Pranked

by J J Riley

  Everyone fell silent at his outburst and I saw Liam slowly turn from speaking to Jax to face his son and holy shit was I glad not to be on the receiving end of that glacial stare. I guess Jasper wasn’t exaggerating about him being an asshole. I studied Jax to see if he looked uncomfortable and while he seemed watchful, he didn’t appear scared.

  “You better watch your mouth, Gideon Michael. This is my home and I invite over who I want to.”

  “Just because Jasper is—”

  “Gideon, I wouldn’t finish that sentence.” Claire cut him off, but it just seemed to rile him more. The rising tension made me fit myself closer to Jasper while I clutched my plate closer myself, guarding it.

  I felt Jasper’s gaze drop down to me and he brushed a soft kiss on my hair as he wrapped an arm around me. At the same time Liam leaned away from Gideon and took him in. “You need to leave.”

  Gideon’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me? I’m fucking family—”

  “The door. I suggest you use it instead of your mouth.” Liam’s steely voice left no room for argument and I held my breath as Gideon abruptly stood up slamming his chair down to the ground in the process. Gideon glared at Jasper as he passed, but before he left his dad called out once more.

  “You should think over the fact that Jasper is your family and the rest of these boys are his family too. Until you can wrap that thick skull of yours around that, I think you should reconsider coming here.”

  Gideon paused at those words and he was close enough that I saw the flash of pain cross his face before he threw a sneer over his shoulder and continued on his way out the door. The door slamming ricocheted through the house as we all watched him leave and I looked back at Liam as he watched where his son walked out with a heavy expression on his face. Shaking his head slowly he heaved a sigh. “One day he is going to have to get his head out of his ass.”

  Claire nodded beside him, as did her daughters, a perfect imitation of their mother.

  “Yes, Uncle G is an ass.”

  Hudson and Micah burst out laughing at that, which seemed to set everyone else off. Claire was trying to explain that they shouldn’t say that but even Liam was laughing at their outburst. Leave it to children to break an awkward silence in the best way possible. The conversations slowly picked up again as we got our laughter under control. Even after the Gideon incident it was one of the best meals I’d had since my mother’s death and it was all thanks to the family I was surrounded by, even the people I didn’t really know yet.

  Mom, I wish you were here to see this.

  Watching Jasper interact with his dad and sister, along with his friends, had my heart clenching. When he turned to me with a soft look in his eyes I knew I was in way over my head and I had no idea how to handle that.

  Jasper

  It had been two weeks since the family dinner and Gideon had skulked off to his cave to lick his wounds. Dad had been in a particularly stiff mood the past few times I’d seen him, but at the last two family dinners he seemed just as happy as he was before the outburst. I winced at the memory. It was one thing to think of your brother as an asshole, another to know that he despises you for who you are.

  The family dinner had expanded, Ezra, Leo, Jaxtyn, Micah, Hudson and now Corny all joined us. The house was loud and busy, and I loved it. Claire had even pulled me aside at the last dinner to point out the difference in Dad. It was like night and day, and we were ridiculously happy about it.

  Nerves had my stomach churning. It was Monday, which meant tonight was the big date. I had it all planned out and still had three hours to go before I needed to start getting ready. I couldn’t really understand why I was so damn nervous, we’d slept together and been on tons of dates, but this one felt different. I wanted it to be amazing for him and I’d put a lot of thought into it. I wasn’t used to that level of vulnerability.

  Checking my watch again, I hurried over to A Novel Idea, the local bookstore. Flowers didn’t seem like enough, so I wanted to find him something perfect. After doing some research, I found out that his favorite movie was based on a book. I’d called earlier and they were holding it for me. Lilly greeted me with a wide smile, already reaching under the counter for the book in question.

  “Thank you, gorgeous,” I flirted, giving her a wink and earning me an eye roll. I’d known Lilly and her wife since I was a kid. Her wife, Diana, had been my mom’s best friend.

