Earning the Cut (Riding the Line Series, Prequel) (2 page)

***

“Loser!”

Dax was jolted from his midday catnap under a tree on the commons where most of the students ate lunch. A voice carried, like it was meant for his ears, but when he opened his eyes he could see that the hate-filled comments were directed at a scrawny freshman. He’d seen the new kid around. He was painfully thin, and his bony ankles were perpetually visible because his pants were a few inches too short. Kids like him always stood out to Dax. So did lost puppies and beggars. He felt a natural kinship with anything that seemed…uncared for.

The bully was a jock, he was one of those privileged assholes who would never recognize how good he had it. The jock drove a brand new, lifted truck to school, and his shoes were worth more than Dax’s entire wardrobe. Even his name, Liam, sounded upper crust to Dax’s ears. As he watched, Liam pushed the new kid into the dirt as a couple of his buddies looked on, laughing. Before he was really even aware of what he was doing, Dax was on his feet, closing the distance between himself and the bully, his fists clenching with rage.

The next thing he knew, they were pulling him off the jock. There was an odd roaring in Dax’s ears as he looked at the scene before him in dismay. Liam lay bleeding on the ground, curled in the fetal position. A half-circle of kids stood around them, most of their mouths open in shock. The new kid stared at him, a look of wonder and gratitude on his thin face.

“Daxter Jamison, you are suspended!” The principal’s voice floated to him from somewhere through the white noise that seemed to cloud his brain.
Fuck!
There goes my life again,
he thought hazily, knowing that the Bodeckers would not tolerate a suspension.
Wonder where I’ll end up this time….

“That’s not fair!” A new voice cut in. “I saw the entire thing, Mr. Maxwell, and it was
not
his fault! Liam started it!”

Dax looked to the speaker in surprise. No one had ever stuck up for him before. He blinked as his eyes found the source of the voice. He felt his own jaw drop as he assessed her long blond hair, blue eyes, and a body that could stop traffic. It was Trisha Wagner. The hottest chick in school.

“No way, Mr. Maxwell! That asshole went apeshit on Liam…” one of Liam’s jock buddies cut in.

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Avery!”

“Miss Wagner, watch your language! Mr. Jamison, get your things and meet me in the office.”

Dax was mildly surprised when Trish grabbed the principal’s arm. Maxwell was looking for a reason to suspend him. The teachers complained about his attitude, and he had been called into Maxwell’s office more than once. Still, he managed to do just enough to avoid any real trouble. Dax liked his attic room and the weird sense of stability he was slowly allowing himself to feel. He liked those things too much to jeopardize them.

“Mr. Maxwell! This is fucked up! It wasn’t his fault…”

Hearing the f-bomb fall from her bow-shaped, innocent-looking mouth was a contradiction in itself. Trisha was a straight-A student with perfect attendance. Dax supposed her GPA was also in contradiction with her physical appearance. Trisha Wagner might have the body of a goddess, but she was no dumb blond. He knew these things because they announced them regularly-to keep the other sheep in line, he supposed. Trisha was hot but she wasn’t a slut, as far as he had heard.

Dax wasn’t that interested in social gossip, but he thought he remembered that she had turned down Liam when he had asked her to one of the stupid dances or whatever. Dax tried not to stare as the pretty girl, in her tight jeans and sweater, glared at their principal. Her dad was someone too…someone important. Her family had money, that was obvious given her painted nails and her expensive shoes. He always noticed shoes. Dax rubbed his split knuckles absently.
If she doesn’t like the popular rich, kid, why the hell is she sticking up for me?!

“That’s it! If you care so much, Miss Wagner, you can join your friend Daxter here in detention for the next two weeks,” Maxwell said, exasperated.

Trish gasped, then squared her shoulders. “Fine. But he shouldn’t be suspended. Liam was picking on that new kid. Dax just….intervened.”

