Page 42 of Side Out

Then, when he leans forward, puts his hands on the arms of my chair and utters, “We don’t have to talk. We don’t have to be friendly. But we can play a game.” I’ve never wanted to deck him in the fucking mouth more than I do at this moment.

Not even when I found out abouther.

Fuck being friendly.

But we can play a game alright.

I swallow harshly as he reaches up and wraps his hand around the rope I have slung over my shoulder, and my breath hitches slightly as my eyes zero in on the veins across the back of his hands.

I’ve felt those hands.

I’ve dreamt about those hands.

I’ve—

Fucking focus, Jackson.

Looking up at him, trying not to notice how close our faces are to one another despite his mask, I fake a smile and narrow my eyes. ?*“You know what? Sure, Theo. Let’s play a game.”

Moonlight - Chase Atlantic

CHAPTER26

RUN… AGAIN.

THEODORE

“Run,” Jax snarls, and, in a flash, he’s out of his seat, face-to-face with me. It takes me looking at his face for all of half of a second to realize I’ve fucked up.

Spinning on my heel, I take off in a full sprint around the house and through the backyard, dodging and spinning around heavily intoxicated college kids with cups of god knows what in them. And as my feet find purchase step after step, I find myself worrying about Jax’s knee…

But I tell myself that he’s been cleared to play, and nothing can be worse than putting his knee through a game. A simple stroll through the woods shouldn’t be an issue,right?

As we reach the woodline, I can hear his footsteps way closer than I would like them to be.

I guess that answers my question. His knee seems to be in tip-top shape. I pick up my speed, trying to get some space between us.

Between pants, Jax grits out, “You better pick it up, Mr. Young.”

“When did you get so fast?” I ask, not bothering to turn around and risk slowing down.

“Is the old age getting to you?” I hear him jump over the same branch I nearly just tripped over. “Or do you want to be caught?”

Do I?

Sure, I want to see what he has planned for me.

But, what’s he going to do?

Howfaris he willing to go?

Right as the dirty thoughts start running through my head, I feel his breath so close I can practically feel it ghost the back of my neck. He’s on my heels. Literally. Jax steps on the back of my shoes, which causes me to fall forward, hurtling toward the ground. I manage to get my hand out in front of me and roll into the fall slightly, careful not to actually hurt myself and end up in the hospital.

This is why health care providers hate Halloween, isn’t it?

Rolling over, I look up to find Jax standing above me with his arms crossed, looking down at me like I’m a pile of trash—pure hatred lining his features.

“You really thought this”—he points his finger up and down my body while snarling—“was going to be enough for me to start this all over again? That one look at you in this costume would be enough to throw away all of the work I did over the summer? That somehow this-this littlegamewould be enough to make me forget?”

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