by Damien Boyes
43
Age of Consent
I close my eyes and jump a few weeks ahead to the New Order show outside the Paradise Garage, where Gabe is hanging with his friends. I must look a little better than I did last time because when I tap him on the shoulder he doesn’t immediately dismiss my appearance.
“And who might you be?” he asks when he sees me smiling behind him.
“I’m Jasmin Parker,” I tell him. “You’re Gabriel Bennett, right?”
He cocks his eyes at me. “Do I know you?”
“Not yet,” I say. “But the night’s young.”
Gabriel’s face scrunches up in amused confusion and then Russel leans in, right on cue. “Who’s your friend?”
“Haven’t the faintest,” Gabe says. “She seems to know me though.”
“I saw you guys earlier,” I lie, “at the rehearsal.”
Gabe gives me another look up and down, then shrugs and flashes a smile at me. He shakes his pack of cigarettes. “Smoke?”
Ugh, pass. “No thanks,” I say, and then those Wall St. goons shove their way past.
“Hey,” the guy in the navy suit jeers, “out of the way, queers. Why don’t you go pack fruit somewhere else?”
And this time, instead of just standing there stewing in anger and letting them walk away, I get involved.
“What’d you say?” I ask, getting right up into his face. His hair’s all slicked back and his suit probably cost a thousand dollars and I bet he thinks he’s a big-shot, but I’m not impressed. “I didn’t hear you.”
He glances around at his friends then leans his cocky face down to mine and smirks. “I said, ‘Why don’t you queers—’”
Before he can finish the sentence I’ve got him by his bright red tie and yanked him even closer. His words cut off with a squeak as he tries to pull away, but I hold him tight and his eyes go wide. “Let go,” he croaks.
“Ha, this chick’s got teeth,” one of the other guys says, laughing at their buddy’s humiliation.
“You gonna take that, Kerry?” another one taunts.
Kerry struggles to get loose but he isn’t going anywhere. “Apologize,” I tell him.
“Get her offa me,” Kerry says and screws up his face as he tries again to get away but I rein him in even harder. Then he tries to swing a punch at my head. I catch his hand and hold it in place while I scan my eyes across his buddies. They make the smart choice and back off, retreating up the sidewalk.
I pull Kerry in close so my lips are next to his ear. “Apologize,” I say, and move his tie so he’s facing back toward Gabriel and his crew.
“I’m sorry,” Kerry mumbles, but that’s not good enough.
“Like you mean it.”
“I’m sorry!” he yells as best as he can with my fist against his throat.
I let go and he stumbles back. “Wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Crazy bitch,” he spits at me, but when I take a step toward him he can’t scramble away fast enough.
I watch him flee and when I turn around Gabe and his friends are clapping.
“That was slick,” Gabe says as I come to stand back beside him. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“As if you could,” I say and chuck him on the shoulder.
Gabe’s friends are buzzing as they head back toward the club, laughing at what I did, and Russel’s already waiting on the other side of the red rope across the door.
“Well,” Gabe says as he moves to join his friends, “you coming, or what?”
I don’t even think about it.
“Sure am,” I say, and follow my best friend in the world into the concert we’ve waited all our lives for, and as the music floods over us, at this moment, I’m not even bothered that I’m the only one of us who knows it.
Next in the Boundless Series…
Book 2
POWERLESS
Jasmin explores the chronoverse and the limits of her powers as she helps the Omega Guard stop Einarr from reopening a portal to the underverse.
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To Maryellen,
Who makes all this possible.
About The Author
I’m a geek from way back. I grew up loving Star Wars and Star Trek and comics and every other science fiction and fantasy book I could get my hands on.
If only my fourteen-year-old self could see me now.
Thanks for reading. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to keep doing this.
I’d love to hear from you. Email me at [email protected], or come say “Hi” on Facebook, or sign up to my Reader Club for the occasional email treat.
BOUNDLESS
Copyright © 2019 by Damien Boyes.
All rights reserved. With the exception of excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
First eBook Edition.
Editing by Rosalie Love.
Proofreading by Tamara Blain.
Cover by Damonza.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental. Obviously.
Contents
June 13, 1983.
1. Blue Monday
2. Love Will Tear Us Apart
3. One Way or Another
4. Changes
5. Irregular Relapse
6. The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness
7. The Things That Dreams Are Made Of
8. No More Heroes
9. Cities in Dust
10. Replicas
11. The Omega Guard
12. Trapped on Earth
13. Absolute Refusal
14. The Rifts Between Us
15. Remnants
16. Cuts You Up
17. Dreams Never End
18. Never Go Home Again
19. Destination Unknown
20. Confusion
21. Roadrunner
22. She’s Lost Control
23. Senses Working Overtime
24. The Midtown Bubble
25. Resistance
26. Disorder
27. Dead Again
28. Eternity Station
29. Revelations
30. Train in Vain
31. Off Target
32. Save it for Later
33. Dead Souls
34. Reunion
35. Ashes to Ashes
36. Singularity
37. The Order of Death
38. True Lines
39. Entangled
40. I Have the Touch
41. Victory
42. Life Goes On
43. Age of Consent
Next in the Boundless Series…
About The Author
