Bryce (Scandalous Boys #1)

  BRYCE

  Scandalous Boys #1

  Natalie Decker

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author makes no claims to, but instead acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the word marks mentioned in this work of fiction.

  Copyright © 2015 by Natalie Decker

  BRYCE by Natalie Decker

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by Swoon Romance. Swoon Romance and its related logo are registered trademarks of Georgia McBride Media Group, LLC.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Published by Swoon Romance

  Cover designed by Najla Qamber Designs

  Cover copyright © 2015 by Swoon Romance

  For those of you who love a little scandal. Ethan and Leeah you’re the best parts of me.

  BRYCE

  Chapter One

  Bryce

  I repeatedly hit the X button on my PS4 controller. “Die, bitch!”

  Graham is no help whatsoever. He keeps taking out the wrong people, and I know he’s doing it on purpose. “Seriously, man! What are you doing?” I yell at him.

  He pushes pause. “Dude, are you ready to go get Maddy and get this shit done today?”

  Inwardly, I groan. He knows how I feel about Madison Issac, my next-door neighbor from hell. As kids, I knew she was too good for me—a dark-haired princess a frog like me could never touch. Not that I wanted to. I learned real quick what girls like her did, thought, and acted. They’re nightmares. And Madison is probably the worst kind. She’s a priss with a decent face and killer brains but a world-class bitch. I swear she was born with a stick wedged so far up her ass it probably sprouted branches. “Man, she’s a freaking buzzkill.” I go to unpause the game, but Graham glares at me.

  He’s my homeboy. We’ve been best friends since fifth grade, but sometimes he’s clueless as all hell. I know he only hangs out with Madison because he uses her to ace his classes. And, okay, I kinda use her too, because I copy off Graham. But that’s beside the point. Getting good grades shouldn’t require hanging out with her all the freaking time.

  The only reason she and I even sort of tolerate each other is because of Graham.

  “No, she’s not. She’s just Madison.”

  I raise a brow. “Are you trying to tell me you secretly have a spank bank for the girl now?”

  Graham frowns and punches me in the shoulder. “Dude, no! She’s just a friend.”

  I shut down the game and nod. “Yeah. You trying for friends with benefits?”

  He glowers. “That’s not cool. You know I look at her as a sister, fucker!”

  “Don’t get pissed at me. I mean, don’t get me wrong. If she wasn’t such a raging bitch all the time, I’d probably try to hit that.”

  Graham looks as if he’s about to punch me in the face. “I hate you. Why can’t you two just get over whatever shit is between you? Seriously, it’s senior year. I don’t want to referee every fight you guys have this year.”

  “Calm down. I’m not even going to give Smalls any shit this year. But for real, if she starts those jokes about jailbait and then points to me again, I might strangle her.”

  I haven’t dated anyone underage and gotten in trouble for it. I was tossed in juvie a few months back for tagging a building. Okay, not really me. I was with some people who tagged a building. When the cops showed up, some of us got caught. I smoke, so my lungs aren’t exactly in tip-top shape for running distance. I know it’s disgusting, and I should quit, serves me right, yadda yadda. I took the rap and got thrown in with the delinquents. Two weeks and some probation. I can’t mess up for a whole year, or I’ll go to the slammer for defacing property. Well, during the last week of school, I’m standing there talking up my next conquest, and Madison walks by me and says to her friend Emily, “Isn’t that cute? She’s taking the jailbird’s bait. If you two hook up, I’m calling you Jailbait.” Then she laughed like she was the funniest person ever.

  I glare out my window at her house. Graham sighs. “Oh, come on. That was kind of funny. You know she’s just getting back at you for the wet T-shirt bullshit you pulled on her at Greg’s party.”

