The Jack*ss In Class (The Cocky Kingmans, #5)

by Amy Award

For all the readers who think you aren’t loveable. I know you’ve hidden yourself away, you protected that spark deep inside your heart, the one that burns with the light of your true self. It’s time to let that spark ignite. The real you is exactly what the world needs.

“Speaking of brains,” my twin brother, Gryff, muttered beside me, “explain to me again why we’re doing this instead of prepping for the combine?” “Because Coach says we need more positive PR for the football team.”

It was heading straight for a girl curled up in one of the oversized armchairs in the corner. She hadn’t looked up from her book once, despite the chaos around her. “Watch out,” I called, already envisioning the lawsuit. “There’s a⁠—” The girl turned the page of her book, then held that same hand, palm out, right into the path of mass donkstruction. The donkey skidded to a stop.

“Shut up, mini-Kingman.” Artemis and Gryffin joined us, both covered in grass stains.

Ah, yes, the be more like your successful older sisters part of the conversation. Great.

A loud bang saved me from having to answer. My bedroom door flew open, revealing my roommate, Parker, in all her purple-haired, caffeinated glory.

It didn’t take long before I was freezing, soaked, muddy, and helping Trixie load chickens into her hatchback. She had a whole setup at home. A fancy coop she called the Millenhen Falcon that her fiancé had built her, though I’d never met the guy. All I knew was that he apparently thought her hilarious obsession with punny chicken names was adorable.

Crazy that we didn’t all fit on the jet anymore. Our family had grown last year. Well, not officially yet as Dec and Chris were waiting for the off-season to get married. We better be getting a tropical vacay out of wedding season.

“Indeed.” I leaned forward, close enough to see that she was reading something called Curvy Temptation. “Though personally, I’ve always thought Beatrice and Benedick had the right idea. Start with antagonism...”

I shrugged. “Hard not to when you live with a teenager who won’t shut up about them. Actually, I’m fairly sure Jules was just freaking out about some super-popular romance novel based on a Shakespeare play, but with hockey players or something. Wouldn't stop

talking about it at family dinner last week. She kept saying she can’t wait to see what the author writes next.” Something flickered across her face—surprise? panic? and was that a slight smile when I mentioned the author’s next book?—but before I could be sure, her phone buzzed. She grabbed it immediately, frowning at the screen. “Everything okay?”

This was ninety percent of the reason why I didn’t do girlfriends. They were a distraction. But everyone knew Kingmans played better when we were getting laid. It was why the Mustangs were going to win the big Bowl this year. All four Kingmans on the team had a woman in their bed. In their lives. In their hearts.

No, what got my engine revving was Tempest’s unimpressed “you actually do your homework?” And how much better it had felt to surprise her, to prove her assumptions wrong.

Usually this was when Gryff would turn to us with his shit-eating grin, but today he was already pivoting to talk to the

hockey player he had a crush on behind him. Subtle, bro. Real subtle.

“Fine. Let’s talk about how Othello’s real tragedy isn’t the deception itself, but his failure to trust the people who actually care about him.” That landed. I watched her throat work as she swallowed. “Some secrets aren’t about trust. They’re about protection.”

“Emotional support tacos,” Hannah announced, holding up a grease-stained paper bag. “No arguments.”

As I walked away, I heard Flynn call my name. But I was done being the girl who waited around for the hero to choose her. They never chose me anyway.

“Oh, right.” She blinked a few times. “You’re sure back fast though. Quickie?” Even drunk as shit, she was still filled with sass. No one but my brothers and one very bratty little sister sassed me. I liked it. Too much. “Nope. When I take a woman to bed, there’s nothing quick about it. I like to take my time to tease, taste, make you tremble.”

“And feed your secret emotional support donkey.”

The National

Chapter president just emailed and the DSU girls are being honored with the April De la Reine

Award. I’ll be there, of course, but I thought you migh...

I was thinking about how Tempest always deflected compliments with sarcasm. How she kept everyone at arm’s length with her wit. How she seemed surprised every time I sought her out.

“We should overlook this incident. After all, the April De la Reine Leadership Award is meant to honor sisters who think creatively and make a difference in unexpected ways—though perhaps next time, we’ll stick to less... furry forms of philanthropy.”

