Chapter 4

Shantelle’s POV

My whole body vibrated as I woke up. Something good was going to happen today. I could feel it down in my bones.

“Hey, doofus, get out of bed, or I am leaving without you!” my brother yelled.

I groaned. I am glad he is back, honestly. But I would sucker punch him if he kept yelling like that.

I got up from bed almost reluctantly. I was not a morning person, and his yelling did not make it any better.

My body thrummed with excitement. It couldn’t be because I had my brother back. It was something more profound than that.

“Shantelle!” my brother yelled.

I rolled my eyes. He was so impatient. I haven’t even picked out what to wear today. And knowing Reginald, he would make do with his threat.

“Will you fucking relax, jeez?!” I yelled back.

“Whatever.”

Despite my efforts to take my time, he damn near rushed me out of the house. I wasn’t comfortable with my outfit, but I had to suck it up.

Damn Reginald.

I watched him tap his fingers on the steering wheel as we waited for the stop light.

“Stop doing that. You are driving me crazy.”

“Sorry, just anxious to see that place.”

“I hope it doesn’t trigger you.”

“It won’t. I am all better now.”

“Good.”

“So, anything should I know about school?”

“No, nothing has changed except my reputation. I have no boyfriends, and I am not interested in anyone.”

That was not the truth. I had this off-and-on thing with Roman where we hooked up and scratched an itch, then went back to ignoring each other.

Okay, mostly me ignoring him when I am done.

“Your face tells me that’s a lie.”

“Are you psychic now?”

He chuckled. “No, I just think you wouldn’t have that faraway look on your face if you were not involved with someone.”

“I am not involved with anyone; it’s complicated.” I sighed.

“I don’t care about your love life. I was just curious to know what you have been up to since I have been gone.”

“I have kept my head down after the news brought our affairs out in public. I am the villain in their story.”

He sighed. “I am sorry. That must be tough.”

“It is, but it is in no way your fault. Our parents had a hand in this more than you did,” I convinced him.

He would blame himself for our shortcomings, but the truth is that my father’s illegal affairs did more harm to our family than Reggie’s. I grabbed his free hand and squeezed him, and he rewarded me with a smile.

“We are here,” I announced.

He let out a breath, turning off the engine.

“Let’s get this over with.”

“You will be fine, I promise.”

We got out of the car, and I grabbed my backpack. Reginald was not so lucky. I couldn’t warn him about the figure as it barreled into him.

“Reggie!” Keshon yelled.

I laughed at the look on Reginald’s face. “Release him, Keshon!”

“Sorry, I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he ruffled her hair.

She swatted him, and just like that, they were back to being enemies.

“Come on,” I urged them.

The three of us entered the hallway. The stares were instant. People abandoned their friends to stare at Reginald. He froze but regained his step. I knew it fazed him, but he just wanted to ignore it.

“I am going to my locker. Catch you later,” I told him.

Keshon and I headed to our lockers.

“Are we going to talk about what happened yesterday?”

“Nothing happened. I was just tired from all the yelling from Mrs. Moore.”

“Sure.” She didn’t believe me.

“Anyway, Reggie is back,” I stated the obvious.

“Yes, but that’s not important. We have a new student.”

“In the middle of a semester?” She nodded. “That’s not possible.” I shook my head.

“Your brother came back in the middle of a semester,” she pointed out.

“Touché, but in his defense, he just took a sabbatical,” I defended him.

“Fair enough.”

“His parents must be loaded for the school to take him in the middle of a session.”

“I guess so, but from the rumors flying around, he is hot,” she whispered.

“Hotter than Roman?” I asked.

“Hotter than Roman,” she confirmed.

“Shit!” I whistled.

“My point exactly anyway, gotta go. I have an early session with calculus.”

“See ya.”

My morning classes went well without a hitch, and everyone was talking about Reginald and the new boy. I hadn’t seen him but from the way they were talking about him, I knew everything.

Lunch came faster than I expected. I was looking forward to the fresh gossip. I shoved my things in my bag and rushed to the cafeteria. One of my books fell, and I bent to pick it up.

Only a hand got there before mine. I stood up to thank him, but my words got stuck.

Before me, I saw something more than a Greek god; he was carved out of granite. His eyes seared into my soul, and I felt my body shudder involuntarily. It held secrets that I wanted to uncover and I was going to.

“T…thank you.”

I cursed my voice for coming out weak, “You are welcome.”

I tossed the book into my bag, “You are the new guy.”

“My name is Seven, nice to meet you.”

“Shantelle.”

“Beautiful name, Shantelle.”

I felt the blush spread to my neck. “Thank you. Seven is not bad either.”

He smirked, and his eyes trailed down my body. He didn’t need to pretend like he wasn’t checking me out.

I used that opportunity to check him out. He looks like the type to spend his weekend in a gym. How else would he have gotten this kind of body?

God! The things I could do to this boy, except he wasn’t a boy. He was a man.

“See you around, Shantelle.” His voice interrupted my thoughts.

“I guess. See ya.”