I swallowed, glancing around at all the other guys that were now looking at me, too.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” I said, looking at Banner.
Banner’s brows went up but he shrugged and rounded the cart, a half-filled cup of water in his hand. Which he promptly swallowed down.
I watched the muscles of his throat work and thought that maybe I wasn’t equipped to handle a guy like Banner.
“What’s up?” he rumbled, his arms crossing over his chest.
With his nipples now covered, I could actually somewhat think about what it was that I wanted to say.
“Candace and Symphony and their cheerleading friends harass my mother,” I said. “She’s a lunch lady.”
Banner’s eyes narrowed as he stiffened.
“What?”
I swallowed and kept on, unaware of what I should do about the anger he was now showing.
“Anyway, Symphony started to spout some stuff just a minute ago, and one thing led to another. And now I’m going to ask you to ask me out on a date so that they leave my mother alone for a month and stop giving her a hard time.” I paused to take a breath. “We can go out to eat, I’ll pay for my food. We meet there separately. Then we go our separate ways.”
Banner blinked, and I watched as a droplet of sweat started to roll down the length of his neck, curling over his collarbone, only to descend his chest, between his pecs, and all the way down the valley of his abs.
The moment that it joined the gathered sweat in the waistband of his sweatpants, I looked back up to see him grinning wickedly at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Yes what?” I wondered, momentarily confused on what it was that we’d been discussing before.
God, his smile was bright.
“I said yes to your date.” He paused. “But I have my own stipulations.”
I blinked, honestly surprised that he’d agreed so readily.
“Okay.” I paused. “What are they?”
“I pick you up,” he started, absently running one of his fingers down the length of his side. “And you let me pick where we go to eat.”
I was instantly ready to say no.
“I don’t like many places…” I paused. “But yeah, that’s fine. My mom’s worth it.”
His teeth flashed white again as he grinned.
“And I get to say something to Symphony. I don’t like when people get bullied, even pretty lunch ladies that know how to handle themselves,” he said.
I felt my belly tighten at his words.
“You don’t even know which one is mine,” I pointed out.
He shrugged. “I don’t really care. But all the ones that I saw today were pretty.”
I shrugged. “Symphony is an ass. You tell her not to do something, let her know that it bothers you, and she does it even harder the next time. She doesn’t know basic common courtesy, and she really doesn’t care that she’s hurting people.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe Symphony needs to have someone show her the error of her ways.”
Maybe she did.
But Banner wasn’t going to be the one to do it.
Because if she realized that he was going to go up against her, she’d fight tooth and nail to make sure she came out the winner.
It didn’t help that her daddy and her mother were on the school board.
At Kilgore High, she was pretty much as untouchable as they came.
“I’d like to say that I agree with you, but Symphony’s not worth it. And my mama would never forgive me if I started this. She’s told me to leave it alone on numerous occasions.”
He grumbled something under his breath, then looked up when the coach once again called him out on the field.
“I’ll pick you up tonight for our date.”
I blinked.
“Ummm…” I hesitated. “I don’t…”
He winked and left without giving me the chance to deny him.
I watched the muscles in his back flex and bunch as he ran back out onto the field, then turned to see Symphony standing at the bleachers, arms crossed.
She looked pissed that I’d had the balls to go up to him and ask him.
Well, maybe just seeing that look on her face would be payment enough for the embarrassment that was about to happen tonight.
Chapter 5
My crystal ball says you’re full of shit.
-Text from Banner to Ford
Banner
“I need to borrow your truck.”
My brother looked up at me in surprise. “Why?”
Ashe, my brother’s wife, punched him in the shoulder. “Just give him the keys.”
“But it’s brand new,” Ford argued. “What if he hurts it?”
Ashe walked to her purse and tossed me her set of keys to Ford’s truck. “Don’t hurt it.”
I rolled my eyes and grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
She patted her hugely pregnant belly.
“Also, for repayment, will you bring me some sort of dessert from wherever you plan on going out to eat?” She blinked her eyes and pressed her hands together in a pleading gesture.
I pocketed the keys and nodded.
“Yes.” I paused, looking at my brother. “And to answer your earlier question, I have a date.”
“Wow,” Ashe said, walking to the couch I was sitting on and plopping down onto it. “You work fast.”
She absently rubbed her belly, and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching over and placing my hand on her belly to feel.
The baby kicked me the moment it felt the pressure of my hand, causing me to grin.
“I actually didn’t do the asking this time,” I admitted, pressing in slightly. “The girl did the asking.”
Ford snorted, causing me to look up from my contemplation of Ashe’s stomach.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he muttered. “But why the hell doesn’t it surprise me that you’ve literally already got a girl and you’ve been in school a single fucking day? I told you that you’d fit in just fine here.”
I shrugged.
Deep down inside, I was still that awkward teenager that thought everyone hated him.
Last summer, I’d gone from that awkward pimply-faced teen to a new, more proportioned person.
