Taste of Surrender (Forbidden #4)

Chapter 1

1

Jasper

Five Years Ago – Sixteen Years Old

While I zoned out listening to Mr. Wilson drone on about the Industrial Revolution, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I waited until he looked down at his laptop before grabbing my cell to check my messages.

Jeremy: Meet me in the locker room at lunch

It took a lot of effort to hold back the laughter bubbling up when the text from the guy who I’d been messing around with was quickly followed by several eggplant emojis.

A couple months ago, during our sophomore year spring break, we began hanging out on the down-low. We weren’t officially dating, and there was no chance of us ever becoming a couple. He was firmly in the closet with zero plans to come out anytime soon, and I wasn’t interested in anything serious. Our situationship was mainly based on teenage hormones and convenience. The fact he was hot didn’t hurt either.

Me: Won’t it be locked?

Jeremy: Don’t worry. I took care of it

As soon as the bell rang, I packed up and headed in the opposite direction of the cafeteria and made my way to meet him.

Glancing around, I made sure no one was nearby before opening the door, which was propped open with a folded piece of paper, and entered the locker room. It was completely silent as I walked toward the back where the showers were located. When I reached the last stall, an arm reached out from behind the curtain and pulled me inside.

“What the—” I yelped, and then Jeremy attacked my mouth with his.

As we pulled apart, I noticed he was wearing nothing but boxers that did little to cover the wood he was sporting. “Why are you practically naked?” I chuckled.

He shrugged. “Figured I’d save us a little time.”

Up until now, we’d only made out with a few hand jobs thrown in, so I wasn’t sure why he felt it was necessary to strip down to his underwear.

“If you think I’m going to jerk you off at school, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.”

“Why?” He stepped closer, caging me in against the tile wall. “No one’s here except us.”

“Yeah, where’s Coach Baker?”

“He left for lunch and didn’t notice me prop the door open. So, we’re all alone.”

Almost on cue, I heard someone call out, “Jeremy, you in here?”

We could hear several sets of footsteps heading in our direction. I looked at Jeremy, whose face had turned pale.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he muttered.

After a few seconds, it sounded as though the group was leaving, and Jeremy sagged against the wall opposite me, letting out a breath.

Just as I thought we were in the clear, the curtain was yanked back, and Dustin, Jeremy’s best friend and teammate, stared at us, his mouth open in surprise.

“What the fuck is going on here?” he asked.

Jeremy’s gaze flicked between me and his friend before he grabbed his clothes from the bench outside the stall and started getting dressed. “I don’t know, man. I had grabbed a shower after PE, and then Jasper came in here and tried to kiss me.”

My eyes widened at his lame attempt to lie. How stupid did these guys have to be to believe I randomly decided to approach someone in the shower and proposition him while I was still fully-clothed? Besides, it was obvious Jeremy hadn’t showered since everything was dry.

“Guys, get a load of this,” Dustin yelled, and the group he’d come in with gathered around us, all of them laughing at the sight in front of them. “Fairy boy over here tried to make a move on Jeremy.”

Clearly, they were pretty fucking stupid.

I rolled my eyes. “That’s not what happened.”

“Dude, no one wants your gay ass hitting on them,” Dustin continued despite what I said.

“Yeah,” Jeremy added while buttoning his pants. “I definitely didn’t want that.”

I glared at the guy I now saw for the asshole he was. I had been willing to keep his secret, but he had no problem throwing me under the bus to save himself. I threw my hands in the air. “I’m outta here.”

I shoved past Dustin so I could leave, but he grabbed my arm before I got too far and said, “Don’t let me catch you looking at any of us in here when we have gym together. I won’t be as understanding as Jeremy.”

I pulled away from Dustin’s grip and saw my older brother Jesse storming toward us. “What the fuck is going on here?”

In the middle of everything, it took a minute to realize my brother’s best friend Malachi was with him. As if the situation couldn’t be more embarrassing, the guy I had a secret crush on was getting a front row seat to my mortification.

“Nothing’s going on, Jesse. It’s just a simple misunderstanding.” I pushed on my brother’s chest so we could leave before his overprotective side made matters worse. “Let’s go.”

For a moment, I didn’t think he would budge, but after one last scowl in Dustin’s direction, my brother and I began moving toward the exit.

“That’s right, Jesse,” Dustin spat. “Get your brother out of here. No one wants that fa?—”

In a flash, Jesse grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the wall. “The fuck did you just say?”

“N-n-nothing,” Dustin choked out.

“No one talks shit about my brother. Do you understand me?” Jesse growled.

