She's My Everything (Crave and Claimed Book 1)

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2021 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-0-3695-0334-3

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Audrey Bobak

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  SHE’S MY EVERYTHING

  Crave and Claimed, 1

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2021

  Chapter One

  Blue Jones leaned against the locker for the sixth time in three minutes in an attempt to get comfortable and to look like he actually belonged. A couple of his friends laughed at him, but he didn’t give a shit. If they wanted to keep him on the team, they knew to keep their mouths shut about what he was doing. He’d been clear to them. He wanted the nerdy girl, Laylah Miller, to belong to him, and if they so much as got in his way, well, he’d make sure they were the laughing stock of the entire town where football was a big deal. None of his friends understood him or his desire for Laylah.

  She was so smart, kind, and had the perfect smile. He couldn’t stop looking for her. Whenever he came to school, he made his way down the long corridors, hoping to find her.

  Of course, he always did.

  He had plenty of people willing to do whatever he wanted for a price. Even if it was just a handshake in said corridor in front of a couple of chicks. He knew the deal. He was the shit in this school. Top jock and all-time champion, even though he was part of a team, but no one else seemed to give a shit about that. Nope, they were more interested in what he did on the field, not everyone else.

  According to the town, he won everything. He didn’t and he made sure his team was always there, and he praised them.

  Right now, he stood beside Laylah’s locker, waiting for her, ready to make his move. He could have any other chick in this damn high school, and he had, in fact, had them. This was before he recognized Laylah. Before he’d spotted her, laughing at something someone had said. Her laughter had drawn his attention. Whenever he saw her, her arms were filled with books. He’d been so drawn to her, he actually thought she was a new student, but after careful research, he’d discovered they’d always gone to the same school, since kindergarten, and even shared several of the same classes.

  Again, he didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed her, but that smile, and fuck, her body, he wanted her, craved her. His teammates weren’t of the same mind. To some, they considered her curves as fat, but not him. When he’d seen her in a swimsuit the other week, he’d nearly lost his shit. Nice big tits, round thighs, and a body that screamed to be fucked. He knew at eighteen he shouldn’t know all about sex and pleasing a woman, but he’d had a lot of practice. He’d lost his virginity at the ripe age of fourteen, and had even found a woman to teach him how to be the best. Those lessons had become invaluable. However, he’d trade it all in if Laylah would look at him for just a single second. That was all he wanted. The past couple of months had been pure torture, watching her from afar, trying to get on her radar, when he always seemed to be the furthest thing from it.

  She drove him crazy.

  Other than the occasional hey or thanks when she’d dropped her books, she hadn’t spoken to him. Now as he stood there, waiting for her to approach, his palms were sweaty. Tapping his fingers against his thigh, he tried to be cool. She wouldn’t go for someone who was horrible and looked like a serial killer.

  He had to keep his shit.

  Come on, Blue, the only way to win this game is to be yourself.

  He was used to winning and believed it was the key value to everything.

  Hands clenched, he watched her turn the corner. She was on her own, but she wasn’t looking up. Her head was down in a book. She always had a whole armful of books, and it drove him crazy on days he just wanted to see her beautiful face.

  Was it so hard to look up?

  She came to a stop a few feet from where he stood, and he waited, expecting her to see him.

  How many times had she come to this locker as she reached out and began to open it? He cleared his throat and she looked up. She wore the cutest pair of glasses for reading, which she pushed up her nose.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey.”

  She pressed her lips together and turned to look into her locker, closing the book she’d been reading.

  “Good book?”

  “You can say that.” She smiled at him. “What can I help you with, Blue?” she asked.

  She knew his name. Of course, she knew his name. They shared a lot of classes together and he was king in this school, not that he allowed it all to go to his head. His father had told him to always keep his feet firmly on the ground and to never behave like a dick, even if he could get away with it. According to his mom, his dad spoke from experience. His father had once been a jock, king in his own right, but he’d also been a giant dick, nearly losing him and his mom in the process.

  Anyway, that was for another time.

  “Nah, you can’t help me with anything,” he said. He studied hard and made good grades all because of his father.

  “Then what are you doing hanging out by my locker?”

  He ran his hand up and down the metal. “I like this space. You know. It makes me feel at one with … everything.” He wanted the world to open him up and swallow him. “It’s so hard and, you know, gray.”

  She burst out laughing.

  Damn, that sound.

  It did shit to him, making his cock ache just watching her. She wasn’t fake. The laughter was real. Everything about her was real and he found it highly addictive.

  ****

  Laylah glanced over at the jock leaning against her locker. She placed the books inside. It was her mission to read through a list of one hundred books by the end of the year. So far, she was at seventy-five. Still twenty-five more to go and she was excited about reaching her target.

