“Why are you here? I mean, other than to flirt with underage boys.” I smirked down at her.

She was so much shorter than me. I liked that. It made me feel powerful somehow… manly.

“I wasn’t flirting with underage boys, and I’m here to volunteer. It’s only fair since we were both arrested.” She shrugged.

I guess being the governor’s daughter had its perks, like being able to find out personal information on people’s community service, but then again, why would her dad tell her how to find me when he so obviously didn’t want us to be around each other? Not that I could blame him after my smartass attitude toward him the last time we were together.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked. I didn’t want the kids behind her to hear us so I moved in closer. “Does your daddy know you’re stalking me, snowflake?”

Her eyes filled with panic and it pissed me off that she was afraid of him. Then she stepped back so quickly she almost tripped over her sneakers. She glared up at me with a pinched mouth. She was pissed off about something.

“My. Name. Is. Patience!” she yelled at me.

I had to admit, I liked it when she yelled at me. Mostly because it let me know she wasn’t as weak and defenseless as she looked, but also because I’m a fucked-up individual and occasionally I get off on being jerked around.

Her voice reached every wall of the gym and everyone turned to look at us. I watched as a pretty red blush crept up her neck and filled her cheeks. Her eyes started to water and become bloodshot and she looked like she was about to blow up from embarrassment. The poor thing, she looked like she was about to pass out, but it was funny to see her so pissed off and embarrassed. I kind of enjoyed ruffling her feathers.

I laughed softly to myself, earning another evil glower and I couldn’t help but poke the bear one more time.

“Careful, snowflake, if your face gets too hot, you might melt.”

She pressed at my chest with tiny palms and actually growled at me as she pushed me out of her way. I fucking loved it. I turned in just enough time to see her fly into the girl’s bathroom.

The group of boys started to laugh. I turned and glared down at them. They all stopped laughing and looked around like they weren’t being a bunch of nosey asses.

“So, I guess I’m lucky enough to get stuck with you guys,” I said as I walked over to the group.

There were three of them and none of them looked old enough to be in any kind of trouble. They couldn’t have been much older than thirteen, but then again, when I was thirteen I was smoking weed and getting hand jobs from fifteen-year-old girls behind my trailer.

“Sweet! What’s your name?” one of the boys asked.

He was the smallest and still his clothes looked too small. The kid had on two different socks and a torn-up shirt, but he had the biggest, happiest smile on his face and it made you forget about the fact that he was probably miserable at home.

I grabbed one of the little plastic school chairs, turned it around, and straddled it with my arms resting on the back.

“The name’s Zeke. What’s yours?”

The smallest one bounced the basketball between his legs and switched his feet around like he was a basketball star. “My name’s Keaton. The tall boy there is Riley and the quiet kid over here is Alex.”

My attention went to the quiet kid in the corner named Alex. He looked pissed off and as unhappy about being there as I was.

After introductions, I told the boys to go play some ball and hang out, and then I sat in my chair and watched from afar as I played on my phone. After a few minutes, I felt someone come up behind me. The smell of fresh grass filled my nose.

“I see you decided to come back out to play,” I said without looking up from my phone.

“I wouldn’t think of this as playing. This is just as much punishment for me as it is for you,” she said as she sat in the chair next to me.

I wanted to tell her she’d been punished enough by her dad. I could tell that by her face, but even with my blunt nature I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“Then why do it?” I asked.

“Because it’s what’s right.” She looked at me like I was dumb.

“Do you always do what’s right?”

“I try to, but sometimes people like you make it hard.” She shot me with a sexy glare that I’m sure she thought looked mean.

“Oh, come on. You know you like it when I tease you.” I grinned.

“You call this teasing? Isn’t teasing supposed to be fun? Nothing that comes out of your mouth is fun. You’re an asshole every time I talk to you.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.