Rob watched the two girls slide onto the bench seat, either side of the tiny girl with stunning brown eyes, who sat opposite him.

"Move your arse, Elizabeth," one said as they jammed her between them so tight that she was just a blonde head peeping over their shoulders. Leaning toward him with forearms on the edge of the table she added, "So... who are you handsome?"

Rob flicked his eyes from the girl he now realised was Elizabeth to the dark-haired girl who had spoken. She was pretty. He glanced back at Elizabeth as he said, "You're squashing her."

"Are we?" The auburn girl tittered and slid closer to Elizabeth.

Rob didn't know how that was possible because the poor girl was already wedged tight. "How about you move your arse's and let her breathe." Turning up the corner of his mouth he looked from one to the other. Why was there always a bunch of bitchy girls at every school?

"How about you tell us your name, gorgeous, and then we'll give her some space?" Auburn leaned further forward and pushed her upper arms together so her breasts surged to the top of her school shirt. Three buttons were undone to expose the tip of the lacy bra she wore.

He couldn't avoid looking. Rob glanced at her face. Honey-coloured eyes glimmered back at him. He smirked. He'd never come across a girl as forward and unashamed as this one before.

Rob shifted his gaze to the other. She stared at him with the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.
What was it with him and eyes? Girl's eyes. Always the first thing he noticed. He shook his head to dispel the thought.

"Well, babe. Are you gonna share your name or has a moggy got your tongue?" Blue eyes lifted her lips in scorn as she spat the words at him.

Rob peered at her as he laughed. Yeah, cat all right. Black Cat hissing straight at him. A spark of something flashed in her eyes. What was it? Anger, shock, surprise, regret maybe. Whatever it was the girl wasn't comfortable with it.

He got up from his seat and stepped around the table. Lifting her by the waist, her long legs caught on the timber struts of the bench and dislodged her shoe. "How about the pair of you piss off."

"You stuck-up prick." Auburn tried to give him a shove but he stepped out of her reach as he kicked Black Cat's Converse across the pavers and onto the grass.

"What the fuck? Piss off bitch." Rob took another step backwards. He didn't want to be expelled on the first day. "What the hell is your problem?"

She put her hands on her hips and pushed her chest forward. "You are at the moment." She laughed and looked at her friend as she nodded and added, "But that'll change."

Rob peered at Black Cat. She had her shoe back on. Her intense blue eyes stared right at him as she said, "Come on, Trin. He's no fun at all."

He watched her turn and stride away. Man... those legs. Rob sucked in a breath, sighed and ran his hand up the back of his head as he looked at the group of people he had been sitting with. "What the hell was that all about?"

Scott Masters smirked. "You've just been introduced to Kalara High's two sluts." He cocked his head and grinned. "Let me put it in a more politically correct way. Kalara High's two... ah... most giving of themselves, girls. As in giving of the flesh." He chuckled. "There are more than two but they rank first and second." Scott laughed some more as he opened his lunch box and pointed his plastic fork at Rob. "You should be honoured. An introduction like that means you'll get to bone them both, and at the same time if that's your thing."

The rest of the group laughed. Rob glanced at Elizabeth. She was staring wide-eyed up at him. He sucked in another breath. Whoa. This was his first day. He didn't need a girlfriend but the way she was looking at him had his second brain thinking he did. "It's not my thing." He sat down, picked up his sandwich and looked back at Elizabeth. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thank you." A rosy pink tinge flooded her face as she took a nibble of her apple and hung her head.

"I guess I should introduce you to everyone," Scott said with a grin. "First, just so you know, the redhead was Katrina Walsh."

A girl at the end of the table huffed. "You mean Trin," she said, using her fingers to invert the name.

"Yeah, Trin." Scott laughed again. "The other one is Becky, the bitch, Bridgestone." He scooped his hand as he added, "And over here, the fair damsel in distress, is Lizzy, Elizabeth, Tyson."

She looked up at Rob through her blonde tresses but didn't lift her head fully.

Scott continued, "Down the end, we have Teresa Green." He jiggled his eyebrows as he tagged on, "And also shady."

Teresa scoffed and fixed her grey eyes on Scott.

Rob quickly set a straight face as she looked at him.

"Call me Tess." Her curly blonde hair bobbed on her shoulders as she spoke, "I'm in the cheer squad."

Rob smiled, and then looked back as Scott said, "Then we have Stewart Dores, Dorsey, goalkeeper."

The big bulky dark haired guy had his mouth full of bread. He jerked his head in acknowledgement as Scott moved on to the next person.

"This is Sol, Shorty, Short, fullback."

"Hey." Sol's moon face beamed over at Rob. He winked and pretended to stop a hockey ball with his plastic spoon.

"Next is Greg, The Champ, Tremaine, centre forward." Scott laughed and pointed at the girl sitting next to the tall, lean freckle-faced redhead saying, "And this is, Shauna, in love with Greg, Fowler. Cheer squad."

She rubbed up against Greg's shoulder making loud kissing noises. "I heard you're our new centre half. Hope you're good," Shauna cooed as she gripped Greg's bicep. "My man needs a good centre half to back him up."

"He's good." Greg nudged his head at Rob and then kissed Shauna on the tip of her nose. "Rob and I have met before, though not formally."

"Huh!" Rob frowned, and then a smirk crossed his face. "State titles last year. You took out our goalkeeper."

"Yep, that was me." Greg grinned. "Didn't help us though. You bastards still beat us."

Rob held up his finger. "Only by one."

Scott sprang forward, his green eyes wide as he tousled his blonde head. "And of course. Though we've already met. Me. Scott the Rock, Masters. Right inner." He took a bow and swept his hand over the group until his palm lay in Rob's direction. "Everyone this is Rob Jarvis. As already noted by Shauna, he's Kalara High's new centre half."

The guys high-fived him. Rob laughed thinking they all had nicknames. It'd take him a while to remember them. He flicked his eyes around the group. Lizzy would be easy to remember. He smiled at her as he asked, "Where do you fit in?"

She gave him a puzzled look so he added, "Are you part of the cheer squad too?"

"Ah... no... not really. My little brother plays in the junior comp so I take him to watch the seniors. He wants to play for Australia one day."

"He'd be better off playing rugby league because there ain't any money in hockey," Stewart scowled. "There should be though for all the skill we have and hockey is a lot more exciting than rugby to watch."

"So where have you come from, Robbie?" Scott tilted his head in question.

"Brisbane. I prefer Rob." He raised his eyebrows as he smirked at Scott. No nicknames for him. "I was at Chermside High. Played for them."

"So why have you moved here?" Tess smiled at him as she twirled one of her blonde curls. "Brisbane's amazing. Not like this shit hole."

"Ah... Rockhampton's alright, Tess." Sol smirked. "We've got everything Brisbane has." He wrapped his big solid arm around her. "And Rocky's got me. What else do you need?"

She elbowed him, looked back at Rob and repeated the question, "Why have you moved here?"

"Dad's work. He was transferred." Rob didn't want to get into it.

"What does your father do?"

He turned at the sound of Elizabeth's voice. She blushed. Holy fuck. She was cute. Too cute for him to tell her the truth. Having a father who was a police superintendent wasn't a great friend or girlfriend maker. "He works for the government."

"Oh... is he a politician?" Her eyes lit up like a runway beacon.

Rob beamed at her and shook his head as he said, "Community service. He rehouses people. Stuff like that."
Well... he did the community a service, didn't he? By gaoling society's criminals.

He just didn't give them any keys to their new home.

Copyright © 2017 by Donna Fieldhouse. All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Some places are real. All characters and incidents are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.

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