Miss Sebastian’s eyes grow huge before she bursts out laughing. “Mother of fashion!”
Embarrassment colors Jase’s face a shade of pink, then he quickly tries to rectify himself. “I didn’t mean it literally. I just meant you’re beautiful and most probably star in a lot of men's fantasies.”
“Not any better,” Mila cries.
I begin to laugh and struggle to say, “Jase has a one-track mind.”
When Miss Sebastian catches her breath, she flutters her eyelashes at Jase. “I never knew you had the hots for me, my chunk of hunk, but I’m a married woman.”
Jase lets out a chuckle, knowing she’s only teasing him. “I’m never going to live this moment down.”
“Nope.” Mila shakes her head at him with a warm smile and a proud look on her face. “But, you meant well.”
My eyes dart to Jase, and I watch as Mila’s words wash over him. His eyes are glued to her, and for a moment, I swear I can see love shining from them before he clears his throat and mutters, “I have to be somewhere.”
My gaze follows Jase until Hunter’s harsh voice gets my attention. “Are you waiting for something?”
I follow the direction of his cold eyes and see Jessica and her remaining two friends quickly shake their heads before they scatter into the dispersing crowd.
Miss Sebastian places her hand on my arm, and asks, “Is your hand okay? You gave her quite the punch. I thought her legs were going to fly right over her head.”
I glance down at my knuckles and wiggle my fingers. “I’m fine. Tough as nails.” I grin at my favorite person. “One punch wasn’t enough, though. I should’ve removed some of her teeth.”
“Aww, my little violent baby girl. You warm my heart,” Miss Sebastian croons.
“I’m hungry, let’s go eat,” Kao says.
“Yes! Yummy food.”
Miss Sebastian links her arm with his, and I watch them walk away before I look back to Hunter. He stood up for Miss Sebastian in a heartbeat, and it reminds me of the old Hunter who used to be my friend.
“Thank you for defending Mamma G,” I mumble awkwardly, then I dart after my friends to catch up with them.Chapter 10HUNTERAfter an eventful couple of days, I’m looking forward to spending a quiet day with my family. Jase, Hana, Fallon, and I are heading to Fallon’s house for a BBQ. When Jase pulls up the driveway, I see my parents' car, where it’s parked behind Uncle Lake’s.
“Looks like our parents are all here,” Jase states as he brings his vehicle to a stop.
“I hope they’ve started grilling the steaks,” Hana says as we climb out. “I’m starving.”
“That’s if your father hasn’t eaten it all already,” Fallon teases.
When we walk into the house, we hear Uncle Lake’s laughter, and then he screams, “Save me, Falcon.”
“Don’t hide behind Falcon,” Dad shouts before I hear him laughing. “Hold still, you little shit.”
Walking into the living room, I burst out laughing when I see Dad’s straddling Uncle Lake and beating him with one of the scattered pillows. “I see nothing has changed,” I say as I quickly greet my aunts.
Sitting down between Mom and my little sister, Aria, I throw my arms around their shoulders. Chuckling, Mom shakes her head, then says, “They’ll never stop horsing around.”
“And you all want to know why I like beating up, Hunter,” Aria teases.
I ruffle her hair because I know my little sister hates it. “I let you beat on me so I can see if you can protect yourself.”
Playfully sticking her tongue out at me, she taunts, “Excuses, excuses.”
Dad finally gets up and drops the pillow on Uncle Lake, who’s trying to catch his breath. Dad locks eyes with me and gestures with his head for me to follow him.
I join him out on the veranda and wait to hear what he wants to talk about.
For a moment, Dad just stares at me, then he asks, “Did Melinda Roberts deserve to be kicked off campus?”
“Damn,” I let out a whistle, “I didn’t expect them to call you so quickly.” Dad tilts his head and lifts an expectant eyebrow, which has me explaining, “She insulted Miss Sebastian, calling her a drag queen. I think the punishment fits the crime.”
Dad’s eyes narrow. “She did what?” A second later, he holds up his hand. “No, don’t repeat it.” Stalking to the glass doors, he yells, “Julian, come here quickly.”
Uncle Julian comes out with a tumbler in his hand. “You called?”
“You can tell Roberts to go fuck himself. His daughter insulted Miss Sebastian in the worst way. She can be lucky she only got expelled. I should get Preston to hack their bank accounts and close them.”
I let out a chuckle because that would be awesome. Preston is Dad’s assistant, and he’s badass when it comes to all things computer-related. He’s also the person who cleans up after me whenever I get in trouble. Not that it happens a lot, but it offers me peace of mind knowing he’s there.