  Okay, in all fairness, that was a dick move on my part. But I’m an asshole. Everyone who knows me knows this, especially Madison. I’m not going to apologize for being me. She was wearing a white T-shirt, and I happened to stumble upon some water balloons. So, I may have run up to Greg’s balcony with a bowl of filled balloons and waited for Madison to come into view. Then I launched them in a way that got her T-shirt soaked, revealing the parts she always keeps hidden. Literally, the girl goes swimming in dark shirts.

  I’m a guy. We like boobs and ass. Sorry, ladies, if this offends. Some of us aren’t as open about it. Those of us who are are pigs. We know this. We just don’t care.

  Anyway, Madison’s sharp green eyes found me through the laughing crowd, and she made the slit-your-throat sign at me. Pissed off, raging mad, and blushing red, Madison is actually really hot. That’s probably why I love tormenting her so much. Plus, it amuses me.

  Graham punches me in my shoulder again. “Dude. Come on. We’re heading to Maddy’s, and then we’re getting this stupid list done so my mom can stop riding my ass about being lazy.”

  “Um … You are lazy.”

  “Fuck off!”

  I shrug and make my way to the door. “You are, man. Admit it—you’re only friends with Madison for the homework perks.” Because beyond that, I don’t see any other reason he’d be friends with her. The girl doesn’t drink. She doesn’t smoke. She hardly goes to parties. But Graham is a stoner, parties, and drinks a lot.

  He shakes his head. “It’s called smart tactics. Besides, she doesn’t mind. If she did, she’d have said something.”

  We walk up to her porch, and I dread every freaking minute of it. Graham knocks, and we wait.

  Chapter Two

  Madison

  The shit hit the fan. Literally. Well, not literally. But my dearest aunt’s latest crime is smeared on the Internet, televisions, and newspapers all over Arizona.

  Apparently, my mom’s sister, Aunt Catlin, swindled close to a billion dollars out of this company she works for. She helped hide all these investments and whatever so the head sharks like her got rich while the company went up in flames, and all these employees lost homes, pensions, everything. Now my aunt and uncle are looking at jail time.

  Because of the big scandal, my room, my sanctuary, will be invaded by an unwanted guest. My cousin Sarah. She’s moving in today. I’m not trying to be a total bitch about it, but we have four bedrooms. Granted, one of those was converted into my dad’s personal office, so that really leaves us three. My parents occupy one, me the other, and then there’s my older brother, Kyle. Which means I’m left sharing my room with Sarah, the devilish spawn. Can you tell I’m not a fan of her?

  I know part of me should feel bad, and okay, a very, very small part does. But here’s the thing you have to know about Sarah: she’s such a bitch. I’m not saying that because I’m upset about sharing my room. I’m not even saying that because no one else would take her and now my senior year is possibly ruined. No, she’s really a brat! Who knows? Maybe she’s actually learned some compassion since Easter, but I highly doubt it.

  A yellow cab pulls up to our home, and Kyle walks out to greet the driver.
My parents are hugging the little blond, blue-eyed monster. I stare from my window for a second or two, and then I turn my attention to my room. My queen bed is disassembled and up in the attic. Before me now, a twin bunk bed. The brat is going to want the top, and of course I’ll have to oblige because she’s going through a rough time.

  What about me? What about my rough time? This girl tortures me. She takes and takes and has never once given back. If you ask me, all that’s happening to her? It’s called justice. Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh. Maybe she’s changed some since she lost her big house with the pool, her rich friends, and her glamorous lifestyle. Maybe she’s a little kinder.

  Sucking in a breath and feeling a little guilty for being a snot, I go downstairs and greet Sarah. She enters the house as I reach the bottom step of the stairs. Dark shades mask her eyes, and they match her black sun hat and her black dress. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was dressed for a funeral.

  “Hi, Sarah.”

  She moves her shades down her nose a little and sneers at me. “I see you haven’t changed much, Madison. Didn’t like the highlights?”

