The Punk and the Plaything (When Rivals Play Book 3)

by B. B. Reid

  “Uncle?”

  “Come in, boy. Don’t just stand there.”

  Glancing once more at Sean, I shut the door behind me and took a seat. My gaze traveled back and forth between the two men. Something was definitely up.

  “You look like you have something on your mind,” Sean teased.

  Ignoring him, I addressed my uncle. “You knew he was alive?” I’d been practicing all night how I’d break the news that his so-called friend had faked his death. Only to find that he’d known all along.

  “It’s complicated,” he said, making me scoff. Why were adults always using that excuse?

  “As complicated as him fucking Aunt Evelyn?” I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d walked in on yesterday, either, but they’d been up to something. I’ve had more than my share to know what it looked like.

  After glancing at Sean, who offered nothing at all, Thomas met my gaze once more. “Watch your mouth, Jameson. That’s your aunt you’re talking about.”

  “Suddenly, you’re concerned about her welfare? You’ve tucked her away and ignored her.”

  “I’ll deal with my wife as I see fit when I see fit,” he rebutted.

  I didn’t get the chance to call him an asshole before Sean left his place against the wall and began kneading my uncle’s shoulders. I squinted as confusion rippled through me at the display. “Clearly, I’m the reason the boy is challenging you, so I’ll go.”

  I sneered at Sean when he smiled at me and wished he truly was dead. It was clear to me that he had both my aunt and uncle under some sort of spell.

  “We’ll talk more later,” was all my uncle said in response.

  Sean didn’t linger, but my murderous rage did long after he was gone. As someone who was usually up to no good, it was easy to spot another troublemaker.

  “I’d say I’m surprised at you,” my uncle drawled once the door closed, “but I’d be lying to myself.” When I said nothing, he sighed and grabbed his suit jacket as he stood. “Very well. Let’s get started.”

  After my uncle finally released me for the day, I went straight to Aunt Evelyn’s, wondering if I’d find Sean there. If my uncle insisted I get a head start learning how to lead this family, then I didn’t see why I couldn’t take some initiative.

  Fortunately, when I arrived at the rental home, I only found my cousin sitting alone in the dark. Ever was slouched low, head resting against the back of the cushions with his eyes closed, but I could still see the scowl behind that perfectly blank expression.

  “Still pouting, huh?”

  “What are you doing here?” he asked without opening his eyes.

  I took a seat on the extra-wide armchair and shrugged even though he couldn’t see me. “Checking on Aunt Evelyn since neither you or Uncle Thomas seem concerned.”

  Slowly, his eyes opened, and that golden gaze of his glistened. I could tell he wanted to hit me, though he probably wanted to hit his father more.

  His attention moved from my face, and I held my breath as he slowly took in my attire. I waited for him to say something—anything. After a few seconds, his eyes drifted shut again, and I swallowed the urge to scream at him. He knew, dammit. He had to know.

  Our entire family was on pins and needles, waiting for the day Ever would just call us all on our shit. I think we were all hoping for it because none of us were too eager to sink the knife in his back any farther. He was one of our own, and no DNA test could convince us otherwise. Though Ever was a McNamara legally and in name, it wasn’t good enough for Conall, our great-great-grandfather who’d been dead and rotting for almost forty years. I didn’t want to disrespect the dead or anything, but seriously, fuck him.

  “You can’t hide from her forever,” I said when the silence began to eat at me.

  “I wasn’t planning to,” he mumbled.

  “Then let me be more specific. You won’t be able to avoid her much longer without pissing her off.”

  “I know that,” he snapped.

  Deciding not to push, I grabbed the duffel at my feet and headed upstairs. After changing in one of the guest rooms, I returned to the living room to find Ever with one foot out the front door. I knew exactly where he was headed, and since he’d read my mind, I decided to catch a ride. Gas was freaking expensive.

  Ever didn’t say a word when he looked over his shoulder and found me heading toward his matte green G-Wagon. The moment my ass hit the leather seat, I whipped out my phone.

