Hold On to Me Read online

  As she was writing, Alyssa could feel eyes on her. She didn’t want to look, but it was like they were burning a hole into her face. A quick glance from the corner of her eye confirmed her suspicion.

  Two desks over, John was leaning on the back legs of his chair with a pencil dangling between his lips. Her eyes focused on his mouth for a moment and noticed his tongue flicking the pencil. Then their eyes locked, and the smirk that spread across his face made her body flush. At first she didn’t recognize him all cleaned up, it caught her by surprise. This side of him was more alluring compared to what she met the other day, though see wouldn’t mind seeing him in just shorts again.

  Her eyes blinked rapidly, and she tried to focus on her teacher’s voice. He pulled the pencil from his mouth and started bouncing it between his fingers, the eraser tapping lightly on the desk, a sound only meant for her to hear. A grin tugged at his lips, and she found herself trying not to return the smile. It was a futile attempt. Alyssa’s face softened at the playful gleam in his eyes when he whispered hi.

  Then she noticed it … a dimple. He had one dimple right above his jaw line when he smiled. How had she not noticed a few days ago when she met him and Jace?

  An innocent looking dimple, hazel green eyes that spoke of temptation, topped with a sinful smile? Not to mention that southern drawl?

  Alyssa was in trouble. Big trouble. John was cleaned up and looking good, completely different from the other day. He waved and her stomach dropped. John was … pretty hot.

  “Ah, Mr. Jackson,” Mrs. Jones said, grabbing his attention. “Stop flirting with Miss Winters. Focus on the reason why you’re here. Eyes on the board.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  John winked at Alyssa and then did as the professor asked. He spent the next two hours sneaking glances at her.

  Class ended and Alyssa quickly gathered up her books. She glanced at her schedule while walking out of her first class when a strong arm hooked around her neck and rested on her shoulders. Startled, she looked up at a grinning John. He tugged her to him and they walked together down the hall as if they had been friends for years, not having just met only recently.

  “Figured since you’re new here, I could walk you to your next class. Where you headed?” His deep voice was right near her ear.

  Alyssa looked at her schedule. “Physics?”

  “Ouch. Not my kind of class, but I can lead the way.”

  Alyssa held her books tighter to her chest. “Thanks, Johnny,” was all she could muster. She wasn’t expecting John to wear cologne, or even own any, but the scent that lingered on him smelled divine. She found herself leaning in to get a better drift of it.

  “Huh.”

  “Huh, what?”

  “Well, it’s just that no one’s ever called me Johnny before.”

  “Really?” Alyssa kind of felt stupid for calling him that now.

  “I would have corrected anyone who said that, but I kind of like it on your lips. Know what else I would like on your lips, sugar?” His eyes were gleaming with wickedness and that stupid dimple of his was showing. His smile caused a flutter in her stomach, but she pushed it down.

  Alyssa rolled her eyes. Talk about coming on strong. “If you call me those stupid nicknames, then I get to call you Johnny.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Are you going to be late by walking me to class?”

  “No, I have a break for the next hour then another class.”

  She nodded her head.

  “What do you do in between classes?” she asked. John dropped his arm from her shoulders and held the door open for her as they stepped inside another building.

  “Depends, I guess. Sometimes school work, sometimes I hang with my boys. Wherever the day takes us. Where’s your schedule?”

  Alyssa handed it to him.

  He scanned it. “These are the hours you’re with me, Alyssa. We have two classes together.”

  “Lucky me,” she said sarcastically. “I’m surprised you even remembered my name.”

  “I didn’t. It’s at the top of your schedule.”

  “Hey!” she laughed. Alyssa had the sudden urge to smack him.

  “What? I’m being honest.” Laughing, he returned her schedule and asked, “What are you doing after class?”

  “Not talking to a guy who can’t remember my name, that’s for sure.”

  “Ouch, you wound me,” he joked. “Hang out with me. Let me make it up by showing you around town.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t know you?”

