Page 2 of Hostile Exchange
Well… shit. I guess I can’t kickhisass. UGH! How is it that I’m still losing to that asshole? I guess if I can’t kick his ass, I can at least ruin his life. The smile that grows at that idea is downright demonic.
Yeah, ruining his life sounds fair, especially since he’s spent the last three and a half years ruining mine. Hmmmm…but where to start? What does Reese love most? Football? Nah. Everyone knows he only does that to make his dad proud. Kenzie? She can’t mean that much to him when he cheats on her at least once a month, if the rumors are to be believed. That fancy car of his? Daddy dearest will just replace it. No siblings. No job. Jesus Christ, this shouldn’t be this hard.
Like a sledgehammer to the face, it finally hits me. Reese would be absolutely nothing without his little cult following. Right now, he’s the king of Harrington U, but when I’m done with him, he’ll be a “where are they now” special. Standing in the bathroom, I scowl at the mirror. Yeah… Operation Reese Is In Pieces is definitely on, as soon as class starts.
Reese
Groaning, I roll over. Suddenly my body is in free fall, and I hit the floor with a jarring thud, biting my tongue in the process.
“What the fuck?” I’m staring at a ceiling I don’t recognize, and my head is spinning. What did Kenzie get us into last night? Slowly, I sit up and take in my surroundings. The room is a disaster. There are clothes lying everywhere. Shitty band posters cover the walls. The bed I toppled out of is a tiny little twin with threadbare sheets.Where the fuck am I?
I scramble to my feet and thank the party gods that my stomach doesn’t decide to redistribute last night’s dinner. I trip over a shoe on my way to the door, but manage to right myself before I fall. As I reach out to grasp the doorknob, something on my wrist catches my eye. It’s a black leather bracelet. Lost in thought about where I would have gotten the bracelet, it takes me a minute to realize that something is off about my arm.Why am I so pale? When did my arm get so skinny? What is going on?
Wrenching the door open, I almost run into some kid. She looks like she might be ten. She’s stick thin with dark raven hair and blue eyes that hide behind her glasses. I’m not sure why, but she looks almost familiar. “Sorry. I’m in a bit of a hurry. Where’s the bathroom, kid?”
The girl gives me a funny look, before pointing over her shoulder. She starts to speak, but I brush past her before she gets a single word out. My bladder is screaming. I bust through the door the girl pointed out, but come to a halt when I see someone in my peripheral.
“My bad, dude. I thought it was empty.” I turn to the guy, and realize I’m looking at Evan Matthews. We both snarl at each other at the same time. This guy has been the absolute bane of my existence since freshman year. I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but he starts to speak as well. I stop. He stops. “Ok. Seriously, can yo—” How can we be saying the exact same thing at the exact same time? I start to turn, thinking if I just let him finish he won’t be too long, but he moves with me. It’s then that I take in more of my surroundings.
There is a sink between us. Evan is surrounded by gaudy ass frame straight out of the 70s. When I tilt my head, he mirrors my action. I look down at my body. Gone is my 6’2” 210 pound frame. No more golden skin with a light dusting of blonde hair. Abs? Not a cut in sight. Instead, I find myself looking at a slender body, with skin as pale as a ghost. I glance back up, and see confusion written across Evan’s face. I would never call myself stupid, but it takes my brain a long freaking time to register that I am looking at a mirror. I am not proud of the sound that leaves my body, but my shame is lost to the blackness creeping into my vision, as the floor races towards my face.
Chapter Three
Evan
Leaning against the wall outside the student union, I glower at everyone who meets my eye. I don’t have time to play mister cool and popular. I need to find MY FUCKING BODY and figure out what the fuck Reese did that made us end up in some stupid ass movie plot. When I… er… Reese finally makes an appearance, I shove off the wall and head towards me. Him.Fuck, this is confusing.
The shellshocked look on Reese’s face disappears when his eyes land on me. A look of pure hatred takes over.The feeling is mutual, pal.I stomp over to him and grab a handful of his shirt, grateful that he isn’t wearing one of my favorites. “We need to talk, asshole,” I growl out.
“Obviously. Now remove your hands, before I make you regret it.”
“How are you gonna manage that?” I sneer out. “You don’t have all that muscle to hide behind anymore.”
The smirk he gives me makes me nervous, not that I’d ever admit that. “You know, on my way out the door, Nataliereminded me that she had her band audition today. She said something about needing to be picked up late.”
“You wouldn’t dare abandon a kid just to piss me off.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
I knew he was a grade A douche, but I didn’t think he would sink low enough to bring my little sister into our feud. He deserves everything I have planned for him. I’m gonna make it fucking hurt. Until then, I release him. He smooths down the front of his shirt, looking like the cat that ate the canary.Just you wait, Kensington. You won’t be looking so smug for long.
“Fine,” I grit out between my clenched teeth. “Where would you like to talk?”
“Meet me in the concert hall at lunch. Professor Taylor always goes out to eat on Fridays. Nobody will be in there.”
I nod and then spin around on my heel, intending to head towards Reese’s first class, but seeing Kenzie a few yards away changes my mind. I plan to ruin his life, but maybe I should piss him off first. “Kenz,” I shout loud enough for the whole quad to hear. Her eyes light up when she finds me in the crowd. Over my shoulder, I hear Reese grumbling something about how I “better fucking not,” but I ignore him. I’ve got a blonde bombshell running straight for me. She jumps and I catch her, spinning her around. When I put her back down, I’m now facing Reese. Lucky me. I’ve got a front row seat to the rage that spreads across his face, and my eyes never leave his as I kiss his girl senseless. While it turns out that kissing a girl isn’t as bad as I’d once imagined, it’s the fire dancing in Reese’s eyes that has me rock hard right now.
“Ready for class, babe?” Kenzie asks, already starting to walk around me.
“Sure. Lead the way.” I wink at Reese as I rearrange my dick. I turn to follow Kenzie, making sure I throw an arm around her neck and bury my nose in her hair. Her fruity scent is way too sweet, and the erection I had going deflates immediately. Thank fuck. Now it’ll be easier to walk. I risk a quick glance over my shoulder back at Reese, who is still standing in the same spot, hands clenched at his side. Good. I hope he never forgets the sight of me and Kenzie. Four hours until lunch. Let’s see what else I can mess up in that time.
Reese
Of course he’d be late. Why wouldn’t he be? I stop pacing across the stage when the sound of the door opening reaches me. Looking up, I see myself standing at the end of a row of seats.Looking at myself from the outside will never not be weird.Evan rests his hip against one of the chairs and folds his arms across his chest, like being here is a major inconvenience for him. Well, too fucking bad. I need my body back, which means we’re stuck with each other for the time being.
“What took you so long? Classes ended 20 minutes ago, and I know for a fact it’s barely a five minute walk from my last class to here.” Evan shrugs.Shrugs… at me!I’m gonna beat the ever loving shit out of him when I’m back in my own body. “Seriously, dude, we need to figure this out, and you’re busy messing around?” An idea suddenly pops into my head, and I find myself squinting in suspicion. “Wait. Are you, like, trying to body snatch me or something?”
At my question, Evan rolls his eyes. “Of course that’s what you’d think. Look, I know you think you’re Mr. Perfect or whatever, but I hate you. No way I want to be stuck looking at your ugly mug in the mirror for the rest of my life. The money is nice though.” The smirk he aims at me makes me want to grab him and pull him close.Wait. What? I just need him in punching distance. That’s all. What other reason would I have for wanting him close?
