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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

EASTON

Not once did Gary ask how I could afford my car or how much it cost. He made an accurate assumption that it was expensive, but otherwise he cared more about not damaging it than the implication that I was rich.

The more time I spent with him, the more I realized he wasn’t interested in my bank account.

He never asked. He never noticed my last name or wondered how much I raked in on fight nights.

He reacted even better than my friends did.

They were surprised, and in the end they didn’t care, but they at least asked questions first. Gary seemed more interested in me than material shit.

And wasn’t that something to think about?

I made the decision to bring him to The Hideout sort of on a whim.

I didn’t want to hang around the library, and until I figured out who the hell destroyed all Gary’s stuff, I didn’t want him there alone.

I would’ve just gone back to his room with him, maybe distracted him with sex, but it was the resignation that flashed across his face that made me hesitate.

This had happened before, and he was just ready to accept it.

Since he wasn’t willing to do much more than report it to campus security, who wouldn’t have done shit without actual witnesses, I decided to bring my friends into it.

I wasn’t the only shit-stirrer in the group, though I was the craziest. They would help me come up with ideas to track this fucker down and tear them to pieces.

And Gary needed a distraction. My friends were plenty distracting.

I pulled into the parking lot, smirking to myself as Gary twisted to look at the place curiously. At least he didn’t look like he was about to cry anymore. I wouldn’t have known what to do with him if he did.

“Is this your house?”

I snorted, shaking my head as I parked next to Coach’s dark blue sedan. “No. It’s called The Hideout. It’s where my friends and I hang out. We got this place when we were teens in need of our own space. Even as adults, we still hang out here pretty much daily.”

“Wow… That sounds really cool,” he breathed, eyes locked on the building as he clambered out of my car. Luckily, it was distracting enough that he didn’t panic about touching the handles. I would’ve gotten annoyed eventually if I had to constantly open his doors for him.

I’d texted Coach that we were coming so he knew he’d be feeding one more, but I didn’t bother texting everyone else. What was the fun in that? Instead, I got to see their reactions first hand when I showed up with an outsider.

Angel noticed us first. He was not working on his art for once, instead smoking a joint on one of the arm chairs and watching Chuckles and Coach play a game together. Smiley was in the kitchen, from the smell probably making popcorn. It was his go to snack when he was high.

Angel sucked in a breath, rubbing his eyes a few times. “Uh, Smiles? How strong is this stuff?”

Smiley turned around with a frown. “About average. Why?”

“Pretty sure I’m hallucinating. Our Phantom did not just walk in with some rando. Right?”

All eyes swung our way, and Gary shrank back a little. He was gripping the straps of his backpack, his knuckles white, and he looked so damn uncomfortable. Eh. He’d get past it. They weren’t mean. Not unless you deserved it.

“Not hallucinating,” I commented dryly. “Guys, this is Gary. Gary, these idiots are my friends.” I pointed my finger as I called out names. They all just stared, mouths gaping open. Only Coach was polite enough to stand and offer Gary his hand.

“Nice to meet you.”

Gary shook his hand, gaping at the large man. I snickered, and Coach rolled his eyes. When Gary looked at me, I shrugged.

“He gets that a lot. Go sit down. I’m gonna get us some drinks.”

He stood there awkwardly until I physically moved him to the couch. When I turned to walk away, he snagged my shirt, leaning to whisper to me.

“I thought we were going to study?”

I couldn’t stop the shit-eating grin that spread across my face. “I lied.”

I walked away with him still spluttering. Maybe I’d be less of an ass if he stopped making it so much fun to mess with him. Surrounded by new people, he was too shy to argue with me right now.

“So, Gary… How do you know Phantom?” Angel asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, and propping his chin on his hand. He was too damn curious and that swell of possessiveness threatened to choke me.

