Page 48 of Meant to Be

My cheeks colour at the clear sign of his attention on Elise and his blatant insult to the rest of us.

Nick sighs, leaning back in his seat. “Bugger off, Brennon.”

Brennon’s smirk widens. “Hey there, Nicky.”

He tussles Nick’s hair, and Nick’s nostrils flare as he swats his hand away.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” I roll my eyes.

Elise flashes me a warning look, but I ignore her. Brennon’s beady eyes flicker to me, and he makes a sound mixed between a scoff and a laugh.

“Just saying hi to my fellow school peers,” Brennon replies, rolling the wedge between his fingertips before he flicks it towards John. It hits his face, and he flinches.

My jaw clenches, and I glare at the table as they move to find their own booth.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” I mutter, lightly pushing on Nick.

He grunts and slides across the seat, letting me out. I stalk towards the bathroom and lean on the sink, staring at my reflection. I hate everything about myself. My skin, my hair, my body. I want to change all of it.

Blowing out a breath, I rinse my hands and adjust my ponytail before heading back outside. With my head down, I don’t see anyone there. I bump painfully into them and stagger back. Warm hands settle on my waist, and I drag my eyes to meet Harley’s.

“Hey there, sweetheart.” He smirks, his tongue playing with his lip ring.

I recoil, my heart somersaulting in my chest. His eyes travel over my bare thighs before inching up my torso.

“You don’t have to be such an asshole, you know,” I spit at him.

Harley tilts his head to the side, staring at me curiously. “Have I ever mistreated you?”

I blink up at him as I think. Well. No. He hasn’t. But Brennon has, and Harley has stood idly by, letting him.

“Asshole by association,” I grumble, folding my arms over my chest.

“I am,” he says. “An asshole,” he amends, seeing my frown. He walks over to me and lightly grazes my cheek with his finger as he pushes my hair back. “But not to you, sweetheart.”

His thumb circles over my cheek before he breezes past me and down the hall, leaving me trembling. He looks back at me as he slips behind the door.

Staring after him, I wait until I’m alone once more. Breathing heavily, I lean against the wall, wondering why the hell I liked that so much.