  Last chance… for old time’s sake.

  Biting back a grin, I synced my Bluetooth and played What If I Was Nothing by All That Remains. Ten minutes later, we were walking through Brynwood’s front doors, and just as we were ready to go our separate ways, my phone chimed in my hand.

  As if my dick had consciousness, it woke the fuck up. My hands shook as I stumbled to open the text app.

  Disappointment whipped through me like a cold breeze when I saw it was only Four. However, that disappointment turned to concern when I actually read the message.

  Four: SOS—girls’ bathroom

  Frowning, I showed the text to Ever who, after a mere glance, took off down the hall. Leave it to him to know exactly where she’d be. Smirking, I followed after him, and when he attempted to charge into the bathroom, I stopped him.

  “Let me,” I said when he glared at my hand on his arm. “She must have texted me and not you for a reason.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, nostrils flaring. “To piss me off.”

  I barely fought back my grin because he was probably right. Four was a little firecracker, and she’d probably knee me in the balls for saying so.

  “Just in case, let me go in first. If we’re not out in five minutes—”

  “Two,” he said, cutting me off.

  I was pretty sure the asshole was already counting down in his head, so I didn’t waste time arguing. I rushed through the doors and stopped short at the sight of Four and a girl whose name escaped me. She reminded me of a chipmunk because she never seemed to stop talking. And girls like her loved to gossip most of all.

  It only took me two seconds to assess the situation Four had found herself in.

  “This is the girls’ bathroom!” the chipmunk chirped.

  “Oh, is it? My mistake.” Circling my prey, I eyed her up and down. With tits like hers, she had potential. “It must have been fate, though.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re here,” I flirted. A breathless sound escaped her as her eyelashes fluttered. Gotcha. I cleared my throat when, from the corner of my eye, I caught Four making a beeline for the door. She glanced at me over her shoulder with her eyebrow raised, and I mouthed, “You owe me,” as I felt up my new friend.

  Amused, Four gave me a curt nod before rushing out the door with thirty seconds to spare. I turned my attention back to my furry little friend, who was still shivering in my arms.

  “So, what’s your name?” I asked as I lifted her onto the counter. My thumb swept her knee as I waited.

  “Amanda. We had Econ together, remember?”

  Fuck no. She was hot, so I’d definitely noticed her, but she was delusional if she thought I was keeping tabs. “Last name?” I asked, ignoring her question.

  “Clarke,” she supplied with a pout.

  “Clarke,” I echoed with my most charming grin. I had all the information I needed to move forward. “You’re pretty cute, Clarke. Can I make you come?” My hand was already inching up her skirt, rubbing her thigh while her lips parted and closed like a fish out of water. The bathroom door burst open before she could answer, and Vaughn sauntered in with a scowl.

  “Jesus, I thought Ever was kidding!” he yelled. He’d literally caught me with my hand in the cookie jar. “The fuck are you doing in here, man?”

  Shrugging, I turned my attention back to Amanda and found her staring at Vaughn like she was starstruck. “Just doing what I can for the fam.” Reaching satin panties, I slipped them to the side. “So what do you say, pretty girl? Two fingers or one?
”

  Her gaze traveled back to Vaughn. “Is he—is he going to watch?”

  I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to fight my grin. “We won’t tell if you don’t,” I assured her.

  The bathroom door opened, and a girl ventured inside. She froze from shock at seeing us there, but before she could demand answers, Vaughn’s head shot up from his phone.

  “Don’t you see us having a private conversation?” he barked. Spinning on her heel, she hurried back out. As if we weren’t the ones in violation, Vaughn shook his head and muttered, “So fucking inconsiderate.”

  He went back to fiddling with his phone while Amanda watched. I snorted because he was so far out of her reach he might as well have been a mythical creature.

  “Sorry, kitten. Doesn’t seem like Rees is interested, but you know what they say… once you go black, you never go back.”

