Page 10 of Cocky Prince
Cali taps her chin and licks her lips, as if Adam is a piece of bacon she wants to take a bite out of. “Sexy in a preppy, athletic sort of way?” she suggests.
Sheisin love with Jaeger, right?
“Well, yes,” Mira says. “But Adam is—”
I ball my fists, my short nails digging into my palms. “Infuriating. Superior. Spoiled.” Mira, Nessa, and Cali look over, and I gulp back the rest of my margarita until the straw makes a loud vacuum sound. “No offense. I know he’s your friend.” I hold my drink away from my chest. “Is there any more of this?”
“Yeah.” Nessa snaps out of her daze and hurries to the half-filled pitcher on the counter. I follow her, avoiding eye contact with Adam, but he doesn’t get the memo. He steps around Jaeger, right in my path.
“So, Hayden, nice cocktail yoke you got there.” His eyes are smiling, even if his mouth isn’t.
Cocktail yoke? He knows the technical term?
It’s funny. And that alone pisses me off. How dare he disarm me when I want to be armed and ready to fire back?
I finger the contraption. “It’s convenient.” I’m so pissed at this guy, and angry at my boss at work, but I’m wearing a cocktail yoke, and even I see the humor in the situation. I press my lips together to hide my thoughts, but the smile must leak through, because Adam smiles too.
I’ve seen Adam smirk, flirt, and swagger, but I have yet to witness a genuine smile. He devastated my equilibriumwithoutit. With it, the effect hits much deeper.
I let out a slow breath and allow the grin to overtake my face, but only for a moment. “Don’t think this means we’re friends.”
The smirk returns. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, Hayden.”
I hate the way he says my name. Condescending and sexy at the same time. I was just having fun with Mira and the others. But I can’t return to Zach and Nessa’s if Adam is a part of the package. There’s no way I want to be friends with him. “Nessa and Mira invited me tonight. I didn’t realize you were a regular.”
Adam runs his hand through his dark brown hair, longer at the top than on the sides. He glances at the others. “Zach’s a good guy. I started hanging out with him more these last couple of years. Now we work together at Blue…” He shrugs one shoulder. “What can I say? Tahoe is a small world.”
He’s mimicking my thoughts now? “Small world indeed.”
Adam lifts his eyebrow. “Are you agreeing with me? Because I wouldn’t mind you agreeing with me for once.” He grins, and thankfully, this one is all swagger.
I shake my head and gesture to Jaeger. “We used to know each other. Way back when.”
I always wondered if Adam recognized me when he first started at Blue. Based on his blank expression, that would be a no.
When will I learn? Guys like Adam don’t remember girls like me, let alone defend them.
His face goes still, his eyes delving a bit. He shoves a hand in his pocket and swirls the beer in his other hand. “Way back?”
I roll my eyes, appreciating the light buzz that’s allowing this conversation to take place with minimal discomfort. I returned to Lake Tahoe to confront my past; there’s no point in running from it now. My new friends should know about my past. And Adam should know his part…
“Jaeger was my boyfriend in high school—when I was a sophomore and accused of sleeping with a teacher. I’m the girl you told him to dump.”
Chapter Four
Okay, that was blunt, but I’m tired of hiding my past. I ran from Lake Tahoe to get away from the rumors. They made me feel weak and helpless. I’m not that helpless sixteen-year-old anymore. And Adam should know what he did.
He chokes on his beer, the room suddenly going quiet.
Mira walks over, her voice gentle. “Hayden, you werethatBeth? Beth Tate…” Her voice trails off as though she’s putting two and two together.
Of course Mira heard the rumor about the teacher and me, even if I didn’t know her in high school. Most people had heard it. “Yes.”
“She didn’t do it.” Jaeger’s expression is stern. He’s stepped closer, obviously having picked up the conversation.
Somehow, Jaeger’s public support of me, even in an informal setting, has the waterworks building behind my eyes. I push them back and move on. “No one believed me. And neither did Jaeger at the time. Though I’ve forgiven him for it.” Jaeger glances away, as if ashamed, and Adam has a strange look on his face.
“Long story short,” I say to everyone, because they’re all listening now, and I don’t want there to be secrets, “the teacher resigned, I fled Lake Tahoe, and now I’m back. Eleven years later. All’s well.” I grab a handful of chips and pop one in my mouth, focusing on the bite of the salt on my lips.