The thing about having seven siblings is that crisis management becomes a spectator sport. Within fifteen minutes of Dad’s text, my brothers had turned Operation Donkey Evacuation into a full-scale production.

“Anytime, my queen. Though next time, maybe we stick to smuggling something smaller and easier to hide... like chinchillas or oh, I know, let’s leave animals out of it all together and start a sex toys smuggling business.”

watched her disappear inside, already counting the hours until morning. Because for the first time since I made my two-week rule, I wasn’t looking for an exit strategy. I was looking for a reason to stay.

She’d died when I was six, leaving behind impressions more than concrete memories—her laugh, the smell of her perfume, the way Dad’s face lit up when she entered a room. The way he hadn’t lit up again for years after she died.

Time slowed, just like in the movies, and he reached up, gently tucking a curl behind my ear, his fingers lingering against my cheek. His touch sent electricity racing from my face, down to my heart, and then straight between my legs. Ridiculously, I found myself leaning into his palm, wanting

this connection, wanting it to be real.

I stared at the text, feeling the weight of my separate lives pressing in. The practical, serious student who made her mother proud. The secret romance author on the verge of

her big break. And now, apparently, the girl who caught Flynn Kingman’s interest despite all odds. Something had to give. I just wasn’t sure what, or who, I was willing to sacrifice.

And for the first time in as long as I could remember, I didn’t want to give up any part of me. I didn’t want to hide, I didn’t want to have a mask. Not with him any...

“Coach benched me for the first quarter.” His smile was tinged with memory. “Worth it, though. April wore this blue dress that matched her eyes, and I remember thinking I’d sit out the whole damn season for another hour with her.”

I saw the way he blinked a few extra times and heard the gruffness in his voice talking about Mom. He would never get over her.

I answered politely, watching Tempest from the corner of my eye. She physically shrunk, hunching her shoulders and slumping down when her sisters took center stage, and her earlier animation faded.

God dammit. She definitely wasn’t used to anyone standing up for her and it had me wanting to throw her over my shoulder and haul her straight out of this party. Family were supposed to be the ones that supported you, not tore you down.

“Actually,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I think Tempest’s body is both perfect and sexy as hell.” I turned to look directly at her. “I’m hot for her because of her curves, not despite them.”

“She’s different with you,” he said without preamble. “Different how?” “More herself.” He studied me thoughtfully. “Tempest has spent her whole life trying to fit into spaces that weren’t built for her. Driven enough for her mother, academic enough for her father, fashionable enough for Catalina, strategic enough for Rosalind, social enough for Ophelia, and athletic enough for Freddie.” He shook his head. “It’s exhausting being everyone’s afterthought.”

Because despite all the rules and my determination not to catch feelings, I was falling in love with Tempest Navarro. Right here, right now, I wanted her to know that. But she never believed anything I said. So instead, I showed her.

Because I was falling in love with the cocky, arrogant, sweet Flynn Kingman. And I was scared out of my mind, and maybe the happiest I’d ever been at the same time.

Nice’ she says.” Bettie shook her head, closing the door behind them. “Honey, men like Flynn Kingman don’t do ‘nice’ kisses. They do earth-shattering, life-altering, panty-melting kisses.”

me. He held up his hands to the camera and made a heart with his fingers. My heart lurched in my chest as the room erupted in squeals and cheers around me. Several sisters turned to look at me, their expressions delighted.

“You planned all of this. Why?” she asked, her dark eyes searching mine across the table. “Because I wanted to show you that I see you,” I said honestly. “The real you. Not just the Tempest who aces Shakespeare

classes or rescues donkeys, but the one who lights up when she talks about literature. The one who notices details others miss. The one I can’t stop thinking about.”

“After my mom died,” I began, the words coming

slowly, “my dad was... destroyed. Completely shattered. He tried to hide it from us kids, but I remember waking up at night and hearing him crying in their bedroom.” I swallowed hard. “He never really recovered. Not completely.”

“I was six, but I understood enough. Loving someone that much meant losing them could break you. And that scared the hell out of me.”

“I’m not saying I’ve got everything figured out,” I continued. “But I’m done pretending I don’t have feelings for you. That I’m not falling for you.”