Page 6 of Brutal King

“You’re kidding, right?”

I shook my head.

“He’s one of Chef Errol King’s three sons... twins.”

“Oh, geesh,” she let out. “And here he is looking at me as I’m sure he would a pile of trash.”

“He does have that air of arrogance, doesn’t he.” I looked at him as he stared at Layla.

He certainly had grown even hotter since I’d last seen him. He was tall, easily over six feet, and his crisp blue shirt didn’t do much to hide his muscular physique. Axel and Kobe had always been good-looking when we were kids, but now... Axel had grown to be stunning like a Greek god.

“How do you know him?” Layla said.

“His brother,” I said. “Kobe King. We hung out together back in middle school.”

“Really? Is he as cold and arrogant as that guy is?”

“No. Not at all. They may look alike, that is as much as fraternal twins can. But Axel was always a little more... standoffish. But he was still a real nice kid back then. Then again, I haven’t seen either of them in a long while, so I don’t know what type of young men they turned into.”

Truth was, Kobe had cut ties with me, ghosted me, iced me out. There was just no talking to him once camp ended. It was like I didn’t exist to him.

“What sort of camp did you go to?” Layla said.

“Culinary,” I said with a forced smile. “What else?”

I swallowed the sudden lump of discomfort that had lodged in my throat. Kobe. I’d stopped thinking about him. It had taken a while, but I had finally stopped wondering why he wouldn’t call back, why he didn’t respond to my texts and why he suddenly wanted nothing to do with me after camp. It was the first time, perhaps the only time, anyone had ever treated me like that.

I bristled even thinking about it.

But now, seeing him at the academy was inevitable. If Axel was here so would Kobe. They were almost inseparable. Butterflies took over my stomach and for a second, I thought I’d throw up. I had to find a way to calm my nerves.

“You okay?” Layla asked. “You looked like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“You could say that,” I said.

You have Axel staring ominously at you and I’m nervous as all hell about running into Kobe. What could go wrong?

Chapter 2

Iglanced repeatedly at Axel wondering what was he up to. He walked behind each registration table, chatting briefly with campus personnel and looked over the heads of the students there to register. He’d always been a little cold and aloof, but now... now there was a whole new level of frigidness about him.

The way he had his hands clasped behind him, like a stern schoolmaster, an unrelenting cruel one, gave me warning vibes. Instead of getting the warm fuzzies, I felt coldness. Not at all the kind of feels I expected from seeing an old friend or even an acquaintance.

Three students remained before it was our turn. With each step that we took closer to that registration table, the stonier Axel became.

“I can’t do this,” Layla said, her voice shaky. “Let’s change line.”

“That won’t do any good,” I countered. “He’s quite capable of wandering around back there, or haven’t you noticed.”

“Oh, what am I going to do? He’s the son of the owner of this school, and he looks like he hates me. I have no idea why.”

“Layla, you have nothing to worry about. You have a right to be here and whatever his problem is... well, it’s his problem.”

Two students remained.

“I come from a warm-hearted state where people say hello to one another. They say have a nice day and they smile and are helpful to their neighbors. I have never had anyone stare me down like this before.” Layla shivered. “It’s downright hostile.”

One student now stood between us and the registration table. Poor Layla. I could almost feel her shaking as she stood beside me.

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