Chapter 14 #2
Going around to the front, I see his Range Rover in the driveway. I walk up to the front door and ring the bell.
The door swings open.
“What now?” he asks, annoyed, just like I predicted. This isn’t going to go well. This morning, I thought we might be able to be friends, but I think he was just being nice because of what I told him about my mom.
“Are you busy?” I ask, trying not to look below his face. He’s shirtless, and my eyes keep wanting to move down to look at his muscular chest and those chiseled abs.
“Had another fight with your uncle?” he asks, leaning against the door.
“No. I mean, yes, but that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then what is it? What do you need?”
“I need you to teach me to drive.”
Jackson slowly smiles. “You don’t know how to drive? Seriously?”
“Don’t make fun of me! People don’t drive in New York. Everyone knows that.”
“You didn’t have to take Driver’s Ed in school?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you get your uncle to teach you?”
“Because I hate him. And he’s never around. I’m sure he’ll be going back to his place in LA soon.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No, but Trystan said he never stays longer than a few days. Anyway, I need you to teach me.”
Jackson folds his arms over his chest. “And why would I do this?”
“To help out your neighbor.”
“You’re almost a mile away. That’s not really a neighbor.”
“Close enough. I wouldn’t need many lessons. I’m a fast learner. I just need to know the basics.”
“You have to pass a test to get a license.”
“Yeah, I know all that. I’m not asking you to help me pass the written part. Just the driving part.”
“Why don’t you get your cousins to do it?”
“Are you kidding? They hate me. They don’t even want me here. They think I’m going to go to their school and ruin their popularity.”
He chuckles. “I didn’t think about that.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” He smiles. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“What? What’s the deal?”
“You don’t like Braden, right?”
“No. I think he’s an ass. So is Trystan, but Braden’s worse. He’s rude. Arrogant. Thinks he’s better than everyone. And I found out today he gets special treatment from the teachers and principal because he’s good at football. I can’t stand guys like him.”
“What kind of special treatment?” Jackson asks. “Like fixing his grades?”
“I don’t know about that, but the way the principal talked about him, you’d think Braden was a model student. There’s no way that’s true. The principal just forgives whatever Braden does because he wins on the football field.”
“He doesn’t always win,” Jackson says with a smirk.
“So what’s the deal you want to make? If it’s money, I’ll need a ride to an ATM.”
“I don’t want money.”
“Then what do you want?”
“You.”
I take a step back. “Me? You want me to have sex with you?” I turn and storm off. “Forget I even asked!”
“Rumor, wait!” He comes up behind me. “That’s not what I meant.”
I turn around. “Then what did you mean? Because saying you want me usually only means one thing. And if that’s what you want then—”
“It’s not. Come inside and we’ll talk.”
“Talk, as in actually talk?” I ask, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Yes. I’ll even put a shirt on so it’s perfectly clear I only want to talk.”
“Fine,” I say, going past him, although I wouldn’t mind if he left the shirt off.
We go inside, and I wait while he goes to his room.
He comes back wearing a white muscle shirt that shows off his arms. It’s almost as distracting as when he was shirtless.
I love the curve in his muscles. The definition in his arms and shoulders.
Why am I suddenly so attracted to a guy like this when my boyfriend looks nothing like him?
“So what is it?” I ask, sitting on the couch. “What’s the deal?”
“I want to take him down,” Jackson says.
“Who? Braden?”
“He’s a little shit who thinks he knows everything and uses people, then tosses them aside.”
“How do you know him so well?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Jackson sits beside me, and I get a whiff of his cologne. Damn, he smells good. I used to beg Axl to wear cologne, but he wouldn’t do it. He said it gave him a headache.
“What do you mean by take him down?”
He smiles. “You come from a family of actors.”
“Yeah? So?”
“I want you to act. Put on a performance.”
“Performance? What are you talking about?”
“You need to fit in. Do the opposite of what you’d normally do. Act like you belong there.”
“You want me to act like some rich snob? Follow their rules? No way! I’m not doing that.” I get up, but he pulls me back down.
“Just hear me out. I get that you’re not someone who follows the rules. I’m not either. You and I aren’t conformists.”
“I never have been. I don’t go along with something because I’m told to, or because it’s popular.”
“Same here. But you don’t have a choice at Twisted Pine. You do what they tell you, and if you don’t, you’re either kicked out or punished.”
“I’d love it if they kicked me out.”
“But they won’t because your uncle is paying tuition for three kids. That’s a lot of money. And he’s a celebrity. They love celebrities. They can’t risk pissing off Brock Halliway.”
“So you’re saying I’m stuck there?”
“Yeah, so you might as well make the best of it.”
“Just get to the deal. What do I have to do to get you to teach me to drive?”
“People will try to be friends with you because of Braden and Trystan. Guys will want to date you.”
“I’m not dating them.”
“You don’t have to. But you need to be in their group.”
“You want me to pretend to be friends with the guys Braden hangs out with?”
“Not just the guys but the girls. You need to be in his inner circle.”
“Why would I do that? I hate him. And if his friends are like him, I’ll hate them too.”
“But by being one of them, you’ll get dirt on them. Dirt you can use to take down Braden.”
“I don’t care about taking him down. I’d rather just stay away from him and pretend I don’t know him.”
“Which will make your life hell. Trust me on this. You don’t want to go against Braden, at least not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll make yourself the enemy.
Everyone — teachers included — expects Braden to take the team to State.
If he does, it’ll get the attention of all the rich LA kids wanting to play football at a top school.
They’ll beg their parents to send them to Twisted Pine, which will get the school the attention and respect they’ve always wanted, and get them closer to their plan to expand and build a school in LA. ”
“Braden doesn’t have that kind of power. He’s not the only player on the team.”
“They can’t win without him. Actually they can, but nobody thinks they can. He’s convinced them he’s the reason they win.” Jackson leans closer to me. “If you do this — if you get in his inner circle — you’ll benefit too.”
“How?”
“Your life will be a hell of a lot easier. You miss an assignment in class? The teacher pretends she didn’t notice and gives you an A.”
“They wouldn’t do that. Maybe for Braden but not for me.”
“If he tells them to they will.”
I shake my head. “This is stupid. I’m not doing this. I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not.”
“Then you’re going to have a shitty year.
You don’t know these people. They may look all prim and proper, but they can do some twisted shit if they don’t like you.
I used to think that’s how they got their name, from all the twisted shit that goes on there.
But if you don’t believe me, then just forget it.
” He leans back, putting his arm up on the couch.
“I’m sure there’s a Driver’s Ed class in town you could take. ”
“Wait. You still haven’t told me the deal. You want me to get close to Braden and his friends and then what?” I eye Jackson. “What are you getting out of this?”
“Agree to do it and I’ll tell you.”
“Tell me first. What does this have to do with you?”
He hesitates, like he’s not going to tell me.
I get up from the couch. “I’ll see ya later.”
“I don’t want him to win,” Jackson blurts out.
I roll my eyes as I sit down. “So this is about football? You’re doing this so you can win more games than him?”
“This isn’t about me. It’s bigger than that.”
“Meaning what?”
“This is about making sure Twisted Pine doesn’t get what they want. It’s bad enough the school even exists, but having it expand? Giving it even more power? More money? It can’t happen.”
“Why do you care? You don’t even go there.”
“No.” He pauses. “But I used to.”