Page 63 of Chokehold
“I’m here for the birdsong,” I joke as he turns back to face the water. He’s smiling now, and I don’t know what to make of the look he tosses my way.
“Cole hates you, huh?”
My shackles rise at his question, but I keep my face neutral as I shrug and cross my arms. “It’s not a secret.”
“Secrets,” he muses, lifting a brow before he straightens up and inches closer. I can’t read him. Alarm bells blare, and I watch him pull his phone from his pocket. The shrill dial tone soon cuts through the birdsong in the distance, and my eyes widen when Cole’s voice drifts through the speaker.
“Jackson?”
“Hey, man. What are you doing?”
Cole sounds like he’s talking around a mouthful of food. “Watching TV.”
“Yeah? I caught a rabbit.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Jackson grabs my neck and jostles me. “Say hi to your brother, Blaise.”
Chuckling, I shove him away, but I’m not amused. Not even a little.
“Hear that?” Jackson asks Cole. “Let Blaise’s dad know he might be home after curfew.” Then he hangs up before Cole can reply and shoves the phone into his pocket.
My mouth falls open, and I blink at him.
“You can thank me later.” Leaning back against the railing, he kicks his foot up behind him.
“Thank you for what?”
“Now your parents won’t worry about you,” he replies with a shrug, but I don’t miss the note of amusement in his tone. “What’s up with you and Mia?”
With a frown, I bend down to pick up a stray rock. “What do you mean?” I pull my arm back and send the rock flying.
“Are you solid?”
“Solid?”
A warm breeze teases the hairs at my nape. The temperature is dropping rapidly now that the night is drawing in. I haven’t even checked the time. Overhead, stars twinkle, and crickets sing in the tall grass.
I freeze when Jackson corners me against the railing and puts his hand on my bulge.
What the?—
“I like you, Blaise.”
My brain is slow to catch up. What does he think he’s doing?
I grab his wrist and remove it from my soft dick. “Don’t ever touch me again.”
Skin crawling, I suppress a shiver.
Jackson laughs under his breath, unperturbed by my icy stare. “Solid…I get it. Worth a shot, though.”
When I get home,it’s late—much later than I intended. The house is quiet, and the lights are out.
After Jackson left, I dug my phone out of my pocket. Cole tried to ring me twice, but didn’t leave a voice message. I stared at the missed call notifications for a long time, cursing myself for wondering why he tried to contact me after slamming the bedroom door in my face. It couldn’t be because of Jackson, right? I squashed that thought. Cole hates me. My dad most likely asked him to check up on me, like he does sometimes, much to Cole’s annoyance.
I’m old enough to stay out all night if I want to, but my dad and stepmom still like to know where I am.