  Every single year, she made a long list of achievements she wanted to work through. Excelling at school was always at the top of the list. Losing weight another, which often ended in failure. She had a few more, but as Blue smiled at her, she had to wonder what he was doing here.

  “Are you meeting someone here?” Who hung out at a locker just because of the color? Made absolutely no sense to her, but whatever. She grabbed her English books and closed the door.

  “Actually, I wanted to see you,” he said.

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, how do you feel about food?”

  She frowned. “Is that a trick question?”

  He ran his fingers through his hair and if she wasn’t mistaken, he looked nervous and kind of cute. She couldn’t deny the cuteness oozing off him. It was … funny. The few times she’d found herself glancing over at Blue, he’d always been cool, calm, and collected. She considered him the three Cs, but again, she never took all that much time thinking about him. She wasn’t being cruel, she just didn’t see a reason to linger on a conversation that had no grounds.

  Blue laughed. “Well, I happen to love pizza. What about you?”

  “Who doesn’t love pizza?”

  “You’re not helping me here,” he said.

  “Blue, what the hell is going on?” she asked. This was the longest conversation they’d e
ver experienced.

  Silence passed between them. Blue kept looking at her like he wanted to say something and still, she was none the wiser. She glanced at her wrist, seeing she was running out of time. “I really got to go.”

  “Go out with me,” he said.

  This made her stop, nearly dropping her books. Surely, she’d heard wrong. There was no way he was asking her to go out with him. She chuckled. “Excuse me?”

  “Go out with me. I know a great pizza place. Let me buy you some food.”

  This wasn’t a joke. She glanced around to see they’d gained a bit of an audience.

  “I have to go to class.” She spun on her heel, making her way toward English, hoping for some distance. Of course, that wouldn’t happen. Nope. She and Blue had the exact same English class.

  “Is that a yes or a no?” he asked.

  She stopped and turned toward him. “Is this some kind of joke?” Her two friends, Becky and John, had both told her they’d caught him staring at her. She didn’t give herself time to dwell on it. What was the point? He was the most popular guy in school, while she held her title of nerd proudly. There were a few other insulting words people said to her, but she often ignored them as they weren’t worth her time. It was how she got through school without crying. Also, she’d discovered if she didn’t respond to anyone, they’d get bored and move on to another target.

  Whenever she saw bullying happen, she did intervene because she couldn’t stand others to get hurt.

  Blue grabbed her arm. “I’m talking to you, Laylah.”

  “Yes, I know and I’m … dealing with that. I am.” She blew out a breath. “I need to get to class, and I appreciate the offer I do, but no, thank you.”

  Cringing at her response, she quickly ducked under his arm and entered English class, where John waited for her. Becky had a different lesson this period. They tended to stick together. Right now, there wasn’t exactly a whole lot of sticking. She sat down and kept her gaze away from the main door.

  “What’s up with you?”

  Glancing over at John, she forced a smile to her lips. “Er, I’m not exactly sure.” She pinched her arm and winced.

  John frowned. “You know that’s strange.”

  “I think Blue Jones just asked me on a date.” She tried to whisper.

  “Really?”

  She stared at John as he started to look for Blue and she grabbed his arm, tugging him to focus on her. “Stop that.”

  “Oh, come on, this is way too good. You know that.”

  “Stop it. You’re not funny.”

  “He’s looking at you. I mean really looking at you, and the dude has this giant frown on his face. Wait a minute, you turned him down, didn’t you?”

  She took a deep breath. “It’s not against the law to say no.”

  “Have you seen that guy?”

  “Yes, I’ve seen him.”

  “Then you and I both know it should be a sin to deny him.”

  “John, stop it.” If he kept on going, she wasn’t going to be able to stop laughing.

  “Babe, I’m a heterosexual and even I’d go out with the guy.”

  She rolled her eyes. “It’s some kind of joke.”

  John looked toward Blue, and much to her surprise, he’d actually dropped down on the table behind her.

  “I don’t think it’s a joke,” John said.

  “Whose side are you on?” she asked.

  “Your side, but if you’re being a royal pain in the ass, I’ve got to, you know, tell you.” John cleared his throat and she turned to see him holding a note that clearly came from Blue.

  She took the note.

  Why won’t you go out with me?

  She wrote back: There’s no law that says I have to. She turned and slid the note back to him. The teacher started the lesson and she expected that to be over.

  Seconds passed.

  John slid the note back to her.

  Staring at it, she took a breath, and reached for it and opened it up.

  There’s no law that says so but I promise you it’ll be a good time.

  Rather than respond, she folded the note and continued to listen to the teacher. Nothing good could come from dating Blue. She knew of his reputation with the girls around this place, and the last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near it.

