Prom King: Craven Cove Series, page 1
Prom King
Craven Cove Series
Alexa Riley
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Read Me Romance
Stalk the Author
Prom King
by Alexa Riley
Celeste's mom has taken her all over the country running cons on rich people. On the first day at her new school, she somehow manages to catch the attention of the school's rowing captain…only in the worst way possible. Too bad the guy coming to her rescue is her mom’s next con.
Apollo’s family is known all over town, but he’s ready to get off the island of Craven Cove. What he isn’t ready for is the new girl changing all his plans.
Warning: This high school romance gets an A+ in steam and a B- in drama. Grab your backpacks because class is in session.
Copyright © 2021 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to riley_alexa@aol.com
http://alexariley.com/
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Edited by Aquila Editing
This series is dedicated to all the good guys.
* * *
Chapter One
Celeste
The sound of my mom’s laughter has me lifting my head and pushing my glasses up my nose to find her. She’s standing in line to order a drink, but I’m not sure why. She hates coffee, always has. She’s up to something.
The three women in front of her in line give her all their attention. Their eyes are wide, and they’re hanging on to every word she says. If my mom wants your attention, she’ll get it one way or another. She can control the energy in the room with a few words or movements.
Her blond hair shines in the light that’s coming through the windows at the front of the quaint coffee shop. Even the light has no choice but to give her notice. Some people think of her as magical or even supernatural. I think others might call her a con. If they could ever catch her, that is.
The reality is she can read the room even with her eyes closed. When I was little, I thought of it as a gift, but as I’ve gotten older, I’m not sure that’s the case.
Her head turns my way and then her smile changes to one that’s genuine. When she goes back to speaking to the women in line, they all take out their phones to save her number. We’ve been in the town of Craven Cove for two days, and she’s already luring people in. Even I can tell the ladies she's speaking to come from money. It won’t take Mom long to have them pouring it into her hands.
I go back to clicking through the website for my new high school. Mom said we’ll be staying here for the year, or at least until I graduate. She’s so determined to have me finish out my final year of high school in an actual school.
Personally, I think she has this whole idea of prom and me walking across a stage for graduation. This isn’t really a new dream, because we’ve been through this before. Just as she begins to put down roots somewhere, she’s telling me we’re on to the next adventure.
I’ve been in and out of schools all my life. Oftentimes I’m able to attend online. But that was more so when we traveled with that circus for a few years. Now it depends on where we land after we take off from the town before. Part of me is excited to stay in one spot for a whole year, but the rest of me is filled with an unease I can’t explain.
“Everyone here is so lovely.” Mom sits down in the chair across from mine and places a drink in front of me.
“Making friends already, I see.” Snagging the coffee she got for me, I take a giant gulp. She might not be a coffee lover, but I am. I picked up the addiction when I realized coffee could help me stay up and keep reading my books through most of the night.
“A girl’s gotta make a living.” She winks at me, making me laugh.
I have no clue how I’m her daughter. We couldn't possibly be more opposite in personality. She steals the spotlight while I never want to be anywhere near it. It’s not usually hard for me to make friends, but I’m still pretty shy.
“I think you’re fine on money, Mom.” We aren’t loaded, but I’ve never gone without.
She reaches across the table and plucks my glasses off my face. She cleans the lenses and looks around. “What do you think of this place?”
“It’s nice so far.” It’s really different from anywhere else we’ve stayed for an extended length of time.
You have to take a ferry to get on and off the island, which is nothing like anywhere we’ve been. Most everyone around here knows each other from what I can tell, and there seems to be a mix of classes as well. Some of the homes are breathtaking, complete with helipads to take them on and off the island. I’ve spotted a few of them, but then there’s modest places like the one we’re renting.
“Change is coming,” she says, handing me my glasses. What the heck does that even mean? I know my mom isn’t actually psychic. “I’ll meet you at home?” she asks, and I nod.
“Yeah, I’m going to roam around.”
“I know you are, honey.” She stands up and then leans over to kiss on the top of my head. “It gets dark early here, keep that in mind—”
“And stay away from the water.” I finish her words for her. “We’re on an island. That might be a hard one to stick to.”
“I was going to say to turn your phone off silent.”
“Liar,” I toss back at her. Mom can smell a lie from a mile away, but knows how to tell one without giving herself away. Too bad I know her better than anyone and can tell when she’s lying.
“Fine.” She places another kiss on my head before she’s heading for the door.
A handsome older man in a suit holds it open for her and then pauses for a long moment as she walks past him. He openly stares after her until a younger version of the man is in front of him.
