Page 23 of The Jester and His Outlaw: Part One

I’m blindly following him, ensnared by the pure, carefree attitude these kids have. Does alcohol take their cares away enough that they don’t give a shit who watches them, or does it matter if they’re even drunk? Are they on something else? Because I’m inclined to take whatever it is and give fewer fucks for a little while. Some people get off on being watched and while that’s not my thing, I’m not against at least shutting my brain off and falling into somewhere unknown.

Brett stops us on the outskirts by the line of the forest.

“J!” he exclaims. “My man, ‘sup, dude. How the hell have you been?”

Jensen.I forgot they played hockey together. Shit. I whip my head around because surely where Jensen is, Riggs isn’t far behind. Sure enough, when I turn, my gaze snags the icy blue depths of Riggs Sutton. He’s watching me as he wraps Brett in a one-armed hug and shakes his hand. His stare bounces to our linked hands, then back to my eyes. His lips curl up in somewhat of a snarl. What the hell is that all about? Is he pissy that I’m hanging out with one of his friends?

“Not much, brother. I’m good, I’m good.” Jensen swaggers over to me when he’s through with Brett. His bro-touch turns delicate as he regards me with a gentle smile, his slate-gray eyes lighting a fraction. “Charley, babe. How are you?”

He places a kiss on my cheek first and backs away to give me room to pass. Hand on the small of my back, he directs me to the couch where he was sitting. Burned tobacco surrounds me, but mixed with his cologne and the muddied scent of weed, it doesn’t smell bad. Regardless, he needs to quit smoking cigarettes.

“I’m good, Jensen. How are you?” I have nothing against Jensen. We’ve never run in the same circles, but we’ve always known each other. There has been something about him, like how sweet he is, especially toward the girls at school. Sure, he might be a playboy, but he’s good to the girls he’s with. Treats them like queens. He’d be perfect for Foxy, and I hope one day they finally connect.

“I’m fantastic. I’m high as a kite, I’ve got a drink in my hands, and this couch is damn comfortable.” All of that may be true, but there is no doubt a heaviness in the surrounding air. With Riggs, I can’t think too much of that because that’s how he always is, but with Jensen, it’s bringing him down. His forced happy-go-lucky-attitude is great, however, he can’t hide the sadness in his eyes.

I want to ask what’s going on because that’s my nature, but I don’t know them well enough to feel comfortable with that. Plus, Riggs would probably fall off the deep end with me trying to pry information to use to feed to the rich people. Like they care he is having a bad day.

Harsh. Even for me.But I can’t help it. I respect the hell out of his opinion and it makes sense, but it’s hard to understand it when his best friend is one of the richest of them all.Pot meet kettle.Undoubtedly, he takes full advantage of the money Jensen has.

Why am I even wasting brain power to think about him?Especially when I’m so damn drunk?

I settle in, Brett on my right, Jensen on my left. Riggs tucks himself back in the corner of the couch, pulling his feet into his chest and putting his boots on the white cushions. Clipped between two fingers is a joint that they’ve almost finished smoking.

Tonight, his hair is in disarray. I guess that’s his normal look, whether he’s recently gotten out of bed in the morning or he’s at a party and it’s nearing midnight.

Can’t say I’m complaining, it’s annoyingly sexy. He’s annoyingly sexy and I’m sure even if he had no hair, that comment would remain the same.

He’s lean and his t-shirt is a little baggy, but the worn out fabric lays against his chest and biceps, sinking into the valleys of his cut torso. I can’t see much of his lower physique by the way he is sitting and his relaxed fit jeans, but I know for a fact he has a nice ass because they tailor our school uniforms to us, even the scholarship students.

I’m pretty sure the school’s tailor knows exactly what is on our minds, because our uniforms fit us like gloves. She is damn good at showing off our assets.

Jensen has on dark blue jeans, black Vans, and he is spilling out of his hunter green Polo. Right now, he is the epitome of a rich boy, but it’s a look he pulls off well. His curls are wild tonight, falling into his eyes.

“How’s State treating you?” he asks Brett, leaning back and crossing his ankle over the opposite knee. He sips on his drink. The ice clinks in the glass as he swirls it around. Foxy probably handed him the top-shelf shit as soon as he walked through the door. Speaking of, where are she and Kai? I hadn’t seen them in quite a while.

“It sucks. I hate school, man. I’m ready for it to be over with.”Couldn’t agree more. If I wasn’t so hell bent on getting away from my parents and needing an excellent education to do it, I would’ve skipped town already.

“No shit, playing hockey?”

After taking a hit, Jensen passes the joint to me. I pass up my hit, sending it straight to Brett. I’m too drunk to even think about getting high.

Brett inhales deeply, holding it for a few seconds before he lets out a tiny puff from his lungs. I’m sure his athletic lungs absorbed it like a starved wolf at the bottom of the pack. He takes another quick hit then stands up and hands it over to Riggs.

“Shit, I wish. My father wants me to focus on my academics,” he tells us in a mockingly deep tone. “So I’m only playing rec hockey. Men’s league on Sundays. It’s not too bad, but no real competition.”

My heart breaks for him. Like both Jensen and I, Brett’s parents are loaded and have plans for his future. Not being able to play competitive hockey must kill him. He lived for that shit when he was in high school. Had big plans.

“No shit. That sucks big time,” Jensen commiserates.

“What sucks big time?” a giggly voice that’s slurring asks us.

Jensen perks up, his eyes following the sound. They land on the point where Foxy is holding Kai’s hand. Kai notices and looks at Foxy. Her attention focuses on Jensen.

Kai’s shoulders drop and he reluctantly backs up a few steps. I try not to let my sadness for him creep in. He likes Foxy, that’s no surprise, but I wasn’t aware he liked her that much. It’s clear he thinks he doesn’t stand a chance. Not only is he not the one that her parents would choose, but he’s not Jensen, the one she’s been crushing on since we were young.

He lets her hand loose with a frown that I’m sure only I notice. He kisses her on the cheek, then makes his way over to sit next to Riggs. Without a question, Riggs claps his shoulder and hands him the joint. Sympathy pours out of Riggs for my brother. I guess he noticed.

How long have they been friends?Kai hangs out with Jensen on occasion, so he must be friendly with Riggs, but I didn’t peg him for the type to be on that sort of level. Hell, I didn’t even know Kai liked Foxy that much, and he tells me everything. I’ve missed so much of my life being with Jonas. The need to dig deeper into my friends and family claws at me. Time and work will bring them back to me.

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