Hard to Forget (Hard to Resist Prequel)

© Shanora Williams, 2013. This publication is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws, and all rights are reserved, including resale rights. You are not permitted to give or sale this book to anyone else. Any trademarks, product names, service marks, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. All rights are reserved.

The names, events, and character depictions in this novel are not based on anyone or anything else, fictional or non-fictional.

Fr
eshman Year

Chapter One

I remember the first day that I met Bryson Daniels. It was the first day, of the first hour, of my freshman year. I was a ball of nerves as I stepped into the school. I didn’t know what high school was going to bring so I went in with my head held high. I was glad that I had my best friend Harper there. She was a junior during my freshman year and she knew quite a lot of people.

“Nat, this is Tucker Finch,” Harper said, smiling as we stopped in front of a really tall guy with piercing brown eyes and a lip ring. He smiled slowly as he observed me and then Harp.

“Sup,” he said.

“Hi,” I murmured shyly.

“She has the freshman mentality,” he teased. “Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. To be honest, it’s kind of cool here. Everyone is chill. Everyone knows each other.”

“Yeah.
That’s true,” Harper said as she looked around. A few guys came up and she hugged each of them and then Bobby, her boyfriend, appeared. She fell into his arms, kissed him, and giggled softly as he nuzzled her neck.

“Sup freshie,” Bobby said to me.

“It’d be nice if you all would stop making me feel so lame,” I laughed.

“Sorry. It’s just funn
y to see you here. Just know that if anyone fucks with you, you tell me and I’ll handle it for you.”

I nodded as I tucked my thumb beneath the strap of my backpack. “Well, I’m going to go figure out where my classes are,” I told Harp.

“Oh, do you want me to help you?”

I wanted her to help me but I
couldn’t help but notice the way she was glued to Bobby’s hip. Bobby had dark-brown hair and smoky grey eyes and a meaty footballer-like neck. I could never figure out why Harper was so attracted to him or what she loved so much about him because he wasn’t all that cute and he had a jock’s attitude. He was a dull person—the complete opposite of Harper. Instead of breaking them apart, I shook my head and stepped back.

“I think I’ll be okay. It shouldn’t be too hard to find them.”

“Alright, Nat. I’ll see you at lunch.”

Nodding, I turned around and hurried down the hall
, hoping that I would actually be able to find where I was supposed to go. As I rounded the corner, I bumped right into a solid chest and was gripped in firm, chiseled arms. I looked up slowly from his black T-shirt to his pink lips and then his green eyes. His eyes were so bright that they took me off guard. They were like emerald jewels and it made me curious as to how they could possibly be so clear. A smile hinted at his lips and I stepped back, realizing how close we were. He chuckled, taking a step back as well.

“Hi,” I said beneath my eyelashes
.

“Hey.” He r
an a hand through his hair and winked. A tall guy with broad shoulders and huge arms ran up to his side and tousled his hair. I finally figured out that the guy that was roughhousing the hot guy in front of me was Christian Otters. He looked completely different from middle school. He had cut his long, curly hair into a buzz cut and had even gotten his ears pierced. Without hair, he looked completely different.

“What’s up, Bryson! You were supposed to find us!”

“I was on the way,” the sexy Bryson said, “but I ran into this beauty here and I guess I got kind of . . . lost.” He eyed me again but my cheeks heated and I tore my gaze away.

“My name’s Bryson Daniels.” He reached a hand out to me and I immediately took it.

“Natalie Carmichael,” I breathed.

“
Alright, man. I’ll catch you later,” Christian said as he capped Bryson’s shoulder and then slipped away. Bryson watched Christian leave but I couldn’t help but stare at Bryson. He was beautiful. Perfect. He had that perfect face that wasn’t too hard or too soft. He had dimples that sank every time he smiled down at me. Words couldn’t explain how lucky I felt to be standing in front of him.

“I’m having a hard time findin
g my classes,” he grinned. “You think you could help me out?”

“Oh, no.”
My head shook heavily as I stepped back. “I wouldn’t be of much help. I know nothing about this school and I know I should have attended open house but I found it kind of stupid.”

“Well maybe we could look together. What’s your first class?” My heart pounded against my chest as I dug in
to my pocket for my schedule. I handed it to him and he read the numbers and the names quickly before looking up at me and handing the paper back.

“Let’s go try and find your classes.” He winked
again and I walked with him through the hallway. I wasn’t paying much attention to anything else. He had all of my attention and I was kind of thrilled by his presence.

I met Bryson, by literally running into him.

The next three years were a whirlwind, from becoming friends, to flirting, to dating, to becoming a couple.  He was quarterback of the varsity team, and I cheered him on for a couple of years at each game but during junior year things started to get complicated.

