Pranked Read online

  “I have my eyes on someone else,” I mumbled. A smile swept across my face as I spotted Brooks coming into the room with a stack of boxes, ready to load up the lunches we were preparing.

  “My two favorite volunteers!” Brooks cheered, laying the boxes on the counter as we all started loading them up. He had this down to an exact science. He loaded them up in plastic crates and a team of volunteers distributed them, collecting the previous day’s boxes to be sanitized and reused. He did it twice a day, six days a week. On the seventh day he turned the reins over to his partner, Katrina. She was a short brunette with long hair she only wore in a ponytail. She was a five foot ball of energy. More importantly, she was also his best friend and one of the friendliest people I’d ever met. She carried around smiles and an uplifting word for everyone like it was her job. I envied her for being so close to him, but how could I really hate her when she was so freaking perfect?

  If all of that wasn’t enough, he looked like a damn model. His long curly hair and flawless skin made him stand out, but it was his eyes that got me. They were hazel with little specks of emerald. He had a way of looking into your soul when you spoke to him, making you feel like you mattered.

  “Hey, Brooks!” Leo greeted, giving him his dimpled grin and batting his eyes. He was too flirty for his own good.

  “Morning,” I mumbled, my astounding verbal skills striking again. Nothing would ever happen between us if I couldn’t get the courage to actually talk to him for longer than one word greetings and a few sentences here and there.

  “I’m short a volunteer, so I’m off to deliver these. Thanks for all your help!” he said emphatically, pulling us both into an awkward group hug.

  “Do you need help?” I asked quickly, hoping to find a reason to spend time with him. He blushed furiously and mumbled something about heading up to the woods, before hurrying out. Guess that answers the ‘Single or not’ question.

  “Well that was a bit weird, even for Brooks,” Leo said cheerfully before shrugging on his coat and scarf and waiting for me to do the same.

  “I think he was meeting someone,” I pointed out, frowning at the obvious blush he had when he mentioned the woods. Did that mean he was taken? The idea had my mood sinking even lower, but I tried for a small smile, hoping to deter Leo from further poking.

  “Yeah. Homeless people.” He rolled his eyes and tugged me out of the shop. “Pops needs me to pick up some supplies from the hardware store. You coming?”

  “No, I need to hit the florist before he closes. I want to fix up the store front.”

  “Fine, abandon me,” he sighed dramatically, kissing me on the cheek and hurrying off for his destination while I veered off for flowers. The flower shop was busy, so I grabbed a few of the potted poinsettias they had on display and paid, hurrying out before I could get sucked into the chaos.

  Walking with two huge flower pots wasn’t exactly an easy task. I’d almost tripped twice before I ran straight into something, sending flower petals and dirt all over my clothes before they crashed to the ground and me landing on my butt. What the hell?!

  “Oh man, I’m so sor— Ezra?” Jasper King?! My luck just kept getting better and better today.

  “What the heck?” I grumbled as he pulled me to my feet, sending a waterfall of soil to the sidewalk. “Do you make it a habit of torturing me, Mr. King?”

  “Ouch. Mister?” He gasped dramatically, clutching his chest like I’d mortally wounded him with my words alone. “And I’m sorry, Ezra, but you should really watch where you’re going.”

  My blood boiled as I looked down at my ruined flowers, before I stepped closer to him, ready to tell him off. The moment he leaned forward to bring his face close to mine, which was impressive since he was over six feet and I was barely 5’6, I froze. He had on a lazy smirk, knowing exactly what he was doing. A wave of attraction hit me like a freight train, almost knocking me backward. The chemistry between us was volatile, and in that moment I realized what Leo meant earlier. I want him and hate him more than anyone I know.

  “So, did you call the cops last night?” he challenged, his warm breath fanning across my face, making my heart pound even faster. I snapped my annoyance and anger back into place as I processed his words, wearing it like an armor.

