as-fuck stranger, move in next to me wasn’t something I expected to happen. Yet there I was, lost in thought about her. Except I wasn’t thinking about her ridiculously curvy, petite frame that would usually have my cock standing at attention. It was the way she had the balls to look at me with such disdain from her driveway.
I was used to women glaring at me with hatred. However, it was usually after I fucked them and kicked them to the curb. It was what I excelled at.
Plain and simple.
She hadn’t even met me yet and was already judging me as if I were nothing more than a piece of shit. I wasn’t used to that, and it bothered me more than I cared to admit to him or myself.
Was my new kink about being a total sadist and wanting her to hate me for more than just existing?
Not that I didn’t enjoy watching her pouty pink lips pucker with her black hair lying perfectly against her perky tits in that tiny bikini. Despite our distance, her bright blue eyes still shined my way. Not once did she cower or lower her intense stare from mine as we took each other in for a few seconds.
Her honey-and-vanilla scent lingered in the air, assaulting my senses and every last fiber of my being. The girl was obviously a paradox of contradictions. Her demeanor screamed she hated me, but her body, her body liked me just fine. Which only made me want to get to know her that much more. I loved a challenge as much as the next guy.
“She got to you, didn’t she?” Thomas asked, pulling me away from my thoughts. “Well, I’ll be damned. I never thought I’d see the day. Someone got through to your icy prick?—”
“What part of shut the fuck up did you not understand?”
“Her name’s Tru,” he announced out of nowhere, sending fucking chills down my spine.
What sort of girl had that name, and why did it make me want to learn more about her?
“What?” I glanced at him, playing it cool by shifting into third gear as we made our way down the highway.
“You heard me.” He grinned like a damn fool. “Trudence Remy, to be exact, but according to Marie, people call her Tru.” He showed me his text message. “She’s sixteen and fresh meat, just the way you like them, asshole. She’s here from California. Maybe you could climb into her window tonight, and you guys could have a sleepover?”
The idea had merit, and I hated that I was tempted to fall right into his suggestion.
How did one girl get me to forget myself and all my summer goals?
“I get plenty of pussy on my own, which is more than I can say for you.”
“What can I say? I have high standards. I don't go around fucking everything with a hole. By the way, tell your mom I said hello.”
“Not before you tell your sister she's the best I've ever had, you sick son of a bitch.”
“Touché, motherfucker. Touché.”
Twenty minutes later, we pulled into a restaurant, and for the next hour, we shot the shit with random friends who all vacationed with their families in the Hamptons.
When I looked up, I never expected to see the girl I’d been thinking about all afternoon. I just stood there unknowingly, staring at her without realizing I was doing so. Which was entirely uncharacteristic for a guy like me. As if she felt my gaze from across the room, she unexpectedly turned toward me.
Our eyes once again tethered, and for a moment, I saw a certain vulnerability pass through her that I could feel deep within my core. However, it was gone just as quickly as it appeared. Whatever it was had me questioning my thoughts about her.
I was the first to break our stare before I approached her. My feet moved of their own accord like I was being yanked by a string. Once I was above her, I crouched on the balls of my feet, just a few inches from her face.
“You stalking me now?” I asked with a grin.
It was obvious she was resisting the urge to smile. “I’m not the one sitting at your feet, am I?”
My smile put my dimples prominently on display. My jaw clenched with a certain gleam in my eyes, amused with her banter.
“Well, sweetheart, so it seems I’m right where I belong.”
“Who’s the girl?” she blurted out of nowhere.
I grinned, realizing she referred to the chick sitting at our table, too close to comfort next to me.
I didn’t hesitate to call her out. “Jealous?”
“You wish, buddy. I’m not one of your play toys.”
“That you aren’t,” I replied with a hard edge.
“What do you want anyway?”
“Can’t a guy just say hello to a new friend?”
“We’re friends now? When did that happen? I can already tell that I don’t like you.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, calling her bluff. “That really hurts.” I smirked, holding my hand over my heart in a dramatic gesture that had yet to fail me.
“You’re full of it.”
“And you’re beautiful,” I asserted, not missing a beat.
“So this is how it works, huh? I don’t know if I should be offended or flattered that you’re already hitting on me.”
I chuckled, a throaty sound escaping my lips. “If I had to choose, I’d prefer the latter.”
“Well, thank God you aren’t, then.”
I slowly nodded. “Is this how you’re going to play it? Because I’m trying to be a gentleman here, but your sassy little mouth is making me think twice.”
“A gentleman?” She looked around, pretending to see if someone else was there. “You might want to look it up in a dictionary because you’re doing it all wrong.”
I tugged on the end of her hair before we were interrupted by Steve, a fucking dumbass who had no business trying to get in her panties. Thomas called me back over to our table, so I left her with him. It was all I could do.
For far too long, I had to sit there and endure his unsubtle longing looks for her. He devoured her body with his eyes, and his constant touches made me want to break his fucking fingers. He just wouldn’t stop, and I was minutes away from being the person to stop him.
Our eyes connected several times. It was like she was doing it to get a reaction out of me. I couldn’t be around them much longer before I snapped. Jealousy washed over me, and the new emotion wasn’t lost on me. This wasn’t who I was or even wanted to be. This wasn’t me, yet I liked the challenge of wanting something and not getting it.
I watched her get up and make her way across the room into the hallway. Once again, before I knew it, my feet were moving forward. I found myself following her as she made her way to the restroom. I was grateful it was secluded in the back of the restaurant as I waited for her to come out.
“You trying to piss me off, sweetheart?”
She gasped, placing her hand over her heart. “Jesus! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
I cocked an eyebrow, leaning against the wall with my arms folded over my chest. Her eyes followed my every move.
“No, just trying to make you scream any way I can.” I purposely licked my lips.
She shrugged. “That’s awfully pretentious of you.”
“Is that right?”
“Damn straight.”
I nodded, narrowing my eyes at her. “Well, allow me to be more forward.”
“By all means.” Her amused smile said it all.
“You sure you have time?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I pushed off the wall, walking toward her. “Oh, you know, your date is out there. I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.” I tugged on the ends of her hair. “Boy’s probably lost without your tits sitting in front of him.” Releasing her hair, I continued my assault, grazing her collarbone. “God knows he hasn’t been staring at anything else.”
She shoved my hand away. “You asshole!”
“Never claimed to be anything but.”
“I’m going to go now.”
“No one’s stopping you, Tru.”
Her eyes widened in shock, making her beautiful blues shine bright as they tore into mine.
“How do you know my name?”
I ignored her question. “If you really wanted to go, you would have already left.”
Her chest heaved. I was clearly getting to her.
“What you want and what you’re going to get are two different things.” I reached for the side of her face, and my knuckles caressed her cheek, tucking a misplaced hair behind her ear and causing her lips to part. “You want me to play by your rules.” I slowly moved my fingers to her mouth. “Watching you these past few hours is doing me no favors. I see the looks you’re throwing my way and how your pretty little mouth smirks every time you do.” With my thumb, I rubbed her bottom lip for a few seconds. She stirred, and I immediately took my hand away, slipping it into the pocket of my shorts. Making her miss my touch.
She cleared her throat, shaking her head. “What do you want?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Her eyebrows rose.
“Don’t dig, sweetheart, because you might not like what you find.”
She dramatically sighed as I backed away from her.
“The only obvious thing is how much I don’t like you, Vaughan.”
I smiled, big and wide.
“Looks like someone knows who I am too.”
She glared at me.
“By the way…”
I winked at her before I added…
“My friends call me Van.”