Sell Out Read Online Free PDF

“Thanks.” I wanted to move, but I was trapped between the boat and Jill’s very appealing body. She must have known this because soon it was pressed against mine.
    “Jimmy said the rooms are open. We could go…talk.”
    Talk? Yeah, right. Jill wanted to talk as much as Chugger wanted to remain celibate through high school. I inched away, tying to focus above her neck. “Nah. I’m good out here.”
    “Jill, baby! Leave Saint James alone and come play with me!” Chugger yelled across the water. He’d passed drunk and into sloppy over an hour ago. Their theory to get wasted before lunch and sober up by practice was asinine.
    Jill stiffened and gave a very unladylike gesture. “Chugger’s such a pig. So, did you hear about Blake and Lindsay?”
    “Yeah.” I’d managed to put a foot between us and could finally take a deep breath of air. Jill was a lethal mix of cobra and siren. “You know, Blake’s always up for talking.” I cringed. My hope to reiterate my non-interest came out sounding like a first rate pimp.
    She crossed her arms, pushing even more skin out of her top. “Blake’s been in love with Lindsay since freshman year. No way those two are over, and I’m not about to end up a casualty in that triangle.” She glared off in the distance, looking almost vulnerable. “Did you ever think that I might actually have feelings for you?”
    “Why? Seriously, Jill. We have nothing in common.” And we both knew what she did two years ago even if we weren’t saying so. She saw me run into the boys’ locker room. She could have helped. She didn’t.
    Jill bit her lip and her eyes sparkled with tears. For the first time I didn’t know if they were genuine or just another ploy. “Tom Baker hurt me, too.”
    My stomach twisted into a familiar knot. That name. That stupid name should not still affect me like it does . I turned around, focused on the lake water and on pushing air in and out. Her hand touched my shoulder. It was hot. Hotter than the sun scorching the back of my neck. I shrugged Jill’s hand away, but I still felt its lingering burn.
    “You think you’re the only one playing the game here? You’re not. Everybody at Madison wants the same thing.”
    I spun back around. “And what’s that?”
    She blinked. “To get out.”
    “Yeah, but I don’t hurt people in the process.” I’d never be one of them. Surviving wasn’t the same. Wanting to coast my senior year didn’t make me a bad guy. It made me smart. It ensured I’d never be the guy on that locker room floor ever again.
    She backed away. “Sure, Cody. Keep telling yourself that.”

SKYLAR
    H enry disappeared at lunch, but I found him outside huddled under a tree with his books and a sack lunch. A few others sat on picnic tables or threw around a football.
    I took a seat next to him, ignoring the odd looks and whispers from those close enough to see.
    “What are you doing?” he hissed.
    I pulled out an orange from my brown lunch sack and began peeling. “Joining you for lunch.”
    “Listen, Skylar. You seem like a nice person, so I’m going to say it again. I’m branded. I get that you’re new to all of this. But, if you had any sense at all, you would pretend we never met.”
    Movement and chatter returned around us, confirming this wasn’t nearly as big a deal as Henry thought. “It’s just lunch.”
    His thumb and middle finger furiously rubbed at his temples. “You don’t understand. Madison isn’t like other schools. There are certain rules. Traditions.”
    I swallowed a grin and dropped my voice to a whisper. “Like what?”
    Henry’s eyes flicked from the surrounding tables back to me. “Madison has a king.”
    “Like a prom king?”
    Henry focused on his lunch, his mouth tight while he opened a Ziploc bag. “Never mind.”
    “I’m sorry. I wasn’t making fun. Honest.” Okay, maybe I was a little.
    He ate his whole sandwich before continuing. “When an old king graduates, he selects his successor.