At first, I laughed it off, naively thinking that since everyone knew how much James and I hated each other, no one would ever believe it. But they did. Every single person believed James, and after that lie, no guy asked me out or even looked at me in passing. It was devastating to a sixteen-year-old girl to have that kind of stuff being said about her.

It was even worse when I confronted James about it, demanding he take back the lie and tell people the truth.

He smirked at me before telling me, “No,” like that was the end of the conversation.

But, apparently, it was because I had been too mortified to bring it up again, and he had been too satisfied with himself over ruining my reputation to ever take it back.

It was a funny thing—a girl’s word versus a guy’s. Why was it that no one ever believed the girl when sex was involved?

DRUNK CONFESSIONS

James

Looking at Julia La Bella was like staring at the sun. I couldn’t look for too long or else it started to really fucking hurt. Yeah, I knew that was a cheesy-as-hell comparison, but the woman was a goddess. She always had been.

I’d learned the definition of beautiful the first time I ever laid eyes on her as a little kid. A part of me fell in love with her then even though she hated my guts and couldn’t stand being anywhere near me. I didn’t blame her though. The second we found out about each other, we were raised to despise the other. I’d just never been any good at following the rules, especially ones that made no fucking sense.

I was pretty sure that if Julia could get away with murdering me, she’d at least give it the old college try. The death stare she currently penetrated me with only furthered my feelings on the matter. Her best friend, Jeanine, however, would definitely try and stop her though. I wasn’t sure what the hell I’d ever done to get on Jeanine’s good side, but I’d always be thankful for it.

“I really need to get to work here, ladies. I’m sure you need to do the same.” I flashed a charming smile at the group of women who had gathered around my booth and refused to leave.

No matter how disinterested I appeared, they didn’t give up or go away. They were relentless in their pursuits. And trust me; I recognized the irony that was my life.

“See you after the competition,” they all threatened before scattering back to where they belonged.