Dustin nodded, and Jesse glared at the others standing around until they all mumbled their agreement.

“Now get the hell out of here.” My brother shoved Dustin away.

Everyone, including Jeremy, scrambled to the exit.

When the door slammed shut behind them, Jesse turned to me. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, but I was fine before you got here too.”

“It didn’t look that way to me when we came in here,” Malachi cut in, and I could feel my face burn with embarrassment.

“What was going on, anyway? Did it have something to do with Jeremy and the two of you sneaking around lately?” my brother asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb,” he chuckled. “I’ve seen the two of you hanging out recently, and you guys were never friends before. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”

I glanced toward Malachi, his dark green eyes watching me closely. It wasn’t a secret I was gay, and none of my brother’s friends ever acted as though they had an issue with it. However, I’d dealt with my fair share of teasing and mild bullying from classmates since coming out right before my freshman year, so I never really talked about it around others.

Turning my focus back to my brother, I said, “You can’t say anything. I promised him I wouldn’t tell anybody.”

“Even after he stood there and didn’t make any effort to defend you?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. I’m not going to sink to his level.”

“You’re too nice of a guy,” Malachi said.

I didn’t know if he meant it as a compliment, but I chose to take it as one.

“Going forward, I’m going to need to approve of the guys you decide to date,” Jesse interjected.

I stifled the laugh trying to escape. “Are you kidding me?”

“No.” Jesse crossed his arms over his chest. “You deserve better than some asshole letting you get bullied and not having the balls to stand up for you.”

My brother may have only been two years older than me, but ever since he’d caught a couple of kids giving me a hard time after I came out, he sometimes acted more like he was my dad.

“Knowing my luck, you’ll find a problem with every guy I try to date,” I muttered.

“You’re probably right. But at least I can make sure no one messes with my baby brother.”

The rest of the school day passed without any more issues. After my last period, I went to the library to work on an English essay before finally heading home.

Walking down the street toward my house, I heard my brother’s band practicing in our garage. Sometimes, I would listen to them play, but since I’d stayed late at school, I wanted to get inside and help my mom make dinner. Cooking was something I enjoyed, and over the years, I found myself spending more and more time in the kitchen.

With a quick wave to the guys as I passed, I made my way into the house. After dropping off my backpack in my room, I went to the kitchen, where Mom was chopping tomatoes.

“What are we having for dinner?” I asked as I washed my hands.

“It’s Tuesday, so tacos, of course.”

I chuckled. “Sounds good to me.”

While she finished with the tomatoes, I grabbed a couple of avocados. I always made my guac on Taco Tuesday.

“Before I forget, I saw your EpiPen on your dresser while putting some clean clothes in your room. You need to remember to keep that with you.”

“Sorry about that,” I replied. The summer before, I’d been stung by a bee for the first time and ended up with a severe reaction and was rushed to the ER. Ever since then, my parents had been nervous about it happening again. “I’ll make sure I have one in my backpack, and I’ll leave the other one here.”

“Good. Now, how was school today?”

“It was fine except when Jesse decided to play super brother ,” I chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

I didn’t want to get into all the specifics, but maybe she’d tell Jesse to chill a little bit. “It wasn’t a big deal. Me and this other guy had a misunderstanding, and Jesse thought he needed to swoop in to protect me.”

“He just has your best interest at heart.”

“I know, Mom.”

I understood, but sometimes I wished Jesse realized I needed to work things out on my own. Maybe with him graduating in a couple of weeks, he’d start to let go a little bit.

A moment later the door leading to the garage opened, and Malachi entered the kitchen. My gaze lingered on his abs as he lifted his T-shirt to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Even though he and my brother were musicians, they often worked out together, and he was sporting a six-pack I fantasized running my hands over.

Shaking my head to rid my mind of things I had no business thinking of with my mom standing next to me—and because he was my brother’s best friend?—

I quickly averted my eyes but not before Malachi gave me a knowing smirk.

Fuck my life.

“Are you done practicing?” Mom asked him.

“Not yet. We’re just taking a quick break and I came in for some water, if that’s okay.”

“Of course. Help yourself.”

“Thanks, Mrs. B.” He flashed her a smile before opening the fridge and pulling out a couple of bottles.

“Want to stay for dinner?” Mom offered, always willing to feed our friends. “We’re having tacos.”

He looked at me. “Are you making your guac?”

My cheeks flushed as they often did anytime Malachi talked to me. “Yep.”

“Then count me in.” He started to leave, but shot me a wink just before he walked through the door.

Did Malachi Danvers just flirt with me?