  “But that’s how you’ll get to know me, by hanging out with me,” he stated obviously.

  A low chuckle rolled off her lips. She couldn’t help it.

  “Well, here we are.”

  When they reached the classroom, they both faced each other and locked gazes. John loved a quick witted girl, especially when she was easy on the eyes. “Thanks for walking me to class. At least I won’t be late for this one.”

  He winked. “See you around, sugar.”

  The first half of the day passed quickly, and by noon Alyssa found herself in the dining hall. She hated being the new girl. She should have been used to it by now, but she wasn’t. New school, new friends, new everything.

  Quickly grabbing a bottle of water and a bag of chips, Alyssa made her way outside. There were groups of students scattered about, sitting under the overhang laughing and chatting away. They were in their own worlds, and she felt like an outsider peeking in.

  Alyssa sighed when she found her new lunch spot—a thigh high wall of red bricks other students were sitting on. She sat down near the corner and leaned back against the brick wall staring up at the cloudless sky for a moment.

  Georgia was a much slower pace than in California, but she was slowly finding that she liked that aspect. Bringing up her legs, she uncapped her water and took a sip, then pulled out a map along with her schedule. Alyssa had gotten lost on her way to another class earlier in the day and walked in late. She wanted to try and avoid that if she could, so she began studying the map, trying to memorize a route.

  Most days John left in between classes to grab lunch with his friends, Jace and Ford. They would pick up fast food and bring it back to the dining hall to eat or wherever they felt. Parking his truck, they jumped out and made their way to the courtyard as Ford was telling him and Jace about a prank Ford’s little brother wanted help with.

  “Just hear me out before you say no. We round up a bunch of cows, like twenty cows, and sneak them into the school. Gather as many frogs as we can and dump them in there. Some stray cats and dogs, drop some dead fish in the air vents, too. Then we wait and watch from a distance the next morning.”

  “Where the fuck are we going to get twenty cows from? And no offense or anything, but I don’t want to get rabies as we’re trying to catch some stray animals for your brother.” Jace deadpanned. “Seriously, how many do you think we could find in our small town?”

  Ford ignored him and continued. “We could use some Gorilla Glue on all the locks except for one door so no one can get in that day.”

  “You gave this some serious thought, haven’t you,” Jace asked Ford, and he nodded.

  “You guys are crazy. There’s no way this could work. Not to mention, Ford, your brother could get expelled. You guys are on your own with this one.” As fun as it sounded, John was going to sit this one out.

  “My parents have so many cows that they would never notice, say, ten missing,” Ford chimed in. “We can pluck a few from all the farms my parents have and the rest we could probably buy.”

  John sipped his Coke and actually gave some thought to Ford’s crazy ass idea. It could possibly work, but before he could think about it further, he spotted a pretty blonde with legs for days.

  John didn’t know what had gotten into him, but there was something about Alyssa that made him want to get to know her. The instant he saw her he had to go to her. She looked alon
e and down sitting by herself.

  Jace’s hand flew back and smacked John in the stomach pulling him out of his thoughts. “What the hell, bro?”

  “I asked you a question.”

  “And clearly I didn’t hear you, asshole. What did you ask me?”

  “Want to go muddin’ sometime? We haven’t been in a while.”

  When had the conversation moved to another topic? “Yeah, sure.” John was still focused on Alyssa. “Have you met the new girl yet, Ford? She actually lives near us.”

  “I call dibs!” Ford exclaimed.

  John turned his head, bemused. “You call dibs? What are you? Fucking ten? First of all, no one says dibs anymore, dipshit. And second, you haven’t even seen her yet. For all you know, she could be wearing braces, pimply faced, with some nappy looking hair, all skin and bones. And we all know how you like ‘em thick and younger than you. You still gonna call dibs then?”

  Jace barked out a laugh at Ford’s expression and John found himself laughing, too. “I can’t help it if I like a little meat on my girls’ bones. More cushion for the pushin’.”

  “Oh, my God.”

