Page 21 of Caught Stealing

There’s a long sigh, and I lift my gaze to find Kason linking his hands behind his head, clearly trying not to let nerves and panic get the better of him.

“Where is he?” Kason mutters, more to himself than to me. “He should be here by now.”

I glance from him over to the microwave in our kitchen to check the time.

Seven-fifty-three.

A victorious smirk lifts the corners of my lips as I focus back on the textbook in front of me. There were plenty of times I thought my entire plan would backfire or go awry, yet seeing as Holden is almost a half-hour late to pick up Kason, I’d say it was successful.

“Maybe something came up. Did you try texting him?”

“Ten minutes ago, but no answer.”

I let out a sigh and shrug. “I have no idea, then.”

Except, I do have an idea as to why Holden isn’t here and why he hasn’t texted. Because when I decided to sneak into the football locker room and steal all Holden’s clothes from out of his stall, I made sure to take his phone, wallet, and car keys too.

If I’m getting my hands dirty with sabotage, I’m damn well gonna be thorough.

Leaning back against the couch cushion, I bask in the glory of a hard-earned victory when a knock on the door has my blood freezing in my veins. My attention snaps to the door, where Kason has already spun on a heel and bolted to it.

There’s no way—

Yet, as Kason yanks open the door, I discover thereisa way when I’ve underestimated the guile and determination of my enemy.

Tenacious fucking bastard.

Because there on the other side of the threshold is Holden Sykes, naked as the day he was born, save for the baseball glove he’s using to cover his junk and pair of sneakers on his feet.

“What’re you…Uh, Holden…You’re not…” Kason stumbles over his words as he gawks at Holden, blinking rapidly in the way he does when he’s nervous. Hilarious, considering they already spend so much time barely dressed in a locker room together. “Clothes…”

“Yeah, I know,” he says, a bright and shiny smile on his face as he steps into the apartment. His eyes trace over the kitchen and living room, only stopping when they land on me. “And here I thought you said you wouldn’t be here when I came to pick Kason up for our date.”

“Couldn’t resist seeing you off,” I tell him, my tone flat and unyielding of any information. “Now, I can see it was a good choice.”

“Glad to be of entertainment to you, Nixy,” he says, and from the slight bite to his tone—probably imperceptible to Kason—I realize he knows I was behind this little prank.

Then again, with it done, I don’t necessarily care if he knows I did it; I just care if it prevents this date from happening. But from his presence here, sans clothing, I have a feeling the only thing I’ve managed to do is poke the bear.

But as the saying goes: in for a penny, in for a pound.

“You know,The Naked Mileis just a movie, right? Unless…did you join a nudist colony since the last time I saw you? I think they have those back in California.” I sit up, tossing my textbook on the couch. “Or wait, are you trying to start a new streaking club on campus? Because I doubt the administrators or the NCAA would be okay with it.”

There’s an inferno in Holden’s eyes as he stares at me, wreaking of defiance and revenge.

“Someone stole my clothes,” he says, masking his irritation with a shrug of indifference. “My whole bag, actually. Phone, wallet, keys and all.”

“What?”Kason says, finally gathering himself enough to speak.

“Yeah. Some kind of prank, probably,” Holden replies, eyes locked with mine. “Though it wasn’t all that funny walking across campus like this, seeing as I couldn’t drive. Or call you to come grab me.”

“What the shit,” Kason mutters, and when I tear my gaze away from the naked jackass in my apartment long enough to look at Kason, I see he’s red as a tomato. “I can’t believe someone would pull that crap.”

“Yeah, me neither. But no harm, no foul.” Holden continues, and once my focus shifts back to him, he adds, “I wasn’t about to let it ruin ourdate.”

This dickhead.

The only person utterly oblivious to what is happening here is Kason—though I have no clue how he’s blind to the sheer amount of hostility between Holden and me. But I’m grateful for his obliviousness; he’d no doubt skin me alive if he knew I was the reason Holden showed up naked and thirty minutes late for their first date.

---