Page 24 of Jet

“No, please don’t. That’s just going to make them hate me more. If they think I’m snitching or turning people against them.”

“OK, but let me know if you do want me to say anything because I will. I’m really kind of shocked. They’ve always been a sarcastic smartass, but he’s never been mean to people for no reason.” Booker frowns. I changed the subject to not wanting to be the reason he feels negative toward his brother.

“Do you come here often?” I laugh at the accidental cheesy pickup line.

He grins at me. “A couple of times a month, maybe. I love the clubhouse and the tattoo shop. But, I really just love that this is someplace just mine. No one else knows it exists. It’s my peace.”

I look at him, shocked.” But you brought me?”

“You are my peace.” He says simply. “I know I’ve been acting like a horny, possessive caveman, but you mean more to me than just sex. I want more from you than to just own your body. I want to own your heart, too.”

Not for the first time, Booker has made me speechless.

He takes pity on me and changes the subject. “So hockey, what NHL team do you support? Personally. I’m a big fan of New York. Trick Arnold is really cool.”

We finished our sandwiches and spent the next forty-five minutes talking about all sorts of random stuff. I know his favorite color, his shoe size, his favorite subjects in school. Really superficial things that mean the world.

I know that pretty soon I’m going to have to figure out exactly what it is we’re doing.

Booker is an amazing man who doesn’t deserve to be messed with.

The next morning I’m woken by water being thrown in my face.

“What the fuck?” I yell, choking and coughing, water dribbling out of my nose. I look up and see a smirking Reed.

“My dad sent me to wake you up,” he says, emphisizing the my, I just roll my eyes.

“And you didn’t think waking me up by calling my name would be sufficient?”

“I tried that first.” he grins, looking like Stella. “Once. I whispered it from outside the room.”

“Can we please just try to get along? I think it would be cool to have a little brother.” I plead a little.

“I’ve already got one.”

There’s clearly no way I’m going to get through to Reed anytime soon. “Why did Kenny ask you to wake me up?”

Read scowls at me.” He wants us to go visit my grandpa’s grave. It’s important to him, so don’t fuck it up.” They then walk out of the room, slamming the door. Because, of course.

I quickly brush my teeth, feeling thankful I had a shower before I went to sleep last night. I get dressed and head on down to the main clubhouse room where Kenny, Booker, Stella, and Reed are waiting for me.

“Morning, son,” Kenny says, smiling. “I thought I’d take you to meet my pops today. The graveyard is actually directly behind the clubhouse grounds, so it’s only a five-minute walk there.”

“Sounds good,” I say. We head out, ignoring the bikes. We make our way across the luscious green landscape.

“How are you settling into Vigo Falls?” He looks nervous like there is a lot riding on my answer.

“It is a great place,” I tell him honestly. “There is so much natural beauty. And your club members are a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, I heard about the Mario Kart tournament,” he chuckles. “How well did you do?”

“I might have to practice a bit more. I’ve only played a few times with Max’s teammates.”

“You didn’t have a Nintendo as a kid?” he asks, not looking at me. I get the feeling he wants to know more about my childhood but pretty sure that will just upset him.

“I didn’t. Max and I would spend a lot of time riding our bikes when he wasn’t at hockey practice.”

Kenny smiles at me. He looks like he’s going to say something, but thinks better of it.

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