  Chapter Two

  Blue wasn’t used to fighting for a woman, but he didn’t mind Laylah being pessimistic about dating him.

  “You got burned down,” Mitchell, his closest friend said.

  “Don’t start. I didn’t get burned down.” He tossed the ball back to one of his teammates before heading to the water stand. He grabbed a cup and filled it with water, then drank it all down in one gulp.

  “Did you or did you not ask Laylah on a date and she said no?”

  “She didn’t come out right and say no. She merely made her escape and ignored me throughout English and avoided me for the rest of the day.” He frowned. “Is it normal for babes to do that?”

  Mitchell laughed. “I’ve never known a chick to run in the opposite direction. That’s news to me.”

  “You’re not helping me at all. You know how much I like her.” He crushed the cup in his hand and tossed it into the trash bin. Their coach had already called time on practice today, but as always, they stayed behind to keep at the top of their game.

  He was distracted today. All he kept on doing was replaying what went down with Laylah. How could she not want him?

  In all the scenarios that played in his head, her not wanting him wasn’t high on the list, and he was a little … no, a lot, put out. Why didn’t she want him? He was a good catch.

  “Maybe your reputation is a sticking point for her.”

  He frowned as he looked at his friend who held his hands up. “Don’t blame me. I’m not the one who, you know, screwed his way through the cheerleading squad, and had all of those cougars after you.”

  Blue regretted telling his friend about the woman who taught him everything he knew. “How could she know all of that?” He glared at his friend and at that moment, he hated his reputation.

  “Girls talk.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” He looked toward the field and shook his head. “I’m out. Talk to you later?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Mitchell waved at him as Blue headed toward the locker room. He took a quick shower, changed into some sweats, grabbed his gym bag, and headed out toward his waiting car.

  As he got there, he heard the unmistakable sound of a car refusing to turn over. He glanced toward the sound and was surprised to see Laylah still at school. She stopped trying to turn over the ignition and slammed her palm against the steering wheel.

  “Come on, baby, one more,” she said, all but screaming.

  After walking over to her car, he held his key out and knocked on the window. He couldn’t help but smile as she had to wind down her window. Her car had been a bit of a joke when she first arrived with it at school a year ago, but he saw the charm.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “Need a ride?”

  “Nope.” She grabbed her cell phone. “I’ll call the garage my father uses.” She put the cell to her ear.

  He knew how busy the garage in town got and she’d have no choice but to leave the keys above the wheel and they’d grab it at some point, or they asked you to drop off the keys at the office on your way home. He’d experienced car trouble before, and after listening to her conversation, he figured she had the same look.

  “Great, just great. I can’t leave my key on the wheel.”

  “No one is going to steal this piece of shit.”

  “Don’t start,” she said. “This isn’t a piece of shit. It’s a damn good car.”

  “Do I need to point out the obvious? It’s broken down.”

  “And it’s the first time it has done it. Dad kept telling me to get it booked into the garage, but the wait is like two weeks.”

  “So you haven�
��t gotten it checked over at all?”

  She glared at him. “Why are you still here?”

  “I had practice. Why are you still here?”

  “I was studying.” She grabbed her bag and climbed out of the car. He watched her as she locked it. “Thanks for coming over to see me.” She tucked some hair behind her ear and turned away, about to leave. He admired her curvy ass before realizing she was walking away from him.

  He cleared his throat. “I can give you a ride, you know. Drop you off at the garage to give them the keys and stuff like that.”

  “Why would you do that?” she asked.

  “I’m a nice guy.”

  “I’m not going on a date with you.”

  “I didn’t ask you again. You turned me down. It’s going to take a lot more than a ride to get me to go on a date with you.” He hated the words the moment he said them, but he needed her to relax. That wasn’t going to happen if all she saw was the negative crap.

  “Fine. You’re right. A ride would be great.” She hiked her bag up onto her shoulder and she followed him across the parking lot to his car.

  He opened the door for her, playing every part the gentleman. As far as he was concerned, this was totally a date. Laylah may not like it, but he was going to make sure by the end of it, he got a kiss, or something. He was forever the optimist, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

  Climbing behind the wheel, he turned over his ignition, reminded her to wear a seatbelt, and took off, driving out of the school parking lot.

  Not the best way to get a date, but he was a winner for a reason.

  ****

  Laylah came out of the garage to find Blue standing beside his car, looking every single part the jock.

  “Thank you for bringing me here,” she said.

  “No problem. You want a ride home?”

  “I don’t want to put you out.”

  He ran fingers through his hair, and she was sure he was doing it on purpose to show off his amazing physique. She couldn’t deny that he was hot in every single way.