I was stronger than I looked, and Brandon was about to find out exactly how much he’d underestimated me. When his fingers dug painfully into the skin of my arms as he held me tight, I snapped.
Reaching out, I grabbed a solid handful of his balls and squeezed.
It was such a quick, unexpected move that Brandon had no time to yell. Instead, all that escaped his throat was a high pitched yelp while his whole body froze.
“I said,” I repeated slowly, because clearly I was dealing with someone who didn’t possess full mental capabilities, “get your fucking hands off me. You have three seconds, and then I rip these pathetic marbles clean off you and stuff them down your throat. Three...”
Brandon swallowed loud enough for me to hear, and I smiled a cruel smile. “You wouldn’t,” he squeaked, his voice tight with pain… and fear.
“Why not?” I replied, keeping my voice quiet and low, not drawing any attention. Yet. “You think I don’t have theballsto do it? Two...” I tightened my grip and gave a little tug just to really drive my point home.
“Okay, okay!” Brandon’s hands released my arms like I was made of lava. “Crazy bitch.”
I held onto his crown jewels just a beat longer, reminding him who was in charge, then released him to wipe my hand off on my skirt. Safe to say Brandon wasn’t going to be winning any girls over with what he was packing downstairs.
“Morgan,” Alex snapped, jogging up those last few steps toward us. He was still sweaty and dirty with his sports bag slung over his shoulder, but his frown was of deep concern. For me.
It shouldn’t have made my insides go as mushy as it did—me being an independent and self-reliant woman and all—but damn. Alex really was Prince Charming.
Brandon cleared his throat, still standing behind me. “Hey, Alex. Good game, man.”
“Shut up,” Alex snarled back. “Why were your hands just on my girl?”
“Your girl?” Brandon repeated, sounding surprised. “I guess I missed the memo. Sorry bro, won’t happen again.”
Alex’s glare was edging on fury. “I’m not your bro,” he spat, “and it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Seeing a need to de-escalate before we drew the attention of too many people—Rafe included—I stepped closer to Alex and away from Brandon. “Don’t worry, Alex. I had things well in hand. Right, Brenton?” I shot a sickly sweet smile in the direction of the dean’s lecherous son, and he just glared back at me.
“You sure did, Victoria.” His tone was cold, and the accompanying sneer promised retribution.
I was pretty happy to leave it at that, having made my point pretty fucking clear, but Alex wasn’t having it.
“Her name is Violet.”
Brandon froze halfway past us on the stairs. “What?”
Alex’s hand found mine, threading our fingers together like we were already a legitimate couple. “I said, her name is Violet. You called her Victoria.”
The look on Brandon’s face said he could barely believe what he was hearing, but clearly he wasn’t interested in pissing Alex off any further.
“My mistake,” he lied, turning a frigid smile to me. “See you around,Violet. Hopefully you don’t end up like Alex’s last girlfriend. That’d be a shame.”
Alex’s grip on my hand tightened to the point of painful, but Brandon hurried away like he was legitimately scared of what the Australasian prince would do next.
Maybe I’d spoken too soon about him not wanting to piss Alex off…
“What was that all about?” I asked softly when it was just the two of us left on the stairs. Almost everyone else was heading toward either the locker rooms or the exit, but Mattie and Nolan waited near the railing, watching us with concerned frowns.
Alex shook his head and, thankfully, eased up on my hand. “Nothing. That punk thinks he’s untouchable, and one of these days he’ll find out how wrong he is.”
I snorted. “No shit. But what was up withyou? You basically implied I was your girlfriend, and Brandon seems like the gossipy type.”
Alex had the grace to look a little apologetic and didn’t object when I freed my hand from his. “I’m sorry about that, Violet. I just saw him touching you, and I could tell you weren’t happy about it.” He shrugged. “It was just the first thing that came to my mind. If people think we’re together, they’ll treat you better.”
I frowned. His intent sounded kind, but it gave me a bit of an ick feeling.
“I don’t care if everyone in this whole school treats me like trash. I don’t want to be noticed at all, remember? Just get my Arbon degree and disappear into the sunset. That’s my only goal.” I started moving down the steps toward Mattie and Nolan, and Alex walked with me.
