Keily
Author
Manjari
Reads
đĽ31.5M
Chapters
38
Dangerously Handsome
There were three reasons I was nervous.
First, Iâd never been to a house party before. I stepped inside, the pounding bass from the speakers thudding along with the beat of my heart. I looked around at everyone else dancing, drinking, and making out.
Second, he was here. It didnât take long for me to pick him out from the crowd. He was tall, he was handsome, he was surrounded by a group of giggling girls, and he ignored them all, because he only had eyes for me.
My own personal tormentor.
The third reason had everything to do with the buzz of alcohol in my head and the clothes I was wearing underneath my long coat. Or, more accurately, the clothes I wasnât wearing.
Mr. Hot, Tall, and Cruel constantly made fun of me because I was chubby. Called me Piggy every day. Made fun of the clothes I wore to hide my flab. Said I dressed like a nun.
I grinned, probably a little alcohol crazy, as I locked eyes with him. Underneath my coat, I wore nothing but lingerie. No more baggy shirts to hide my folds, no more loose skirts to hide the cellulite in my thighs.
Just my breasts, my hips, and my curves, wrapped up with a bit of silk and lace.
Letâs see what he thinks of that.
No one was looking at me as I began to undo my coat, heart pounding. No one paid attention to the fat new girl at school. No one but him.
I saw his eyes go wide as the top button of my coat loosened; my cleavage peeked out from the deep V of my lacy bodice.
He walked toward me, completely ignoring the girls vying for his attention, pushing and squeezing through the drunk and dancing crowd.
I undid my second button, common sense completely out the window as I abandoned myself to the reckless feeling in my chest. More of my lingerie was exposed, the silk hugging my body.
Before I could undo the third button, powerful hands grabbed mine. I looked up to find him staring down into my eyes, anger in every line of his stupidly handsome face, in the rigid cut of his jawline.
âWhat the fuck do you think youâre doing?â he asked. His eyes flashed down to my cleavage, lingering for a second too long before glaring at me.
That gave me courage. That, and an unjustified amount of alcohol.
âProving you wrong.â
A FEW DAYS EARLIER
Addison
Iâm here.
Addison, my cousin, was waiting for me inside the car. Her mahogany skin shone beautifully under the sunlight, and her curly brown hair was tamed in a high ponytail.
I tugged my top down a little, making sure my belly was covered. The flowy top I wore today was longer than usual, yet it didnât hurt to check twice that it covered what it needed to cover.
âHey,â Addison greeted when I sat down in the passengerâs seat.
âHi.â
âSo, are you excited? Todayâs your first day!â she chirped and started the engine. âYouâre going to be the new girl, Keily.â
I giggled, her good-morning vibes rubbing off on me. âYouâre talking as if Iâm in some teen show, where hot guys are going to jump at me and cheerleaders will claw me.â
âHey! My girls wonât clawâtheyâll punch.â Addison smirked.
âOh, if thatâs the case, remind me to clip my nails and take boxing lessons,â I joked back.
Our back-and-forth helped me calm my jittery nerves. Today was my first day at Jenkins High.
All eighteen years of my life had been spent in the suburbs of Remington, so moving here and starting my last year of high school in a completely new town was, to say the least, overwhelming.
Moving hadnât really been in our plans, but when Momâs company decided to open their new branch here, they asked her to be the project manager; refusing wasnât an option.
Bradford was Momâs hometown; she grew up here for a full twenty-one years of her life, so she fit right in.
Dad, on the other hand, wouldnât have minded if youâd moved him to another corner of the world. He was a freelance software and website designer.
But me? I hadnât wanted to leave the comfort of a familiar place, of familiar peopleâeven if those people were quite mean. This move had been supposed to happen a year later when I moved to college, not now.
Over summer, Iâd gotten almost two months to prepare and stroll around this town before starting at Jenkins. Addison, my momâs brotherâs daughter, had been a great tour guide and a really good friend (or cousin).
Sheâd even promised me rides to school since her house was only a few blocks away from mine. My theory was that she felt compelled to do so because I was her cousin.
Still, hitching a ride from my cousin was more appealing than shoving my body into the small seats of a bus and receiving condescending looks and jibes from other teenagers every morning.
Iâd had my fair share of them in Remington.
âWeâre here.â Addison honked, dispersing the crowd around the parking lot.
I looked at the big building standing high in front of us, a heavy feeling pressing down on my shoulders. My nerves returned with full force.
âWelcome to your new hellhole, missy,â my cousin teased. She got out, and I followed like a lost puppy (a very big puppy).
Once again, I pulled down my top, feeling uneasy walking right next to Addison.
My cousin was not only on the cheerleading team, but she was also in trackâone of their best sprinters, according to her friends. It was no wonder she had a body that every woman craved.