I’d gone from being the smallest, scrawniest kid in my CrossFit gym to the guy that could outpace every single fucking person.
Which was another thing I hated.
I missed my old CrossFit gym.
The new ones that I had visited didn’t seem to have the same atmosphere that my old one did.
Anyway, I’d gone from that weird awkward kid to the guy that every girl wanted.
It was honestly still surprising to me that I got the kind of attention that I did.
It also didn’t help that in between last year when I shot up to my present height of six-foot-three and now, I’d had to do a lot of growing up. I’d also gotten in about eight fights, all of them having something or other to do with fucking Vance. My temper had frayed, and honestly, I’d turned into an asshole after having to deal with all the bullshit that Vance sent my way.
Needless to say, I wasn’t the same person as I was two years ago.
The baby kicked my hand, this time hard, and I looked back at where I was pressing.
“That doesn’t hurt?” I asked curiously.
She shook her head. “Just feels weird. I think that was his head.”
I grinned and pressed harder, only to be gifted with another head butt.
“I feel like I should be there and not you,” Ford said, grabbing me by the scruff of the neck and pulling me.
I wrapped my arms tight around Ashe, causing her to laugh.
“Save me!” I whined.
Ford pulled harder, which only caused Ashe to come with me.
By the time I’d finally let go, Ashe was laughi
ng her ass off, Ford was cursing me, and I was ten paces away.
“So, about the truck…”
Ashe picked up the keys I’d dropped at some point and tossed them.
Ford tried to catch them but they sailed about an inch over his head and right into my hands.
“Thanks, honey,” I drawled.
Ford threw a sofa pillow at my face.
“Fuck off,” he growled.
I caught it and tossed it back at him, barely missing nailing him in the face.
“Hey, did you see the groceries I put in your fridge?” Ashe asked.
I nodded. “I did. Thank you. I meant to tell you that I was fully capable of doing it myself, but then I decided that it was really awesome to have a fridge fairy. I can do my own laundry, though.”
Ashe shook her head. “That wasn’t me. That was your sister. She also washed your sheets, too.”
I sighed.
“I think I might need to take the key away from y’all,” I admitted. “I was really thinking that this living alone business would be pretty cool. But not if my sister comes in any time she wants.”
Ashe snickered. “Sorry, buddy. But you can’t have it both ways. Either we care, or we don’t. And, just sayin’, but you won’t get either one of us not caring.”
I sighed and looked at my brother who was sitting snugly against his wife.
“Hey, do you want to go to the shooting range with me tomorrow?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes.
“More like, will I take you to the shooting range?” he countered.
I shrugged. “The school has a shooting team. And I have to have one more blow off class for this year, so I thought I’d try out. Football will be over in November so I figured I could take the last 6 weeks getting better at target practice.”
Ford shrugged. “They also have a bass fishing team.”
I grimaced. “Bass fishing is boring.”
“And catfishing is any better?” he asked.
I shrugged. “At least then I can read a book or something. Bass fishing is a whole lot of casting and a whole lot of not catching shit.”
My phone vibrated, reminding me I had to leave.
“I gotta go,” I said as I reached for the door. “I’ll try not to get it too dirty.”
The pillow that hit my head as I walked out of their house had me chuckling.
Closing the door behind me, I ran through the rain out to my brother’s truck, not stopping until I got to the door and slithered inside at a near slide.
The drive to Perry’s house was quick and easy. I was glad that I’d asked for directions from her before I left.
I arrived at a cute little house a couple of streets over from my place in record time, and got out before once again making a mad dash through the rain.
Knocking on the front door, I shifted from foot to foot, anxiously waiting to see who was going to answer the door.
I was honestly surprised to see her father opening the door and immediately holding a robotic arm out to me. He was a big motherfucker, and even though he only had a half an arm and one leg, I could tell that the man was a beast anyway. Tall, red hair, and broad-shouldered? The man could pass for a fuckin’ Strong Man competitor.
I took it, feeling the weird, unusual grip of his fake hand, and shook it.
His grin was swift and fast.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” I said softly. “My name is Banner Spurlock.”
His grin got even wider.
“I know who you are,” he said.
My brows rose.
“Well you have the advantage, then,” I said. “Because I don’t know anybody here yet. Other than my family.”
“Name’s Dawson Street,” he said. “Nice to meet you. Your brother has a lot of things to say about you.”
My brows rose.
“My brother?” I asked. “Hopefully they were good things.”
Dawson grinned. “Good? Mostly. He said you were having some trouble at your old school.”
Goddamn Ford.
What the fuck?
“Yes, sir,” I admitted. “That’s why I moved here.”
His eyes missed nothing. Even my irritation with my brother.
“I’m with the Department of Homeland Security,” he said. “I know a lot about you already. I talked to Ford today when I heard that you and Perry were going out to dinner.”
I blinked.
“You did not just say that,” a woman said from behind Dawson.