  “Excuse me? Of course, I didn’t!” My voice was full of fire. Frankly I was shocked he was so blunt. I guess it was a stupid move to expect him not to piece it together. He was a cocky bastard, but I hardly thought he was an idiot. He had to have some smarts to be able to run a successful business.

  “Right… of course, you didn’t call them,” he said sarcastically.

  “I’m glad someone did, though!” I huffed, crossing my arms in front of me and glaring at him.

  “The local band we had come in a few nights ago had a new guy on the sound board and he clearly didn’t know what he was doing. We got it fixed right as the sheriff walked in, Ezra.” His voice was low and gravelly, but the way he said my name nearly made me weak in the knees. The fact he had any effect on me at all just added to my annoyance. I hid behind it the best I could, refusing to think about what it all meant.

  “The music was so loud the whole block could hear and you think that’s proper volume?” I growled out, bending down and picking up my fallen flowers and storming off to my shop, not bothering to look back. I didn’t want to give him a chance to question me further, confrontations were not my favorite because I always said something stupid, throwing out whatever came to mind first. It was a bad habit I picked up in childhood; hurling insults was my weapon. It helped push everyone away. They can’t leave you if you don’t let them in, in the first place.

  My anxiety was at an all time high when I was finally back in the safety of my bakery, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to make sense of what had just happened. Sure I realized that Jasper was hot, but the part of me that didn’t like him was so much stronger. I needed a distraction, and quick, so I pulled my phone out of my back pocket.

  Me: Leo, I need your help with something. You got a sec to drop by?

  Leo: On my way.

  “The cavalry has arrived!” Leo called as he stepped into my shop only fifteen minutes later. I was almost bouncing on my feet I was so excited.

  “I need your help getting back at Jasper King. You in?” I asked. I didn’t even need an answer as a slow, evil smile curled over his lips. Let operation annoy Jasper King, begin! Okay, maybe covert names weren’t my strong suit, but I was more than ready to get this started.

  Jasper

  Why is Ezra so frustrating?! Heaving a sigh in resignation, I turned and continued walking down the sidewalk to Talon’s shop. Echo Bay was just as I remembered it from growing up with its red bricked streets throughout all of downtown. The streets were now being decorated with bright green and jolly red of Christmas wreaths and trees as shop owners started to set up for the coming holiday season, and the soon to be twinkling white lights that I could see Mr. Jefferson winding into the branches of a tree in front of his store up ahead.

  In fact, the small ladder Mr. Jefferson was standing on was wobbling dangerously, which had me rushing forward to grab hold of it and steady it for him.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Jefferson. Setting up the lights for Christmas already?”

  “Oh yes, my boy. It takes me a few days to really do this old gal justice.” He reached out to gently pat the tree’s trunk. Looking up I could see how it would take him that long since it was easily a fourteen foot tree.

  “Why don’t you let me help you out then? We can switch and you hold this rickety thing steady for me.”

  I’d known Mr. Jefferson since I was a little boy running into his toy shop to play with the train set he had set out for kids to play with, as their parents looked around. I would sometimes spend a whole day there playing while Dad was on duty with the department and Mom was busy working her shift at the hospital, cheaper than any daycare. The old man laughed at my offer, but started to slowly come down all the s
ame. I didn’t let out my breath until I helped him set both feet on the ground.

  “My old bones will take you up on that offer. Not as agile as I used to be.”

  I gave him a grin and shook my head at him. “You’re as young as you feel on the inside. But I’ve always loved helping you put up the lights around Christmas. Don’t you remember what happened when I helped you put up these same lights when I was twelve?”

  That set him off chuckling as he settled onto the bench by the entrance to his store leaving me to carefully climb up to continue wrapping lights in the branches.

  “How could I forget? You came hightailing it in here so excited that Christmas was almost here on the first of the month. All day long I heard you talk about how excited you were for sledding, hot chocolate, and snowball fights with your brother and sisters. All day, mind you.”