  “Stop flirting with me, we both know we don’t swing that way,” she teased, ringing up the book quickly. “This a gift?”

  “Yes,” I tried to keep my voice casual, but she wasn’t fooled for a second, practically lunging over the counter to get in my face.

  “Don’t lie to me boy, remember we’ve got all the embarrassing stories to share! We need to turn you fire engine red in front of this sweet boy you’re trying to impress!” I shuddered at her threats, knowing she meant every word. Women are evil.

  “I would never lie to the woman who knew me through my awkward years,” I said solemnly, causing another huff and eye roll. “I have a date tonight, and the movie based on this book is his favorite,” I explained, holding up the book I’d found.

  “Damn. This is a big deal,” she said, the shock in her voice making me scowl. She waved off my reaction with a smirk. “Look here, playboy. I know for a fact this is the first serious relationship you’ve had in forever, if not the only one you’ve had! You don’t buy casual dates a book like this.”

  “He’s different,” I admitted, smiling softly to myself. “I’m taking him to the boardwalk tonight.”

  “He must be. I can’t wait to meet him. Now get out of here, some of us have a job to do!” she scolded playfully, shooing me out as she scooped up a new stack of books for inventory. I obliged, tucking the wrapped book under my arm and made a pit stop at the toy store. I’d ordered a few boxes of toy utensils a few weeks ago and got a call this morning that they were in. I was hoping to tuck the toys safely in the bar and find an opportunity to switch out all of his whisks and spatulas with tiny, toddler sized ones. I would have to set something up so I could see his face when he reached for one at five in the morning.

  Still laughing to myself as I left the toy store, I stopped by the florist for a single, red rose. I wanted to be subtle and sweet about it, a little nervous about giving him a flower. I’d never dated like this before, and there wasn’t exactly a rule book about dating your neighbor, but I had a feeling that Ezra would appreciate the cheesy gesture given his love of romance movies.

  Now that I’d wasted two and a half hours, I hurried back to my apartment to get ready. After a quick shower, I sprayed on my favorite cologne, then put on dark jeans and a black button down. When it was finally time to go get him, I slipped on my black pea coat and gloves. The book and flower were by the door, so I scooped them up along with my keys and hurried next door, the excitement bubbling in me until I was practically bouncing as I knocked on his door.

  My breath caught as he opened the door, his figure bathed in the light of the setting sun. His brown hair practically glowed, his blue eyes sparkling and a crooked grin on his face. My eyes trailed down his body, biting back a groan as I took in his fitted jeans and tight sweater that showed off his slender build. Of course, he didn’t forget his signature bow tie.

  “Hello, Jasper.” He grinned, checking me out before pulling me inside so he could grab his coat. He didn’t even seem to notice the way I was holding something behind my back, but I reached out with my free hand before he could run away and pulled him back.

  “Hello, Sweetheart. I got you a little something,” I said softly, kissing him softly. He looked a bit dazed after the soft and sensual kiss, but curiosity took over as he tried to peek around me.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s just something small,” I explained, pulling the single wrapped rose and book out, handing them over. He smelled the rose, a small smile on his lips as he grinned up at me, before gently running his fingers over the book’s brown wrapping.<
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  “You got me a book?”

  “What else would I get you?” I teased. “Your shelves were a bit bare.”

  Rolling his eyes at my teasing he eagerly ripped open the paper to uncover a copy of Write Before Christmas and let out a small gasp.

  “Oh my god! You found a copy?” he asked excitedly, of course knowing exactly what the meaning behind the book was.

  “Do you have a copy?” I winced, realizing that he probably owned it by now.

  “No,” he whispered, looking up at me like I hung the stars. “I never remembered to look for it when I was in a bookstore. I get distracted too easily in them.” His sheepish smile was endearing and I pulled him in for another kiss.

  Not wanting to linger too long I pulled back a few seconds later. “Go ahead and grab your jacket, I don’t want to be late.”

