Page 5 of The Good Boys Club

“Nature reserve. We’re sort of game farmers.”

Mum turned to Dad. She rolled her tongue over her bottom lip. “Farmers, Carl. Farmers.”

The pair shared a look.

Mum’s was all,I can’t believe our son will be living with a farmer for his first year of uni.

And Dad’s was,don’t worry, we’ll figure something out later. We could write to the student housing association, or the dean, or fuck it, I’ll buy him his own apartment here in Remy.I could see the cogs whirring inside his mind. Could practically hear them clunking about.

Mash watched my parents’ silent exchange, his face impassive. I prayed for a sinkhole to appear in the middle of my new halls and swallow me whole—maybe it could take this absolute god of a werewolf with me. I wouldn’t object.

I directed my gaze to my boots until, out the corner of my eye, I caught Mash staring at me. My stomach flipped, and he winked. He winked!

“Let’s bring Ci’s boxes upstairs, and then we’ll all go for dinner,” Mum said.

“I’ll help.” Mash was already leading us out of the halls. “I’m actually really strong.”

I followed him out the door.

Behind my back, Mum whispered, “Well, I’m not about to let the poor boy starve.”

Dad said, “Did you see the size of him, Liv? The lad’s not going hungry, that’s for sure.”

Mash made light work of all my uni things, including my three crates of books which he carried all at once by himself. He delivered them to my new bedroom.

“I got here first, so I took the biggest room,” he said. “Snoozers losers.” He smiled at me, and I swear an invisible laser beam shot from his eyeballs and began tugging directly on my heart . . . and my dick.

Our dorm was a small two-bedroomed apartment in a block of forty identical student apartments. Out of ten levels, ours was on the eighth. We had a bedroom each, a compact open-plan living-dining-kitchen area, and a shared bathroom.

An entire year, just Mash Cassidy and me in this cosy apartment.

I blew out a breath. Fuck, I was in trouble.

When we finished bringing my stuff up from Mum and Dad’s car, Mash was even sweatier than before, his scent intoxicating. I couldn’t wait to be alone in my room so I could relieve some of the tension jabbing painfully against the fly of my jeans. But first, we had to get through dinner.

“Are you changing before we go to The Wild Phoenix?” Dad asked Mash, one eyebrow disappearing into his hairline.

Mash looked down at his attire. “Is it a fancy place? Only I don’t have any fancy clothes.” Even his canvas trainers had holes in them.

“I’ll tell you what,” Mum said over the top of everyone. “Here’s fifty silvers. You boys get a pizza tonight, celebrate your first night together, and Dad and I will head into town for some supper.” She pushed a wedge of notes into my hand—way more than fifty silvers, but like hell was I going to refuse the money.

“I don’t think your folks like me much,” Mash said, once Mum and Dad had left and we’d ordered pizza. Meat feast for Mash, and caramelised red onion and goat’s cheese for me.

“I’m just now realising my parents might be snobs,” I said. Although that wasn’t strictly true. Perhaps I was making excuses. “So, you grew up on a farm?”

I’d already unpacked my groceries, so I took two beers from the fridge.

“I mean, we’re game farmers, but it’s not technically a farm. It’s actually eight hundred and fifty acres of forest. We manage the lands and the deer population. There’s also wild turkey and pheasants. We’re more like rangers, I guess. But we do sell the meat. It’s really good. You eat meat?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re from Bordalis?” Mash asked.

“Yeah, Old Town.”

He let out a low whistle. “No wonder Daddy doesn’t want you rubbing shoulders with me.”

“Sorry about him.”

---