  She knows I didn’t like them. The evil troll! At Easter, she said she wanted to do my hair. I thought she was being nice. She said we could make it pretty, and I agreed. Stupid me. She said red tints would give my dark brown hair a summery glow. She didn’t put red tints in. She made my hair pink. She claimed she picked up the wrong box. I had to go to school with bubblegum-pink highlights in my hair for almost a week before someone could fix it. A hundred and fifty dollars down the tube.

  I smile. “Guess it wasn’t really my thing.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, being cool never has been.”

  I knew it! I knew the evil monster did it on purpose. She mocks my clothes, says I dress like a hobo, and all that stuff. My clothes are nice; sure, I didn’t spend $200 for any summer dresses in my closet, but who cares? I’m certainly not going to spend $800 on a stupid purse. Um, hell to the no!

  But my cousin has—excuse me, had—over $2,000 to spend per week. I barely have $200 in my bank account. Working five to twelve hours a week for eight bucks an hour is nothing to brag about.

  “Where’s my room?” She shoves her sunglasses up her nose and makes her way to the stairs.

  “You’re sharing with me. Come on.” I head up to my room, not waiting for her.

  She gasps. “Sharing? I’m … Never mind. Apparently, that will have to do. We’ll just redecorate your room.”

  I stop and turn on the last step to look back at her. “What do you mean ‘redecorate’?”

  “Maddy,” my mom bites out as she follows us up the stairs. “Change can be a good thing.” She walks past me and mumbles, “Remember what the therapist said.”

  That quack told us we had to make sure we didn’t try to force Little Miss Unwanted Guest to conform to our ways. He said we should try to appease her as much as possible and ease her into the change. But right now, I wish she was on a boat to China or some other faraway place.

  Gritting my teeth, I say, “You know what? My room could probably use a makeover.”

  Sarah smiles and enters my room. She looks around, instantly frowning. “I’m getting top bunk.” My mom carries in a few boxes, and Sarah smiles at her. “Thanks, Auntie Heather. Where are the boxes I had shipped here?”

  “Oh, I’ll have the guys carry them in.” My mom hugs Sarah. “I know this is a hard time for you, but we’re glad you’re here.”

  Pffft! She might be glad, but I’m not, so she can drop the whole “we” business.

  As soon as my mom leaves, Sarah removes her sunglasses and hat. She looks around the room and shakes her head. “Well, it’s clear you’re in need of some decorating tips, that’s for sure.” She runs her hands over the matching comforters my mom bought for the bunk beds and laughs. “Seriously, this floral motif is so out.”

  I nod like I care. I really don’t. It’s a blanket. It keeps me warm. That’s all that matters. I’m not the homeless one. She is. I’m not the one with parents going to jail. She is. But, hey, maybe this is her way of coping with all that, so I will bite my tongue and not say a word.

  “Maddy! Graham and Bryce are here!” my mom calls to me.

  I instantly smile, feeling better. My heart is humming to see Graham. As if in another world, I leave my cousin and race down to the two boys. I’m not really keen on Bryce, but that’s because my whole life, he’s been in and out of juvie more times than I can count. He’s a bad boy with a temper. I don’t know why Graham is friends with him.

  Graham smiles before I reach the bottom step. “Hey, Maddy! We were … oh, um … Hi.” His attention goes from me to the stairs. I look back and see Sarah. I turn back to Graham and realize he’s looking at her as if she’s the whole moon and stars.

  No! This can’t be happening. He’s the love of my life. Sure, he doesn’t know that, but I’m in love with him. And he’s looking at her like she just took the one thing I’ve wanted since fifth grade—his heart.

  I blink back some tears and put on the most fake smile ever. “That’s Sarah, my cousin. I told you she was coming to stay with us this year.”

  He nods, not taking his eyes off her. “Yeah. Hi. I’m Graham. This is my buddy Bryce.” He glances at me and then back at her. “We were heading into town for our school supplies and then getting some ice cream. Possibly going to the lake. Did you want to come?”

  Wait, is he asking her? And not me? Is he ditching me now?

