Page 29 of No Pucks

“You said he got what he wanted the first night you two hooked up, and now, he’s playing the game again. Do you really think he’s going to take no for an answer?”

NINE

LOGAN

Afew weeks later, I stop dead in my tracks as I walk out of my apartment to find Evander standing on the street. “What are you doing here?” He should be at boarding school, and my dorm is at least fifty blocks from where our family brownstone is on the upper east side.

“I was just coming to talk to you,” he says, kicking at the ground. Something is off. He’s never like this. Even for a himbo, it’s out of character.

“And calling me is suddenly illegal?”

“I didn’t want to be wiretapped.”

I blink. “Have you done something illegal, brother mine?”

“If you consider planting a listening device in our house illegal…”

“It is, in the state of New York, illegal to record conversations you aren’t a party to, yes, but why would that make you fear the same?” I ask, remaining calm even though I’m going to be late for practice if he doesn’t hurry up.

“Because if I’m doing it, it means Dad could be recording ours. It’s not like I’m the first person to think of it.”

“It’s much harder to record cell phones.” Not impossible, though, and our father does have quite a bit of disposable income. “Why would he do that?”

“In case he thinks we are on to him.”

“On to?” I ask getting tired of this conversation already.

“That he’s lying to Mother again.”

I stop. “What makes you think that?”

“Right before I left for school, I got suspicious, so I planted something. Then, I was going to have one of my friends go over there and play the recording for me, saying I forgot something and they were picking it up, but we got interrupted.”

I wait, wanting him to finish before I make my judgment.

He kicks at the sidewalk again stalling. “I heard a girl’s voice, but when Ricky walked in, there was no one there but Dad, and he said it was the news. I made up a story about being on FaceTime with Ricky while he went to my room, and Dad scolded me for sending a stranger into our house without asking, but when Ricky went back the next day, the bug I planted was gone.”

“It could be something, or it could be nothing.” It’s not totally unheard of for our father to be playing something on his phone. Just like any other boomer, he doesn’t know what headphones or volume control is, but considering his past… “Don’t you think Mother would be taking precautions to check up on him to make sure he’s not lying?”

Evander shakes his head. “I doubt it. She’s too in love with him, and he has her convinced this was a one-time mistake.”

I sigh. Our mother wants to believe the best in everyone. It’s part of her charm. “If he caught the recording device once, he will again, particularly now that he’s privy to it. He’s going to be suspicious… Wait, why are you even home? School only started a couple of weeks ago. There’s no way you’re on break.”

“I told you: I had to talk to you.”

“It’s an eight hour flight from Geneva.”

“And? I ditched today.”

“How did you get home without them knowing?” After Evander got into a fight with his coach one year and hid out in the Bahamas for a week without telling anyone while missing a load of school, our parents removed his access to our jet.

“I used Grandpa’s business account. He gave me the password in case I ever need it.”

That meddling old man would. He loves getting involved in drama. Part of having too much time and too much money and no more fucks. Ever since Grandma died, his boredom has reached another level of uncontrolled.

“You really are everyone’s favorite, aren't you?”

Evander grins, showing off both dimples. “I can’t help that I’m the baby and everyone likes me.”

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