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1673 Words
"Jaxon!"
He turned to see one of the girls from his class running over to him. Her face was flushed as she stopped, doubling over in a desperate attempt to catch her breath. Straightening, she grinned. "I was wondering if you would be interested in coming over to my place to study."
Blinking silently, he listened to her rambling. Finally, when he had enough of her voice, he said, "Look, I'm sure you're a really nice girl, and you've probably got an i********: following somewhere in the hundreds of thousands, but I'm not interested."
Her smile fell from her face as she narrowed her eyes on him. "Do you know who I am? There isn't a guy at this school that's not interested in me, buddy."
"Which is all the more reason to avoid you and your entitled narcissism, Sarah," Lukas grumbled. He flipped another page in his book, jotting more notes into his exercise. "The number of guys you've slept with is probably higher than your grades."
She shrieked, "You stay out of this, Lukas! I told you already being in the mafia was a turn-off for me."
"Well, let me turn you off even more," Jaxon smirked. "Since you wish to be humiliated so badly, allow me to explain further. I’m not interested in you or any female because I'm gay. You could strip naked and only be wearing n****e stickers and a leaf over your lady parts, and I still wouldn’t be interested in you."
Her smile turned cold and calculating. Before she went back to her friends, who were looking on in dramatic shock, she said, "You’ll both pay for humiliating me today. I'll make sure of it."
As soon as she was gone, Jaxon turned to Lukas, "Who the hell was that, and how the heck do you know it?"
"Calling her 'it' sounds about right. I went on one date with her," Lukas replied. "She was all over me until I told her I worked with the Veiðimenn. Then she started spreading rumors about me, which is why I'm not bothering with another girlfriend until after we graduate."
Jaxon laughed. "In that case, I'm losing my virginity before you."
Packing up their stuff, they made their way to the parking lot. Lukas looked around for the car before spotting his brother. Frowning over his shoulder at Jaxon, whose eyes were filling with tears, Lukas felt his protective streak rise to the occasion. Stomping his way over to the girl, Lukas shoved her away from his brother. "You're a real piece of work, Sarah. You’re here pissing off my brother, Jaxon’s boyfriend, all because he turned you down? Go back to your posse before you create any more havoc."
"Is it true, Luke?" Markus blurted, his anger obvious in his dark grey eyes.
Turning to his brother, Lukas sneered, "If you're willing to believe a perfectly plastic stranger over a guy that's been nothing but honest and loyal to you, then you don't deserve Jax."
"I asked you a question, little brother," Markus snapped. His patience was already wearing thin from his own classes that day. "Has he been flirting? Has he been hooking up with other people between classes?"
"Excuse me?" Jaxon cried out as he reached the car. "I spend all my time in class or with Lukas. We stick together a lot because one i***t teacher decided to rat our ages out to the other students."
Markus narrowed his eyes. Pulling the car door open, he got into the driver's seat and started the engine. "Get in the car."
"No." Jaxon stood defiantly, his hand clutching his stress ball in a tight fist.
"Get in the car, Jaxon," Markus snapped again.
"Not a chance," Jaxon declared. Holding his ground, he said, "I'll call my father for a ride."
Suddenly pale, Markus cut the engine and got out of the car. He stared at Jaxon as his boyfriend pulled his cell phone out. “Jax, please. Don’t do this.”
"Damn, no answer," the teen muttered. He pressed another contact. "Hey, Russell, are you busy? I don't want to get into it right now, but can you come pick me up at OTU?"
Lukas watched the pain flash deep in his brother's eyes. He shook his head. "You brought this on yourself, Mark. That girl told us she was going to cause trouble for him because he turned her down. I went out with her once, and I can honestly say she's a conniving b***h that hates the mafia."
"What the hell am I supposed to think when I got some random chick telling me my boyfriend was sucking face with another guy?"
"You're supposed to get the truth before you let your emotions control you."
Markus turned stiffly at the sound of his father's voice. "Dad."
"Go home, Markus. It's your turn to cook," Trace said.
Nodding, Lukas went to Jaxon's side as he crouched on the ground. His elbows dug into his knees, and his fingers were sunk deep in his dark brown hair. "You okay, man?"
