The Playbook: A High School Bully Romance (An Oakwood High Novel Book 1) Read online

  The Playbook

  AN OAKWOOD HIGH NOVEL

  K.G. REUSS

  Copyright © The Playbook: An Oakwood High Novel 2021 by K.G. Reuss

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design: Infinity Book Covers

  Editing: N-D-Scribable Services

  Formatting: Books from Beyond

  For Kiki #bet

  See? I told you I was cool.

  Contents

  1. Grace

  2. Logan

  3. Grace

  4. Logan

  5. Grace

  6. Logan

  7. Grace

  8. Logan

  9. Grace

  10. Logan

  11. Grace

  12. Logan

  13. Grace

  14. Logan

  15. Grace

  16. Logan

  17. Grace

  18. Logan

  19. Grace

  20. Logan

  21. Grace

  22. Logan

  23. Grace

  24. Logan

  25. Grace

  26. Logan

  27. Grace

  28. Logan

  29. Grace

  30. Logan

  31. Grace

  32. Logan

  33. Grace

  34. Logan

  35. Grace

  36. Logan

  37. Grace

  38. Logan

  39. Grace

  40. Logan

  41. Grace

  42. Logan

  43. Grace

  44. Logan

  45. Grace

  46. Logan

  47. Grace

  48. Logan

  49. Grace

  50. Logan

  51. Grace

  52. Logan

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by K.G. Reuss

  CHAPTER 1

  Grace

  “Tell me why we have to do this?” I exaggerated a groan as I walked beside my best friend, Alana, through the mall.

  She rolled her hazel eyes and tossed her straw-colored curls over her shoulder. Her low-slung jeans and pink tank top made her look edgy and cool and not like the weird, lopsided muffin I was in my jeans and oversized hoodie.

  “Grace, come on. You know it’s a new school year, and we need to look hot as fire when we breeze through those doors Monday morning. This is our year.”

  “You say that every year,” I pointed out, tugging her to a stop in front of a sunglass hut. I tried on a pair of white, square frames and looked over to her for approval.

  She shook her head at me. “Try the round ones.”

  Obediently, I pushed the rounded, white frames up my nose as she tried on an orange pair. Turning to one another, we giggled.

  “Definitely get those.” She grinned, looking at me from over her neon frames.

  I handed the cashier the glasses and my money before stuffing my new purchase into my bag. We continued through the mall. It wasn’t my favorite place to be, namely because it was where all the cool kids hung out. I always felt like I was intruding on their turf. Lana thought I was crazy. Whatever. She’d never been the butt of their jokes. Lana was pretty with her long blonde hair, sparkling hazel eyes, and killer fashion sense. She was also a serial flirt. While she wasn’t drowning in popularity, people at school knew her and a lot of the boys loved her. She was a floater—the kind of person who could be accepted into any group without a second glance. Me? I was lucky if anyone knew my name. I ranked pretty high in the nobody category.

  “Ooh, jean skirts are so in right now,” she squealed, grabbing my arm and giving me a rough tug toward a store with mannequins on display wearing tiny denim skirts.

  I cringed. My dad would lose his sanity if I walked out of the house wearing something that small. Despite this, I allowed her to steer me into the boutique.

  After browsing through the store allowing Lana to load both our arms down with clothing, we went to the dressing room to try them on.

  We were laughing about how short the skirt was on me when a honeyed voice interrupted, sending ice shards down my spine.

  “Oh, look, girls. It’s Grace.”

  I stilled as I turned to face my tormentor. Nikki Devos. The Barbie doll princess herself. School queen. Voted Miss Popularity three years in a row. Head cheerleader.

  Her red lips tilted up into a malicious sneer while her blue eyes flashed with the wickedness of the devil himself. She tossed her long blonde ponytail over her shoulder and glanced at her cronies—Abigail Sommers and Piper Warren—also bombshells in their designer outfits. It was like a Barbie Dreamhouse had thrown up and got bitch all over the place.

  The girls all smirked back at me with varying degrees of cattiness.

  “I think you got confused. The thrift store is that way.” Nikki jabbed a perfectly manicured thumb over her shoulder. “I heard they just got some really nice, gently-worn kids’ clothes in that might work for you.”

  The girls at her side let out a gale of giggles like they’d just heard the joke of the year.

  “Eat a dic—” Lana snarled.

  I grabbed her arm and pulled her away before she could finish her sentence. “Let it go,” I mumbled, the wind knocked out of my sails.

  It wasn’t worth it. No one who got in a tangle with the fem-bots, a name us lowly peons called the girls in Nikki’s group, ever fared well. Mostly because Nikki was creative with her punishments. I was pretty sure she was the daughter of Satan.

  “You’re getting those outfits,” Lana huffed as I started to walk out of the dressing room empty-handed. “They looked good on you, Grace.”