  Ezra still looked kiss drunk as he stepped back and shook his head slightly like he was trying to clear his head.

  “Yeah, yeah. My jacket.”

  When he still didn’t move I took hold of his shoulders and turned him to face his jacket that was thrown over the back of his sofa. Letting go he put the book down carefully on the side table before quickly putting on the coat, gloves, and a hat.

  I laced my fingers through his as we walked out of his apartment, through the bakery, and outside into the cold air. It was a few days before Christmas and the town had a light dusting of snow and the trees down main street were all lit with soft white Christmas lights. It was a scene right out of one of Ezra’s Hallmark movies and it seemed he had the same thought as he turned to look at me after locking up. Time seemed to hold its breath as we watched each other and I could see anxiety start to rise in his eyes, but determined to have a nice date I gave him a small smile. After a moment’s hesitation he took it and I pulled him to me and started towards the boardwalk.

  “Where are we going for this date?” His voice trembled at the word date and I looked down at him with a quizzical expression.

  “Nervous, Ez? We’ve been on quite a few dates over the past few weeks.”

  He thought that over before replying and gave a shrug. “This seems different.”

  He wasn’t wrong, I felt the same thing. I hoped it was a good kind of different and decided now wasn’t the time to push instead I gave his hand a squeeze.

  “To answer your question, we are going to walk along the boardwalk. I figured taking in the lights and talking would be the perfect date. I’d rather get to know you more than going over all the small talk and awkwardness of regular date.”

  I held my breath hoping he would like the idea and as he gave me a big grin and snuggled into my side I silently sent a thanks to Leo for helping me figure out the details for tonight.

  “The boats in the marina are usually decorated with lights for the holidays, as is most of the town.” Ezra gave me a small chuckle at that and I smiled down at him.

  “So Christmas is a favorite holiday of yours?”

  I mulled over what to say, but knowing how I was feeling about Ezra I couldn’t give him the standard answer. “Yeah, it was my mom’s favorite holiday when I was growing up. We never had many presents under the tree, but I never cared about that. My parents would always make a huge Christmas brunch that we would snack on all day and us kids would play with the toys we opened. It was time we got to spend together without Mom and Dad running off for their jobs.” I gave Ezra a crooked smile.

  “It was one of Mom’s rules that unless a life was on the line they both were home for Christmas and they both stuck to it. Dad’s even kept the promise every year since…”

  “Since your mom passed?” Ezra filled in softly looking at me with understanding eyes.

  “Yeah.” Clearing my throat I raised a hand to wipe my eyes. “I told you I was always close with my mom, but she got sick long before she died. The last seven years of her life were rough, to say the least. I thought I’d be prepared for when she was gone and three years after I still don’t feel ready for her to not be there.”

  My throat was thick from my confession and Ezra didn’t try to give me a placating saying, like ‘time will make it better’ or something equally trite, instead he laid his head on my arm and leaned on me. We walked in silence for a few minutes taking in the crisp air and finally getting to the marina we leaned against the railing looking at the boats that had decorated for the season.

  “My mom loved Christmas too. She would decorate our place right after Halloween was over, thrilled to put decorations on every surface.” A laugh bubbled out of him. “Somehow she did it and it looked amazing every time. Maybe it was because I was a kid, but I loved it.”

  “It was just us growing up, so we each had one present from each other. I never really cared about that though, we would bake a Christmas cake each year and we only ever cooked it on that day. No matter how much I would beg her. Looking back now it was probably the only time she could afford all the ingredients to make it from scratch.”

  Ezra paused for a moment before looking to me with a far off look. “You’ll always miss your mom. I do, and she died when I was eight. But the memories, you’ll focus more on the happy ones and savor them.”

  I nodded and searched his eyes hoping to see the connection I was feeling in this moment, but he turned back to look out over the water. I let the silence settle between us and after a while the coldness was starting to seep through my heavy coat and gloves.