  “Whatever, douche bag.”

  John guided his friends toward Alyssa. “There she is.”

  “I think I just saw hearts in John’s eyes,” Jace joked. John gave him the middle finger and a friendly smile.

  “Well, hey there, sugar,” John drawled, stopping in front of Alyssa.

  Alyssa’s head snapped up to see three guys standing in front of her. The blinding sun shined in her eyes and she blocked it with her hand, then looked at each one and finished at John.

  “Johnny. Still can’t remember my name, I see.”

  “Johnny?” Jace retorted.

  “Alyssa,” he drew out her name, ignoring Jace. “This is Ford. You met Jace already the other day …”

  “Yup, she ain’t my type, but pretty though,” Ford spoke up. Alyssa’s brows pinched together and her mouth dropped open. Of the three guys in front of her, Ford easily stood the tallest. His physique was quite impressive. He wore one of those ugly muscle shirts that exposed his incredibly defined and toned arms. It had giant holes that looked like he cut out himself.

  “I’m glad, because you are not my type either,” she said slowly, enunciating you are not. She hated when people said ain’t.

  John snickered. Alyssa was a mouthy little thing. He was feeling her attitude. “So, are you finding your way around?”

  “I am.”

  “Are you liking South Fork?” Ford asked.

  “It’s growing on me. Is your name really Ford, or is that some sort of nickname?”

  Ford lowered his eyes. Barely moving his mouth, he responded. “Yes. My name really is Ford.”

  “He hates when people ask him that.”

  A smile formed on Alyssa’s sweet face. Her heavy black lashes only made her bright blue eyes glimmer in the light.

  “We just decided we’re all going muddin’ sometime. Since I know you have no friends yet and I can bet you have no plans, what do you say? Wanna dip your feet in the Georgia mud? Get a little taste of the South?”

  Alyssa’s mouth dropped open, utterly shocked. Was he serious? “I told you, but I’ll tell you again since you seem to have a listening problem. I don’t play in the mud. And aren’t you a little old to be going mudding?”

  John could barely form words as he stared at her. He just met his match. A chick that wasn’t afraid to hand it to him. That got the blood flowing straight to his dick.

  “There isn’t much else to do around here,” Jace jumped in.

  “Unfortunately for you, I need to get a job. So that’s what I’ll be doing this weekend until I can find one.”

  “You’re going to be looking all day?” John questioned her.

  “Sure am.”

  “Well then, I’ll get you on Sunday.”

  Alyssa paused. She wasn’t ready for that response.

  “Can’t.”

  A sly smile curved John’s lips. “Be ready Sunday.”

  John glanced over his shoulder as he walked away with Ford and Jace. He locked eyes with Alyssa and with a devious smirk added, “Wear some dirty, old clothes.”

  She flipped him off.

  Fucking hell. John had one goal right now, and that was to get Alyssa on the back of his four wheeler and some mud on her jeans, just to irritate her for the fun of it. She seemed uptight and needed to let loose. She’d probably try to kill him while doing it, but it would be worth it. Normally, girls tried to get his attention left and right considering who his brother is, but Alyssa was different and did the complete opposite. It was a nice change of pace for once.

  John had a feeling about her, and he was going to run with it.

  Sharing a car with her mother meant some days she had to drive her to work before school, which was usually before the sun rose, then pick her up at the end of her shift.

  At first it wasn’t so bad, but a couple of weeks later she was feeling the after effects of getting up earlier than needed and picking her mother up close to midnight. Back in California, she’d had her own car, but they needed the money when they moved so she was forced to sell it. Normally, that would have bothered Alyssa, but seeing as they were now living in some bumpkin town with nothing to do but watch the grass grow, she couldn’t care less. The money helped with college fees and moving expenses.

