Chapter 37
The Peace Talks
Eli
Jack and I wait at the school for the others to bring Harper.
Jack sits on the sign while I lean against it.
At least Caden was nice enough to position the camera for the little show he and Luke put on this morning.
I get hard just thinking about Harper’s flushed face as her pink tongue darted out to taste Caden’s cum.
It’s all good that our girl helps us get off, but I can’t wait to fuck her. I’m all for us all fucking her, but I want her to myself sometimes too. We won’t have that until she gives in to us.
Soon. Hopefully.
The red sundress looks spectacular on Harper and her ponytail swings behind her as she walks between Luke and Caden on her way to us. Jack jumps off the sign, walks up to her, and lifts her off her feet.
He kisses the shit out of her red lips. “Happy birthday, sweetheart!”
I walk up behind them as he swings her around and drops her in front of me.
“Happy birthday, kitten.” I take the back of her neck in my hand as I lean in and kiss her. She opens beneath me and kisses me back. Maybe our little stunt of ignoring her paid off.
When I pull back, she smiles up at me. She touches the ring on her finger. “Thank you both for the present.”
“You’re welcome.” Putting my arm around her shoulders, I walk her into the school. She steps over to Caden’s locker when he opens it.
“We have lunch plans.” Luke grabs his books from his locker.
I lift an eyebrow.
“Pizza and cake with Kenz.” Harper bounces on her toes a little as she says it.
Today won’t be a very healthy eating day, but I smile at her enthusiasm. “I look forward to it.”
Luke wanders off to class with our girl while Caden and Jack hang back with me.
“Do we know anything more?” I ask as we head to our first period.
“The parking lot camera is a joke.” Jack shakes his head. “The footage is blurry and too many people go that direction to fuck off during school. I couldn’t even tell which one was Harper on the footage.”
“I’ve got a short list of people who weren’t at the game on Friday and could have targeted Harper.
” Caden scratches his head as we enter the classroom and sit in the back.
“Unfortunately, we’ve pissed off a good amount of people, and Harper pointed out that it could be someone actually mad at her for being with us, which could mean a chick. ”
“We’ve been able to take down some wannabe queen bees before.” I don’t see the problem with taking down someone who is causing harm even if it’s a chick. We just don’t beat them up like some guys.
“We need more info.” Jack shakes his head. “At least she’s wearing the ring.”
The ring has a built-in GPS that we can monitor. Luke wanted to put one in her like a real pet, but Caden found out about this tech ring. Pretty sure a microchip would have been a no-go for our girl. We’ve had it for a few days and her birthday was a convenient excuse to give it to her.
We each installed the software on our phones. Not that I think our girl will try to hide from us, but just in case whoever is messing with her escalates. We’d rather be safe than sorry.
Harper
“So it’s back on?”
“Apparently it was never off.” I sketch on the drawing of Luke today. My ring flashes in the overhead lights. Still a weird gift, but I guess it says something to others.
“And your mom knows and is okay with four guys pursuing you?” Kenz shifts in her chair. “Because my mom would freak the fuck out. She almost caught Brandon in my bedroom a few nights ago and he’s been my boyfriend for two years. She would have cut his balls off. My mom does not mess around.”
I smile at the thought of Kenz’s five-foot-tall, one-hundred-pound mom taking after Brandon with a carving knife.
“I’m not dating them.” I shrug. “She knows they’re interested and I might be interested in them, but nothing is going to happen.”
Though she bought me two big boxes of condoms just in case. I shake my head.
“Yeah, but she invited them all to dinner?”
“She’s suspicious and wants to get to know them.” I shrug again. “She asked before I could even interject to stop her. Besides, they got me a birthday gift.”
Kenz grabs my hand again. She studied it hard when I first showed her. “Brandon sucks at gifts. I don’t think he’d ever get me a ring unless he was asking me to marry him and that’s not for a really long time.”
I pry my hand loose and get back to my sketch. “They’re acting all sweet again, but I won’t be fooled. They’re assholes of the first order and they might be talented actors, but I’m not falling for it again.”