  I caught Vaughn’s scowl in the mirror and grinned. He didn’t seem too pleased by my observation, but what was even more notable was that he didn’t deny it. This thing he had for Tyra was deeper than he was willing to admit aloud or to himself. Probably because he knew it was hopeless. They had no future. His father would never allow it simply because of how hard he’d so obviously fallen for Ty-baby.

  “Maybe you can change his mind,” I cooed as I slipped her panties off. “Spread your legs for me.” It took only a second of hesitation before she did just that. It was all I could do not to shake my head. Girls couldn’t even be bothered to make it a challenge anymore. “Wider.”

  She did as instructed until there was nothing left to the imagination.

  The next few minutes, I spent with my fingers shoved in her cunt and could only be described as clinical, cold, and awkward. Not that Amanda noticed. In fact, she enjoyed it so much she soaked the bottom of my fucking T-shirt.

  Little miss chipmunk was a squirter.

  I heard Vaughn sigh as I stood back and admired my handiwork. Amanda was slumped against the mirror, completely boneless and out of breath. “About fucking time,” he griped as he came to stand beside me. “I could have finished her in two.”

  “And you would have lost that hand,” I said, reminding him of Tyra.

  He ignored me as he stared down Amanda. The invitation in her eyes couldn’t be mistaken, but a moment later, there was only absolute fear.

  “We hear you like to talk. That’s something we have in common,” he said before she could answer. “And if you speak on whatever it is you think you know about Four and Ever…” I watched him press play before flipping around his phone. “I’ll post this on every porn site I know.”

  Her eyes widened as I listed them on my fingers. “Pornhub, XNXX, XVIDEOS, xHamster, RedTube.”

  “Don’t forget YouPorn,” Vaughn added.

  I scoffed. “How the fuck could I? They’ve got the dirtiest blondes.”

  “True.”

  Plucking Amanda’s purple thong from the floor, I held them out of reach when she tried to snatch them away. “Ah ah ah… souvenir.” I shoved them in my pocket as I watched her look back and forth between Vaughn and me. “I know what you’re thinking,” I said when she couldn’t seem to find the words, “and no, we’re not bluffing.”

  We stepped aside while Amanda climbed down from the counter, and when she scurried for the door, I realized she was smarter than I gave her credit. This was not a situation she could argue her way out of.

  As soon as the door closed, Vaughn rolled his eyes and deleted the video. Of course, we never had any intention of posting some shit like that online. A lifelong punishment like that didn’t quite fit the crime of sticking your nose where it didn’t belong. This was just high school. The shit ends.

  “You’re not going to save that for your spank bank?” I asked as I washed my hands not once but twice. No matter how hard I scrubbed however, they still felt dirty. This was probably the first time I hadn’t enjoyed making a girl come.

  Vaughn groaned as his head fell back on his shoulders. “The last fucking thing I need is Tyra finding this shit on my phone.”

  “Why the hell would you give her your password?”

  “Give?” He sneered. “I didn’t give her shit. Her nosy ass must have watched me punch in the code.”

  I snickered as I dried my hands. “So change it,” I challenged, knowing that he wouldn’t.

  “Fuck you,” he spat back.

  We both burst into laughter as I tossed the paper towel in the trash. Heading for the door, I paused when I realized Vaughn was creeping toward one of the stalls. “Where the fuck are you going?”

  “I gotta shit,” he threw over his shoulder.

  It was more than enough explanation for me. I was so busy digging in my back pocket for my phone as I rushed through the bathroom door that I ended up colliding into something soft. The moment I recognized Bee’s strawberry locks, I grabbed her waist to keep her from getting away. “Looking for me?”

  I watched her blink those baby blues a few times before frowning in confusion at the bathroom door behind me. “What are you doing here?” she questioned while ignoring mine. “And what were you doing in the girls’ bathroom?”

  Leaning down, I buried my nose in her hair and inhaled. Her sweet scent was playing chemical warfare with my brain. “Looking for you.” Technically, it was only partly true, but she didn’t need to know that.

  “Let me go, Jamie.”

