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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

GARY

I watched avidly as 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 friend drive 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 the break. 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.

“What? It’s true.”

He grunted again but didn’t move to put it on. I worried about him going without it, though, so on the next red light, I unbuckled and leaned over the center console to grab his and buckle him in myself. When I pulled away, the annoyance was gone, and he smirked at me.

“Getting pretty confident, Gary. Do you trust me that much?”

My face flamed bright red, and I dropped back into my seat, scrambling to buckle myself before the light turned green.

“I, uh… I mean, of course I trust you. You protected me when you didn’t have to, and you keep looking out for me. That means a lot.”

“Mm,” he hummed, easing off the brake again when the light turned green.

I did trust Easton. We hadn’t known each other that long, outside of a few classes together and only a handful of interactions outside of that, but he was pretty trustworthy to me. He actually seemed to care. No one else in my life ever did.

“Come on, Gary. A few more,” Easton demanded.

I groaned helplessly. I thought he’d start me off easy with exercising, since I told him more than once I never had before.

But that wasn’t Easton. He wanted me to be able to run for more than a minute without getting out of breath and to be able to fight back if I needed to.

Both were accomplished with long and arduous exercise routines, apparently.

My arms shook as I pushed my weight back up again and got to my feet. Whoever came up with burpees was a sadist who deserved to go to the deepest circle of hell.

“I’m dying,” I whined.

Easton rolled his eyes. He’d done the same sets as me and hadn’t even broken a sweat. Meanwhile, I was drenched and probably stinky. I couldn’t even admire Easton in his tank top and loose shorts. I was too tired.

“If you do two more, I’ll suck you off in the shower,” he hedged.

Damn. Last night had been a real eye opener, and it basically guaranteed I’d do what he wanted just to experience it again.

With a whimper, I dropped into a squat and threw my legs out in the worst burpee of all time.

I actually worried I wouldn’t be able to push myself up, it took me a while, but eventually, I was back on my feet.

“Please don’t make me do more,” I begged. I was whining, but I didn’t care. This was torture.

Easton smirked, shaking his head. “I wanted you to learn a right hook before we finished.”

Nope. Couldn’t do it. Even a blowjob wasn’t worth the pain. I sank to my knees and collapsed, lying face first on the floor mat we had been working out on. It was probably disgusting. I didn’t care.

“Boyfriends are supposed to be nice,” I grumbled.

Barking out a laugh, Easton finally relented. “Alright, alright. You win. Big baby. It’s only been two hours.”

I didn’t have the energy to yell at him. Instead, I lifted my arm long enough to flip him off before dropping it back down again.

He chuckled, nudging me with his foot. “Come on. We’ll go back to your dorm and shower. That’ll make you feel better.”

I wasn’t even sure I could stand long enough for a blowjob. I was pretty sure my legs couldn’t keep me up, even if it was an emergency. I whimpered at the thought of walking across campus to the dorms. So far…

Easton let out an exasperated sigh, but I could hear the smile in his voice. Sadist. He was enjoying this too much.

“If you get up, I’ll give you a piggyback ride. It’ll be good for people to see us acting like a couple anyway.”

That got me moving. Slowly. Everything hurt, but I managed to get on my feet and clamber onto Easton’s back when he squatted so I could climb on.

Since we went to the gym on campus, we didn’t bring anything with us, so he didn’t have to go to the locker rooms. I rested my chin on his shoulder, melting against his back.

“This is nice,” I commented. Then my eyes drifted closed and the movement of Easton’s steps lulled me to sleep.