11 Chapter 11

Cole

I couldn't control my frustration, so I walked off. Is that really how Ophelia saw me? Does she see me and a man-shore? And if she does, why does that bother me? I've spent years building up my barriers. I wouldn't fall for someone who would only use me. Girls want me for two things, money and power. I've never met someone who genuinely liked me for who I am and not what I have. But, that statement might not be true anymore.

I walk over to my locker and see Mason and Jacob there. Jacob gives me a look, and I know that he can sense my irritation. Mason looks down the hall and, with no doubt sees Ophelia walking away. I know that he's going to have questions, and I don't know that I want to answer them.

"Spill it. You look pissed off, and Ophelia looks guilty." Jacob says.

I'm shocked to hear him ask. The boy very rarely talks, and he isn't the type to want to talk about feelings or anything of the sort. Mason busts out laughing, and I smile at this. Jacob always surprises me.

"She thinks that I'm a man-whore." I grit out.

"Aren't we all?" Mason says.

The look on his face tells me that he isn't taking this all that seriously. That pisses me off almost as much as what Ophelia said. The last thing that I want her to do is to think of me that way. For whatever reason, she is always on my mind, and it isn't just the thoughts of sleeping with her. I've never had a girl that piqued my interest the way Ophelia Harris has.

"That's not how I want her to see me!" I snap at Mason. "If I have any chance of this working, I can't be seen as the town Fuck Boy!" I punch the locker, unable to control my emotions.

"First, you need to calm your ass down!" Jacob shouts.

I look around and see that we are starting to draw attention with our little conversation. I nod my head toward the end of the hall, where the doors lead to the outside. Once we get there, I head over to the benches and take a seat. I drop my head in my hands and try to clear my head.

"What is going on with you bro? You've never care what a girl thought of you before, so why are you worrying about her?" Mason says as he sits next to me.

"I haven't got a clue. The girl does things to me. She makes me want to be a better man, to stop all this and just settle down. I feel like I'm losing my mind here." I sigh and lean back.

"You like her," Jacob says without any hesitation. My eyes snap to his.

"Excuse me?" I growl at him.

"Jacob's right. You like her man. Whether you want to admit it or not, you are falling for the girl." Mason says with a big smile on his face.

"You're full of it. I don't like her." I say this knowing that if the truth is told, I'm the one who is full of shit.

"You can sit here and try to lie to yourself, but you know it's true. Let me guess, she told you that she would only go tonight if it's a group thing. I bet she also told you that she didn't want to be one of those girls we use for a one-night stand either." Mason says with all seriousness.

"Yes." I couldn't say any more than that. He was right about it all.

"The thing you should be worried about is how are you going to change how Ophelia sees you. If you want her to see you as something other than a fuck boy, you have to be something other than that. She isn't the type of person to not give someone a chance to prove they are more than just a title. Give her some credit." Mason says.

"To do that, then I have to change into someone different. I hate to admit it, but, yeah I am a man-whore. And so are all of you. Do you want to give up getting the variety of girls whenever you want? Do you want to settle for just one meal, when you could have an all-you-can-eat buffet?" I ask looking at both of them.

"I would for her," Mason says. "You know that there are a lot more just like me waiting in the wings for you to mess this up. You're my best friend, but in all truth none of us, especially you, deserve the girl. Jacob would come the closest, but he still gets around when he wants."

I sit there for a few minutes letting all this sink in. How the hell did this happen? I worked so hard at hardening my heart to girls to turn around and let someone that I have not even known a week take it over. That is the really bad part of all this. No matter how much I fight it, the feelings are there, and they're growing. I could continue to fight it, or I could give in and try to learn to let Ophelia in.

No rules were saying that this had to play out any certain way. I could fall in love with her or not. The choice is solely up to me. I know that if I drop this or play it the wrong way there is a line of guys waiting for their chance with her. Not all of their intentions are pure, but that doesn't mean that they won't give it a shot. And who's to say that they wouldn't hurt her beyond repair. That is something that I can't bear the thought of.

"How do I do this? If I want to change the way she thinks of me how do I do it?" I ask honestly. I want to try. I may fail at it but, at least I could say I tried.

"Treat her as something more than a lay. Make her feel special to you." Jacob says.

"Yeah, listen to Dr. Love over here," Mason says chuckling.

"Shut it. I'm serious. Talk to her, and learn about who she is. Show some actual interest. Do the opposite of what you would do with a girl normally. Par attention to what she says and give a shit about it." Jacob says.

"Think of it as becoming friends first. Girls love that crap. They want to feel like you like them for who they are, or what they look like. Ophelia is one of those girls who thinks she isn't anything special in the looks department." Mason stands as he's talking. "Ophelia is an amazing person. She can draw pretty well, you said she can write better than anyone in your class, and she can play the piano and sing. She is overflowing with talent but has no self-esteem/ Her confidence is non-existent."

"And you saying all this is helping me how?" I start to get frustrated with him.

"It helps because you are going to be the person who helps build her up. You have a head start since she is best friends with your sister. Use that connection to build a relationship. If you play your cards right, then Ophelia will be yours." He looks me in the eye, and I can't tell what emotion he has there. I look at Jacob, and he is the same way.

"This girl has to be a witch," I mutter.

"What are you talking about?" Jacob says laughing.

"She has us sitting around talking about our feelings and how to win a girl over. We have never done this shit before. We're turning into a bunch of wimps who care about emotions and building confidence. What the hell happened to us?" I sigh out and know that I am the one who is turning into all those things.

"It was bound to happen at some point. We can't stay kids forever. Hump and dump will eventually get old if it doesn't give us something we can't shake off." Mason says.

For the longest time, I never thought about that. I always used protection, but that didn't always keep you safe. At the rate I was going, I would catch something that I couldn't get rid of. The thought of that was scary. I had a future all planned out for me, and the last thing I need is a problem that won't go away.

"At this point, I'll try just about anything to get the show on the road. I want to enjoy my last year before I have to get serious and learn the business. The sooner this happens the better. I need to focus on living life to the fullest, not worrying over some chick's feelings." We all laughed at this statement.

The guys knew that my parents had planned my life out for me. The town was practically ours and there was a ton of responsibility that comes with being the family head. I was the heir of the title, so at some point my dad with pass it to me. This knowledge was what was leading me to want to enjoy my last year of high school. The biggest unknown is whether or not I was willing to give up on Ophelia's feelings or just satisfy my own.