  I take a few steps back as Sarah moves closer to Graham and strokes his biceps. I think I’m about to get sick. My chest tightens, and my stomach churns deadly at this display in front of me.

  I tear my stare from them and glance over at Bryce, something I instantly regret. Bryce eyes Sarah and then looks over at me. “You okay over there, Smalls?”

  I hate that nickname! He only calls me that because I’m five foot two, and he and Graham are well over six foot. I glare at him. “Fine.”

  “You look like you’re about to hurl. There’s a no-barfing policy in my ride.”

  Kyle whips around the corner, ready to haul a few boxes up the stairs, and gives the boys a nod. “What’s up?”

  “Hey, Kyle. Heading out for school shit. Need some help?” Graham offers.

  “That’d be great. Mads can show you guys the way.”

  Um. No, I can’t. These boys have never been in my room. I mean NEVER. And they’re not about to start now. That’s my … well, it’s my personal area. My journal, if you will. Sarah just giggles, though, and starts pulling Graham up the stairs.

  “Hey!”

  She shoots me a look but doesn’t stop.

  “Stop! No one is going into my room!”

  “Well, technically, it’s my room too.” And with that, she leads Graham, the only person I’ve ever really loved, into my off-limits space.

  Chapter Three

  Bryce

  Graham is a freaking dickwad! While he’s upstairs, probably nailing the sexy blond, I’m down in Madison’s basement sweating my ass off. How did I get stuck helping Miss Priss lug boxes to her room?

  This is so beyond the code of helping out a bro in need, it’s not even funny. I watch Madison struggle to lift a box and almost laugh as her arms wobble and her body tumbles forward. I snatch the box from her while shooting her a glare. “If you can’t lift it, just point to it, and I’ll get it.”

  She rolls her moss-colored eyes and snaps, “I don’t want your help.”

  I’m half-tempted to drop this box and tell her good, because I don’t want to fucking help. But I catch the sad glimmer in her eyes, and damn it, it ceases all my asshole retorts. “Look. It’s clear neither of us want to be here. Let’s just get this done as quick as possible, and we can go back to doing what we love to do best.”

  She stares blankly up at me.

  “Ignoring each other, Smalls.”

  “Okay.”

  We get back to work quietly. As we head out of th
e basement with the boxes, I decide to try and be nice, like Graham suggested. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be stuck with each other a lot if he’s making headway with her cousin. “So, what’s up with the ‘no one in your room’ policy? Got some secrets in there?”

  “Everyone has secrets,” she shoots back.

  I chuckle. “Ain’t that the truth. But you, Miss Goody Two-shoes, don’t have dark secrets. Bet your room is a picture-perfect, princess pink.” I nudge her.

  She enters a room off to the right, and I follow. My jaw almost hits the floor. Her walls are not pink, they’re white. The way she kept her room off-limits, I expected shirtless guy models posted all over her walls. But there is none of that in here, just paintings. Lots of different paintings.

  There’s a bunk bed, and on the bottom, Graham has that blond chick practically riding his cock. I’m annoyed, not that he’s getting action, but because he stuck me with bitch work I shouldn’t have been doing in the first place. “Dude, are you going to help or flirt? ’Cause I don’t have ‘moving boxes’ on my list of stuff to do today.”

  Graham looks over at Madison, and then me. He has a sheepish smile on his face. “Sorry, man. I guess I got caught up in conversation.”

  “Yeah. That’s what I’d label it too,” I say. I glance at Madison, and I swear the girl looks like she’s about to cry.

  Madison moves toward the door but pauses when her cousin says, “So, Madison, I’m going to head out with Graham here and probably pick up some new stuff. Could you unpack the boxes for me while I’m gone?”

  I don’t miss the tightening of Madison’s jaw. “I’m not one of your maids, Sarah! Unpack your own crap!” Oh, oh, oh! There she is, the girl I’ve been so well acquainted with all my life.