Page 36 of Of Pranks and Passion

“Sorry, Daddy,” I teased, jerking me and Gary out of range when Coach tried to swipe at me. Of course, I could never just walk away from that so, after releasing Gary, I launched myself at Coach. Technically, I could knock him flat in minutes, but that wouldn’t be fun. When we wrestled, there was a no punching rule. You had to get the other to the ground without hurting them to win. We were pretty evenly matched with those rules in place. It was more fun that way.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

GARY

I watched avidlyas Coach and Easton wrestled in the parking lot. Coach obviously had the size advantage, being both taller and heavier than Easton, but Easton was fast and a little more wild. He did things I didn’t expect to throw Coach off balance. It was fun to watch, since neither seemed to want to hurt each other. When Coach managed to get Easton in a headlock, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Who’s side are you on, Gary?” Easton growled, twisting to get free.

“Uh… Coach fed me tonight. So his?”

That made Coach laugh, which distracted him long enough for Easton to get free. But he didn’t go after Coach again. Instead, his wild gaze landed on me. Swallowing hard, I took a few steps back and when he lunged, I darted away with a squeak. I wasn’t nearly as fast as Easton, but I was closer to the vehicles, so I could dodge around them to give myself an edge. I got through maybe a minute of running away before I was gasping for breath, and Easton tackled me to the ground.

“Got you,” he whispered in my ear. It sent a thrill through me and despite the fact that I couldn’t breathe, I felt myself harden in my jeans.

“Phantom! Don’t break the newbie!” Angel called. I hadn’t heard him come outside with us, but he skipped through the parking lot, coming to a halt over us, his fists planted on his hips.

“He’s mine. I can do what I want,” Easton growled. He seemed unusually possessive around Angel. I didn’t actually mind our current position, and it was fun just to play for a minute, but I didn’t want him to fight with his friend, either.

“I’m okay. A little worried about getting Easton’s car dirty, though.”

Easton got to his feet, dragging me up with him. The parking lot outside The Hideout was hard dirt and gravel. With Easton’s sweater on, I managed not to get scraped up when he tackled me, but I was now covered in dirt, and I didn’t want to get into that fancy car.

“I can give you a ride back to campus,” Angel offered. “My car isn’t my baby like Phantom’s is.”

“No,” Easton snapped.

Angel smirked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Care to explain the possessiveness?”

He didn’t answer aside from a glare, dragging me by the hood of the sweater to the passenger side of his car. It was a little brighter on that side, and he took a quick look at me before smacking the dirt off with his hand. I tried to help him, but I wasn’t sure it was helping all that much. My eyes flicked between Easton’s car and my clothes, and I whimpered.

“Take my car,” Coach offered, handing Easton his keys. “My garage is probably safer to store yours than a college campus, anyway. I’m assuming you’re staying with Gary tonight?”

“Mm.” Easton didn’t argue, snatching Coach’s keys and tossing his own. He didn’t seem uncomfortable letting his frienddrive his car, so I assumed it was normal for them. Coach’s car was clean, and I still felt uncomfortable getting in it, but it wasn’t a fancy sports car that smelled brand new. It was an older sedan that had some rust spots, but otherwise seemed well maintained. Easton shoved me into the front seat before jogging around to get in the driver’s side. While he was getting in, Angel knocked on my window. I rolled it down once the car started, looking up at him.

“Coach gave you my number, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, and everyone else’s.”

“Good. Text me sometime. You shouldn’t feel you only have Phantom to rely on. We’ve all got your back. I’ll add you to the group chat, too.”

It still felt amazing that I was finally making friends. I almost wanted to cry, I was so happy about it. I gave Angel a quick nod, snapping on my seatbelt when Easton reversed without waiting for me to buckle. Angel had to jump out of the way to avoid getting his toes run over, and he shouted at Easton as we pulled away, though I couldn’t hear him because we were moving too fast. I rolled my window back up since the wind was too cold for me and shot Easton a curious look. He seemed annoyed, but I wasn’t sure why.

“Is everything okay?”

He grunted in response without actually saying anything. I tried again.

“Are you angry at Angel?”

No answer, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened enough to make the leather creak. Maybe they weren’t as close as the rest of them? He seemed more annoyed with Angel than with the rest of the group.

Since the subject obviously bothered him, I switched gears, chewing on my bottom lip. “Thank you for bringing me tonight. I was annoyed that I couldn’t study, but I think I needed thebreak. I don’t even remember the questions on the test, I was so stressed out.”

His gaze flicked in my direction and back to the road, and his shoulders relaxed a little. I kept going because I rambled when I was nervous. Shut up.

“You should really wear a seatbelt. It’s not safe to go without one.”

That time he huffed, shooting me a droll look.

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