Page 9 of Of Pranks and Passion

I shook my head. “I’m not seeing anyone.”

“But there’s someone you want to see,” he hedged, laughing when I refused to answer him. I wouldn’t say no to a hookup with Gary, he was cute, but he was also sweet and shy and probably couldn’t handle me. He blushed every time he interacted with me.

“Did you just come out here to irritate me?” I snapped, pulling into the diner parking lot he’d set up my phone to guide us to.

“Aww… Little Easton has a crush,” he teased. We got out of the car, and he ducked and laughed as I took a swipe at him when he wouldn’t fucking stop. He teased me all the way until we were sitting at a table in a corner, his eyes still dancing as he accepted the menu.

“I don’t get crushes. You know that. He’s cute, I wouldn’t say no to a hookup, but it won’t go beyond that. Besides, I’m not going to do anything about it. He’s got innocent vibes all over him. Once he figures me out, he won’t want anything to do with me.”

Jayden sobered a little and sighed. “You don’t know that. There’s nothing wrong with being aromantic, Easton.”

I made a face, like I did every time my brother or anyone else tried to stick a label on me. He and my older sister Cassie cared enough to try when I complained about guys getting the wrong idea all the time. I didn’t really care to put a label on anything, but they wanted to help, so I told them to have at it. It wasn’t an asexual thing, I loved sex and had plenty of it. I just didn’t do the romantic or emotional shit. I didn’t want or need it. I had my friends and my family. I was good.

Of course, that didn’t explain why I was so obsessed with Gary. I still followed him most weekdays. Despite his boring schedule, he was more interesting than any of the homework I was supposed to be doing. And also incredibly clueless. I’d gotten as close as leaning on a bookshelf right behind him, and he still didn’t notice me. He needed to loosen up a little. He’d work himself into an early grave.

In an effort to distract Jayden away from Gary, I brought the focus back to him. “Bella demanding a ring yet? Figured she’d want to lock you down already. It’s been what? Six months?”

That made him scowl. “She’s mentioned it. I’m not ready yet. I’ve got too much on my plate right now anyway. We’re expanding, and Dad is putting more and more responsibility on his children, so we’re prepared when he retires.”

“You mean when he dies? He’s never going to retire.”

He snickered and shook his head. “I think it’d take medical intervention for him to retire, yeah, but he wants us to be prepared. I think Mom has been demanding more of his time, and as long as we’re there to take care of things, he’s willing to pull back a little. Give her the time she deserves, you know?”

I shrugged. Sounded like emotional bullshit to me. But that was their prerogative. As long as that responsibility wasn’t put on my shoulders, I didn’t care.

We caught up for a while before Jayden finally spit out the reason he came to see me. Not that he didn’t want to catch up, the reason was more an excuse to see me than anything important, but I knew he wouldn’t show up at a fight of mine if there wasn’t a decent reason. He’d just come to The Hideout if he really wanted to hang out.

“So, Mom and Dad’s anniversary is in the spring. We’re starting the planning early because it's a big one. You’ll be there, right?”

Ugh. Parties at my parents’ place were a pain in the ass. A bunch of rich pricks looking to make deals. It wasn’t actually any fun. When my face screwed up, Jayden laughed.

“I know. You hate it. But it’s their thiry year. It’s important. And I know it’d mean a lot to them if you showed up. You rarely come home anymore.”

For shit like this? I avoided it like the plague. But I’d been avoiding family dinners since the old man made me start college, too. I was still sour about it. It felt like a massive waste of time.

“Yeah, alright. Just text me when and I’ll be there. Do I have to wear a stupid monkey suit?”

His slow grin was answer enough, but he couldn’t help himself. “Yes. Black tie. And bring a date. Ask out your crush. I’m curious what kind of person grabs your attention.”

I flipped him off with a glare. I didn’t bring hookups home because I didn’t date. Dating was all about romance and emotions. The thought made me shudder. No thanks. Not in a million years.

CHAPTER SIX

GARY

I spentmost of the weekend trying to make up for missing class. I sent emails to my professors apologizing, giving them a little white lie that I was sick. I figured no one would look too closely. Easton thought I was sick. And none of my professors seemed to care. They each told me which pages they went over so I could write notes on my own. One was even nice enough to send me the lecture notes they’d used in class. I locked myself in my room and studied hard to make up for the loss, and by the time I arrived in class on Monday, I felt confident I could keep up with the new material.

Easton was already there, which was surprising. He almost always arrived late. But he was playing on his phone, one foot propped on the desk, his hood up and hiding half his face. It wasn’t until I sat next to him that I noticed the bruise on his chin.

“Oh, my god. What happened? Are you okay?”

He looked up, surprised and confused for a second, before he realized what I was referring to. He waved my concern away.

“It’s fine. Doesn’t even hurt. Did you choose a topic for the group project?”

Nibbling on my lip, I had to work to tear my eyes off the bruise. It was bright purple and black and looked really painful. The look he gave me said to leave it alone, though, so I put it out of my mind, frowning at my notebook.

“Yeah, a few ideas. I’m not sure when you’re free, but–”

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