Shameless

  SHAMELESS

  NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  TERESA MUMMERT

  Copyright ©2011 by Teresa Mummert

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission of the author except where permitted by law.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Synopsis

  Every student at Shame U has their secrets, and Henley Brooks is no exception. Struggling to pay for college and maintain her perfect reputation has become overwhelming. When her friend Gigi Oxford offers her a night of carefree fun, she can’t pass up the opportunity to unwind.

  After a night of drinking turns to chaos, Henley finds herself alone with Lucas Young, a student from London who has come to America to unravel a few secrets of his own, as well as break a few hearts.

  Covered in tattoos and drowning in liquor, Lucas was everything Henley should avoid but couldn’t resist. She soon begins to fall for him like the many women before her. But after stumbling across something he didn’t want her to see, she learns that Lucas may not be who she thinks he is.

  Henley and Gigi devise a plan to teach Lucas a lesson, but it isn’t long before Henley learns that no one at Shamus Thornton College can be trusted.

  When everything begins to feel like it is falling apart, there is only one person Henley wants to pick up the pieces, even if he is the person who caused her to crumble.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  HENLEY

  “Wait! Please, hold the door,” I screeched while running down the hall as the elevator doors began to close. The guy inside reached out his arm, covered in swirls of dark ink, and stuck his hand between the closing doors causing them to spring back open.

  “Since you said please,” he replied with an eyebrow cocked, and I was taken aback by his slight accent that I couldn’t quite place, but it didn’t seem to match his rugged exterior.

  “Thanks,” I muttered, out of breath, craning my neck to smile up at him in appreciation. “I should have yelled Hodor, right? I mean... that would have...” I shook my head, losing faith in my own joke halfway through my sentence. My voice was barely audible as I continued to ramble. “That was a Game of... never mind. It was stupid. You probably have no idea what I’m talking about, and now I’m talking to myself. Awesome.” The doors began to close, and I was forced to stand beside the stranger and wallow in my humiliation.

  The corners of his lips turned up slightly in a grin, but he didn’t respond, and my gaze fell. The inked designs that covered the flesh of his arms disappeared under the short sleeve of his basic white t-shirt and reappeared out of the collar, running under the edge of his angular jaw. My eyes continued traveling upward past the small silver orb piercing the side of his nose to the crystal blue of his eyes, which were in sharp contrast of his thick brows that were the same color as his chestnut hair. It was shaved close on the sides with the hint of more ink underneath, but the top was a few inches long, parted on the side and combed back at an angle. I couldn’t look away, not only because he was incredibly hot, but because he looked like trouble. Had I had time to think before diving into this small space with him, I would have probably waited for the next one and conceded to being late.

  The muffled sound of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto filled the awkward silence as if he’d come with his own mismatched theme music, and it took me a second to realize the sound was coming from my messenger bag.

  “Sorry,” I muttered, not entirely sure what I was apologizing for as I pulled it out and clicked to answer the call.

  “Did you hear?” Gigi asked, not bothering with a greeting.

  “What?” I asked glancing up at the stranger, gripping the strap of my bag tighter.

  “Some guy got in a fight and beat the hell out of like three people up on Dani’s floor. Everyone is talking about it. Did you remember to grab your pepper spray?”

  “A fight?” My heart that was still thudding from my impromptu jogging was now beginning to accelerate further. He hadn’t looked like he’d been in a brawl, but I guess that could be because he’d been on the winning end.

  He glanced down at me, raising his index finger to his lips, gesturing for me to keep his presence a secret but at the moment, all I could think about was how lucky his finger was to be pressed against his mouth.

  “I haven’t heard anything.”

  His hand dropped to his side, and he winked, sending butterflies into frantic flight inside of my stomach.

  The dinging of the elevator bell jolted me from my deep scrutiny of the stranger, and the doors slid open. Two campus security guards stood on the other side, panting. He bolted between them, knocking one to the ground. I pressed my hands against the back wall of the elevator car trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. The guard that remained standing pulled the other to his feet, and they gave chase, screaming after him to stop.

  I reluctantly stepped out of the confined space, glancing around to the few other students milling around the lobby area with their attention locked onto the smartphones, oblivious to the scene that had unfolded before them.

  “Hello? Earth to Henley,” Gigi’s voice was laced with annoyance.

  “It’s in my bag, but I haven’t talked to anyone. I stayed up studying until three in the morning for that bio quiz and now I’m late... as usual. Not that anyone would notice or care anyway.” I could almost hear her rolling her eyes.

  “You’re rambling... what happened?”

