Page 14 of The Sweetest Cruelty: Hudson (A Sawyer Brothers Story #1)

Glancing over my shoulder towards the doors, I contemplated whether to go and check if Molly was still out in the hallway like Phoenix had said.

I suppress a yawn. I was so tired of their bullshit, but as I was about to push to my feet, Storm’s hand slid over my leg. “Do you want to hang out on Thursday after school? Daddy is staying in the city that night. So, it would just be the two of us.”

The atmosphere around the table switched from playful to not.

“I can’t; I have practice,” I replied. At least I hoped I did. Miller and Rutherford hadn’t threatened they’d bench me for the game while they’d chewed me out at our earlier meeting. Shit, at this rate I would be lucky to make it to the weekend let alone the play offs.

“You could miss practice. How about a few drinks in the hot tub, like old times? I know where Daddy keeps the key to the wine cellar now. And if today is anything to go by, you need to loosen up. I can help you with that,” she purred seductively.

I could tell from his body language that one of my boys was pissed. So, I shot her down and changed the subject.

“Sorry, but it’s a no, Storm. Oh, and Reed, I need a lift on Friday.”

“Why?” he batted back, clearly annoyed.

“My truck is in the shop,” I replied with a belch, banging my fist against my chest.

“Again? Bummer.” My brother smirked before nudging Micah and adding, “That’s Ford for you. Pieces of shit.”

“Suck dick,” I shot back with more aggression than I intended, flipping them both off.

Reed could be such a dickwad. Yes, my Ranger wasn’t the latest model, but she was my pride and joy.

I had bought her as soon as I’d gotten my driver’s license.

I’d been working shifts around my schooling at the local docks shovelling fish guts since I was fifteen.

The car was how I spent my savings. Ma paid for half of Reed’s Jeep, sponging jerk-off.

“At least I bought my car myself, freeloading little shit,” I added. What could I say, he’d hit a sore spot. The guy hadn’t earned a dime in all the time I’d known him. The fact that he got away with so much shit on the field also added to my mood .

My could-do-no-wrong brother held up his hands with a mocking affront. “Fuck me, I’m only saying it how it is. Don’t get your pantyhose in a twist. Are you sure you’re not on the rag?” Reed chuckled, the annoying prick.

Before I could deliver another snappy comeback, Storm continued to climb up my ass for some weird reason.

“I can give you a lift, baby,” she piped up, nudging her shoulder against mine.

What the fuck? Storm had turned up the heat and was in full-on flirt mode. You had to be careful with girls on the cheer squad, they could be as clingy as fuck. Cheerleaders were Jersey Chasers and the type of species who would poke holes in the condom.

Snorting and shaking his head with restrained temper, Reed emphasised. “I thought you’d got the message that my brother wants nothing to do with you, teacup?” He then discarded the last part of my hot dog with a look of distaste. That was a surprise; Reed never left food.

Storm bristled, squeezing my thigh, before moving closer towards me. We all knew she hated Reed’s nickname for her, teacup… as in Storm in a teacup.

“It’s none of your business Reed, so butt out,” Storm snapped turning to stare up at me with a sultry smile.

Reed exhaled moodily, shoving to his feet, all traces of humor gone. “I’m done with this shit. I’ll see you dicks later.”

As soon as he showed us his back, Storm let go of my leg and stared down into her ratty salad, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

What. The. Fuck?

“Is something going on with you and Reed?” I asked Storm, dropping my hands and cracking my fingers under the table.

Storm’s eyes flashed toward mine as she pushed to her feet, fluffing her hair. “He wishes,” she huffed. “I’ll save you a seat in Beaker's class. I need to check on Mary-Ann .”

“What do you mean, check on her? You don’t care about anyone other than yourself,” Phoenix pointed out nastily.

“Oh, I’m not showing her around for the good of my heart. I need all the extra credit I can get. ”

I didn’t even register that she’d explained she needed to find Miller’s kid until after she’d left the table. Storm had signed up for the Buddy Scheme, a programme where students volunteered to show newbies around the campus.

I watched her leave and then refocused on Micah and Nix.

“Something to tell me?” I questioned with an arched brow, examining them cooly.

My two brothers exchanged a glance, and then Micah said. “I was going to say, I doubt Reed would be interested in any place your dick has been, but after that display of jealousy, I stand corrected.”

Storm’s comment about Micah came back to me. “What did Storm mean about you inhaling your food?” I had an idea about what she was insinuating and if I found out he was indulging in anything other than the occasional blunt, I would hand him his asshole.

