Free Near & Far by Nicole Williams Page B

the other?”
    Garth almost choked on his sip of Coke. “No, that’s definitely not the tie that binds because I think you suck. At everything. Hardcore.”
    “Thanks, friend.”
    Garth lifted the can my way. “So a big, fancy art show for Miss Sterling, eh? Not that I’m simpatico with art shows, but are most of them thrown together at the last minute?”
    “No, I don’t think so. I think they usually at least have longer than twelve hours to get it set up.”
    “Twelve hours, eh? And whose genius idea was that?”
    “One of Rowen’s T.A.s. Her friend Jax.” Talking about Rowen made me miss her even more. Thank God spring break was a mere two days away.
    “Is Jax a man or a woman?”
    “A guy.”
    “And is this guy Jax . . . Rowen’s T.A. or friend?” Garth’s words were slow and deliberate. I didn’t get where his sudden interest in Rowen’s school life had come from.
    I shrugged. “Both.”
    “Oh, hell no.” Garth slapped his leg. “Please tell me you’re not that dumb, Walker. Please don’t tell me you believe this T.A. douche has weaseled his way into your girl’s life because he really wants to be her friend.”
    “They are friends.”
    “Sure, friends to Rowen, but you know what he’s after.” Garth paused, waiting for something from me that never came. He rolled his eyes. “Jax the T.A. douche-packer is looking for a little friends-with-benefits action.”
    I felt my forehead wrinkle as I considered what he’d just said. I wouldn’t label Jax as upstanding, but he didn’t seem like a snake either. Yeah, he’d been a bit of an asshole by not telling Rowen I was outside waiting for her, but that wasn’t really a big deal.
    Or was it?
    Garth had planted a seed, and I was recalling that night with a whole new lens. Those lingering looks he’d given Rowen. The way he’d studied her hand in mine. Going out of his way to casually insult me and keep me out of the room. Did Jax have a thing for Rowen, or was it all a string of coincidences? I didn’t know. I couldn’t be sure. While I didn’t like the idea of another guy putting the moves on Rowen, I trusted her implicitly.
    “Shit. And I was the one who barely graduated high school. You might be book smart, Walker, but you are dumb as fuck when it comes to the rest.”
    “You graduated high school?” I made my best surprised face. I knew Garth had graduated. It was just barely , but that wasn’t because he wasn’t book smart. He just wanted everyone to think he wasn’t. Well, that . . . and the girls. The girls were a definite distraction for Garth in high school. They still were.
    “Go fuck yourself, Walker.” Leaning into the pack behind him, Garth dropped his hat over his face. Guess I was taking the first shift.
    “Do you have any other colorful vernacular in your vocabulary? Because when you use it every other sentence, fuck really loses its punch.”
    Garth sighed, muttering what sounded like another colorful vernacular. “Fine. Go screw yourself, Walker. How’s that for packing more punch?”
    “Better.” I clapped a few times. “Bravo.”
    “We all know you’ve been doing plenty of screwing yourself with Rowen gone.” He was muttering again, but he definitely meant for me to hear it. “So I suppose me telling you to go do it is redundant.”
    Sighing, I stood and stretched my arms above my head.
    “Where the hell are you going?” Garth called as I headed into the field.
    “Off to screw myself,” I answered with a wave.
    When Garth didn’t have an immediate comeback, I glanced over my shoulder. He was sitting up, his expression a mixture of shock and disgust.
    “Black, I’m kidding. I’m just checking on the horses.”
    “Dammit, Jess! Jerking off is not a joking matter!”
    I chuckled as I approached Sunny and Rebel. They were munching away, content with their temporary truce.
    “Back to the matter of spineless city boys moving in on one of our girls . . .” Garth was behind me, trekking through the