She was lean, yet beautifully curvy and muscular, only a couple of inches shy of six feet. Dressed in skinny jeans and a crop top, giving only a hint of her sculpted belly, she looked as if sheâd walked straight out of a fashion magazine.
I, on the other hand, barely reached her shoulders. I had a big belly, flabby arms, and tree-trunk-like legs.
My only assets worth considering were probably my breasts and hips. But sometimes, even they were a bother when shopping for clothes.
Today, I was wearing a flowy topâto hide my flabâand black leggings.
Even though I considered these to be my best casual clothes, next to Addison, I felt underdressedâalso very out of shape.
Look at her; sheâs gorgeous!
âYou got your schedule, map, and locker code, right?â she asked as we reached the stairs leading to the open doors of the hellhole.
âYeah, I got them on Saturday. You donât have to babysit me, no matter what my mom told you.â We entered the hallways, and immediately, I was surrounded by the familiar bustle of high school.
Addison pouted. âKeily, Iâm not with you because your mom or my dad told me to. I really like spending time with you. I officially consider you more of a friend than a cousin.â
That made me feel guilty for my jibe.
âIâm sorry. I just donât want to trouble you. Youâre already giving me a ride to school. I donât want to be a burden.â
âWhat are friends for if not to be burdens?â Addison quipped, making me smile.
She is perfect.
âWhen you say it like that, I can see your point,â I replied.
âSpeaking of burdens, let me introduce you to some.â She started walking toward a group of girlsâall of them skinny, pretty, and tall. One look, and anyone could tell I didnât belong in that crowd.
I mentally reprimanded myself for my thoughts and choked down those gnawing insecurities. Instead, with an excited smile, I followed Addison.
***
âHowâs everybodyâs first day going?â our teacher asked. This was todayâs third class.
A collective groan was the response with some answers of âBoringâ and âFine.â Obviously, these students didnât share his enthusiasm.
âIs it in the student code of conduct to always be this angsty?â He sighed and began writing on the board. Joseph Crones.
âTo any new students hereââhis gaze lingered on me for a tad longerââIâm Joseph Crones. You can call me Mr. Crones.â
I nodded when he looked at me again. Am I the only new one in this class?
âSince itâs our first day of English, why donât weââ He was cut off when the classroom door opened.
A boy walked in and handed a slip to Mr. Crones. I couldnât help but study his features. He was tall, easily over six feet, and built like an athlete.
By the bulging muscles of his arms, you could easily figure out that the rest of his physique was just as sturdy and muscular.
His eyes fell on me, and I realized I was checking him out. I immediately looked down, my face becoming flushed. I hated how easily my face showed my embarrassment.
âMr. Haynes, tell the coach to either let you go early or keep you at the field with him,â Mr. Crones reprimanded Haynes.
âTell him yourself,â I heard Haynes mutter as the sound of footsteps got louder. Our teacher didnât hear him, or if he had, he decided to ignore him.
My head was still down, so when a pair of Nike shoes appeared near me, my brows furrowed, and I instinctively looked up. A couple of desks around the class were still free, but Haynes was getting comfortable at the desk just beside mine.
Just my luck. Oh GodâŚ
I knew I was overreacting, but the guy had just caught me checking him out. It was embarrassing. If I looked anything like Addison, I would not have been freaking out this much.
But I was me, a fat girl, and we did not have the right to go after beautiful men like him.
âAs I was saying,â Mr. Crones continued, âitâs our first day, so Iâm giving you all an assignment that you have to submit by the end of this semester. Sound good?â He gave a sweet smile.
Another collective groan was the reply.
âVery good.â He wanted us to write a five-thousand-word thesis or essay on any of the works of Shakespeare.
Meanwhile, todayâs class focused on how the politics and culture of the Elizabethan period impacted said playwright.
Honestly, I was excited about the assignment. I liked literature; it was fun.
But even though I tried to focus on Mr. Cronesâs words, my mind kept drifting to the gorgeous boy sitting next to me.Now that he was close, I caught the fresh musk of his deodorant.
God, he smells amazing too.
Throughout the hour, he glanced at me when he thought I wouldnât notice. I kept thinking he was going to sneak in a whispered jab or slip me a rude note. But he didnât.
So, I bit my lip, trying my best to ignore him until the bell rang. Finally, I capped my pens and closed my notebook.
But before I could pack it away, a hand landed on my notebook, anchoring it to the desk. I looked up in surprise, following the toned forearm to the desk next to mine.
Strands of his dark-brown locks were falling onto Haynesâs forehead, which somehow made him look dangerously handsome. There was a calculating yet taunting look in his pitch-black eyes.
âHey,â he said.