She shot him a shy smile, and a bolt of pure heat rocketed straight from Dax’s chest to his groin. He shifted, suddenly grateful for his too-big, low-slung pants. He had no idea she knew his name, or his nickname anyway. Trisha Wagner was a pretty girl he passed in the hall, appreciated for her face and form, and then passed on, knowing he would never have a shot with a girl like her.
Or any girl.
Dax hadn’t ever felt like he did now as he sized up Trisha Wagner from the corner of his eye as they shuffled to Maxwell’s office. She was beautiful. Her breasts jiggled underneath her white sweater, and his mouth went dry. That was the moment Dax Jamison realized that he was a man. And he wanted Trisha Wagner the way a man wants a woman…however that was.

***

No one had ever looked forward to Monday detention the way Dax did that weekend. He nodded and tried to look appropriately cowed at the disappointed sermon he received from Mr. Bodecker, but he wasn’t really listening. He had dodged a bullet when Maxwell decided to forgo his suspension in favor of detention. Bodecker warned him that he wouldn’t tolerate fighting. Three strikes and he was out, just like a criminal.
Chalk up strike one.

Well, it was worth it to Dax. All he could think about was Trisha Wagner. Why on earth had she risked her squeaky-clean reputation to stand up for him? Her behavior made absolutely no sense. His mind was stuck on the girl. He couldn’t get her out of his damn head. Trish started to appear in his dreams and he was embarrassed to wake up covered in the sticky evidence of his nocturnal emissions. Sheepishly, he stripped the bed, and muddled through the school day. Dax smiled as he slipped into his seat for first period English. He completed his work quickly and accurately, much to the surprise of his teacher. For Dax, doing the work was a way to keep his mind occupied, and his raging boner down.

He was on pins and needles when he showed up to detention. It was held in the school library—a place he had rarely set foot in. A flowery scent wafted to his nostrils and his whole body went on alert, as if his very cells could sense her presence before he even saw her. Dax shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to look cool, pretending not to notice her. Then, a hand jostled his arm, forcing his attention. He hoped she couldn’t see the perverted thoughts that were suddenly running uncontrollably through his fevered adolescent male brain. He swallowed, unable to look directly at her. It would be like staring at the sun.

“What, no thank you?”

Her voice was accusatory and he felt guilt wash over him. Dax froze until he finally met her eyes, and then he found himself breaking into a broad grin. Her hands were on her hips, her chin jutting obstinately with her mock outrage. Then, Trisha Wagner winked at him. And Dax fell hard. So hard. He never even knew what hit him until it was gone.

***

After the detention stint, Trish wasn’t about to lose momentum. She doubled up on the studying and volunteering. She was in a bunch of those silly clubs, like
Save the Whales
or whatever, but they didn’t seem so silly anymore. The girl wanted to be a doctor! To Dax, doctors were quacks who would give you a quick exam, pretend not to see the bruising on your ribs, and send you right back to another horrible fake family. But Trish, she wanted to be a pediatrician. Work with kids. Help them. It was yet another trait that drew him to her. That, and the searing physical attraction that he felt for her. Plus, she was good for him. He could only hope that if he became a better person, he’d be good enough for her.

The look of disappointment on Mrs. B.’s face the evening he had waltzed in, high from his interaction with Trish in detention, had deflated him somewhat. He had received another long lecture from Mr. B., and instead of his usual sardonic response, he had nodded quietly, and agreed with the man. For the first time, Dax considered that Bodecker was right. He
should
be grateful for his opportunities. He
would
do better. He promised. And he did.

Dax’s grades soared that year, much to the surprise of the faculty, student body, and his foster family. He was kind of surprised, himself.
I’m not some dummy,
he thought proudly, allowing himself a secret smile over his last report card. He was no valedictorian, but he went from straight C’s to B’s. Even though he was distracted as hell by her presence, it was hard not to learn around Trish. Her parents were strict and she wasn’t allowed to date or hang out much, but they let her have as much time as she wanted at the local library. He was beyond shocked when she asked him to join her there.
Me study?!

Dax felt more than a little ridiculous the first time he walked through the heavy glass doors of the library, his ratty backpack slung over his shoulder. But, anything was worth it to bask in the light that seemed to surround Trisha Wagner. Eventually, he came to like the library because it often housed the only person who seemed to genuinely take interest in him. Trish invited his company. She complimented him. She laughed at his silly jokes. A part of Dax’s heart that he had thought had died off long ago began to open and flower under Trish’s tutelage and attention. He felt more relaxed than he had ever felt. For the first time in his life, he felt like someone liked him. The real him.

