Chapter 3: TALON

It was in the cafeteria the following afternoon that I had finally been introduced. It had damn near killed me to wait through class after class and then a meet with coach, but I was on the hunt as soon as I was free. I watched her from across the room before approaching. I needed to see if I would have that same strange reaction. Like lightning striking; damn if it wasn't worst this time around.

Up close, those eyes of hers were killer, and her body no longer shrouded by her parka was even more amazing than I'd first thought. Nice and easy there Avery, don't jump the girl at the table with a hundred people all in your shit. I had no doubt they were all tracking my every move since I was going against my norm.

"What's up, Kevin?" I cuffed my boy on the shoulder as he sat next to Stephanie at their usual table. I usually sat across the room surrounded by a bevy of vultures. All those girls and women who wanted my attention or sought to recapture it, there wasn't enough room for anyone else. I'd given up trying to get away from them when nothing I did worked. It was more peaceful to sit there and watch them simper and act the fool than to run around the damn room to get away from them. There was nothing they could do to change my mind anyway, so there was no reason for me to avoid them.

Today I'm on a mission, though.

"Hey, Avery, how's it hanging? What brings you to my neck of the woods?" He chided me; I knew he had a pretty good idea what I was after. He's one of the people I'd questioned the night before, after all. I didn't like it when he told me that half the douches on campus were after her since she'd enrolled. That statement had sent me into some sort of near meltdown. I got the names of all my would-be competitors just in case I had to drop a fucker for being stupid, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't come to that.

I'd been away for a family emergency when she first arrived, that's why I hadn't seen her before. I could see why they were after her, though; she was a damn knockout. Too bad for them; with me on the hunt, they didn't stand a chance. None of them had the nerve to go up against me, and if they should find their balls, I'd nut punt their ass across the football field.

***

Kevin's POV

***

I had a pretty good idea what my good pal was after; every other guy on campus had been salivating over Stephanie's little friend since she'd enrolled two weeks ago. I'm sure the only reason it took Avery this long was because he'd been away for some family emergency when she'd turned up. I tried not to laugh at the way he was looking at the poor girl like she was his favorite meal.

I guess I could understand the attraction; if I weren't so gone over Stephanie, I probably would've joined her long line of admirers. I smiled now, knowing that with Talon in the picture, the others didn't stand a chance. The guy was not only filthy rich, he was good looking, not to mention, he could beat the living shit out of the whole student body and half the faculty. Since Stephanie had taxed me with keeping an eye on her little friend, I sure could use the help. Having a man of her own would eliminate the need for my protection.

On the other hand, I'm not quite sure how Stephanie would react to Talon's interest in her friend.

Seems the girl had been badly hurt by some jerk back home, and Talon, with his love 'em and leave 'em reputation, might just be too much.

"Just being social, nonna asked about you." He finally answered my question though he never took his eyes off of her.

My face brightened at the mention of his irascible grandmother. I love that old lady. She's one of my favorite people in the world. After standing up to my father, the bully my whole teenage life, and making it possible for me to attend this school, I owed her more than I could ever repay.

The fact that she'd done it because Talon had taken me home like a stray one day after he saw my old man knock me down and swore that I wasn't going back had endeared both of them to me for life. We were twelve at the time and from two completely opposite sides of the tracks. Talon hadn't cared about that, though, even though a lot of the other kids had been mean as shit back then. He'd befriended me in the first grade, and we've been joined at the hip ever since.

"How's my best girl doing?" I bit my lip as I rocked back in my chair, trying hard not to laugh out loud and catch a left hook. I've never seen Talon react this way to a female before. I should've known that crap he gave me last night about just being curious was a crock. Talon Avery did not ask about women; it was always the other way around in my experience.

"The same, you know nonna."

The guy couldn't keep his eyes off Skye; it was almost comical. He wasn't even trying to hide his interest, and then again, it wasn't in Talon's makeup to be subtle.