Broken Hill Havoc: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 5) Read online

  It was bittersweet though. It marked the fact that we were moving on with our lives and some of us weren’t going to be around for much longer. Brylee was going to Yale a million miles away, Jesse was going onto his senior year with Tyson and Kaylah, Nate was starting his business, and Brooke and I were going to be killing ourselves at college. Courtney was accepted into college about an hour away, and naturally, Puck followed her there. Elle is studying dance and has finally accepted the fact that she wants to be a world class choreographer while Jackson… unfortunately, we're still stuck with him. Jackson is now on the football team of Broken Hill University, just the way he had always wanted.

  I guess, in the end, we all kind of got what we wanted, it’s just sad that for the most part, we’re all apart. I don’t get to see the same faces every single day. Though with Jesse, all I have to do is say his name and he somehow just appears. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. I’ve never heard a saying more appropriate for Jesse. He’s never far away.

  I know it’s only two weeks into school but Jesse is absolutely loving senior year so far. He slipped straight into Nate’s role of being the boss man of Broken Hill High, and not that I’d ever admit it to him, but it suits him. He still doesn’t know what he wants to do with the rest of his life, but I can see him in a job where he has a whole lot of minions to boss around and kiss his feet.

  “Come on,” I tell Brooke, grabbing my things off the table. “If I get back to your dorm now, I should still get an hour sleep so I don’t crash out during Political Science.”

  “Ok,” she says, following my lead. “I have a bit of studying that I should get stuck into too.”

  “K,” I murmur as she loops her arm through mine. We make our way back out into the fresh air, dragging our full stomachs along.

  “So,” Brooke says as she excitedly drags my exhausted body along beside her. “For this guy I want to find, I was thinking of dark hair and light eyes with a rock hard body. But he has to be tall and give off that bad boy, alpha vibe, otherwise no deal.”

  “You realize you just described Maxen, right?”

  “No, I didn’t. If I wanted a guy like Maxen, I would have added traits like douchebaggery and unfaithful tendencies.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “We’ll find you the perfect guy,” I say with a bounce of my shoulders.

  “Who knows?” she says with an evil little smirk. “Maybe a guy even better than the famous Ryder brothers.”

  “No,” I laugh. “That’s just unrealistic. A guy better than Nate or Jesse simply doesn’t exist.”

  “Geez,” she laughs. “I think you have Stockholm Syndrome.”

  I shake my head as we barge our way into Brooke’s dorm room. We come screeching to a halt when we find her bitch of a roommate staring back at us. Though, staring is probably the wrong word. It’s a disgusted glare, letting us know just how unwelcome we are, especially me as I don’t actually live here.

  I roll my eyes at the bitch and release my arm from Brooke’s. “Sorry,” I grin as I begin backing out of the room. “You’re on your own with this one.”

  “Oh, hell no,” Brooke laughs, stepping out of her dorm room and slamming the door behind her. “I am not in the mood to deal with that.”

  We walk out into the common room and collapse down into the couch. I swivel around and put my feet up on Brooke’s lap as she props hers up on the coffee table and pulls out her phone. I guess there will be no sleeping for me this afternoon.

  “What are you doing?” I ask as I squish my head into the cushion and pout about my missed sleeping opportunity.

  “Downloading Tinder,” she grunts, flipping her phone around to show me the screen.

  My whole body perks up and suddenly sleep is the last thing on my mind. “Hell, yeah,” I grin, snatching the phone from her and sitting up so we can both look at the screen. “Let’s find you the next best thing.”

  Chapter 2

  I sit back on the stool as I watch Nate lean over the hood of a… well, I have no idea what it is, but it looks old and I’m sure as hell he’s going to turn it into something that is going to become a collector’s most prized possession over the next few months. It’s just what he does and I’d dare say that even though he’s only nineteen, he’s probably one of the best in the business already.

