Page 30 of On Broken Wings

“Sure. I gotta go. See ya later, Evan.” She waved me off as she turned to head to her next class.

Just as she disappeared, Michael came back with Gage and Dean, two more of our little group. “I see why you keep blowing us off.” He snickered.

“You get into that yet?” Dean grinned.

“Not yet.” I laughed.

“Well, if she doesn’t let you in, maybe I could have a go at it.” Gage licked his lips, and my stomach rolled.

“Not a chance.” I shoved him before following them in the opposite direction from where Jenni went. If they thought for one second I’d let them touch her, they were crazier than I thought.

“We’ll see.” Michael laughed. “Vince called. Changed the meet. We’re going to the Sal’s now. Something about a new supplier.”

“Fucking great,” I muttered. “He needs to pick somebody and stop yanking us around.”

“Those pretty boys on fraternity row don’t fucking care how pure the stuff is. He wants the best price for the most product. You just worry about unloading the stuff.” Michael glared at me.

He was right, but all this back and forth made things much more difficult than they needed to be. Today was definitely not going the way I wanted it to, but a new supplier meant I was making a new connection, and could prove myself to Vince. Maybe he’d start letting me make decisions without Michael involved.

Chapter 13

Jenni

“Are you ready yet?” Mason knocked on my bedroom door, causing me to jump.

“No.” I sighed as I tossed another dress onto my bed. “I don’t have anything to wear. I can’t go,” I whined.

“What do you mean, you don’t have anything? You have a closet full of clothes, Jen. Just pick something. This isn’t a fancy place. It’s a bar.” My brother’s voice was muffled as he leaned against the door.

“Just go without me.” I lowered myself onto the edge of the bed. I’d been worried about this all day. I didn’t have anything for warmer weather that covered me. Mason just didn’t understand.

“I’m not going to a dinner that’s for you without you. That’s just dumb.” He laughed. “Do you have something on? I wanna come in.”

I glanced down at my oversized tee and shorts. “Yeah. I look red carpet ready.” I groaned. My door immediately began to open. Mason stood there staring at me.

“What’s wrong with that dress?” He motioned to the light pink sundress that was half hanging over the end of my bed.

“It’s sleeveless.” I rolled my eyes.

“Put it on.” He motioned with his head.

“I can’t wear this.” Tears started to pool in my eyes. As pretty as the dress was, I never wore it without a sweater over it. It was way too hot for that tonight. Today’s temps felt more like summer than spring.

“I gotta plan. Just put it on, and trust me.” He left my room as quickly as he’d entered. I could hear his footsteps as he rushed down the hallway toward his room. Within a matter of seconds, he was back. “I was gonna give these to you for your birthday, but I think tonight’s better.” He handed me a pair of brown leather cuffs. They had delicate lacing up the sides, and some beadwork around the top.

“I don’t know what to say.” My lip quivered as I let my fingers run lightly over the leather.

“You can say ‘thanks, most awesome brother in the world. I’ll do whatever you want for the rest of time’.” Mason smirked like he had the upper hand.

“Thanks.” I smiled as I slipped one of the cuffs on my wrist. It fit perfectly. “Can you tie this for me?”

“They’ll match the dress. It won’t look out of place. I figured these are all the rage right now, and you could wear them without drawing attention to yourself.” He tied the thin leather string into a bow.

“It’s perfect. Really.” I jumped up and flung my arms around his neck. “Give me ten minutes and then I’ll be ready.” I released him, and then grabbed his shoulders to turn him, and push him out the door.

oooooooo

Evan

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