“Honey, come meet Banner,” Dawson said, urging his wife closer.
That was when I saw the familiar face behind him.
I grinned. “It’s nice to see you again.”
The woman who’d given me free pizza today at lunch since it was my ‘first day at school’ grinned wickedly at me.
“Awesome pizza lady!” I said, offering her my hand.
The woman laughed, closing her smooth hand over mine. “My name is Autumn. It’s nice to meet you. And, don’t listen to Dawson. He just wants to work for Homeland Security.”
Perry came up moments later, looking irritated.
She was also in sweatpants and a sweatshirt again, making me burst out laughing.
She narrowed her eyes.
“What?” she asked.
I shook my head. “It’s just nice to see that you don’t give a f— crap about what others think. You ready for dinner?”
Perry kissed her mother and father on the cheek, her light golden skin lighter than her mother’s dark skin, but darker than her father’s paleness.
“I’ll be back,” she said to her parents. “Don’t do anything crazy while I’m gone.”
Her mother snorted and closed the door on her the moment that Perry crossed over the threshold.
The moment we were alone I looked at her and said, “So you were adopted?”
Perry burst out laughing. “I don’t know what gave you that idea!”
She snickered, making me grin at her despite the fact that I couldn’t tell if she was offended.
“I know,” she said. “That’s why nobody at the school has caught on when it comes to my mom yet. I love my mom. I’m not ashamed of her in the least. But she’s a lunch lady. That gives everyone at the school something to give her shit for already. I don’t want them to treat her any differently because they know that I’m her daughter.”
“Why do you say it like that?” I asked. “As if they’d treat her differently if they knew she was your mom?”
She sighed. “Symphony and I don’t get along at all. When I first started high school, I was the new kid. My parents had just moved to Kilgore.” She shifted in her seat and brought her knee up to rest against the console that was between us. “I tried out for the cheerleading team because my mom begged me to. I’ve been in tumbling and gymnastics for my entire life. Anyway, long story short, I tried out. Made the team. Then met Symphony. I quit before I even started because she annoyed me… and Symphony knew it. Which she immediately took exception to. I don’t think anybody that she tried to bring into her fold ever gave her the brush off before.”
“What happened for you to say no?” I asked curiously.
“My mom had gotten the job as a cafeteria worker,” she answered, her fingers playing with a strand of hair that’d come down out of her bun. “It was my second day, and I got behind Symphony in line… and she was such an asshole to my mother. When I defended my mother, Symphony just got this really weird look in her eyes. Pissed off maybe that I dressed her down in front of her crew. I don’t know. Needless to say, we haven’t been friends since.”
As I accelerated onto the main drag of Kilgore, I hated to change the subject, but I had no clue where I was going.
“Tell me where to go,” I said. “Because the only place I know is good is Dairy Queen. And I’ve had that twice this week.” I paused. “I would kill for a fuckin’ salad.”
She blinked. “Like actual sa
lad? The stuff with green leaves?”
I chuckled as I said, “As an appetizer would be fine. Just something that has some nutritional value to it. I’m in sore need of something healthy. Especially after today’s practice. Fuck, I was slow.”
Her brows rose. “You were slow?”
I nodded. “All my bad eating has caught up to me. I need to find a new CrossFit gym, too. You know any?”
Her eyes went wide. “You CrossFit, too?”
My brows rose.
“Where to first, then I’ll answer,” I said.
“If you go up to the light and take a left, there’s a place called ‘The Back Porch,’” she said. “That’s where I know they have fairly decent salads. Though, if you’re really wanting a good one, you have to drive into Longview for it. Texas Roadhouse. If you go there, you’re going to end up eating about thirty rolls, and that kind of seems counterintuitive seeing as you’re trying to eat healthy.”
I grinned and started toward the restaurant she’d mentioned.
“To answer your earlier question,” I said. “I do CrossFit in the offseason. I still do it during football season, but not nearly as much. There’s just not enough time in the day for me to fit that in. But on the weekends, I’d still like to get a good workout in.” I looked at her. “And you’re one to talk. You literally run track, do gymnastics, and play volleyball.”
“You forgot cross-country,” she countered. “And how do you know that I still do gymnastics?”
I flashed her a grin. “I don’t. It was just a guess on my part. But you just confirmed it.”
She shook her head. “You do a lot of stuff. You know how it is.”
My brows rose. “You could be right.”
She gave me a grin that made my heart start to pound.
As I pulled into the restaurant, I wondered what exactly I’d gotten myself into when it came to Perry.
Getting out of the truck moments later, I made my way to her side to see her already shutting her door.
“This is a nice truck,” she said.
I snorted. “It’s my brother’s. I ride a motorcycle, but with the rain, I didn’t think you’d want to ride on it. Someone is supposed to be bringing my car over here, but in the meantime, I’ll borrow so you don’t get wet.”
She grinned. “My father would’ve had a cow.”
Somethin' About That Boy Page 4