They turned into raging assholes after one day of no communication. Yeah, I’m going to keep my guard up around them. But I also really enjoy what they do to me, and knowing they want me gives me a measure of control and power over them.
Tanner stops next to me and squats. He puts one hand on my desk to steady himself. “Hey, everything okay today?”
Kenz gives him the stink eye.
“Yes, fine.” I gesture. “Kenz, Tanner. Tanner, Kenz.”
“I know Tanner Lewis. How do you know Tanner?” Kenz turns the stink eye on me.
“Monday when you were sick.” I close my notebook. “Tanner had to sit close to the board and since you weren’t here, he sat in your seat.”
“Your sister is Mia, right?” Kenz asks Tanner.
“Yeah, twins.” He smiles.
Kenz presses her lips together. “You can go now.”
“Wait, Tanner. What’s wrong, Kenz?”
She’s watching him distrustfully. “We’ll talk when he leaves.”
“It’s okay, Harper.” Tanner straightens. “I wanted to make sure you were okay after how they treated you.”
“Umm, yeah, things are back to normal.” I give him a small smile. Kenz shouldn’t worry so much. Tanner wants revenge on the horsemen, and maybe I can use that to my advantage. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Good. See you at lunch?”
I shake my head. “Kenz is taking me out.”
Tanner nods and heads back to his desk.
“What the hell, H?” Kenz hisses at me under her breath. “Why is Tanner Lewis asking you about lunch?”
I sigh and whisper back, “Yesterday I ate outside, and he apparently likes to eat at the same tree I usually do.”
“That can’t be a coincidence.” She turns and glares at Tanner.
“Seriously, he’s just looking out for me because the horsemen scared his sister off and he didn’t want me to feel like I was alone against them.” I put my sketchpad away.
“Do you even know who Tanner is?” Kenz puts her hand over mine. “Has he ever talked to you before this year? Because that’s sus.”
“No, but I didn’t really know Rebecca Forester either and I think she would understand what I’m dealing with. Or more, who I’m dealing with.” I check my phone to make sure the horsemen haven’t texted. I’m not getting punished on my birthday.
“Do you know what he did?” she whispers.
“No, but I know if his sister went through only a little of what I’m going through, then maybe he was justified in whatever he did. After all, they were on the team together. He thought they were friends.”
“Harper, we need to talk about this because you only got part of the story, and if the guys know he’s sniffing around you, they won’t be happy.” Kenz straightens in her seat. “We’ll talk before the guys get there tonight.”
I glance at Tanner, who gives me a crooked smile. Penny also warned me about him. I don’t get a bad vibe from him. Maybe he’s a little eager to get back at the horsemen, but he’s just been friendly so far.
“Fine.”
The bell rings, and everyone leaves for lunch. Kenz and I head toward the parking lot. Brandon finds us first and wraps his arm around Kenz’s shoulders, drawing her in for a kiss.
“Happy birthday, Harper,” Brandon says as we make it outside.
The horsemen stand from the sign they were sitting on as we approach.
“Where to?” Luke asks Kenz.
“Crusty’s.” She turns to me. “Are you riding with us?”
Eli wraps his arm around my shoulders, surrounding me in his warmth. “We’ve got Harper. Meet you there.”
I smile at Kenz and shrug. Eli directs me to Luke’s car and opens the back door for me. I slide in and Jack sits on the other side. Caden settles in shotgun and Luke drives.
“Good day so far, princess?” Luke meets my eyes as he backs up.
“Yes.” It has been. Other than whatever was up Kenz’s butt about Tanner, the day has been pleasant.
Jack turns my face to his and kisses me. Not a one-and-done type kiss, but an I’ve-got-time-to-fuck-your-mouth-right-now type kiss. My insides stir to life. We make out for a few minutes before Jack backs off.
Turning me his way, Eli kisses the shit out of me too.
The good thing is I’m getting this kissing stuff down.