  Nate has such a sharp eye for detail. He has people constantly wanting to buy his Camaro and Mustang off him, but there’s no way in hell he’ll ever part with those two cars. They’re special, and besides, he hasn’t quite given up on the whole racing thing yet.

  Jesse had his Camaro fixed for him when he had thought it was gone forever. It was a huge surprise, one that Nate can still hardly believe; which meant apart from spending our summer setting up this incredible space for Nate’s business and partying at Broken Hill lake, we spent it adding all the little extras back onto the Camaro that were destroyed in the crash.

  I mean, watching Nate work… there are no words. It’s incredibly sexy. Especially as his muscles bulge and roll around beneath his skin as he tightens and loosens bolts. There’s nothing quite like it. His hands become covered in grease and I don’t know how but he always ends up with grease smeared over his face.

  I can’t help but take in Nate’s shop. Not long after I showed him this old warehouse, he was sitting down with my dad and making him an offer for the space. Dad couldn’t resist. He’s been wanting to get rid of the warehouse since he first bought it. I honestly don’t know what he was thinking of buying the place in the first place. I mean, it’s not like he had the time to turn it into anything special, not the way that Nate did. Dad jumped at the chance to get rid of it without having to add realtors into the mix and pay them a commission for making the sale. This way, both of them get exactly what they wanted.

  The second the sale was finalized, Nate was right here, making his dream come true. He hired carpenters, plumbers, and metal workers. You name it, Nate had them here working on this space. It took only a few weeks for the layout to start taking shape which is when he wanted to hire painters, but I convinced him that we should paint it ourselves.

  It sounded like a great idea at the time, until about an hour in when my arms started aching. We got about a half day in when I gave up and allowed him to hire the professionals. Following that, all the tool benches and car lifts were brought in. The office and meeting room was set up. Security was installed and one hell of a gate was put out front. I mean, this place is locked down like Fort Knox. No one is getting in here to destroy all his hard work. I mean, I couldn’t even sneak in here to surprise him today. He knew the second my car pulled up outside.

  “Hey,” Nate’s voice booms over the music he has playing. My eyes flick back towards him to find him smirking at me. “Are you just going to sit there looking pretty or are you going to help me?”

  I shoot an eyebrow up and give him my best resting bitch face, but let’s be real, he’s not affected by it, if anything, it’s probably turning him on. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

  “I’ll show you.”

  I let out a groan and push myself off the stool. “Fine,” I say walking over to him. “But I better not get dirty. I’m going boyfriend surfing with Brooke later.”

  “What?” he grunts, freezing on the spot as he watches me.

  “Not for me,” I laugh. "For Brooke. She wants to start dating again. So, we’re going out to make it happen.”

  “You’re going to walk around campus talking to random guys hoping to get Brooke laid?”

  “It’s not like that,” I tell him.

  “I don’t care,” he grunts, turning back to the old car as I come up beside him. “I don’t like it.”

  I let out a heavy sigh as I grab his large forearm and force him to look back at me. “She wants what we have,” I explain. “She was in her element when she was with Max. She never knew it before but being someone’s girlfriend means something to her and she wants that back.”

  His eyes widen in shock.
“With Max?”

  “No, with someone else,” I laugh. “Come on, you know we’ll be careful. It’s not like we’re going to walk into the middle of a frat house and put her up on offer. We’ll probably end up at some coffeehouse, perving on random guys, and not actually talking to them.”

  It’s Nate’s turn to let out a heavy breath. “Fine, but the second some loser starts hitting on you, I want you out.”

  “I know you don’t believe it, but I can handle myself just fine.”

  His greased up hand winds around my waist and I’m sure I have black smudges all over my white tank, though something tells me that he knows exactly what he’s doing, especially as he pulls me in tight and kisses me deeply.

