"Harley," he says softly when he gets closer, but I don't turn around. My name has never sounded like such an apology before.
"Harley, dammit, please talk to me."
Everyone is staring, as though they're struggling with believing what they're seeing-Dale Sterling chasing around Gnarly Harley. It's absurd.
"What?" I snap, finally turning to face him as unshed tears fill my eyes.
His lips thin into a tight line, and he glances around at all the curious faces that have taken an interest in us.
"Are you looking at them or me?" I ask, bitterness layering my words. "Because they weren't the ones you stood up with zero reason as to why."
He turns back to me, and for a moment, I swear I see regret, possibly even remorse, in his eyes. But I refuse to be fooled twice.
"Harley, I'm sorry, but something came up."
"Oh?" I ask, feigning boredom. "Yeah. Your text was vague like that. For some absurd reason, I thought you were going to give me a little more detail. Your family owns half the damn city, so I'm sure I would have heard about a family emergency, considering it would have been front-page news. Nope. So why did I get stood up?"
He fidgets as though he's uncomfortable, but he doesn't say anything right away. Finally, he exhales harshly. "Something really did come up, but I can't say what. Please understand-"
"I understand perfectly. Rich boys need to do something for fun. Why not stand up all your dates on prom night? I heard the same thing happened to Maverick's date and Kode's date-no call, no explanation … nothing. At least I wasn't the only idiot who was treated like shit."
He runs a hand over his short hair, blowing out another breath. "I didn't know they did that. Look, things are complicated. I-"
"Forget it, Dale. I understand perfectly. I was the one crazy enough to believe you might actually be interested in a girl like me. After all, you did accept my invite to prom. But as for falling for this stupid excuse, I'm not that big of an idiot. And I don't forgive. Even a Sterling like you can't make me forget something like this."
I turn around and walk away. I'll spend the rest of the school year avoiding the hell out of him. College can't come soon enough.
The rest of the day, people are whispering and snickering just like they always do, but it's an extra dose of worse today.
"Can you seriously believe she thought Dale Sterling was going to date her?" I hear Jessie Hughes asking.
I hate the Hughes family. I hate this school. I hate this town.
I ignore her as I shoulder by them, moving to a stall.
"Maybe he was afraid she'd eat the rest of the dates if she came along."
"They were all stood up," another drawls. "Probably gang-banging Rain again. The maid whore's daughter didn't fall far from the tree."
"Don't start on Rain," one girl groans. "She'll tattle to the Sterlings."
One girl snorts. "Dale is her ambassador. Corbin and Maverick are her bodyguards. Dane is her knight in shining armor. And Kode is her attack dog. How weak is she to need them constantly fighting her battles?"
I say nothing as I pretend I'm not here. My goal is to stay in the bathroom until school ends.
"Apparently she just has really good pussy. Snow White and her five favorite fucks."
Laughs sing out, and I blow out a breath when I hear them starting to dissolve.
"And Dale totally made Chris Farley Harley think he was taking her to prom!"
And here we go again with someone else.
"That's so cruel, but funny at the same time. Did she really think he'd want her sweating all over him to all the songs as they danced?"
Tears prick my eyes, but I bite my tongue. I wish there was a reason to look forward to going home.
The rest of the day passes pretty much like that. Everyone making their crassly crafted fat jokes. Instead of the Sterlings being called dicks for standing everyone up, I'm the mockery and the reason for it all.
Yep. Somehow everyone has blamed me for them ditching prom, as though the entire thing revolved around that mean prank.
I don't know why they ditched prom. I don't fucking care.
As I leave, Chloe Macintosh trips me, and I fall to the ground, my books scattering all around. She glares at me, and I remember she was someone's date.
"Way to fuck up my night," she says coldly, turning and stalking away.
Does she really think that was my fault!?