A mixture of emotions crossed his features before he masked them and shrugged.

“I eat fast?”

“Really? And that’s it?”

My brother looked uncomfortable and shrugged. “I don’t know. Fuck knows what that bitch was rambling about.”

My brother’s attention was on something that made his entire expression change. I knew that look. Micah was transparent when it came to singling out a nice piece of ass.

“Fuck me, there she is. Pass me the fire extinguisher because my dick is on fire.”

I glanced over my shoulder towards where he was looking, and my heart dropped to the floor.

There she stood, in all her sweet glory, at fucking last. Just Molly.

My breath felt trapped, almost like it did after a particularly rough tackle.

“There she is. I still don’t see any stick,” Phoenix chirped, rubbing his knuckles over his cheekbones. Like mine, they were scarred and gnarly, proof of his tough childhood.

Micah’s brow furrowed. “Stick?”

“The one up her ass. Surely, she has one. Her old man does,” he said in an oddly satisfied voice. I wasn’t worried as I knew they were wrong.

They were looking at Molly, my Molly. I twisted back, stating, “Everyone, relax. That isn’t Miller’s kid. I met her this morning. She’s cool,” I stated, playing it down. My heart was racing in my chest, knowing that she was in the same room as me .

“She’s more than cool. She’s hotter than the sun, bro. And believe me. That’s Miller’s kid,” Micah replied with a leery grin.

I speared him with a look, a dart of jealousy shooting through me at the thought of him staring at my Molly like that.

My Molly, the thought was ridiculous. How could she be mine when we’d had one fucking conversation.

Doubt trickled into the normal part of my brain as I turned away, “That can’t be Miller’s daughter.”

“Why would you doubt me, bro?” Micah countered, looking puzzled.

Managing to stop myself from stuttering, I added. “She told me her name was Molly. Plus, she looks fuck all like Miller. She’s tiny and he’s huge, plus their coloring isn’t the same.”

“She probably takes after her mother,” Reed suggested.

I was starting to panic at the thought that the girl I had met that morning and Miller’s kid were the same person. Shit.

I also hated how Micah and Reed were checking her out. When I met her in the library, I had no idea that I might need to murder my brothers over her. We never fought over girls, ever. Bros before hoes was our mantra.

But I was missing the point. If Molly was the principal’s daughter, she was now off-limits to all of us.

“Her name is Mary-Ann, but she goes by Molly,” Micah stated, so sure of himself. “I remember now. That’s what she said this morning in the hallway.”

And that bubble I had been in all morning burst.

Fuck!

I slowly lifted my chin and whipped my neck around, strategically keeping my head low.

My eyes levelled on her stunning face and at that point, I was fucked (again). That phenomenon of having strong feelings about this girl when our eyes met that morning came swooping back.

Blinking at her in surprise, I checked her out. She was standing with Storm. They were talking, their expressions animated. Molly appeared nervous and slightly flushed. But not a hair was out of place. It should be a criminal offence to look that sweet.

Anger crashed into my chest, and I gripped the edge of the table hard .

All the guys in her vicinity were staring, yet she just stood there, oblivious to how much attention she was getting.

A group of junior boys walked by her, and I watched Molly’s posture stiffen as one whispered something in her ear before heading toward the lunch queue.

What the fuck did he say? From the color of her cheeks, inappropriate would be my guess.

Jealousy flared as I saw Josh Sanderson sitting on a table behind us, blatantly ogling her.

Cocksucker. He was a dirty player on and off the field and the desire to fuck up the other side of his pretty boy face fizzed through me.

He evidently needed his jaw breaking. I found it amusing how his girlfriend sat half over his lap, glaring towards the female who had her boy’s attention, yet he appeared none the wiser.

Why she put up with his shit was anyone’s guess, the dude was a bag of dicks on a good day.

Tate’s on-and-off boyfriend, Cash Ryan, was also staring at Molly like he wanted to get his dick wet—faithless bastard.

Don’t get me wrong, I could put it about a bit, but girls knew the score before they started anything with me.

I hated cheaters. It was probably one of the reasons I’d never had a proper girlfriend.

Why put unnecessary pressure on yourself?

I scrunched my eyes together and wiggled my jaw, trying to get some feeling back into my face.

Yep, there was no doubt about it, little Molly Miller was going to shake things up for both sexes at Harbor Heights.

How could someone be so physically alluring yet have that untouched vibe?

Because she’s the principal’s pristine, stuck-up kid.

I wondered how it would feel to loosen her up in bed.