  “It’s fine—”

  “No,” Lana snapped, snatching the clothes up, her cheeks red. “To hell with them. Don’t let them bring you down. They’re just jealous that you have a rocking bod without even trying.”

  “Thanks.” I peered down at my hoodie and jean clad body. No one would know there was anything rocking beneath my heavy ensemble of thick cotton and denim.

  Marching purposefully past the fem-bots, her arms laden with garments, Lana plopped the stuff on the counter. After we’d each paid for our things, we left the store. I knew Lana was still mad because she’d grown silent, a sure-fire way to tell she was stewing internally. And probably plotting some massive retaliation.

  “Lana, it’s seriously not a big deal,” I said as we sat on a bench with smoothies.

  “I just hate how they think they’re so much better than everyone else. They don’t even know you, Grace. You’re, like, the sweetest person and don’t deserve how nasty they are to you. Makes me want to kick kittens.” Her pretty face turned down into a scowl. “And you know how damn much I adore kittens.”

  “You’re the best.” I grinned at her. “But don’t put yourself in a position where you become a target of theirs. It’s not worth it. I’m fine. I’m always fine. So stop being sulky. I’m not even mad.”

  “You’re a damn liar,” she snorted, shaking her head. A tiny smile touched her lips. “But I think that’s one of your best attributes, lying your way through anger. It’s probably why you haven’t agreed to toilet paper Nikki’s house with me.”

  “And be a delinquent?” I feigned shock, my green eyes wide. “Never!”

  Lana giggled a
nd bumped shoulders with me. We grew quiet for a moment before we both noticed the guys by the fountain a few storefronts away.

  “Dang,” Lana murmured, her eyes traveling over the group of guys. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

  “Lana,” I admonished, my face heating even though they hadn’t heard her.

  The jocks. The hot, unattainable guys I would never in a million years have a shot with. Most of them came from money and from fathers who handed their jock status down to them. In the center of the group was king jock himself, Mr. Quarterback, Mr. Popularity every year since preschool, looking just as beautiful as he always did. Dark hair. Blue eyes. Abs for days. Ugh. And his arms? He’d probably be able to carry three of me over just one shoulder. Logan Walker had it going on. It was a truth I fought because I hated him and his friends, but I also had to appreciate that he really was perfect to look at.

  Despite how beautiful he was, his friends included, he was part of the court, the group of jocks, preps, and fem-bots. As a group, they formed a trifecta of perfection. They were high school royalty, hence the group’s name. While Logan had never directly done anything to me in high school, he’d never done anything to stop the meanness. Still gorgeous, though. Such a waste.

  I let out a soft sigh as he laughed, pushing Ryan Horner, another senior on the football team, playfully.

  “Beautiful, but toxic,” Lana murmured, pulling me out of my reverie.

  I cleared my throat and nodded, getting to my feet.

  “Look at Ryan. He’s one mountain I’d love to climb.”

  “Lana.” I let out a snort that was louder than intended.

  Logan locked his blue eyes on mine, making my face heat. Mortification coursed through me. Ducking my head, I quickly booked it away from them, not wanting to be called a farm animal or worse. I wasn’t so sure I could take Logan’s jeering. The damage from Logan to me throughout school had been minimal, and I wanted to keep it that way.

  “Did you and Lana have fun?” Mom asked as she popped her head into my room later that evening.

  I’d been lying in bed on my back, my black hair in a high ponytail I had scattered over my face as I peered through the curtain it formed to my ceiling, thinking about how I wanted to make senior year better than the heap of shit that was last year. And how my main goal was to avoid Nikki and her fem-bots all year.

  “Yeah,” I answered absently.

  Mom hesitated at the door for a moment before coming in and sitting on the edge of my bed.

  “Did you get anything good?”

  “Lana picked out some clothes for me.” I sat up and reached for a few of the bags. I moved them closer and began pulling items out so Mom could look.

  She seemed happy, grinning, as I showed her the cute outfits Lana had chosen. When I got to the bag filled with heavy sweaters, hoodies, jeans, and a pair of new chucks, Mom raised an eyebrow at me.

  “It’s better than nothing,” I defended myself.

  Mom let out a soft chuckle. “Your dad is going to flip when he sees those skirts. You know how he is about that stuff. I guess you take after him though because I see you got twice as much heavy clothing as you did other stuff.”

  “What can I say?” I grinned at her. “Apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”

  “That’s for sure.” She chuckled, planting a kiss on my forehead before getting to her feet. “Dad said he’s leaving for school at seven-fifteen. He wants to get there a bit early for some football thing he has to do.”

  I groaned. My dad was the football coach. In fact, he also taught health and was head of the athletic department. He played professional football at one point even. And when he handed off the jock torch to me, I must have fumbled it because I definitely didn’t get it. Like, at all. Me and sports simply didn’t mix.