"Just leave me alone, Luke. I just want to be alone right now."
Lukas growled under his breath, trying hard not to flip out and beat his brother into a coma. "Then I'm staying with you. Wouldn’t want you blamed for sleeping around when you’re not."
"Dude!" Shock took over Markus’s anger when he heard the harsh conviction in his brother’s voice.
"Don't, Markus," Lukas snapped. "This is happening because you couldn't take a moment to see through the lies that conniving b***h was spewing. Think about it, bro. We do everything together just to watch each other's backs and stay out of trouble."
Markus's face fell. Looking at Jaxon, he was torn between going to the teen and getting back in the car. His ego was winning big time as he snorted before getting back into the car and driving off.
Trace looked at his youngest son. "What the hell happened? Everything was okay, then he flips his s**t? Spill."
"Sarah Austin happened," Lukas breathed. Getting to one knee, he rooted around Jaxon’s bag for a minute. "Jax turned her down, and she got pissy. She must have known who he was going out with because she told Mark that his boyfriend was cheating."
Blinking, Trace turned his eyes to the girl who was now staring at them with wide eyes. "Is that right? I'm a little surprised Markus believed a lie without attempting to get the truth. Jaxon can't handle a guilty conscience. He would have told on himself without her help."
"Exactly my point, Dad," Lukas growled as he handed Jaxon the stress ball he finally located at the bottom of the shoulder bag.
Thanking his best friend, Jaxon squeezed the ball so tightly Trace thought he would tear it in two. He kept a close eye on the crowd, sneering at the stereotypical Barbie-type girls with high-ranking daddies to pay their way through life.
"You could have picked a better girl for your first date, son," he said a little louder than he needed to.
He watched her eyes narrow on him.
"Too bad for her that her father's a friend of mine," he drawled out lazily. "I wonder if he knows his daughter dresses like a-"
"Finish that sentence, and I... I'll sue you!"
Trace grinned. "You and what army? By the way, your father is here."
Turning to see what the man was talking about, Sarah nearly dropped her new shoulder bag. "Daddy."
"Trace, it’s good to see you." Looking between the man and his daughter, the newcomer frowned. “Is everything okay?"
Lukas stood abruptly. "No, everything is not okay. Your daughter nearly ruined my best friend’s relationship because he turned her down."
Her father paled as his eyes fell to the teen on the ground. He knew who Jaxon's father was, and the man was not to be toyed with. "Sarah-Lynn Austin, go get in the damn car."
"How should we punish this, Sergeant Austin? Perhaps a drop in your salary? Or maybe send a few men to rough up your house? No worries, though. We won't hurt your wife. I’ll personally vouch for Amy," Trace said with a smug look.
The man shook his head. "No need. I'll make sure to teach her a lesson she won’t soon forget."
Russell ran over to them. Kneeling, he forced his brother-in-law to look at him. "Hey, hey, hey. Come on, now. Snap out of it, Jaxon."
"Memphis dresses like a French maid."
The statement broke through Jaxon's anxiety-riddled mind, clearing the fog until he blinked up at Lukas. "What?"
"It's not true, so please don't tell him I said that," Lukas answered. "It worked, though. I thought Nix was kidding when he said that random stuff can break through panic attacks. Does he even need to go to college like the rest of us, or is his mother just gonna let him off with that?"
Russell snickered. “He actually attended university classes online while in his last year of high school. My nephew has the highest IQ in the family, and that’s what scares his parents and in-laws senseless. His wife thinks it’s the best thing since sliced bread, though.”
Lukas laughed as he followed Russell and Jaxon to the restored Trans-Am. His phone rang as he slid his safety belt into place. Groaning, he checked the ID before answering. “What do you want?”
“You’re really taking his side? I’m your brother,” Markus snapped angrily.
Lukas scoffed. “Oh? Then take your pick. David finds out about today, or I keep my lips sealed and help you.”
Seething, Markus hung up.
Jaxon glanced at his best friend. “I owe you for that.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Jaxon,” Lukas stated as he put his phone away. “My brother needs his ass kicked, and I’m in the mood to deliver. You did nothing wrong, so don’t feel bad.”
- Writer