Even though things seemed to be working in his favor for once, Dax was slowly being driven insane. He had gone from a gawky, half-grown kid to an intense, brooding young man, all in the space of a semester. Even though he was still thin, and several inches shy of his adult height, the burning, possessive, carnal desires of a full-grown male had suddenly exploded in his body. He tried desperately to reign in his urges, and at times he had to feign confusion over a math problem because he couldn’t get the sexual images out of his head. He was learning to control his cock, but most of the time it seemed to operate with a mind of its own, stiffening at the most inopportune times. All he could think about was Trish’s smile and the way her skin might feel beneath his hands. Her scent drove him mad as they bent over their textbooks. He would do anything to be around her, even homework.

She was worth it, though. Sneaking a glance at Trish, he could see that she was immersed in thought this afternoon. Her lower lip stuck out as she chewed the end of her pencil. For some reason, the sight of her small white teeth worrying the pink eraser sent a jolt of heat straight into his pants. He let out a low gasp as he lengthened to full mast right there in his jeans. Trish looked up questioningly, and he felt himself flush. There was absolutely no logical reason this beautiful girl should want to be his friend, so how could he assume she would want anything more? She was naturally smart, came from a good family, and with her looks, she could have her pick of the popular, rich jocks.

Dax couldn’t just sit there, with telltale fluid beginning to leak into his boxers, so he stood up, shifting uncomfortably.

“What?”

“Huh? Nothing.” He looked around, seeking a distraction from his raging hard-on.

“Want to take a break?”

“Yeah, sure.” He was practically sweating with the mental effort it took to will his boner away as they gathered their books and headed to a small coffee shop next to the library.

“Want something?” Trish gestured to the case of baked goods.

Dax was starving. His body was on constant alert around this girl, and for some reason, he felt even hungrier than usual when he was around her. But, he didn’t have any money, and he didn’t want her to know that. “Nope.”

“Well, I am. Split something with me?”

Dax shrugged and looked away. He wished he had a few bucks. Trisha Wagner deserved to be taken out to fancy restaurants, and treated like a queen. He sank into one of the easy chairs and watched her order a snack. Her ass was so round and perfect in her expensive jeans. His breath caught as she looked over her shoulder at him, and smiled. When she smiled at him, it was like she saw him, the real him, straight into his soul, and liked what she saw. While part of him rejoiced at the idea, the rational part of his brain struggled with the notion that someone actually liked and accepted him.
How could that be?
Especially her?!

An hour later, her phone buzzed. “It’s my Dad. He’s picking me up in a few minutes. Dax-I wish I could offer you a ride, but my Dad is a little…strict.”

“No problem.” He hadn’t been expecting a ride. His bike was chained up next to the library. It was only a few miles to his house. Trish’s place was up on the hill, in the richest neighborhood in town. He would have been embarrassed for her to see where he lived anyway. It was nice enough for him, but compared to where she lived he was sure his place was a dump.

They walked back to the library in silence. Dax wondered for the umpteenth time if she liked him. You know, like
that.
He was happy enough just to be around her, but he wanted more.
So much more.

“Hey, asshole! Gold-digging much?”

Dax’s head jerked up as a lifted truck with a custom exhaust pulled to the curb.
Liam.
And he wasn’t alone. Trisha let out a startled yelp as three jocks piled out of the truck and surrounded him. Yeah, he was outnumbered, but they were soft. Dax’s body had been hardened by years of abuse, so he didn’t even feel the first few blows. He fought dirty, seasoned by years in foster care, and he clocked one of them good, knocking him to the ground. Now it was two to one. He thought he could take them, but Liam’s buddy got him in a chokehold, and then Liam scored a swift kick to his stomach. His vision swam, and then someone started yelling for them to break it up. Through his hazy view, he could see the library security officer running towards them. Liam and the other kids piled into the truck and took off. Trish was by his side, and he spat onto the ground, pulling himself into a sitting position.

“Oh my God, Dax! Are you okay?”