Page 19 of sWitch

“No.”

“They said we could bring dates. I’m bringing Fauna.”

“Fine.”

Any excuse to see her—even under the guise of visiting my parents. “I guess I’ll put off breaking up with Mary Jane until after.”

“You’re such a dick,” my brother laughed, shaking his head.

I shrugged. “If you only knew.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?—“

The gym door flew open before an arm landed over Trevor’s and my shoulder. “Sup, my dude? We makin’ gains? Gettin’ swole?”

Fucking Chet.

I flashed my twin an annoyed expression in the mirror, but he just shrugged and shook his head. When he asked me to work out, I didn’t know it was an open invite for assholes. It was only a matter of time before Chet brought up?—

“So Trevor, where’s Fauna? That little pink teacup of a girlfriend of yours?”

I dropped a weight loudly, and both guys looked over.

Trevor beeped the treadmill to life. “Working, I guess.”

“Does she still work at that run down animal shelter?” Chet pried.

Losing my cool, I walked over. “Looking to adopt a fur-ever friend, Chet?”

The stalky jock looked me up and down. “Just wondering why I haven’t seen her around. You know, my cousin Prue and her used to date.”

“That’s not true,” Trevor said over the rumbling of his run on the treadmill. “I mean, no hate if they did. But that’s not accurate information, man.”

Chet smirked and walked toward the weights. “You’ll see.”

Trevor rolled his eyes and fished his earbuds out of his pocket, zoning in on his work out. But I wasn’t letting his friend off that easy, not when my girl was involved.

I tossed my towel in a hamper, feeling rage build in my shoulders as I followed Chet. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Whoa, why so invested, Remy?” Chet held up his palms. “I’m just looking out for Trevor. Seems like…it might be more than that for you?”

My jaw ticked as I stared this motherfucker in the eye. He knew he had me, could sense I liked her. What could I say? He wasn’t wrong about that. Chet put a hand on my shoulder, and I resisted the urge to deck him across his smug face. “You game, right?”

What the fuck did that have to do with anything? I forced a curt nod.

Chet leered closer, as if to tell me a secret. “Then you’ve probably heard the rumor that when you reach the end of V for Valin, there’s a trophy board where winners can post whatever they want, right?”

“That game is damn near impossible to beat,” I snapped, annoyed at this meaningless conversation.

Chet waggled his finger in my face. “Not impossible, my friend. I’ve almost got the last riddle unlocked. You should try to beat it yourself—it’ll all make sense then.” He winked. “Trust me.”

Trevor was behind me suddenly, out of breath. “Want to do burpees?”

“Nah,” I answered, grabbing my backpack and skateboard. “I’m done.”

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I pounded the drums.

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