Ex-Factor (Diamond Girls) Read Free Page A

peppered with freckles.
    To the left of Muscle Boy sat a petite girl with long, auburn hair. Large brown eyes topped with a set of thick, dark lashes framed what would be a pretty face, if only she were to stop scowling. Eyes narrowed in apparent disdain for me, she crinkled her nose and made a face before looking away.
    Okay, then. Avoid the bitchy brunette at the end of the table.
    The seat directly across from Ms. Grumpy Pants was empty, which left one other person, the student sitting next to me. The girl was blond, sported a pair of vibrant blue eyes and a warm smile. She was the first student in the room—well, aside from Paper Thief—to speak to me.
    “Hi. I’m Erin. Erin Matthews.” She waved a well-manicured hand in front of her body and waited expectantly.
    Her eyes were bright, and her smile was genuine, two traits that put me at ease at once. This girl was the real deal, a nice person, and I liked her right away.
    I returned her wave with one of my own and smiled back. “Nevaeh Evans. Nev, for short. Nice to meet you.”
    She leaned in close and kept her voice at a near whisper, in what I assumed was an effort to go unnoticed by Keltar.  Her brow lifted and her lips curled into a knowing smile. “It’s hard being the new kid. Trust me. I know all about it. I was the newb last year.”
    She cupped her left hand over her mouth to shield her words from the rest of the table and thrust a pink tipped fingernail toward Beefy Boy. “That’s Tommy Doleman. He plays defensive back on varsity football. He’s a bit of a goof, and he parties way too much, but he’s basically a good guy.”
    I mashed my lips together and nodded. I knew Tommy’s type well. He was exactly the type of popular and perpetually drunk guy I’d hung out with before my world turned upside down. Definitely not the type of guy I planned on spending any kind of time with outside of school.
    Erin pointed toward the girl with the painted on frown. “That’s Meg Crewson.” She pursed her lips and raised a brow. “Two words: elitist bitch. She’s the junior class’s student body president and thinks she’s God’s gift to mankind. Her dad not only owns Soledad Vineyards, but over half the land in Indigo Falls, so she’s got money coming out her pores.”
    I pressed my lips together as I regarded the surly brunette. She was dressed from the skin out in designer clothing and wore an expensive pair of Gucci sunglasses like a headband. Humph. Money indeed.
    I lifted a brow and gave a slight nod in the direction of Paper Thief. “And, uh, what about him? What’s his name?”
    Erin’s smile intensified as she regarded the handsome boy seated across the table. The look that crossed her face was fleeting, almost imperceptible, but I saw it clear as day and knew the loaded expression well. It was a look filled with longing, lust, and complete and total bliss. Erin had the hots for Paper Thief.
    A twinge of disappointment swirled in my gut as I stared at the back of Paper Thief’s broad shoulders. Flirting with him had temporarily erased the guilt and numbness that had been weighing me down ever since my father had passed. He made me feel good, which, considering my mood as of late, was a huge thing. Didn’t matter though. I wasn’t about to get my flirt on with my new friend’s crush, regardless of the healthy attraction I felt toward him. Some lines you just didn’t cross, and seeing as I was the new guppy in a huge pond, I wasn’t about to mess up the first potential friendship that presented itself.
    A crimson flush crept up the sides of Erin’s face, and she let out a small giggle as she stared at the back of PT’s head. “That’s Eli Walker, varsity quarterback and most popular guy at Grant.” She angled her body toward me and leaned in close. “We’ve sort of been seeing each other for the past few weeks. Unofficially.”
    My stomach dropped even further, my perception of the friendly, flirtatious boy changing almost