“We’re in a couple of classes together,” Gary offered. That wasn’t it, though, and they needed to know. I grabbed two beers from the fridge, heading back to the living room with a scowl.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

Angel had passed the joint off to Smiley, and he was mid hit when I said it. He started coughing and choking like a newbie, and Coach had to pound on his back to get him to settle. All of them stared at me like I’d gone crazy. That was a done deal. I’d been crazy all my life.

Gary flushed bright red, his shoulders up by his ears. “He, uh… He agreed to be my pretend boyfriend when some people on campus started harassing me. We’re hoping if they think I’m with someone, they’ll leave me alone.”

Which probably meant hanging around campus more often, so we were seen. Ugh. That sounded boring.

“Who’s idea was this?” Angel prodded.

“Mine,” I said, offering Gary his beer. He looked confused, but I was pretty sure he was legal drinking age. I wouldn’t care if he wasn’t, but I pulled it back for a second with a frown. “How old are you?”

“Twenty four… I started college late…” he murmured.

Ah. Okay, good. For a minute there, I was worried. He had a baby face, it was hard to gauge his age. I handed him the beer, sitting on the arm of the couch beside him. My attention snagged on the television, and I raised an eyebrow.

“What the hell are you playing?”

“Not important,” Angel snapped, waving his hands wildly. “You, Phantom, the most unromantic person on the planet, got yourself a boyfriend, and it was entirely your idea.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “Is this a body snatchers situation? Should we be worried?”

My expression flattened. “Fake boyfriend. It’s not a romantic thing.”

“Uh huh,” Chuckles countered sarcastically. “So why does it look like his neck was mauled by a wild animal?”

Gary squeaked and blushed, yanking the hood up on the hoodie to hide the marks I left on him. I snatched it back down. He was supposed to show those off to keep people away from him.

“Boyfriends have sex. We’re selling the story,” I replied, frowning when Gary yanked the hood back up. They already saw it. He was wasting his time trying to hide it. I was thorough. The thought made me smirk.

“I feel like I’m having a bad trip,” Smiley commented. He shook his head like he was trying to dislodge the high a little. “Wait. Start again. How did this happen? And what’s the goal here?”

I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t a hard concept. Thankfully, Gary stepped in to explain, so I didn’t have to.

“My sister is…not a nice person. I’m pretty sure she’s being vindictive because it took me more than a day to send her the money she wanted. She is apparently telling people I’m…”

“Open for business,” I supplied when he whimpered. It was a fucked up rumor that was going to get him attacked if we weren’t careful.

“Right, that…” Gary agreed with a nod, his eyes locked on the untouched beer in his lap.

“I’m not sure how she worded it exactly, but I’ve been approached a few times, and they’re really aggressive about it.

Easton had to step in to protect me after one started threatening me.

He pretended to be my boyfriend to get the guy to leave me alone, and after the guy left, he suggested countering her rumor with one that I was in a relationship. Not… available.”

Coach jerked around to look at me. “How bad?”

“Pretty sure she’s telling people he’ll act coy and to ignore his protests because he likes it like that. At least, that’s what the last asshole alluded to.”

Gary sank lower in on himself. To distract him, I tapped my bottle onto his, which made his foam over. He scrambled in panic and eventually stuck it in his mouth to avoid making more of a mess. I smirked when he swung around to glare at me.

“Distracted you, didn’t it?”

Once he was certain it wouldn’t keep foaming, he made a face at me. “I really don’t like you sometimes.”

“Liar,” I teased. He liked me plenty last night. And in the library before. He was just pouting.

When I looked up, my friends were all looking at me like I was crazy again. I scowled.

“A-Anyway,” Gary continued. “Easton punched the last guy in the nose. We’re hoping if people think I’m with him and that he’ll hurt them for approaching me, they’ll leave me alone.”

“That sounds more like Phantom,” Smiley drawled, which made me smirk.

“And this–” Angel gestured to his neck and then Gary’s– “is to sell the rumor?”

I shrugged. “It’s also fun. Especially since Gary had never done it before yesterday.”

Gary made a strangled sound, and he whipped his head around to shoot me a horrified look. What? Was I supposed to keep it a secret?