Solving for Ex

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

motives of vanity

It was our first day back at Mansfield Prep, and I hadn’t seen Brendan at all since we’d gone our separate ways at the front door. Still, everything was going as well as could be expected for a first day—classes interesting enough for the most part, and at least the ones that weren’t had teachers that would leave me alone. I was headed to Brendan’s locker before lunch when everything turned upside down.

The freaking goddess Aphrodite walked down the hallway, right toward me.

There were plenty of pretty girls in our school. It was easy enough when everyone was rich, and when almost every girl had a ton of cash to get a professional makeup consult, wardrobe designer, even a diet plan or nose job, to fit into this school’s image of “pretty.” Big, bouncy hair, petite nose, big eyes and lips. Exactly the right shoes, bag, and watch to go along with the school uniform. So, yeah, I saw pretty all around me every day.

But this girl? Was beautiful.  She had bouncing waves of chestnut-brown hair, sky-blue eyes, and a dimple that could kill anyone on sight. Flawless skin, and toned legs that stretched to eternity. When she walked down the hallway, you could see the guys stop, gawk, and drool in a wave of patheticness.

When she passed me, I discovered the worst part of her—the way she smelled. God, she smelled amazing. Like she rolled in a field of flowers every morning and stuffed her bra with them in the process, so that the perfume followed her everywhere. I bet she even smelled good when she jogged. Because she definitely jogged. No way she didn’t with a body like that.

A guy about four inches taller than she was walked next to her. I almost gasped when he turned back and looked at me. With his high cheekbones and solid, chiseled jaw, pouty lips and rich deep brown eyes all topped off with a mop of golden-brown curls, he was literally stunning.

Thankfully, Brendan’s sister Julia, who was also one of my only other friends at Mansfield, didn’t notice my own patheticness when I stopped for a second, just to take a longer look. When I turned to her, I realized it was because she was staring, too. “Hey,” I tugged on Julia’s sleeve, “Do you know who the new kids are? Did she bring her own boyfriend?”

“Nope! That’s her brother. Twins.” She stopped in her tracks, too, but she stared at the guy instead of the girl. “Isn’t he incredible?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never met him.”

Julia rolled her eyes, still smiling that same stupid smile. “You know what I mean. Gorgeous. Absolutely…”

“Oh my God, is that all you ever think about? You’re a freshman, it’s your first day, and you have a boyfriend. Try to control your drool, okay?” I smiled and nudged her side with my elbow. I hoped it didn’t come out sounding as annoyed as I felt. She did have a boyfriend, though. Captain of the lacrosse team. Probably why I watched him so closely around her. “But seriously. How do you know him?”

“That’s Vincent. He was on our cruise this summer. We almost hooked up.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Clarify, for the non-native?” I asked.

 “We danced once after dinner, and he could barely keep his hands off of me. He asked me on a moonlight walk, and I know he would have at least made out with me. Seriously, he was this close to making a move, until Brendan ‘happened to run into us’ and told him I was only a freshman.” Her voice was a cross between a whine and a groan. Lovely.

“And he’s a…?”

“Junior,” she sighed.

“And did Brendan also tell this guy that you have a boyfriend?”