Page 1

CHAPTER 1

You know that one time you do something so insanely stupid that before you do it, even the devil on your shoulder is like: “Broski, maybe we should think on this?”

Well… jumping into the love of my life’s window and beating the ever-loving shit out of him after seeing a girl hop in there may have been that big moment for me.

In his defense, the love of my life didn’t know he was the love of my life at the time, and he certainly didn’t know he was gay for my ass too.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning…

The courtroom smelled like old paper, someone’s stale coffee, and that sour stink of what I could only call “parental” disappointment. Funny. It kinda smelled like my childhood.

I sat at the defense table with my wrists folded, bouncing one knee while the peppy prosecutor droned on about “reckless conduct,” “property damage,” and “public endangerment.”

It was all very dramatic.

Nobody mentioned the fact that the asshole I punched deserved it. Maybe. To me, he did. For years, he’d flaunted his random hookups in front of my face, making out with these big-titted, no-brained girls like his skin didn’t crawl every time they stuck their tongues in his mouth.

I glanced sideways. Darius stood beside me in a wrinkled button-up he’d probably borrowed from someone who actually ironed their clothes. His jaw flexed every few seconds, and his dark-brown eyes fixed straight ahead almost as though he thought that if he stared hard enough, he could will himself away from this shithole.

Typical. The ass-fuck could lead a whole swim team without blinking. But a courtroom with a judge contemplating what to slap him on the wrist with? That somehow terrified him.

Maybe it was the fact his uptight mommy was watching. And I had to wonder who she hated more: the guy who used her son as a punching bag or the son who decided to whack that guy back?

I nudged Darius’s elbow. “You look constipated,” I whispered.

The flash of his eyes made me hard, so did the way he bit his busted lip at the brush of my arm. His glare shifted to me without him having to move his head. “Shut the fuck up.”

“There he is. My little Dangly DeeDee’s back.”

My lawyer pinched the bridge of his nose and side-eyed me. “For the love of God, can you please not speak for five minutes?”

“No promises.” I smirked, and the bailiff shot me a look. I smiled politely but he didn’t smile back. Guess he needed time to warm up to me.

The judge finally adjusted his glasses and skimmed over the stack of paperwork like he hated his life maybe more than us. “I’ve reviewed the statements from both parties.”

Silence settled over the room, and even I shut up long enough to hear the magical verdict of how fucked I was.

“The court recognizes neither of you has a significant criminal history.”

I raised an eyebrow. Darius was definitely a straight edge, but me? I had a history that would make dear old Daddy blush. He must have wiped it again. Son of a bitch.

“Yet,” the judge continued.

Darius elbowed me this time, and I felt the air whoosh from my lungs. Ow. Little bitch had spunk in those muscles.

The judge sighed so deeply I thought his soul might leave his body. “Mr. Carter. Mr. D’Angelo…”

We both stood.

“I have considered jail time.”

Darius stiffened and I kept my face neutral, but my stomach did a neat little backflip that had never happened before.

“However…”

There it was! The magical however.

“…I believe incarceration would do little besides waste taxpayer money.”