The guy is more casual in jeans and a T-shirt. They share a few words before the suit is back out the door. I have no doubt he’s chasing after my mom. My mother, Anna Binx, is a bright blue flame, and men flock to her like moths. I shake my head at the poor sap and pack up my things in my bag. I want to check out the small bookstore I saw a few blocks down.
After tossing my empty cup in the trash and cleaning my table, I turn around too quickly.
“Oh!” I gasp when I run right into someone. The pastry he has on a small plate is pressed into the front of his shirt. “I’m so sorry.”
I put my hands over my mouth and then realize it’s the guy that was with the man in the suit. This close, I can tell he’s younger than I originally thought. He might even be around my age or a few years older. His large size threw me off with the distance, but this close, I can see so much more.
“Shit,” he grumbles, sounding pissed. I can’t blame him. Blue and yellow icing is smeared across his white shirt.
“I really am sorry. I’ll buy you another,” I offer.
Why does this always happen to me? And of course it’s with some super-hot guy. My mom is always graceful and never misses a beat. Yet I’m always stepping right into something and making a mess.
“Don’t bother.” He lifts his gaze from his shirt to meet my eyes.
His dark green eyes widen, and his lips part. No words come out, and I stand there staring at the specks of gold that mix in with the green. I’ve never seen eyes like his before, and I’m somehow embarrassed that I can’t stop looking at them.
“Sorry,” I blurt out again before I’m rushing out of the coffee shop and onto the street.
“Wait!” he shouts after me, but I keep going. Quickly I make my escape into the bookstore, praying that I never run into him again.
In a town like Craven Cove, that’s going to be next to impossible.
Chapter Two
Apollo
It’s the start of the first day of school, and I’m already over it. The faculty is having an afternoon pep rally to welcome the students and also introduce the rowing team. I’ve been on crew the past four years, and this year we’ve got a chance at making nationals. My scholarship was announced over the summer, but it’s contingent on academics and graduation.
As everyone piles into the gymnasium, I stand with my team in the hallway as we get ready to make our entrance. Craven Cove High is the only high school on the island, so every kid my age goes here. There’s even a few kids that take the ferry over so they can compete on our rowing team. We’re the best in the state, and this year I know we’ll come away with the title.
“Yo, Crew,” Jackson calls, and I turn to nod at him.
I guess having the last name Crew and being on t
he rowing team is ironic, but the joke is a few years old now. Everyone calls me by my last name, and it doesn’t bother me anymore.
Jackson comes over by my side and crosses his arms over his chest. Last year we were both center seats because we’re the strongest on the team. This year I’ve been promoted to coxswain, so I’m at the front calling the shots.
“This is dumb,” he says and rolls his eyes.
Laughing, I shake my head and lean up against the doorframe. “Just a few months and we’ll be out of here.”
“Any hot new freshmen worth checking out?” He looks hopeful, and I roll my eyes again.
“I’ve got my eyes on the prize.”
Now it’s his turn to snort. “You know what, Crew? You’re going to take your V-card all the way to college and not know what to do with it.” He looks at me like I’m some kind of puzzle he can’t solve.
“I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” I smirk at him, and he shakes his head.
“Hey, is your dad still doing his annual party this weekend?”
Every year my dad puts on this big elaborate party for all the families of the kids on the rowing team. He invites all the local businesses and their families to bully them into donating money to our school.
My dad could easily write a check to cover all of the expenses for years to come, but he told me the community needs to be involved so they take pride in the school. He does an auction of donated items, and this year he said he’s going to do a bachelor auction too. I have no idea why, because the man hasn’t been with a woman since before I was born.
“Yeah, the theme is carnival. Don’t eat all the cotton candy again.”
“If your dad didn’t want me to enjoy myself, he wouldn’t have supplied endless cotton candy.” Jackson pouts.
“Okay, but when you’re on the floor of my bedroom with a stomachache, don’t make me call your mom.”
“That only happened twice, and you know it.”
We laugh as we turn our attention back to the crowd.
The band begins to play, and Principal Nolan comes out with a microphone.
“Good afternoon, Craven Cove students,” she says, and her voice echoes through the large space.
She talks for a little while about what’s expected of the students this year and how she’s looking to the seniors to represent the school with the best behavior. On the far side of the gym, I see our school mascot, the Craven Cove Eagle. The guy who wore the suit last year graduated, so I don’t have a clue who it is now.