Why is that men always seem to come out shining as long as they're nice looking and rich? But women are weak and pathetic, or bitchy and unlikeable? There's nothing in between. We should lift each other up and all that shit. Instead, we make a mockery of our own gender, and cream our panties for a guy based on the surface, no matter how much of an asshole he is.
Getting philosophical isn't getting me out of the floor any sooner, so I shut up the pointless inner ramble, grab my belongings, and dart away.
It's sad that I look forward to being at home right now. But then I learn the worst of my problems have just begun.
Chapter 4
7 years later …
HARLEY
Sterling Shore looks almost the same. Rich, fabulous, and bursting with too much glamour. There's one difference-me. I'm no longer the dejected girl on a scholarship at the private school full of snobs. I'm not the girl who can't squeeze into a dress without looking like a can of busted biscuits. No. I'm completely different.
My dull blonde hair is now a brighter, almost platinum blonde. But it doesn't look fake. Thank all that is awesome for good salons. The last time I was here, no one wanted to look at my face without laughing.
Now my smooth face belongs to an adult instead of an acne-covered kid.
My bank account is padded, because I made it. All my geeky interests eventually paid off, and now I'm the app-queen.
After creating forty-two very popular gaming apps-and one not so popular one that I don't count-I'm officially one of the richest people in Sterling Shore. I could live off the in-game purchases from one app and never have to work again, but I have forty-two that all reap those rewards, not counting the hundreds of others designed or acquired by my company.
And more to come.
Gnarly Harley is gone. So is fatso. That's my biggest transformation-my weight. No, I'm not skinny. At all. But I did lose a good bit of the weight, and now I wear my curves with pride.
Confidence goes a lot farther than a dress size.
And I did it all for one reason-to prove everyone wrong. That desire has driven me for years. The Sterlings here own the town because they're rich and gorgeous. They don't give a damn about who they step on in the process. I'm the gaming queen, and now I'm here to play.
I'm not Harley the doormat anymore. If someone wants me to do something, they're going to have one hell of a time trying to make me do it. I don't fall for bullshit. If anything, Sterling Shore made me hard enough to walk out into the world and demand what I wanted.
That's exactly what I did.
The driver unloads my suitcases, and I walk into my fully furnished home. Amazing. I never had to pack a single box. My mother once said playing those games were rotting my brain, and that I needed to do something more productive. Turns out she was wrong. I created the best games because I knew exactly what the gaming community wanted.
Now she humbly raves about me every chance she gets. But only because I'm the only thing keeping her out of a homeless shelter. She also takes credit for my success, as though all my ambition and talent comes from her.
And she likes to try and weasel more money out of me every time she gets a boyfriend. But that's another problem I don't want to discuss right now.
I should veer away from this train of thought before I start getting ragey.
"Where does someone go for fun around here?" I ask my driver as he drops off the last of my bags in the doorway.
"Only one place to go, really. Silk. It's a club on the ocean. Just down the street, actually."
A club in Sterling Shore? This place is anti-club. Well, country clubs are allowed, but that's it. Anything else is considered too trashy.
"That's surprising," I mutter to myself.
"Not really," the man says with a shrug. "Dane Sterling owns it. Sterlings do whatever they want in this town."
A sour taste invades my mouth, and I almost scowl. One minute into my return, and already the Sterlings are being mentioned. Of course Dane Sterling can do whatever he wants. They all can.
"Dane Sterling. I've heard of him," I say mildly, trying not to sound as though I'm prying.
"Probably heard that he married Rain Noles. She's a big time author. Even has a movie deal."
I'll sure as hell never read any of her books. I don't need to know how the perfect ones perceive love. I'll puke.
"Ah. That must be where I've heard of him. Doesn't he have a cousin named Dale?"
He snorts out a laugh. "Yeah. He has a lot of cousins. And one brother. Must be nice. Looks like you're doing well for yourself, too," he says, looking around at the massive home I've just acquired. It really is a little … ostentatious, but I'm making a point.
"What time does this club open?" I ask him, bypassing his last comment.