  Nate adjusts us so my light blue, ripped jeans are pressed up against the dirty old car as he pushes his solid body in hard against mine, letting me feel every single inch of his glorious body. He grinds his hips into mine before sliding his hands down my body and lifting me onto the edge of the open hood. He forces his hips in between my legs, letting me feel him right there against me.

  “When those guys are trying to take what’s mine,” he murmurs against my lips, grinding himself against me and making me shudder with need. “Just remember what you’ve got here and what only I can do to your body. How only I know you well enough to know that when I do this,” he says, sliding his hand down my body and pressing his fingers against that bundle of nerves just the way I like it, making me gasp for more, “you want to scream.”

  My hands curl around to his back and begin bunching up the fabric of his shirt, suddenly not giving a shit about how dirty I get. Hell, with Nate, I’ll be more than happy to get all kinds of dirty. I mean, he can’t touch me like that and not expect to screw me. Only an idiot would leave his girl needy like this before sending her out into the world of college guys.

  But that’s my calculating boyfriend, always two steps ahead. He knew exactly what he was doing when he touched me, and he wanted to make sure my body was thoroughly satisfied before I go looking at the wide selection on offer at BHU.

  Though, it’s not like he has anything to worry about. He’s my man and I wouldn’t dream of being with anyone else. He knows it, I know it, and every last person in Broken Hill knows it. He just likes playing games.

  Nate helps me to pull his shirt over his head and my hands instantly come down on his strong body. I mean, I will never get enough of this. He’s a piece of artwork, carved from the most exquisite stone. The chest, abs, and shoulders are one thing, but add the deep ridges around his hips and the defined ‘V’ that points down to what every woman who knows Nate Ryder is desperately wanting. He’s just… wow. And he’s all mine.

  His hands reach for the front of my jeans and I push my hips forward, needing him to hurry.

  “Yo,” a frustratingly familiar voice calls out through the shop. “Where you at?”

  Damn it.

  Nate’s hands stop working my button as his head falls to my shoulder. “For fuck’s sake,” he groans, running his hand up my back and coming to a stop at the back of my neck. He pulls back and softly kisses me. “Sorry.”

  “You owe me,” I murmur.

  “You fucking bet I do.”

  Jesse waltzes into the shop with Kaylah tucked under his arm and a grin plastered over his face. He falters for a second as he takes in our position up against the old car and the less than thrilled expression on Nate’s face. “Oh, shit,” he laughs. “Did we interrupt something?”

  “You fucking know you did,” Nate growls, stepping out of my arms and grabbing his shirt off the floor, making my body shut down in utter disappointment. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Jesse says as they continue walking over towards us. “Just wanted to see what you guys were doing. It’s Saturday afternoon. Shouldn’t you call it a day?”

  “Nah,” Nate grunts. “Still got a bit to do.”

  Jesse looks over the car as I jump down from the hood and meet Kaylah’s gaze. ‘Sorry,’ she mouths.

  I shrug as I walk over to her. “Don’t be,” I say, watching how Nate instantly puts Jesse to work. “He’s all wound up which means a very exciting night for me.”

  She laughs. “I should have known you’d find the good in Nate getting cockblocked.”

  “There’s always good when it comes to Nate,” I smile.

  We watch the boys work for a while as we chat about how Jesse is dominating Broken Hill High. Apparently, as Kaylah is putting it, he’s like Nate on steroids. Everything gets run by him and nothing happens in his school that he doesn’t know about. Tyson is loving all the added attention, not that he wasn’t getting it before, but now he’s getting attention from every female in the school, including the unavailable ones. More so than what he would have expected because Jesse is taken, leaving him as the only available bad boy for the girls to sink their claws into. After seeing the way Tyson likes to party, I can assure anyone that he’s in his element.

  “So,” I say to Kaylah, realizing she’s taken over my position in the school. “You’re the top bitch to watch out for at Broken Hill High now.”

  “Yeah,” she groans, pushing her blonde hair back over her shoulder. “I don’t know how you did it. I can’t stand all the attention.”

