hands into my jeans pockets, and watch her dig for her keys. She unlocks the door, and I open it for her. She smirks as she slides into her Rover.
I lean in and ask, “See you tomorrow?”
She nods, and then her eyes widen as I lean in closer. She closes her eyes, and I rub my lips over hers, back and forth four times, before pressing a soft kiss to her even silky lips then step back.
“Oh my God, it’s about fucking time,” comes from behind me.
I don’t have to look to see who it is. Gabrielle.
“Shut it down,” I say as I shut Truth’s door, giving her a slight wave as I walk away.
When I get closer to my truck, I see Harrison, Miles, and Kai standing next to it.
“What’s up?” I ask as I pull my keys out and unlock my door.
Harrison slowly claps his hands. “So, you think you’ve won again, do you?”
I open my door, slide in, and then turn to him. “Thing you don’t seem to get is it was never a competition.”
“Up until a few weeks ago, you were all about the competitions. You built this all, reaped the benefits, and now you think you can just bow out?”
“High school is almost over. I’m out. Been trying to be out for a few months now.”
“Since the Steel crew came in,” Miles sneers.
“You’re in the same fucking boat, Jameson. You’re a senior here, heading to fucking Brown; what do you care?”
“He’s got something you never had toward us—loyalty,” Kai replies.
“I got jumped the first day I walked into this place because I didn’t have the right shoes. I defended myself.” I point at Harrison. “You tried your hand at me, wanting something I never asked for. I shut you down, too. You guys think I didn’t know the game you were playing when you all decided to crawl up my ass? Wrong. That game is older than the money you fucks wipe your ass with. Loyal? Fuck you.”
“How about all the people who depend on those fights and the card games to make bank?”
“The playing field is wide open. Start a new game. I won’t fight you for it. I never wanted it to begin with.” I laugh.
“What about the kids in the same boat as you were? You don’t give a fuck about them?”
“Learned a long time ago, if you’re on the take and get used to it, and don’t try to better your situation, you’ll always be on the take. Let’s hope some of them learned from the example I set by busting my ass to get where I’m going, and I’m not looking back. And heads up, you’re all on the take too, and will be the rest of your lives with your attitudes. Same shoes, just a different designer.”
“You doing with Truth Steel now?” Kai huffs.
“That’s none of your fucking business.”
“The minute you leave town, she’ll forget all about you,” Miles taunts.
“If that’s true, then it wasn’t meant to be. But heads-up, none of us are good enough for her.” I turn and start my truck.
“How did it feel to watch me stick my tongue down her throat at the fight? To see her pushing my hand up her fucking shirt at the lake?”
Fucker is trying to antagonize me. And had he pulled that shit a day or two ago, it would have worked.
“Felt like shit knowing she was letting you touch her, wishing you were me. Won’t happen again.”
“Enjoy the rest of your senior year, Easton.” Harrison smirks. “Just remember when the pussy’s away, the mice will play.”
“Not all too worried about the three of you when there are seven of them, and one of them hits harder than you ever did.”
I pull out and head home, planning to shoot Truth a text and sleep for about twelve hours.
Rolling up in front of my place, I see a new Rover parked out front. Instead of parking in the garage, I pull up and park behind it.
When I get out, the driver’s side door opens, and I see Tara Steel step out. I immediately worry something happened to Truth in the last twenty minutes.
“Truth okay?”
She smiles and nods as she pushes her sunglasses on top of her head. “She’s heading to the doctor with her dad to see how she’s healing and hoping to get rid of the boot.”
I nod. “I bet she’ll be happy to lose that.”
She looks down and mumbles something to herself.
“Did you need something, Mrs. Steel?”
She nods