Page 70 of Disobedient Pawn

“I hadn’t decided yet,” I grumbled.

“You not pursuing Ren anymore?”

“She’s made it very clear that she doesn’t want me to. I’m surprised she hasn’t had a restraining order put against me.”

Blake laughed. “When has a little opposition with anything, especially a girl, ever stopped you before? I didn’t figure you for a quitter.”

“Are we still talking about Ren?”

Blake’s mouth curved up. “Take it as you will. Night.”

As he wandered back downstairs, I thought about what he said, my hand on the cool metal of the door handle. Fuck. He was right. I was no quitter. Spinning around, I marched for the stairs. Nash would apologize, or we’d end up in a huge rumble. Either way, I got something I wanted.

No one disrespected me like that, not even Nash Collier.

NOVEMBER 11 – FRIDAY 7:45 AM

Ren

The moment I stepped into English class, I knew it was going to be a bad day. Blake was sitting in Ivy’s spot even though no one else was here. I looked up and down the busy and very noisy hallway, but no one was making a move to walk into class early.

Shit, shit, shit.

“You going to stand in the doorway all class?” Blake called out, his bright green eyes were full of humor. I hated that he was so good-looking. Why did all the annoying guys have to be hot? Was there some rule in the universe that I was unaware of?

“No.”

Called out. I marched in and stopped at the desk to stare down at Blake. Of course, he looked as relaxed as a cat in the sun—another annoying trait.

“Why are you sitting in Ivy’s spot?” I finally asked when he didn’t say anything.

“I asked Ivy to switch spots with me, and she agreed.” I crossed my arms. “I didn’t threaten her if that’s what you think.”

“It had crossed my mind.”

Blake smirked. “I may have bribed her a little, though.”

“Is that so?” I looked over my shoulder as one of the kids I didn’t know walked in and took their seat. “What could you offer Ivy to make her want to move seats?”

A wicked grin pulled at the corner of his mouth, and for a moment, I thought he’d offered something sexual. Why that poked at me, I couldn’t explain. All these damn emotions were getting to my head. I blamed Myles. He started this crap.

“Ivy and I have a two-hour computer class together, and I sit beside Zigzag. I also happen to know that she is all….” He held his hands to his chin like he was hugging something and sighed as his eyes fluttered at me. I tried not to smile, but the look was ridiculous, and I gave in and giggled. “So I offered to switch her seats in comp class if she swapped me seats in English.”

“Devious.” I unwrapped the scarf I was wearing and laid it on the desk as I sat down.

“I like to think of it as smart.”

“Okay, smart guy, then answer me this. Why would you even want to sit beside me? I hardly know you, and let’s be honest, I’m not exactly your type, yet you keep persisting. So…my guess is you want to annoy Myles. The question is, why is annoying Myles so important to you?” I finished pulling out my text, binder, and laptop before looking at Blake.

“Who says you’re not my type?”

“The other day in the cafeteria, was that not a cheerleader that walked over and sat on your lap?”

Blake’s cheeks pinked, which of course, only enhanced his tanned skin. “Well, yes, April is a cheerleader.”

“And she also seems very close to Vicky, who hates me. Are the two of you together?”

“Not like on a regular basis.”