Page 69 of Of Pranks and Passion

“My family stopped buying me clothes when I was fifteen,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “They said they had to save for Brienna to go to college, and after that all their money went to her tuition and to cover her lifestyle. If I wanted clothes, I had to get them myself. I saved as much as I could from before, but I had a growth spurt at seventeen and had to replace a lot.”

Angel raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on his face, and I huffed out a laugh. “Shut up. I was your height before. I’m way taller now.”

He gasped, mock offended, and shoved me, but he didn’t chase me when I dodged away. That was an Easton move. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed next to me and put his hand on my shoulder supportively so I was brave enough to continue.

“Replacing my clothes was expensive, even if I went to a thrift store to do it. I learned to layer so I wouldn’t have to replace big things like coats, and I took good care of my stuff so I wouldn’t have to do it again very often. With how often Brienna demanded money for me and how much my parents charged me in rent, I couldn’t afford to get more. I know the vest is ugly, but it’s warm. I wear it under my clothes when it's cold out. It helps.”

Angel sighed. “Well, I’m not going to make you get rid of it before you’re ready, but you don’t have to worry about your sister stealing from you anymore. Over my dead body will I let her get away with it again. I’m pretty sure Easton would say the same thing. So don’t keep holding yourself back, waiting for her to demand it. We’ll help you figure things out. How much do you make at your current job?”

“Eight dollars an hour. I can only work about twenty-eight hours a week, though, because I have a scholarship, and I need to get good grades to keep it. I work early mornings before my classes start six days a week.”

“That’s not even minimum wage!” he protested.

I tipped my head with a frown. “Pretty sure minimum wage is seven dollars and fifty cents, isn’t it?”

“No. They changed that this summer. Why would they pay you so little?”

It wasn’t the highest paying job I ever got, but the hours were perfect, and it was convenient. I’d need something better during the summer. I couldn’t afford to go back to my parents’ house. They were making me pay the entire mortgage in the end, and I needed to save for housing next year. I’d rather get a crappy studio apartment and save what I could, but I couldn’t afford that on what I was making now.

“The owner thinks I should be getting supplemental income from tips. They don’t realize college kids don’t tip well. It works for now, but I’ll need to figure out something different this summer. I can’t go back home and hope to save money. I’ll need an apartment once Easton decides we’re going back to being friends.”

Angel waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that. If you need a place to stay, you can stay with me. Let’s finish picking out your outfits. I’ll figure out a better job for you over break. Maybe a distraction will break this stupid art block I’ve got going on.”

Grateful just to have a friend to talk about this stuff with, I threw my arms around his shoulders and hugged him. He only startled for a second before hugging me back tightly. He didn’t pull away immediately, giving me what I needed in the moment, but eventually he whispered, “If you think changing near me isbad, how bad do you think it’d be if he found us like this sitting on the bed.”

I jerked away, whipping my head over my shoulder to check if Easton was home. I did not want to be the reason my friend got hurt.

Angel burst out laughing. “Relax. He won’t actually care. He’s just growly because we’re besties, and it makes him feel threatened. He knows I’d never do anything with you.”

“Let’s not test that theory,” I hedged. Easton wasn’t always logical. He embodied chaos, and if he was in a mood, he’d lash out at everyone. Except me.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

EASTON

I was alreadyin a bad mood when I got back to my place. The sister was getting more demanding, asking to meet up to discuss the wedding. Coach wrote out a very polite message for me saying I was bringing Gary home for the holidays to discuss details about the wedding and we would have a better idea of dates after that, but she was annoying as hell. When Coach said I might have to meet with her eventually just to get her to back off, I nearly threw my phone.

I knew that Angel was hanging out with Gary. Gary told me how worried he was about clothes, and since I didn't give a shit about that stuff, I didn’t argue when Angel volunteered to help him. It did irritate me that he was still there so close to us leaving. I wanted to work out my energy with Gary in bed before having to deal with my family, and the little shit wouldn’t take a fucking hint.

“Go away, Angel,” I snapped.

He cackled from the closet, thrusting his middle finger out of the doorway. “Go fuck yourself, P. I’m helping Gary.”

Gary was packing, fidgeting nervously, readjusting the contents of the bag almost constantly, like he couldn’t settle. He needed this, too. So, since I was about as subtle as a bull in a china shop, I marched into the closet, tossed Angel over my shoulder and hauled him the hell out of my condo, ignoring his indignant screech as I did so. I was nice enough to grab his stuff off the counter and shove it against his chest as I pushed him out the door before slamming it in his face.

“Asshole!” Angel shouted through the door.

“Fuck off!”

Gary stood uneasily in the hallway, frowning at the door I’d shoved Angel out of. Stomping up to him, I pushed him backward until his back was up against the wall. Big brown eyes blinked up at me, not full of heat and mischief like I liked, but what looked like worry and anxiety instead. I wasn’t going to force him if he wasn’t in the mood, but I really wanted to distract us both.

“Tell me to stop and I will. Otherwise, I’m not stopping until you can’t think straight enough to stress about all this. Got it?”

He sucked in a breath, dipped his chin once, and launched himself at me. I caught him and hauled him off his feet as our lips crashed together. It’d been too fucking long, and I was dying to be inside him. The couch was closest, so I yanked Gary away from the wall and marched over to the couch, dropping him on top of it. He bounced once before I covered his body with mine, gripping his hair roughly as I tangled my tongue with his. His moans were muffled against my lips, his fingers digging into my back as he lifted his hips to meet my grinding movements. As much fun as it sounded to make Gary come in his pants, that wasn’t what either of us needed, so after another minute, I pulled away.

Gary whimpered, tugging at my shirt to bring me back. The neediness made me smirk. I jerked my chin at him, telling himsilently to get undressed. I didn’t have the patience to do it myself without tearing his clothes. He complained the last time I did that. He wriggled out of his shirt and fumbled with his jeans, but he couldn’t get them down his hips without me moving off him. I helped him by ripping his jeans down his legs once I was out of the way. The rough treatment made Gary moan, and he sat up immediately to go after my clothes.

I wanted to pat myself on the back for hiding a bottle of lube under the couch a few weeks back. I got tired of going back and forth to my room for supplies. And since both our tests came back negative last week, I didn’t need to go hunting for a condom. I was going to take Gary with nothing between us and enjoy the thought of him being full of my cum when he meets my family. A little fucked up? Maybe. Did I give a shit? Not so much.

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