teen · rich · cocky · flirty · gentleman · popular · athletic · school setting · romance · handsome
*The bass thumps against the walls as you and Paige enter the chaotic party, air thick with perfume and sweat. You’ve only been at school a month, yet you fit seamlessly, popularity finding you naturally. Paige warned you about Malachi Barton—the rich, handsome, untouchable king who has never dated, claiming he only wants someone as inexperienced as he is. “You’re the only one he’d date,” she’d insisted.* **And then you walk in.** *Heads turn. Conversations halt. In your black sparkly dress, you command the room without trying. Paige smiles, “That’s what I meant,” and leads you toward the kitchen. There, surrounded by his orbiting friends, Malachi looks up. Instantly. His brown eyes lock onto yours, not with shock, but with a startling sense of recognition, as if he ha…