  I started chuckling as I knew what was coming next and moved down to the next branch making sure to plug the next strand into the one around the trunk.

  “Then all of a sudden it was quiet. I thought you had gone next door to Mrs. Anderson’s for some candy. But no! No, you had decided to get the decorations down yourself. I’m still not sure how you managed to bring all those boxes from the back without me noticing or hurting yourself. Out of nowhere I hear Mrs. Anderson calling my name frantically and when I rushed out what do I find?”

  Bashful grin on my face, I called out, “I have no idea. What did you find?” I started unraveling some of the knots in the lights, the nostalgia of it making my chest warm.

  I could see him grinning and shaking his head at my fib. “You! I found you knocked out cold at the base of the tree with Christmas lights partially wrapped around a branch and the rest bunched up on top of you.”

  “I lost my balance trying to untangle them! I was trying to help you out.”

  Ignoring my explanation he continued the story, “I had to call your father and explain to him what I thought had happened and face him when he showed up. Luckily you started to come around before he showed up or I’m sure he would have given me hell. Come to find out you had broken your collarbone in the fall and had a cast for two months.”

  “I couldn’t do any of the fun things I wanted to do. I was stuck inside while I watched my sisters and brother play and build snowmen. By the time I got my cast off I couldn’t even go sledding because we had a freak short winter and we didn’t get a last big snow storm like we usually did. Dad said that me missing out was punishment enough at least.”

  I chuckled at the memories now, but that was a horrible winter. Though maybe I didn’t learn the full lesson they wanted me to since I did the same thing the next winter. I just didn’t fall again.

  “Well I’m much better at tree lights now! See, you’re all set up and ready to go.”

  Mr. Jefferson stood up slowly and gave me a back slapping hug when I got down on the ground.

  “You’re a good boy, Jasper. Thanks for helping me out. Come by again soon. I’ll have to show you the new train set I got in last week. I’m going to set it up around the shop for the kids to watch.”

  “I’d love that. You let me know when and I’ll even help you set it up.”

  “You’ve got yourself a deal. Now get along. I know you weren’t walking just to help me put up lights.”

  I gave him a smile as I step back from him. “I’m always up to help my less able elders.”

  He tsked at my teasing and gave me a mock glare, though I could see the twinkle of laughter in his eyes.

  “Get out of here before I grab my cane inside and show you how elderly I am.”

  I laughed as I sauntered off down the sidewalk, passing by the local coffee shop, clothing boutique, and laundromat before getting to The Tatted Kraken.

  Walking in, I was greeted by the sterile smell of rubbing alcohol, buzzing of tattoo machines, and classic rock music filling the air.

  “You’re late, Jas! Taking another shit?”

  Snickers filled the shop as I rolled my eyes. “I was helping Mr. Jefferson put up Christmas lights, you dipshit.”

  Talon walked up front to meet me still chuckling to himself.

  “So what are we doing today?”

  I took a steadying breath and looked him in the eye. “I want to get that tattoo for my mom we’ve been talking about.”

  Talon’s face sobered even more than normal as he slowly nodded and gestured me to follow him over to his booth. “Did you decide where you want to put it?”

  I slowly nodded as I settled into the chair in his booth. “Yeah. I have space on the inside of my left forearm. I want you to put it there so I can see it.”

  Talon nodded and quietly started setting up the ink and tools he would need to do the piece. As I waited, I pulled out the piece of paper I had put into my pocket this morning. It was a note that I had found in my childhood room while I was staying there for my mom’s funeral three years ago. I didn’t even remember keeping it, to be honest. I probably had shoved it into the back drawer of my desk because I had been embarrassed by the little notes my mom would leave in my school lunches. Now, I was glad I did because it gave me a little piece of her to carry with me since Talon was going to match her handwriting for that tattoo.

  After a few minutes he turned to me with gloved hands and a razor. “You ready?”

  I absentmindedly gave a yes in reply while holding out my arm for him to shave any hair off the area for him to work.

