Read Online Bad Intentions by Nacole Stayton - Free Book Online Page A

his hand on my chest, patting lightly.
    It’s my second day in town, and I’ve already let him down.
    “Give me, like, ten and I’ll be ready.” Zoe’s voice sneaks up on me.
    I spin around to look at her and flash my gloomy expression. “I missed church this morning,” I profess like a sin.
    “And you’re upset that you already let down Daddy.” She doesn’t miss a beat.
    “Not so much him,” I snarl. “But myself and God.”
    “It’s okay to mess up once in a while. You know that, right?”
    My defenses go up. “Oh, like you messed up with Ryle?”
    A massive grin tugs the corners of her mouth. Her reaction makes my blood boil. “He’s provoking you. I hope you know that.”
    I shake my head in disbelief. “He said—.”
    “I know what he said. I heard him.”
    She was awake?
    “He’s purposefully trying to piss you off, and I can see that it’s working.”
    I stiffen in shock. She’s right. He got to me, and I’m officially pissed. “What’d he mean you lived it then?”
    Zoe pulls out her black, faux leather office chair and takes a seat. She carefully tucks in the corner of her towel and runs her hands through her damp hair. “He dated my friend, Mindy.” A frown sets into her features as she speaks. “I shouldn’t say dated—he used her and hung her out to dry. It was like watching a yo-yo match where no one ever wins. Mindy worshiped him from the moment they met, and Ryle—being a guy—liked her well-endowed chest. I tried to warn her, but she didn’t listen and in the end, she got burned. Just like I knew would happen. The worst part is that he wasn’t fazed in the slightest. She was all runny mascara and tears, and he was out partying with my brother like a royal ass-hat.”
    As I listen to Zoe, it all makes perfect sense. He didn’t mean that she lived it personally. He just meant that she lived through it. Zoe saw his true colors firsthand and for that, I feel bad. I should have noticed him trying to play me. I’ll chalk that one up to my drunkenness. It won’t happen again. Trust me.
    “That’s awful,” I sigh and grab bottle of body mist from the top of my bag.
    “I think it’s a clear indication that he’s trouble —and not the tempting kind that you came looking for, either. So cross his name off your list of bad boy contenders in your little mission, and lets go get some breakfast…err…lunch.” She stands up and throws on a turquoise sundress. “Oh,” she glances at me and sourly says, “I forgive you for assuming that I’d omit information about ever liking Ryle Benson. Don’t let it happen again,” she warns with a smile.
    The pounding in my temples has subsided, and I feel much better having a clear image of who Ryle Benson is.
    Douche-canoe.
    Donkey.
    Jerk-wad.
    The list of names could go on and on…
    Now on to more important things. “How far is the cafeteria from here?”
    Zoe grabs my ahold of my hand and pulls me out the door. “It’s just around the block.”

“A ren’t there supposed to be alligators in Mississippi?” I ask, as we walk toward a bench outside the cafeteria.
    Zoe’s laughter bellows out of her lungs. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed in the short amount of time that I’ve known her, it’s that she loves to laugh. It’d almost be adorable, if she wasn’t always laughing at my expense.
    “There are alligators. I suppose.” She shrugs her shoulders and sits down. I watch as she carefully unwraps her breakfast burrito and sighs a little as she takes the first bite. With a mouth full of eggs, bacon and cheese, she turns to face me. “I haven’t seen any crawling around campus or anything, but I know the closer to the bayou you get, there’s tons of creepy things lurking around.”
    My taste buds savor the cinnamon and cream cheese that’s dancing on my tongue. Taking a drink of my iced coffee I ask, “Have you ever been on one of those swamp tours?”
    “You sound like you did your research.” She slants her