  “You ready to grab some dinner?”

  Ezra turned to look at me. “Corny’s diner?”

  “I actually was thinking I would cook us up something.” I gave him a tentative smile which he returned with a small laugh.

  “At your place, Mr. King? Oh, how presumptuous of you.”

  Glad he had broken through the heavy silence I gave him my best playboy smile. “Well I do have actual cooking utensils there, unlike you who doesn’t even have a whisk.”

  We turned to walk back to my place as he gave me a put-out sigh. “I told you I don’t cook.”

  “Sweetheart, you do use a whisk for baking. Don’t you bake at home?”

  He gave me a tinkling laugh. “I just go down to the bakery since it’s faster on the industrial equipment than the standard appliances I haven’t upgraded yet.”

  I snorted at his weak excuse and he laughed at my reaction. The rest of the walk was filled with lighter subjects like Leo’s latest escapades and remembering the jokes from the last family dinner at my dad’s. Before I knew it, we were hurrying into my apartment and sighing in relief at the heat that was slowly defrosting our limbs.

  “Alright, I have everything prepped,” I told Ezra. “Give me a minute to preheat the oven and I’ll pour us some wine.”

  Ezra nodded as he took off his glasses to wipe them clear after they fogged over from the rapid temperature change of coming inside. I took in his sweater and bow tie combination that always seemed to stir my dick with all kinds of naughty ideas.

  No focus. Tonight is about romancing him, not just fucking him. Though maybe that would be dessert if everything goes right tonight.

  Shaking off my distracting thoughts I hurried into the kitchen to get everything ready and I heard my phone ring in my pocket. Who the fuck is that? Everyone knows it’s my date night with Ezra.

  I pulled out my phone, cringing when I saw the name flash across. I glanced up to give Ezra an apologetic smile. I held up a finger to tell him one minute and he gave me an understanding smile as he settled on the couch.

  “Hey man! What’s going on?” I answered, right before he gave up on me, and I heard an irritated voice over the phone.

  “Jasper man, it’s cold as fuck out here. You weren’t joking about the winters in Echo Bay.”

  “What are you doing in Echo Bay?”

  “I got a job taking over the vet clinic in town. The owner is retiring and needed a replacement. I’m not supposed to start until after the holidays, but I needed to get out of the city. Same shit, different day with everyone there. So
did you want to meet up for drinks, I’m outside your bar now but you don’t look open.”

  I looked over at Ezra who was watching me closely. “Actually the bar is closed and I’m on a date tonight. Rain check?”

  A gravelly laugh reached my ears. “A date, you? All right, well when can I come back because you did say I could stay with you when I came into town.”

  I cursed and rubbed my neck. “You also said you would give me some warning before you came.”

  Pause. “Sorry man, really, I can tell you all about it if you can let me in out of this cold. The heater in my car broke a few hours ago and I need a hot shower and a stiff drink.”

  I let out a resigned sigh and I realized Ezra was standing beside me giving me a searching look. “Fine give me a minute and I’ll be down.”

  I hung up before he could give me any more news to disrupt my night.

  “Jasper, what’s wrong?”

  I closed eyes. “A friend of mine from the city is moving here and is here a few weeks early. I told him he could crash here until he found a place to stay.”

  “And he’s here?”

  “Yeah. Dammit, Sweetheart, this was supposed to be the perfect date and it seems we always get interrupted by something.”

  A soft pair of lips brushed against mine before deepening the kiss. I groaned into his mouth and softly placed my hands on either side of his face. Breaking off the kiss he rested his forehead against mine and I smiled at his skewed glasses.

  “You should let him in then. It’s cold out there.”

  I nodded against him, but didn’t move away just yet. “I am sorry our date has been interrupted.”

  “Did you want me to leave?” Ezra offered and I immediately shook my head in denial.

  “No, if anything I’ll give him a plate and make him camp out in the bar tonight if I have to,” I told him dryly and he gave me a small laugh.