  After he was done, he removed his glove and gently took the well creased note from my hands and placed it on his steel tray for reference. He had seen the note a ton of times since I’d found it; hell, he’d seen them all the time when we were in school together. If nothing else it was another reference for the larger image he had already made for today.

  He held up the paper one more time for me to look over and approve, with it being all script Talon was going to freehand it and there was no one else I would trust to get it right. Once I gave my approval I settled back in the seat and lost myself in the slight sting of the needle gliding through my skin and the buzz of the tattoo gun filled the soft silence between us. It didn’t take more than twenty minutes for him to finish the simple, flowing script that looked exactly like my mom’s to the point my eyes started to sting with emotion. He didn’t remark on it, instead he squeezed my shoulder once after he had removed his gloves.

  “I’ll go grab some plastic wrap and ointment for you.”

  I knew he had those things here already, but I appreciated him letting me take it all in on my own for a few minutes.

  Jazz baby. Own your day by smiling and dancing in the rain. I’ll always be on your side. Love, Mom.

  A watery smile tilted my lips at the words as I whispered them out loud, though I heard them in her strong and caring voice. She always put some big life advice on the notes she gave me. I used to tease her that she must have used a stash of fortunes from fortune cookies to make all the notes. She just smiled sweetly at my guess, but she didn’t tell me I was wrong. There was no way she had tons of sayings for all five of us kids off the top of her head for every day of school.

  It was the most perfect dedication I could ever do for her.

  By the time I was walking out of Talon’s shop, I was still feeling a bit raw. Thoughts of Mom wouldn't stop swirling in my head, and anytime I wasn’t thinking about her, I was thinking back on my crash encounter with Ezra earlier. I need a fucking drink.

  “Hey, Bossman,” Jax called out as I walked in, looking up at me with his boyish grin. He was always more animated before we opened.

  “You just get in?” I asked, looking pointedly at the back door I just entered through. It was reserved for staff and currently hanging wide open. He gave me a sheepish shrug, his cheeks reddening slightly.

  “It was hot as Satan’s ballsack in here, man,” he defended, hurrying over and shutting the door, the room immediately feeling a lot warmer.

  “It’s freezing outside,” I deadpanned, flipping up the bar flap and stepping
into Jax’s domain. After grabbing a cold beer from the cooler, I hopped up on the empty counter and chanced a look at the clock. Still a half hour to opening meant I had time to drink this in peace.

  “You all right?” Jax asked, leaning back against the bar to stare up at me.

  “It’s just been a day,” I admitted, hating how tired I sounded. “Don’t worry, I’ll be just fine.”

  He nodded and busied himself with opening duties, adding the drink specials on the blackboard and making sure he was stocked. I finished my beer and tossed the can in recycling, before heading for the front door. My hand reached for the lock, then paused as I took in a small piece of paper folded and taped to the front door. Frowning, I unlocked the door and stepped out.

  The moment I stepped on the mat, a cacophony of sharp, loud pops exploded. The noise was so unexpected in the quiet evening air that I flinched, my hands flying up around my head in a defensive gesture. My eyes flew over the street wildly, looking for the source until I shifted and it came again. This time I wasn’t as surprised, realizing it was something under the mat. My eyes flew open wide at the ridiculous amount of cheap poppers they give to kids on the Fourth of July. Where the hell would anyone even find them this time of year?!

  I tossed the mat aside and hurried inside for a broom, cleaning up the mess completely and chuckling to myself before I finally remembered the note. It would have to wait until I threw out the dustpan full of the offending fireworks. The moment I opened the small note, I let out a bark of laughter.

  Here, some ‘popping’ music for you.

  It didn’t even have a signature, but I knew exactly who left it. Apparently the adorable nerd next door thought he could win a prank war with a cute pun and some poppers. If he wanted to battle, then he’d better brace himself.

  “What the hell?” Jax asked, still laughing at my defensive pose from earlier. I glared at him before the grin took back over.