The bad thing is that means they’ll want to move on sooner rather than later.
The way he works my mouth makes my panties dampen.
Maybe I can get a month out of kissing and peep shows.
Or maybe I only have days, depending on their moods.
We pull into the pizzeria and Luke parks the car.
Eli lifts his lips from mine. He traces my lower lip with his thumb. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day.”
I smile at him. I really enjoy kissing these boys and that’s going to get me into all kinds of trouble.
When we stroll into Crusty’s, Kenz has already found us a table.
“I ordered when we got here.” Kenz pats the seat next to her. She eyes the guys as they follow me. “Enough for the football team.”
When I sit, Caden steals the seat next to me with a triumphant grin.
I just shake my head at him.
He grabs my face and plants a kiss on my mouth. “You look beautiful today.”
Heat works its way up my neck at the compliment.
“Thank you.” I turn to look at Kenz, who is looking at me with wide eyes. I shrug. What can I do? I can’t control them. I can’t stop them. If I’m too defiant, they’ll help themselves to whatever they want. So I’m doing the best I can. Besides, I like the kissing.
“Okay, so this is weird with you guys here.” Kenz puts her napkin on her lap.
“Kenz.” Brandon gives her a warning.
“What? They better not try anything with me. She’s my bestie, and I’ve been supportive of her and them. So sorry if I don’t bow to their greatness.” Kenz gives Brandon a look that makes him almost shrink in his chair.
Apparently Kenz inherited her mother’s gift.
“Now, usually we talk about our lives, but since you guys are monopolizing my girl’s life right now, there isn’t much to talk about.” Kenz gives them each a look.
Caden laughs. “I like this one.”
Jack chuckles.
Luke eyes Kenz like he wants to crush her somehow, but won’t because it’s my birthday, and Eli watches me. When I meet his eyes, a smile tugs at his lips. I’m not sure what he’s thinking but it must be dirty.
“Anyway,” I say and put my hands on the table, “thank you for joining me for my birthday lunch.”
The guys all nod and Kenz just shakes her head.
“I know you didn’t invite them along, H.” Kenz leans in. “Do you want me to call the manager and get them thrown out? He’s my uncle’s boyfriend and will do anything for him.”
“No, Kenz. The guys are fine.” I shoot her a look to say stop before she gets one of us in trouble. I’m afraid I’m going to be the one on the receiving end of the punishment if she doesn’t shut it.
“Okay, okay. Peace.” She smiles. “So how are the new outfits working out for you?”
“The ones we bought before school started,” I add since I’m supposed to be grounded. “They seem to work just fine in attracting the right attention.”
Jack shakes his head. “It’s definitely a step up from what we found her in that first morning at her house. Sweatshirt and jeans.”
“I was used to hiding, and it worked since you guys didn’t even notice me until this year,” I point out.
Caden slides his hand up my thigh under my skirt, and I almost jump out of my skin. He gives me a crooked smile when I give him a chastising look.
“I like Harper’s clothes.” He squeezes my thigh. “I prefer them off more though.”
My face feels like it’s burning along with my insides. The server clears his throat. Jeezus.
“Three pies?”
The guys direct the distribution, and I take a couple pieces of my favorite BBQ chicken. At least Caden’s hand and mouth are now occupied. I definitely don’t need him telling Kenz about this morning.
The talk moves on to Friday night’s game, which I’m grounded from still.
“You’re going to miss the first home game?” Jack asks. “Surely your mother will understand the importance of you being there.”
“Which is?” I ask doubtfully.
“To cheer us on to victory.” Jack winks.
“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of girls screaming your names on Friday night and don’t need one more.” I take a bite of pizza and lift my eyes to lock with Luke’s.
He’s got that devious thinking look he gets sometimes. That’s not usually good for me. I swallow my bite of pizza and drink some of my soda. He’s making me nervous, but what’s new?
He’s Luke Foster. He makes everyone nervous. But he’s working something out, and I probably won’t like it. I’m sure he’ll tell me soon enough.