The Bad Boy's Secret by Susan Stevens, Jasmine Bowen Page B

them that held him back. He didn’t get the point of school, but Richard wanted Peter and Shawn to do well, and so he wasn’t going to sabotage that.
    “How about we go home and see you tomorrow night?” Richard asked, giving Chuck a look. Official fights were one thing, organized, with rules. There was no jazz before a rumble went down, no fighting in little gangs, and no weapons. No one pulled switchblades or guns on each other during rumbles. They lined up over whatever quarrel they had of the moment, and took each other down one by one, by size, until one side fled. It was one thing to get roughed up, but fighting, outnumbered in a back alley or a school parking lot, was a completely different story. The cops didn’t bother them, down by the train tracks, they knew it was left to the gangs to sort themselves out.
    Not that they were really an official gang, so to speak. There were official gangs, like the Mulos or the Piranhas, gangs that had colors and always carried blades. Even the upper class had them, calling them fraternities or masons, or even just brotherhoods. Regardless, the boys had no official manage gang colors or secret handshakes. Their friendship came out of necessity, the strongest kind of bond. They wouldn’t leave each other because each needed the other to watch their back, because each had nowhere else to go. Loyalties could be turned, friendships could be bought, but this group was here to stay.
    “You got yourself a deal,” Chuck heard himself saying, yawning as if he was bored by the entire situation. In truth, he was exhausted, and his hangover was coming raging back like a drummer intent on destroying him. Chicken and a nap on the couch before partying it up again sounded like a good idea to him.
    “See ya then, boys,” Gordon sauntered off, as if they had just made a lunch date. Richard rolled his eyes.
    “What a bunch of losers. I’m surprised they found their way to school this morning. Or got dressed on their own.”
    “Hey, did you see that new broad?” Steve said to Shawn, as Richard popped the trunk for them to throw their bags in. This perked Chuck’s interest. Girls were his favorite topic.
    “What new broad?”
    “New broad in tenth grade, just transferred in. She’s even your type, Chuck.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Chuck wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or not.
    “Straight from the big city. Probably stuck up as hell, but damn, is she nice to look at.”
    “Yeah?” Chuck turned to Steve with a grin. “Nice body?”
    “Sure. Bit on the skinny side, but well done. Looks like she works out. Red head and all.”
    “I saw her,” Peter said. “They were bringing her around, doing a school tour. She is super pretty.”
    “Damn, now hold up, Richard,” Chuck grinned, not letting Richard get in the car. “We should find her and offer her a ride home.”
    “We should?” Richard was not impressed. Besides, there weren’t any more seats, and he told Chuck so.
    “She can sit on my lap then. Boys, she come out the door yet?”
    “Not yet, I was looking for her,” Steve replied. “And back off, drop out, I saw her first.”
    Chuck grinned.
    “So I missed a few days. Can’t say I wouldn’t go back if there wasn’t a good reason.”
    “That’s her, over there!” Peter pointed out, leaning against the door. He was still a bit shy around girls, and if those two were onto her, he didn’t stand a chance. Usually, if he mustered up the courage to talk to a girl, it was about a class assignment, and even then, he screwed it up.
    Chuck turned his head, expecting some vivacious red head to drop his jaw. When he caught sight of the girl that they were pointing at, his jaw did drop, but it wasn’t from her beauty.
    Tall and lean, exactly as they described, the girl had on expensive clothes that would make her blend right in with Gordon and the gang. She had on tight jeans, boots that laced up to her knee, and a tee-shirt that hid nothing about her