  “Really? Didn’t you get all that attention at your old school?”

  “No,” she scoffs. “I was a nobody at Haven Falls. Me and my friend, Henley, just blended in with everyone else. Here, it’s like a completely different world.”

  “I bet,” I laugh as I check the time and realize that I should probably start heading out if I intend on getting a new outfit before meeting Brooke. “You’ll get used to it eventually. It’s only the second week in.”

  “Hope so.”

  I walk forward and intercept Nate as he reaches for some big ass looking tool. “I have to go,” I tell him. “I need to head back home and get redressed, thanks to you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he grins, purposefully grabbing my ass to leave two greasy hand prints behind before ducking his head to kiss me once again. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  Nate winks and a flush starts rising on my cheeks. Mmmm, yeah, I really can’t wait.

  I walk back out to my R8 and not half an hour later, Brooke and I are sitting out by the athletic buildings, watching all the man-meat pass by. We watch with interest as a few guys on the swim team pass before half the football team come barrelling out of the campus gym.

  “Well, well, well,” Jackson grins as he approaches us with a bunch of the guys on his team. “If it isn’t my two favorite girls. What are you guys doing over here? It’s a bit out of your league over here, isn’t it?”

  “Whoa,” Brooke laughs, as we get to our feet. “Trust me, nothing on this campus is out of my league.”

  “You’re feisty, aren’t you?” a voice to the right of Jackson say, instantly drawing Brooke’s attention. I mean, what better comment to make to draw in a girl like Brooke. She loves being the feisty girl and she loves it, even more, when that’s appreciated.

  I look over at the guy and take him in as Jackson watches us with a heavy scowl. The guy is exactly Brooke’s type. Tall, muscled, into sports with that bad boy, I don’t give a fuck, demeanor. It’s like Maxen reborn.

  Brooke falls into easy conversation with the guy as I turn back to Jackson to find his scowl sill heavy on Brooke and the guy. “Hey,” I say, drawing his attention as I feel the eyes of his other teammates raking up and down my body. “What’s going on? How was training?”

  “Yeah, good,” he says, also noticing his friends openly leering at me. “Listen, I’ll catch up with you girls later,” he tells me, leaning in to murmur in my ear. “This really isn’t a great place for you girls to be hanging out if you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah,” I say as my eyes flick over his shoulder to see one of his teammate’s give me one of those ‘I’m down if you’re down’ nods. “I get it.”

  Jackson t
urns around and gives the guy a nudge. “Get the fuck out of here. She’s off limits.”

  “What about you?” I hear the guy talking to Brooke question, making me look over at her. “Are you off limits?”

  Her eyes rake up and down his body and she steps into him, placing her hand on his wide chest. “I’m not looking to be screwed over.”

  His hand slides onto her waist and she sucks in a breath, clearly very taken by this meathead before her. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmurs. “Let me take you out?”

  “When?”

  “Right now.”

  Brooke watches him for a moment before her eyes flick over to me, silently questioning if it’s ok for her to ditch me. I nod, hoping I’m doing the right thing. I mean, I don’t know a thing about this guy. “Alright,” she tells him. “But you better blow me the fuck away.”

  I roll my eyes at the scene before me. I have no idea how she’s so damn confident when talking to guys. If that was me, I’d probably shit myself and start rocking in the corner.

  The guy weaves his arm firmly around her waist and tugs on her, pulling her along beside him. Brooke looks back at me. “I’ll call you later.”

  “K,” I murmur, giving her the ‘you better be safe or I’m going to kick your ass’ look. She nods and before I know it, Brooke and the footballer disappear out of sight.

  I look at Jackson. “Do I need to be worried about her?”

  “Nah,” he says. “That’s Lukas. She’s safe with him. He’s a bit intense but nothing Brooke can’t handle.”

  “Oh, good,” I sigh, letting out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “I was worried I made a mistake just now.”