Page 35 of Stranded

There! It’s Alph’s car!

The little beater is practical, but it’s a terrible mid-90s shade of brown. The prettiest thing about it is the bumper, which is covered in stickers about Sunrise Island. Some are faded, and others look almost new.I <3 Sunrise Island,Get Away to Sunrise… you get the idea.

My favourite is the sticker that says,My Other Car is the Sunrise Island Ferry.Alph has hand-written the ferry sailing times in Sharpie at the bottom of the sticker, which is the most Alph thing I can imagine.

Derek bursts into the screened-in porch and stares at me, envelope shoved firmly in his pocket. “We don’t want to live with some rando all year!”

Knowing that Alph is just down the street makes me a little bolder, so I lift my first suitcase to the sidewalk and turn to him. “Maybe you should have thought about thatbeforetrying to make my life a misery.”

Derek bares his teeth at me, while I just raise my eyebrows.

Considering how much he hates my guts, I figured he’d be glad to ditch the loser and find someone cooler to hang out with his squad. He must be real mad about losing his punching bag.

“You think your life was a misery before?” Derek laughs harshly. “I’ll make sure it is now.”

We both know his threats are empty. He and his cronies aren’t just petty… they’re lazy. See also: our household chore list, usually done by me alone.

“Get ready to come last in the showcase. Everyone’s going to laugh at you, loser. You can’t come up with an original idea to save your life?—”

As the car pulls up, I lift the second suitcase over the threshold. “See you in class,” I say, letting the screen door slam shut in his face as I wheel my suitcases toward the curb.

Alph doesn’t even shut off the car. He just barrels out of the driver’s seat, rushing up to me like he’s prepared to throw punches. “Are you okay?” he demands, stepping between me and the house and looking up at the porch.

I follow his gaze and laugh, because Derek is suddenly nowhere to be found. Dimes to donuts, he saw a guy much bigger and tougher than him and now he’s hiding on the floor.

Good. He deserves a taste of his own medicine.

“I’m okay,” I promise Alph, tapping his shoulder. “Come on. Help me with these.”

He reluctantly turns to look at me, looking adorably disappointed to miss the chance to fight for my honour. “You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

Alph studies me, and something in my grin finally makes him relax. “Okay,” he concedes, finally letting his breath out. He takes both suitcases and rolls them up to the car to lift them in.

I should help, but then I’d miss the chance to see his muscles doing… that thing, and suddenly I’m transfixed. Literally. It’s not my fault. I just can’t do anything besides stare at him and memorize what I’m seeing.

Alph must work out morning and night. Does he have a gym in his apartment downstairs? I wouldn’t participate, but I’d totally pay money to watch him…

“With everything those assholes have done, they deserve to be punched,” Alph interrupts my train of thought, slamming the trunk closed. He glowers at the house again. “Just say the word.”

“Thank you, but there’s really no need. I’m going to beat them fair and square.”

Alph strides up to me out of the blue, and I squeak with surprise as his arms wrap around me.

I half-expect him to open the car door and lift me inside like a big old-fashioned suitcase. Instead, he squeezes me so tight he lifts me off the ground a little before setting me down again.

“Thattaboy,” he growls. “Time to get to work.”

Oh, my god.

I stare up at him, tongue-tied. Now that I know how easy it is for Alph to pick me up and heft me around, I’m going to need some alone time… and a lot of it.

All I can imagine is him shoving my head down on my cock, growling at me to get to work. Not that he’d need to order me around. I’d work my ass off for a glimpse of Alph letting go of his worries, giving in to his instinct, his need, his raw desire…

Alph opens the passenger door of the car and flourishes. “Your carriage is here, sir.”

“I—uh—thanks,” I squeak. I tumble into the seat and reach for the seatbelt, keeping one arm over my lap.

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