  “Nothing! I’m just running late. That’s all.”

  “Before college is over, we need to get you a life. You’re missing out on the best parts. After school, it’s nothing but bills and disappoi
ntment.”

  “We’ve talked about this. I have to go.”

  “Wait! There is a dollar beer night tonight at Filly’s.”

  “Not a chance,” I snapped. “Remember the last time I got drunk?”

  “Yeah,” she laughed loudly into the phone, and I held it away from my ear for a few seconds until the cackling died down. “How could I forget? You told Molly to break up with Jacob because you were Team Edward. It was really embarrassing... for you.”

  “Laugh it up, but Jacob did turn out to be a real dog. I called it.”

  “You’re such a dork. Just think about it. You know I make questionable decisions when I’m wasted. Don’t make me fend off the beasts on my own. Have you already forgotten when I brought home that asshole and he threw up on your bed?”

  “Yeah, thanks for bringing him to my room, by the way. Tanner appreciated the mess she had to clean while I was at my mom’s house.”

  The phone was silent for a moment. “Shit, Henley. I’m sorry for bringing her up. How is she?”

  “Her mom said she isn’t coping well with being back home.” I shook my head, ridding the thoughts of how close my roommate had come to losing her life at the hands of her boyfriend who’d driven drunk. He hadn’t been as lucky. “She misses John... and she hates herself for it.”

  “Maybe we can do something for her. Send her a basket or something.”

  “That'd be great. I couldn’t imagine having to start all over again.”

  “Think about tonight.”

  “I’ll consider it.” I rolled my eyes and ended the call before she could go on. I had absolutely no intention of going out with her tonight. I needed every waking moment I could spare to catch up on work I had missed while visiting back home. My mother had one of her episodes, refusing to bathe or eat for days, and I had to check her into the hospital so they would force her back on her medications. I spent the following week sorting out the mounting medical bills and filling her new prescriptions. We were all each other had in this world while my dad was gone, and when she needed me, I dropped everything to be by her side.

  ***

  By the time I had finished my last class of the day, I was barely hanging on to consciousness. I made my way back to my room, this time opting for the stairs to avoid running into any more deviants as Opus twenty of Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky blasted through my right earbud as the other dangled over my shoulder. I laid on my bed and pulled out my notes, unable to decipher what I’d scribbled down. My phone lit up, and I slid it under my pillow.

  “Not now,” I muttered as I flipped through the pages of my notebook, my eyes scanning my sloppy handwriting and struggling to decipher the words.

  “Henley, I can hear you from out here,” Gigi yelled from the other side of my door, startling me. I had met Gigi Oxford during freshman orientation. She was a sophomore, and we were polar opposites. Her hair was dirty blonde with large barrel curls, she cursed like a sailor, and every boy in the school fawned over her like helpless puppies. For some reason, she was determined to drag me along to every adventure Shamus Thornton College had to offer, in an effort to corrupt me like the little sister she never had.

  “Damn,” I muttered under my breath as I got up to answer it, stubbing my toe on the corner of my bed. Gigi stood with her hands on her hips, tapping her wedge sandal-clad foot. Her stark white skirt barely covered her tanned ass, and her pale peach t-shirt looked as though it was painted on her skin and revealed a sliver of her belly and a blue jewel that was pierced through her navel.

  “You’ve been avoiding my calls.” Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her ample chest. I rolled my eyes and limped back to my bed.

  “I have to study.”

  “You have to take a break before you wither up and die in this godforsaken place.”

  “That’s dramatic,” I said dryly as my eyes drifted to Tanner’s vacant side of the room and I struggled not to think of how close she’d come to losing her life.

  “One drink, I’m not asking you to burn bibles in the middle of campus. Just have some fun for once. You deserve it after the last few weeks.”

  I knew she was right. She just wanted me to have the full college experience before going out into the world and settling down. My life had been planned out in my head since I was twelve. I would meet a man who was work driven and kind, have two children, and raise our family in a quiet suburb somewhere on the east coast. I would have a career and own a home without having to struggle like my parents had because they’d had me so young. But I’d been watching my life slowly unravel as my mother became sick and my father had given up, hiding behind his career as a way to ignore the problems at home. My dreams were slipping from my grasp, replaced by responsibilities that weighed so heavily on my shoulders I felt ready to break under pressure.

  As much as I loved Gigi, she had no idea what I was going through. Her two fathers had spoiled her, and she’d never lost anyone close to her. Her birth mother lived only three doors away and was active in her life since the day she was born. I wanted more than anything to feel how it must be to have no worries in life, even if it was all a façade.

