Excerpt!
I nearly choked on their superiority. Or maybe it was the overwhelming stench of their overpriced cologne burning my sinuses. Who knew?
They drifted to the back of the room with their lazy smiles, easy laughter, and cocky swagger—typical Royal demeanor.
I bit the inside of my cheek and shifted my focus from them, back to the front of the classroom, wondering why the water polo team was nothing more than a bunch of egotistical meatheads and how Topher got to be King. I mean, sure, he was beautiful. If you liked pretty boys with skin the color of golden toffee and hair bleached from long days spent in the sun. Forget the eyes so blue they were nearly violet because when it came to what was inside that grudgingly-gorgeous head, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was dumb as a box of rocks. He probably copied all his homework or forced some nerd to do it for him and cheated on all of his tests. After all, he and his crew only seemed to care about a few things: girls, sports, and proving to the rest of us peasants how amazing they were.
I listened to the ruckus while they settled in behind me as Ms. Stone walked in. She was in her twenties with curly dark hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and a pleasant smile. Plump lips painted a deep red sat below high cheekbones. Her pencil skirt skimmed the bottom of her knees and her kitten heels clacked when she walked.
By all standards, she had an amazing body hidden beneath her conservative clothing. She reminded me of Julia Roberts circa My Best Friend’s Wedding. She was the token “hot teacher” and decades younger than half the teachers at Lakeview. So when his majesty made a snarky remark about needing special tutoring this semester, among the catcalls of his friends, my blood boiled at the misogyny.
Ah, yes, just what every beautiful, educated twenty-something woman wants—an entitled pubescent boy still living with Mommy and Daddy hitting on her.
The girl sitting next to me choked out a laugh and offered me a fist bump, which I returned, slightly confused, arm limp as a noodle.
“Roasted.” The girl snickered.
My brows knitted together as I glanced around me to find several amused expressions and dawning sank in my chest like a rock.
I said that out loud.
Kill me now.
The mutinous glare from JT—one of Topher’s friends—burned a hole in the side of my head, confirming this theory. Nothing like putting a target on my back on the first day.
Author bio:
Gracie Graham writes contemporary young adult novels and is the pen name for adult author Tia Souders.
Topher Elliot is high school royalty.
The king of Lakeview prep.
You know the type. Disgustingly rich. Blond-haired. Eyes the color of a clear, blue sky. And muscles for days.
He also happens to be enemy #1, the bane of my existence.
Only, now my scholarship is in jeopardy and, like the peasant I am, I must tutor the king himself if I want to graduate.
Still, if I have to be around him, I might as well make it worth my while. So I send him a scathing text, telling him exactly what I think about him. But he mistakes me for someone else. That’s when I hatch a plan: get dirt on the king, and watch his reign crumble.
It’s about time someone made the king come tumbling down.
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Gracie Graham writes contemporary young adult novels and is the pen name for adult author Tia Souders.
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