  Mom gave me a squeeze before bidding me good night. I flopped back onto my bed and let out a sigh as I closed my eyes.

  Tomorrow was a new day. I sent up a silent prayer that Nikki and her court would forget about my existence.

  A girl could hope.

  CHAPTER 2

  Logan

  “The kegs are on the patio,” Dax, one of my friends, called out as Ryan and I walked into the party the day before the start of the school year.

  “They must have sprang for the cheap shit,” Ryan commented, his dark eyes roaming over the living room of Jason’s rich parents. “Last time, it was BYOB.”

  “Caleb probably bought it,” I said, mentioning Dax’s older brother, who was in his third year at the state university. “Probably his going away present to Dax.”

  “Well, can’t knock it, I guess. Free beer is free beer.” Ryan clapped me on the shoulder and made his way out to the patio.

  “Well, look who it is. Mr. Captain.” Andy slapped me on the back, leaving a sting behind.

  Andy and I weren’t friends. The guy was constantly trying to ruin my day with his shit. We’d always been rivals. I’d hoped senior year would be more relaxed. It seemed that hope was a joke.

  “Andy.” I turned away from him and smiled at Nikki from across the room.

  She licked her lips in return.

  “You still banging out Nikki? Aren’t you bored by now?”

  I spun back to Andy and snorted. “Bored? It’s Nikki. What’s not to like? Nothing about her is boring.”

  That was a lie. She was good for a night, but she tended to grate on my nerves past that. We made sense though. Cheerleader and quarterback. We were the epitome of a bad teen movie, but it worked for us, so we did it. She used me for my popularity, and I used her because she let me. It was a relationship of convenience. I couldn’t knock it.

  “Whatever. My kid sister’s goldfish has more brain cells,” he grunted before taking a deep drink from his cup.

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re just jealous because she wanted me.”

  He let out a wild burst of laughter. “Trust me, Walker. If I wanted to tap Nikki, I’d have done it by now. You’re lucky I don’t.”

  “What are you two assholes talking about?” Ryan joined us again and handed me a drink while slurping on his.

  Dax wandered over along with Anthony and Jeremy, two more members of our crew.

  “Walker has it in his head that he’s got something special with Nikki.” Andy smirked at me from over the rim of his red cup. “But I think she’s all he can get.”

  “Eat shit, Stephens,” I snapped. “I could have any girl in that school and keep Nikki.”

  “Sounds like a challenge,” Dax chortled.

  “Sounds like we should see if that’s true,” Julian added.

  He was Andy’s friend, not mine. The guy was a bigger tool than Andy if that was possible.

  “I think it sounds like a really bad idea. Walk away, man.” Ryan shook his head.

  “No, Stephens thinks he has this on lockdown. I’m game. Name the terms.”

  Andy’s lips turned up into a wicked smile. “You got it. Julian, record this shit.”

  Julian whipped his phone out like it was his dick and focused it on us.

  “Me and you. We each get a girl. We’ll let the guys pick them. We have until the end of football season to get her to confess she’s in love with us. And if we get her in bed, it’s game over.” Andy raised his brows at me, waiting for my rebuttal.

  A few more guys on the team joined us, grinning as they listened to our bet.

  “Write that shit in a playbook in case this jack wagon deletes the video,” Dax piped up, jerking his thumb at Andy. “We’ll make a list. You guys have to check off the items on the list. Get the chicks to do each thing to earn points. The guy with the most points at the end of the season wins if they don’t get the L word or between her legs. We’ll let Anthony keep track of it since he’s pretty neutral.”

  “It’s one of my winning personality traits.” Anthony grinned at us.

  “Let’s sweeten the deal,” Julian piped up. “At the end, you have to break her heart in front of the entire school.
It’ll keep the bitches in line and keep from giving any others any ideas.”

  I downed my beer and nodded, not liking the last bit but not wanting to look like a pussy. “I’m in. You guys put it together. We’ll start on Monday when school begins.”

  “Which girls?” Anthony pulled out a small notebook from his back pocket.

  “What the hell is that?” Andy snorted, looking at Anthony’s notebook.

  “What the hell does it look like? It’s a damn memo book.”

  Ryan sighed. He was always on my tail about Andy, telling me to let it go. I couldn’t though. I had to beat him. So much for a relaxing senior year. It was completely off the table now.

  “I vote for Casey Lane,” Julian said.

  “No, she gets around. We need girls who are tough,” Dax said. “How about Marissa Waters?”

  “The goth?” Andy let out a loud laugh. “No thanks.”

  “No, it makes perfect sense. If you guys are doing this, it should be chicks who’ll make it tough. And Marissa Waters is tough. And scary,” Anthony added as an afterthought.

  I smirked. Marissa was a goth chick with loads of piercings. People talked about how she spent her free time in the cemetery. Truthfully, the girl scared me a little.