  Somehow, I knew she wasn’t talking about physically. “I can’t do that.” My hands dropped to the back of her thighs before slowly making their way up. She’d worn her uniform without stockings today, and I felt like a kid in a very naughty candy store. “Because, unlike you, I keep my promises.”

  Her eyes rounded at the sound of fabric tearing, and I watched her lips part in shock after I held up her lacy red thong. There was no fucking way she hadn’t worn these for me. Red was our favorite color.

  “How thoughtful of you,” I cooed while she continued to gape at me. Shoving my hand inside my pocket, I tossed the purple satin aside and replaced them with the red lace. I’d rather have Bee’s scraps any day.

  “You’re a pervert,” she spat, finally breaking free of her shock.

  “You won’t get any argument from me.”

  Her eyes became twin balls of blue flames, and even though she was glaring at me, my heart leaped with joy, seeing her fire that I’d missed so much. “Do you honestly think treating me like I’m some whore turns me on? You repulse me.”

  “And I believe you. I also know it’s why you want me, too.” I pressed my lips against her neck and felt her body shiver as I worked my way up. “Because it feels wrong,” I whispered in her ear, “and you always liked getting your hands dirty, didn’t you, kitten?”

  I didn’t wait for a reply and left her standing there.

  Outside, I managed to catch up to Four and Ever as they stood by his truck. There was zero space between them as he held her, making no mistake as to what they were up to. I shook my head, knowing anyone could have walked up. I wasn’t about to finger-fuck the entire school because they couldn’t be bothered to be more careful with their secrets.

  Four noticed me first and raised an eyebrow. “What’s up, quick draw?”

  Snickering, I hopped onto the G-Wagon and shoved a cigarette between my lips. My hands shook as I lit up, and since I couldn’t have what I really needed, nicotine would have to do. “She wouldn’t shut up long enough for me to get my dick out. I fingered her, though. Did you know she’s a squirter?”

  “TMI, Buchanan. And it’s not gentlemanly to kiss and tell,” Four scolded.

  “I didn’t kiss her.”

  “And my cousin is no gentleman,” Ever added.

  “Learned from the best, little cousin.”

  “I’m a changed man.”

  I cut my gaze his way. “Until Bee’s around.” I could practically see Ever imagining ways to murder me as if his thoughts were playing on a high-definition screen. “My bad.”

  I wasn’t the least bi
t fucking sorry, but he could take it or leave it. It was my ex-girlfriend and best friend he was playing, and for whatever reason, Bee was allowing him to string her along.

  I lit my fag as Four whispered something to Ever. Whatever she said, calmed him—not that I gave a shit. However bad Ever wanted a fight, I wanted it ten times more.

  “Get in the truck,” he ordered. I smirked, remembering a time when he eagerly followed orders rather than dished them out. “You too,” he said to Four.

  As Four rounded the hood for the passenger side, she said, “There’s your one.”

  Snorting, I hopped in the back, and then Ever announced that we were going shopping.

  “You’re sure you took care of that issue?” Ever asked me, referring to Amanda. Four, who I had a feeling wouldn’t approve of our problem-solving methods, was in the back, trying on dresses. We were surrounded by them in various colors, lengths, and volumes, though the raised marble platform took up most of the main room. Ever had taken Four to this overly posh boutique in town that had a waiting list six months long. Bechette, the forty-something French woman who owned it was in high demand. Not to mention sexy as fuck. It was too bad my game didn’t work on girls who’d graduated high school.

  “Do you even have to ask?”

  Unbeknownst to Four, the whispers about their true relationship had grown louder for some reason, and until today, we hadn’t tracked down the source.

  Ever sighed, and I could literally see the weight lift from his shoulders, although the worry still lingered in his eyes. “Thanks, man.”

  I shrugged. “We’re family.” And I didn’t just mean Ever, but Four too. I’d do anything for them, even though they were both pissing me off. Whatever was going on between Ever and Bee, Four was now a part of it, and none of them held any reservations about lying to me.

  As if reading my thoughts, Ever rounded on me. “Whatever you’re thinking, get it out of your head. I’m not screwing you over.”