Entanglement (YA Dystopian Romance) Read Free

that?”
    Clive
ignored him to deal with Amber, who was now shivering in just a T-shirt. “Put
your sweatshirt back on.”
    “Actually,
I’m going skinny dipping,” she said.
    “You
are not fucking skinny dipping ,” said Clive.
    “If
she wants to take a dip, let her take a dip,” said Aaron.
    Clive’s
gaze snapped back to him, and Aaron felt the corner of his mouth twitch as their
eyes burned into each other. “I thought I told you to leave,” he said.
    “I
asked you a question,” said Aaron.
    Clive’s
eyebrows shot up. Then he ran his hand over his scalp and behind his head,
nudging off his hood, and Aaron saw that both sides of his thin, shaved head
were etched with deep scars. As though his face had been peeled off and
reattached. “The thing is, number eleven . . . ” he said, rounding the log to Aaron’s
side, “you know this beach belongs to Corona Blanca, and you know that Amber is
off limits, so why are you still here?”
    Aaron
noticed a red glow in the pocket of Clive’s shorts. Clive saw where he was
looking and quickly covered it.
    “What’cha
got there?” said Aaron, certain he could now feel a gentle tugging behind his
head. Maybe provoking this guy was a bad idea.
    “It’s
nothing,” said Clive.
    “No,
it looks like you have something in your pocket.”
    “It’s
just a glow stick. It’s nothing.”
    “If
it’s just a glow stick, then show it to me,” said Aaron.
    Clive’s
eyes became slits, and without another word to Aaron, he spun, grabbed Amber’s
sweatshirt, and forced it back over her head. “Get up. We’re leaving.”
    “Clive, stop it! ” she yelled, shoving him off. “People are watching.”
    He
pinned her against the driftwood. “Think I give a damn?”
    “Clive,
you’re hurting me—” She scratched his arms, but Clive was stronger, and he
dragged the fabric down over her face, suffocating her screams.
    It
was crossing the line.
    Aaron
lunged forward, closed his fist around Clive’s collar, and yanked him back.
“Not while I’m here, jerk—”
    He
ended up in the sand, Clive on top of him.
    “Cut
the crap!” Aaron yelled, flinging Clive’s hands off his neck. Then he heard a
sound like the rumble of crashing surf—the sound of running feet.
    Clive
jumped away from him, and Aaron stood, as Corona Blanca’s entire student body
jammed into a ring with them at its center. The excited mutters quieted when a
dripping wet senior stepped into the circle.
    From
his braided rat tail and the green letterman jacket the senior wore over nothing
but a wet pair of boxers, Aaron recognized him as Corona Blanca’s rugby star,
Dominic Brees. He grinned, flashing a broad mouth packed with shining white
teeth. Then, to Aaron’s horror, he chanted, “ Fight — fight — fight —”
and within seconds, the whole school joined in.
    Clive
grabbed Dominic’s jacket. “You better be able to get me out of this,” he said.
“I’m dead if my father finds out I got in another fight.” Evidently,
Clive didn’t want the attention any more than Aaron did.
    Dominic
laughed and raised his hands, silencing the crowd. “We’ve had a change of
plans,” he yelled. “Corona Blanca’s Clive Selavio will now race number eleven
from Pueblo High School all the way out to thebuoy!”
    Aaron
scowled. Clearly this was Dominic’s ploy to get more people in the water.
Unfortunately, it worked. The spectators roared and changed their chant to, “ Buoy—buoy—buoy— ”
Dominic slapped Clive on the back and receded into the circle, deserting him
before he could protest.
    Aaron
scanned the shouting faces, trying to calm his breathing. How the hell had he
gotten himself in this situation?
    Of
course it was that girl, Amber, who he noticed was conveniently nowhere in
sight. For a night out, it was fairly typical, he supposed, as the crowd
started booing him; he never quite managed to keep his damn mouth shut. At
least not when it counted.
    Aaron
glanced back at Clive, and their