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“Move out of my way, Daxon.” I can feel the heat in my cheeks as I stare at him, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m pissed he won’t let me through or because of how I felt when he pushed me up against the wall yesterday. I’ll pretend it wasn’t the pushing me against the wall part.
The heat from his body when it touched mine, I could’ve melted on the spot just from that touch. Except I’ll never admit that out loud. Ever. And I’ll be going out of my way to avoid him touching me at all costs.
“Can’t I ask how you’re doing? I’m just trying to be nice.” His eyes look me up and down.
That earns a loud laugh from me. “There’s not a nice bone in your body, Daxon. Go kick rocks.”
“So feisty all the time. Hey, while I have you, I’ve got a question to ask you.” He crosses his arms over his chest, and all that does is accentuate his already pronounced muscular arms. I bite my lip and try to control the urge to moan over the sight.
“Actually, I have a question for you.” I hike my bookbag on my shoulder, readjusting it and its weight. “Where’s my necklace? Because if I have to, I’ll tear this place apart looking for it, so just hand it over.”
“What necklace?” Confusion comes over him as he pulls his brows together. Even Colton stops what he’s doing and looks up at me with the same facial expression.
“My necklace that your minions stole out of my gym locker when they decided to put the itching powder on my clothes.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“Spitfire, I don’t mean this meanly. Well, actually I may.” He stops and laughs. “No one wants your shitty necklace.”
My stomach does somersaults as the possibility that I lost it becomes more my reality. But I know I had it when I walked into the locker room. I shake my head and lock my eyes in on Daxon. “Fine. Whatever. So, what was your question, Emerson?” I sigh.
His eyes sparkle in excitement, and he hums for a moment. “Does the carpet match the drapes?”
I scoff and push past him as he and Colt laugh at their little joke. Without turning around I flip him off and walk inside, heading towards the office.
I reach back to pull my phone out of my bag as I head down the hall, and my shoulder bumps into something solid, and I start to fall. Giant hands grab ahold of me and help me to steady myself. I look up and see the giant hands are attached to a very good looking guy.
His blond hair is short on top and shaved on the sides. His shoulders are broad, and he barely fits into his blazer. His jaw is sharp, and his smile is blinding. His blue eyes pierce through me and keep me stunned. I’m sure if he turned around right now, his ass would be just as amazing as the rest of him.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.” His voice is relaxing, smooth. There’s a weird calmness I get from it. Entranced by his entire body package, I suddenly realize that he is still holding on to me.
“Sorry, I should have paid better attention to where I was walking,” I say as he slowly lets go of me.
“It’s all right. You looked like you were on a mission.” He smiles at me, adjusting his bag that’s hanging over his shoulder. I’m not sure if I should run the other way or engage him. He’s nice. It’s a strange thing here.
“Um, yeah, I was. I mean, I am. Apparently, there are lockers in this place, and the office failed to mention to me that I had one.” I wave my hand in the air towards where the office is.
“Oh! You’re the new girl. The one that was brought here on scholarship. I’m Chad Oliver.” He holds out his hand for me to shake. I meet his hand and greet him. All right, so he definitely isn’t like the others. Interesting.
“Yep. That would be me. Phoenix Hayes. Guess I’m just the talk of the town.” I start to turn my head towards the other students walking around us, trying to avoid contact with another person who only sees me as that “new student”.
“Well, no. It’s just if you were a freshman, they do all that during orientation. Since you didn’t get one, they probably forgot to include it because you keep the same locker all four years. Also, my mother is on the board. I had overheard her talk about the rare acceptance into Darkwood.” He lifts his shoulders and tilts his head slightly to the side.
“Oh. Sorry. This, uh, this place is just a lot. I didn’t mean to assume.”
“Don’t worry about. I get it. New school, new people, the whole hierarchy situation, it really is a lot. But look, I need to get to class, and you need to chew out Ms. Hodgens. If you ever need help with anything, just look me up. I’d be glad to help you around the campus or with whatever you need.” He gives me a soft smile.
“Yeah, thanks. Nice to meet you, Chad.”
He continues on the path he was one before I collided with him, and I burst through the door of the office.
“How can we help you, Ms. Hayes?” Ms. Hodgens looks up from her computer screen with her lips pressed together.
“So apparently, somewhere out there in Darkwood Land, there’s a locker with my name on it. Problem is, no one told me I had one. So, can you be a dear and tell me where my locker is? These fucking books are really starting to become a pain in the ass to carry.”
“Language. It was in your packet,” she bites back, turning her attention back to the screen.
“Do you honestly think I would be here if it was? Do you not think I checked there first? So just tell me where it is.”
She taps her finger on the desk and then sighs. She moves her hands across the keyboard and grabs a sticky note.