Hate me

10th grade

Knox

Anger boils my blood as I watch them in the empty classroom. 

Aspen’s pointing to something in a textbook, attempting to teach Ken Ruckman—an offensive lineman on the football team—how to do math during her lunch period. 

But the dumbass is too busy focusing on her. 

My hands clench into fists when he leans in way too fucking close for my liking. “Sorry, it’s still not making any sense.” 

Aspen looks up. “Oh.” She digs her teeth—teeth that now have braces on them—into her bottom lip. “Let’s try a different approach.” 

Gri

Irritation crawls up the back of my neck. 

Every guy at school knew to stay the fuck away from Aspen. 

Not because I was jealous. 

But because ruining her life was the only thing that brought me any kind of satisfaction. 

And right now, she was a budding flower that needed to be plucked from the dirt before it could blossom. 

“Um.” A pink blush stains her cheeks as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I mean, I guess I could.” 

The douchebag grins. “Great.” His gaze drops to her chest. “Maybe after we can watch a movie and hang out?” 

Over my dead fucking body.

Aspen

Oh. My. God. 

Was Ken Ruckman flirting with me? 

Holy crap. I’ve had the biggest crush on him ever since last year when he recovered a fumble and saved the game against the Vikings. 

And now he’s asking me to tutor him at his house and watch movies.

I want to pinch myself to make sure this is actually happening because I’m not the kind of girl football players ask out on dates. 

I’m the kind of girl they avoid.  

 “Sure.” My cheeks heat, and I’m positive I must be blushing. “That would be—”

Words get trapped in my throat the moment I see him…looming over us like a dark storm cloud. 

Instantly, my heart pounds with dread. 

Trenton Knox—or just Knox, as everyone calls him—is the bane of my existence. 

Not only did he go out of his way to make my life a living hell every day…he made sure I was a social pariah who had no friends. 

I should have known he’d be lurking nearby, no doubt searching for more ways to make me suffer. 

God, I hate him. 

So much so, I find myself constantly wishing for him to either get hit by a bus, or get caught doing something stupid and be thrown in jail. Unfortunately, the latter would never happen because his father is an FBI agent. 

I glare at him. “What are you doing here?” 

Ignoring me, he shifts his attention to Ken. 

Suddenly, Ken stands up and snatches his backpack off the desk. “On second thought, tonight won’t work. I have this…thing.” 

My mouth drops as he heads for the door, and it takes everything in me not to scream. 

Knox didn’t even have to utter a single word to put the fear of God into him. 

I know he’s intimidating and scares everyone at school—hell, make that the entire freaking town— shitless of him, but this is ridiculous. 

Furious, I slam my textbook shut. “I hate you.” 

As usual, the asshole stays silent. 

Because he never says a single word to me.

Not unless it’s an insult. 

I’ll never know what I did to make him hate me so much, but I will not waste precious moments of my life trying to figure it out. 

As much as I’d like to make friends and go out on dates—especially with hot football players—there are more important things I want out of life. 

Like to get a scholarship and be able to attend a good college. 

Have a stable career.  

Because it would be nice to not see an eviction notice taped to the front door every few months. 

Not sparing him another glance, I grab my things and march out of the room. 

I’m changing out books in my locker when someone seizes my arm. 

“What—” 

I don’t have the chance to finish that sentence because Knox tugs me down the empty hallway. 

“Are you out of your damn mind? Leave me alone.” 

I might as well be speaking another language though, because he only tightens his grip and walks faster. 

A minute later, he opens the door to what looks like a storage closet and shoves me inside. 

Trepidation twists my stomach. Knox has terrorized me since the moment I stepped foot inside Black Mountain, but he’s never trapped me before. 

As if sensing my fear, his lips curve in a malicious grin.  

I hate the way my breath catches. 

Because while he’s the biggest asshole on the planet…he’s also dangerously attractive. 

Full lips, tan skin, dark hair shaved close to the scalp, a sharp jawline that looks like the gods carved it from granite, prominent cheekbones…a stubborn chin that’s currently clenching in contempt. 

However, it’s those unusual, piercing, harsh eyes that never fail to hold me captive. 

I’d give just about anything to know why—despite how intimidating and scary he is—he looks like the most broken person I’ve ever seen. 

Shaking that thought from my head, I make for the door. 

However, he stands in front of it, blocking me from exiting. 

“What is your prob—” 

I don’t get to finish that sentence because his hand slides to the back of my neck and his mouth crashes against mine. 

What the hell? 

Everything freezes…except my heart, which feels like it’s exploding.

It’s my first kiss.. 

The fact Knox is the one doing it is just…weird. 

I should probably stop him. I hate his guts and he doesn’t deserve to kiss me.  

But I can’t…because he’s kissing me like he just swallowed poison and I’m the antidote. 

At first there’s no tongue. Just greedy lips. 

But then he growls, low and deep, and everything changes. 

I rest my hands on his shoulders, my knees going weak as the fingers on my neck tighten and he coaxes my mouth open to feed me his tongue. 

He tastes like ci

Head spi

I should end this madness and make him apologize. Not only for stealing my first kiss—because that’s exactly what he did—but for all the torture he’s inflicted. 

I’m about to break away, but his free hand slithers up my leg, disappearing under my skirt.

Despite the need coiling inside me, my chest constricts and my nerves reach new heights. 

Especially when he presses me against a shelf and tugs my panties down my legs.

At sixteen, plenty of my peers are having sex, so it’s not like this is unusual. However, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how in the span of a few minutes I’m going from experiencing my very first kiss to…whatever he’s about to do. 

“I’ve never done this,” I whisper against his mouth, feeling so vulnerable I could cry. 

His entire body tenses before he edges away. 

A condescending smirk twists his lips. “I can tell.” 

His words are the equivalent of a slap, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how much they hurt. 

Head held high, I go to shove past him, but he opens the door, beating me to it. 

I was prepared for Knox to be an asshole, because he always is. 

What I’m not prepared for is to see a group of guys from the football team—Ken included—huddled right outside the closet.