I see the Eagle come running across the gym as Principal Nolan finishes her speech. The crowd begins to cheer as the band plays our school song. It’s got lots of drums and saxophones, so the music drowns everything else out.
I see the crew coach talking off to the side with Principal Nolan as the Eagle gets the crowd hyped up. He’s launching T-shirts, the band is performing, and then someone brings out a trampoline. He runs from one side of the gym to the other while bouncing on the thing, and I’m actually kind of impressed.
“Holy shit, he’s actually decent.” Jackson says, echoing my thoughts.
“Anything was better than Aaron.” The most that guy ever did was clap his hands.
The whole school is watching as the Eagle grabs a basketball and begins to dunk with the help of the trampoline. Shortly afterward, he’s ready for his next trick as they wheel out a huge paper-maché statue that’s shaped like a torch. The crowd is so jacked up everyone begins booing. The torch is painted to symbolize our rival school East Bend High and their mascot, the Mustang.
The band is playing so loud I can hardly hear my own words as I lean over to Jackson. “What the fuck is he doing?”
The crowd erupts as he climbs on a ladder above the paper flame carrying a huge bucket of water. I’m assuming this is a way to show how we’re going to put out the competition, but what the Eagle doesn’t realize is that the safety bar on the ladder isn’t all the way down. As soon as he gets to the top with the heavy bucket, he begins to wobble.
There’s movement on the other side of the gym next to the bleachers, and I see her. It’s the girl from the coffee shop the other day, the one that disappeared on me. Her dark hair is braided over one shoulder, and she’s got on a white tee and cut-off shorts. She’s come in late and doesn’t realize she’s about to be in the direct line of fire as the Eagle begins to tip the bucket.
My muscles flex to run, but it’s no use because she’s too far from me. The only thing I can do is gasp as the crowd roars. The Eagle tilts on the ladder and loses his grip on the bucket as he falls. He misses the flame altogether and the entire contents of the bucket go directly onto the girl.
I’ve only taken two or three steps, but even from this distance I can see her thin white shirt was no match for the gallons of water poured right over her head. She’s completely drowned, and there’s a moment when the whole gym goes silent.
It’s like a nightmare that’s all happening in slow motion.
The crash of the bucket to the floor is loud and seems to shock me out of my frozen state. Thankfully, the Eagle landed on the safety mats someone had the good idea to put down. All eyes are on the girl, and before I can think of what else to do, I race over to Principal Nolan, grab the microphone, and yank off my shirt.
“Who's ready to kick East Bend’s ass?!” I shout, taking the attention away from her.
Everyone in the bleachers erupts, and I hear girls screaming my name. I feel completely naked as there’s wolf whistles and guys yelling over the crowd. This is embarrassing, but I try not to think about it as the band takes the lead and begins to play again.
Jackson follows my lead as he pulls his shirt off and runs out of the tunnel to join me. The crowd gets even louder as the rest of the rowing team do the same and join us in the middle of the gym.
Principal Nolan is scowling at me, and I know I’m in deep shit. I’ll deal with that fallout later. Right now, I just want to make sure the girl gets out safe, and when I glance over to where she was, she’s gone. The only thing that’s left is a puddle of water, and someone is already over there with towels to clean it up.
Good. I’ll deal with her later too.
“Allow me to introduce you to your varsity crew!” I shout into the microphone, and the crowd forgets all about the girl and the water.
The only thing people will say about the pep rally now is how the entire varsity crew got in-school suspension on the first day.
Chapter Three
Celeste
“New girl,” a guy calls as a hand locks around my wrist.
It breaks me from the paralyzing spell I was under, but my feet won’t move. Water drips from me as the guy starts to pull me along. What the heck happened?
“Come on, I can see your nipples,” he shouts over the crowd that starts to hoot and holler. All their attention shifts from me and to a guy who’s pulling his shirt off over his head.
I quickly cross my arm over my breasts, letting the guy pull me from the auditorium. This is bad. Like over-the-top bad. The first fucking day of school and I've already embarrassed myself. How do things like this always happen to me? All the excitement that I tried to build up in myself about my new school has literally been washed away. I want to find a hole and jump into it.
“Where are we going?” I ask as the tall, lanky guy pulls me down the empty hallway. I’m thankful everyone is back in the auditorium so at least there’s no one here to witness my humiliation up close.
“You need a shirt.” When he stops at a locker, he finally lets go of my wrist to open it. I’m so grateful when he takes out a shirt and hands it to me.
“Thanks,” I mumble.
“There.” He points to the bathroom behind me, and I dart inside.