  “One drink?” I asked over the rim of my dark framed glasses, knowing that if I didn’t take some time off to actually enjoy life, it was going to pass me by.

  “Yes, we can slum it with the locals,” she squealed hugging me so tightly it felt like my spine was going to snap. What Gigi never understood was that I was a local. I lived only an hour away. She held me back at arm’s length and looked me over, her smile twisting into a sneer. “I’ll even listen to you play one of your boring songs.”

  “Gee, thanks. But you’re out of luck because I left my violin at home.”

  “I thought you’d go through withdrawals without that thing.”

  I shrugged, thinking about my most prized possession collecting dust on the pawn shop shelf, or worse, in someone else’s hands as they dragged the bow across the strings. “I just figured everyone on our floor could use a break.” I tried my best to plaster a convincing smile on my face as my eyes welled up with tears. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “We have to do something about your hair first,” she said with mock disgust. I smacked her playfully on the arm, tugging the hair-tie from my hair, letting long auburn hair cascade down my back. I did my best to stick my chest out, mocking her playfully.

  “Better?” I asked, waiting for her approval.

  “Getting there.” She nodded with amusement. I grabbed a small mirror and put on some mascara and lip-gloss to at least look like I’d made an effort. By the time we left, the sun was just beginning to set.

  ***

  Patrons of Filly’s Bar overflowed into the street. I tugged at my heather gray tank top, the thin fabric clinging to the small of my back as the heat of the day still lingered in the air. I wished I would have changed out of my jeans before coming out, not that anyone would notice me next to Gigi and her mile-long legs. The girls around me wore short skirts and tops that barely contained them. I made a face at Gigi, pleading with her silently to take me home as I swiped a piece of hair that was slicked to my forehead.

  “I don’t fit in here.”

  “You look fine. Sexiness is about confidence. You’re beautiful, Henley,” she reassured me, grabbing my glasses from my face and shoving them into her purse. I tried to protest, but she held up her manicured hand to stop me. “I know you only need these while reading. Stop hiding behind them. I’ll give them back I promise. Let everyone see your hazel eyes. They’re so pretty.” My mind flashed to the boy in the elevator. My eyes looked dull compared to his baby blues that sparkled mischievously like he’d been up to no good.

  “Did you hear anything else about the fight at the dorm?”

  She shrugged, her eyes scanning the crowd as she wiped the mascara from under her lower lashes. “Word is some guy caught his girlfriend cheating and took it out on the guy she brought home,” she explained with a shrug.

  “I think
I may have seen him.” Scrunching up my nose, I tried to figure out if the guy I’d seen had been the scorned boyfriend or the replacement.

  “Seen who?” Her emerald eyes snapped to me, as her perfectly arched brows furrowed.

  “The guy. I dunno.” I shrugged. “There was some guy in the elevator. He just looked like he was up to no good.”

  Gigi let out a small laugh. “Any guy doing the walk of shame from our dorm is always up to no good.”

  We made our way through the crowded dance floor toward the bar. Gigi had to shout over the music to order us drinks. She turned around, handing me a beer as we studied the people around us. “It’s not so bad,” she yelled. I took a long swig from my beer bottle and nodded, but this had to be some sort of fire safety violation. Pressing the bottle to my forehead, I let my eyes fall closed, relishing in the coolness of the condensation.

  “Could be worse but I guess that depends on your definition of bad,” I agreed, and she smiled triumphantly. I drank another large sip, holding up my bottle and peering inside. “Almost time to go,” I warned and drank the last few sips of my beer. She frowned and turned back to the bar, tapping her French tips against the glossy wood.

  “Two more beers and two shots of Jack,” She yelled to the bartender. I glared at her, slamming my bottle down on the bar. “Live a little. Even Beethoven liked to unwind with some drinks,” she said, holding up a shot glass for me to take. I struggled to suppress my smirk as she brought up one of my favorite composers even though she hated classical music. Maybe she had been listening to me ramble.

  “Beethoven was an antisocial drunk.” I drank it down, the harsh liquid burning my throat and immediately turning my stomach. I quickly slammed back my beer, trying to soothe the ache, knowing I’d regret mixing beer and alcohol later tonight.

  She groaned, shaking her head as her large honey-colored curls swayed. “Let’s mingle.” She grabbed my arm and yanked me away from the safety of the bar. I pulled back against her, but she tugged harder, her grip tightening on my wrist.

  “I don’t know anybody here,” I protested.

  “Exactly my point. You need to make friends,” she called back at me as she made her way into a circle of people, granting us a reprieve from the tightly packed space.