  Unfortunately for her, some reason the car wouldn’t start this afternoon, and by the look of the dark clouds rolling in, it was about to rain any minute. The only plus was that the college was on the edge of her new small town, so the walk wouldn’t be too bad. She pulled out her phone and popped the earphones in. She’d gotten no more than about one mile when the clouds parted and it started pouring rain on her. Alyssa quickly wrapped the wire around the phone and shoved both into her purse, zipping it up.

  There was no use walking faster or running, she was still a bit away, and at the rate the rain was coming down, it wouldn’t help anyway. She didn’t want to ruin her sandals, so Alyssa unbuckled her shoes and placed them under her arm and continued walking.

  The murky red water covered her ankles with each step, and Alyssa thanked her lucky stars that she wore shorts to school and not her designer jeans. Looking over her shoulder at the sound of a car, Alyssa spotted a navy blue truck with dark tinted windows coming her way. Water flared up and spattered the undersides of the truck and onto the grass. She prayed that whoever it was would slow down as they passed by, otherwise she would be sprayed too.

  “I’ll be goddamned.” Slowing down, John idled up next to her. He rolled down the window and leaned on the console.

  “Alyssa—jump in. I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “It’s okay, I’m good. Thanks anyways.”

  “Get in. Let me drive you home,” John repeated.

  Alyssa said nothing, just continued walking. Why was she being stubborn? It was just a ride home.

  Pressing on the accelerator, John made a wide turn and parked on the grass.

  “Alyssa,” he yelled over the pouring rain walking toward her. “Get in the truck!”

  “I can’t. I’m all wet and,” she looked down, “all dirty. I’ll ruin your seats.”

  He reached out for her. “You really think that bothers me? Come on.”

  “It’s not too far to walk.” The last thing she wanted to do was walk home, but she didn’t want to ruin his truck either. She was drenched.

  John blocked her step. “Hey, what’s the problem? Is it because you don’t know me?”

  Alyssa shook her head. “Partially? I told you, I’m soaking wet and I’ll ruin your truck with all this red mud stuff.”

  “I like my girls wet.” John winked.

  Alyssa teasingly smacked him. “See. This is why I don’t want a ride. You’ve been making pervy comments since I met you.”

  John tried not to laugh, he was only playing around. “You have my word. I promise not to make pervy comments. Now can you just
get in the truck?”

  Alyssa eyed him suspiciously. “You swear?”

  “Yes. But let’s continue this conversation inside,” he gestured to the navy blue monstrosity, idling on the side of the road.

  John guided Alyssa to the passenger side and helped her up into the cab then jogged to the other side and climbed in. He took a deep breath and looked at her.

  “Alyssa, I really don’t care about some dirt. I live in the South. We get dirty. It just happens. I know you laugh at that and think it sounds ridiculous—“

  She laughed. “It does!”

  “But we learn to live with it. And one day you will too.” Placing a hand on her knees, John gently eased her legs down until her feet touched the floor.

  “It’s okay,” he said, comforting her with a soft look. “And it’s just called mud, not red mud stuff.”

  Once they were settled, John turned up the radio and drove for a few minutes. She felt terrible about getting his truck all dirty, even though he swore it didn’t bother him. She was soaked and looked over at John to see if he was as wet.

  “Why are you smiling?”

  “That’s my brother,” he said, pointing at the radio. Alyssa looked ahead of them to the street. “Where?”

  John cranked up the stereo. “He’s on the radio.”

  “Your brother is a singer?”

  “Yup. He’s a country singer.”

  “Oh dear God, I should have known,” she teased. “Country music is the only thing that plays on the radio, isn’t it? How do you listen to that stuff?”

  A creased formed between his brows. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, they all have that twang and sound the same to me. They sing about their dogs riding shot gun as they get ready to play in the mud,” she put emphasis on mud. “The girls walk around in ugly ass cowboy boots and everyone loves fishing. I can just picture a piece of straw hanging between their lips.”

  John chuckled. “You forgot drinking beer.”

  “That goes without saying.”

  “Have you ever been fishing?”

  “No, it’s not really my thing.”

  “How do you know it’s not your thing if you haven’t tried it?”