There were moments when I’d felt like a truck had run over my heart from his actions. Moments when nothing hurt more than to know that Bryson may have fallen out of love with me. It was sad that it all had to change.

Sen
ior Year

Chapter Two

I slammed my locker shut, my notebook tucked beneath my arm before turning around and leaning against it. An annoying giggle came from down the hall and I turned to look. Sara Manx was walking up the hall, side-by-side with my boyfriend Bryson.

“What the hell is he doing with her?” Grace asked me with a frown. She leaned against the locker with me and watched as Bryson stopped in front of Sara’s locker with a sheet of paper. He was hovering above her with flirtatious eyes and it was really getting under my skin. It was a new semester but he was starting it off in the wrong way. I knew to trust Bryson
, but I just didn’t like Sara and I didn’t like him to be anywhere near her.

I met Sara my sophomore year and I seriously hated everything about her. I tried to be friendly but she was too stuck-up and thought she was better than everyone else. I had tried out to be a cheerleader and made the team but with Sara around, it made me not want to be one anym
ore. I was captain but I gave my spot up because I just couldn’t deal with her. She always had a rude remark or something smart to say. I knew that I if I stayed on the team another day, I would have eventually beat her ass and I didn’t do girl-fights very often. I had to keep myself in check so I figured that dropping off of the team and focusing on school and my future was better than ruining my life over some dumb broad that wanted my boyfriend. She had her eyes on Bryson since day one. She transferred to our school the second semester of our freshman year and since then, she’s been on my hit list.

“I’m serious. I hate chemistry. I’ll need the answers,” Bryson said, taking gradual steps away. Sara smiled at him over her shoulder as she shoved a book into her locker.

“I’ll help you. I’m pretty good at it.” Glancing over at me, she smirked. “I’m pretty good at a lot of things that I could show you.”

“
Alright, that’s it,” Grace snapped as she took a step forward. She gripped Bryson’s arm and forced him to turn around. “I swear you’re a fucking asshole. Your girlfriend is over here, not over there. Stop talking to tramps.”

“Chill, Grace,” Bryson said, remaining cool
, his eyes soft. “We’re friends and I think she’s a really cool chick. I really don’t know why y’all hate her so much.”

“Um, maybe because we know why she’
s trying to get so close to you,” Grace snapped.

“I find the situation immature.” He looked from Grace to me. “Plus she has nothing on my girl. I have a hot chick o
n my arm. No ruining that.” He placed a kiss on my cheek and just like that, I’d sunk against him. I breathed his masculine scent in and adored it. I embraced his hug, his touch, his firm body against mine. He kissed me and I kissed him back with the passion that I’d held back on all day.

“Whatever,” Grace groaned before walking away.
We watched her walk off and then Bryson sighed heavily.

“You aren’t mad
, are you?” he asked.

“No,” I lied. Well, I wasn’t mad but I was bothered by his flirting. “But sh
e’s right, Bryson. Stop talking to her so much. I really don’t like anything about her.”

“Babe,” he said, laughing. “She’s my lab partner. She’s helping me out in class. You know how hard science is for me. I hate it, just as much as you do. I need some kind of help.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of people that are willing to help you without a problem.”

Stepping back, he observed me while folding his arms. “You think I’m going to do something with her?”

“No.” My voice was abrupt as I grabbed his hand. “I just don’t want her to try and do anything. I trust you. Not her.” I peered over his shoulder at Sara who was watching us. We locked eyes for a quick second and the hatred flared between us. I was immature to flip her the middle finger but I didn’t give a shit. I wanted her to know how much I hated her.

“You seriously need to chill out, Nat.” I looked up at Bryson who was running a hand through his hair. “Don’t fuck up our rep.”

He placed a kiss on my lips but I didn’t kiss him back. “What the hell do you mean “don’t fuck up our rep”?”  I felt my features tightening and my fingers curling into fists. Anger took hold of my emotions but he sighed, as if it was nothing.

“You’re acting like a damn kid.”

“Oh, I’m acting like a kid because I don’t want you near that skank?”

“No
, you’re acting like a kid when you say certain shit. Brush it off, get over it. If she isn’t worth your time, act like it. I’m not going to dislike someone just because you don’t like them.”

“But you know how she is, Bryson. I don’t want you around her. I don’t care about
you being near anyone else, just not her.”

A few people slowed down to listen in on us without making it noticeable but of course Bryson noticed and shook his head. “I’ll talk to you later. I don’t have time for this shit.”

Before I could speak, he was making his way through the crowd with hunched shoulders. If it were possible, steam would have been blowing out of my ears, I was that furious. I felt my cheeks heating up and as I looked up, I saw a few people looking in my direction. Once they realized that I was looking, they looked away, pretending they hadn’t even been listening.