CHAPTER THREE: Never One To Listen.
Duncan Everton had never been the one to listen, at least not in the traditional sense that would have classed him the ideal dutiful son. He slid his phone onto Peyton's lap after a phone call to his best friend, directing his car in the exact opposite direction to his house. Peyton gasped, pointing the direction they should have taken "Your parents want you home Duncan." he reminded once more.
"I'm not in the mood to be chastised or lied to." amping up the speed of his Rover.
"Lied to about what?"
"Lionel is throwing one of his ragers right now, I promised you a good prom this is part of it. I'll take you home safe."
Awkward silence ensued, the radio was off.
"Have you ever heard anything about that guy. Harold from your parents before?" Peyton asked. An curious excitement at the roof of his mouth.
Duncan was reminded of the flush that grew on Peyton when the stranger had kissed his hand. He thought of the stranger's good looks and concluded that even though the guy was weird, he was still a sight for sore eyes. His stomach clenched with jealousy "Why?" he probably sounded snappy - he was snappy but he didn't mean to sound it.
Peyton flinched, "I was just wondering out loud. Anyway let's go park on that side."
It felt even more awkward after that but they went through the motions of parking and showing their VIP passes to the club bouncers.
Lionel had been the one student from their school to always throw the best unsupervised parties in their town. "Yo, Duncan my boy!!" Lionel emerged through the waves of drunken and excited students. His platinum blonde and pink dreads a beacon in the darkness that when coloured lights of the LED hit him. His hair resembled the watercolours on a canvas, which for an odd reason, reminded Duncan of the unexplored painting back at the cottage.
"Sic party bruh." Duncan laughed pumping fists with his best friend ending in an enveloped easy and light hug.
"I know right. I'm already dodging pussy left and right." Lionel played with his fists sideways, stray dreads bouncing along with his head movements.
Duncan laughed, "You sure you're not sniffing it out?"
"Nah," Lionel laughed. "Sup Peyton" he gave a nod then leaned in to whisper "you totally look like a real dude, your surgery's working."
Peyton rolled his eyes unlacing his hands from Duncan's. "Hi Lionel, I love your liner is that from sephora bro?"
Lionel chocked on his drink, his eyes were naturally that dark and he hated it when people especially friends asked if he was wearing eyeliner to win a fight. "I see you brought sand to the beach?" he commented to his best friend, clearly taunting the former head cheerleader in a suit.
"Alright that's my cue to leave." Peyton rolled his brown eyes. "Bye Lionel I hope your restrooms have a full supply of condoms and lube. Wouldn't want a repeat of last year would we? And as for you," he drew Duncan in for a kiss on the cheek by the collar of his white shirt "I'll see you later my King."
"Don't go too far"
Peyton winked, "Can't make any promises, there's so much sand here to build castles with."
"Hey! I don't give out free lube, I'm not a health clinic!!" Lionel yelled defensively after Peyton's retreating back. A couple girls overhead and giggled moving away from him. He then lowered his voice talking to Duncan "I can only do so much, I'm giving out free condoms and my mom made me put posters up for STI's and consent and not just in the restrooms. All because of the little scare from last year." he shook his head as if he was in distress.
"Hey man, it could be worse, it's a buzzkill. But it could be worse."
"Yea. Whatever Anyway I'm surprised you showed up," Lionel said, his eyes locking in on their school's infamous trans chick. Shit! Trans guy? He tore his eyes away from Peyton who was now stood in the corner talking to their school's cheerleaders "I thought you had plans to cuff that tonight?"
"Well, it didn't go" Duncan shrugged indifferently tearing two tequila shot glasses from a moving tray. "Did you know the Sinclairs have another son, your mom was their Realtor right?"
Lionel's gaze was distracted by a teammates older sister who was posing for snapchat. Duncan followed his best friend's gaze and sighed searching for more moving trays. Too used to his best friend's wondering eye to bother with any chastising.
"Shit, sorry did you say something?"
"Never mind." Duncan dismissed, waving to passing sophomores who had greeted him.
"Well, I'm gonna go work my magic on that fine ass," Lionel rubbed his hands together facing Duncan with a smirk on his lips, his thumb pointing backwards to their teammates sister.
Duncan lifted his head to look at her one more time, his lips twisted and he cracked his jaw when the least of what he expected to see is what he saw exactly. The stranger from earlier- Harold his name was; at the bar listening intently to something his womanizing brother Ernest was telling him.
Lionel frowned at being ignored and followed his best friend's line of vision and saw exactly what Duncan was seeing.
Their teammate's sister had slinked her iphone in a tiny Loui purse as she slid across the side of the bar to tap Harold's shoulder. The gorgeous upperclassmen stood on the toes of her strappy silver stilletos to speak into his ear over the amped volume of the music inside the club.
The Sinclair brothers watched her as she slowly draped her lithe, smooth, seductive body over the island of the bar, her ass up in the air flirting with the bartender who gave her drinks she passed on to the Sinclair brothers who had been staring at her round firm ass covered by a silky red satin slip dress that hung on her otherwise wire frame.
Lionel whistled "I say we bar hop right away, Ernest Sinclair is a chick magnet, they'll be noone left for us now that he's here." he said, seriously.
"You're gonna leave your own party?"
Lionel wasn't joking "Yea well I have to. The only reason I held it here was because I figured the Sinclairs would be at the benefit gala for their medical research facility. Not here, not where all the fine college girls party at. Do you know who girls in this town love? Especially college girls?"
Duncan laughed, anyone on the Lacrosse team would've laughed because plenty times they had watched their hook ups parade the Sinclair boys as their Man Crush Monday on social media almost every Monday as though the Sinclairs descended from Hollywood, Bollywood or Nollywood.
"Those rich rich Sinclair boys. Look over there everyone is already fawning over Ernest Sinclair. and whoever that guy is" Lionel said in a playfully bitter tone.
They both turned toward his direction once more and saw more girls lingering around and near the bar area. Most of them were marveling over the game the Sinclair brothers were playing with their shots. Including his ex-girlfriend and Peyton his future boyfriend who were staring at Harold with hearts in their eyes.
Lionel continued "C'mon let's hit the road and no carrying sand to the beach bruh" he laughed then straightened up "Oh shit man I keep forgetting, you're not like us anymore now that you're about to be someone's boyfriend."
"Well it's not about that it's about him." he pointed to Harold "Do you know anything about him? They say he's a Sinclair but I've never heard of him or seen his pictures up on their walls anytime we've shared dinner with them."
"Oh that's him...." Lionel drawled "Never met him, but my mom mentioned him before the family came back in town. I'm pretty sure he was in boarding school in Switzerland, and set to surpass his brothers so he could take over the medical research facility."
"He looks our age though" Duncan frowned.
"No he's a year older but our grade."Lionel supplied shooting the rest of his cup contents into his mouth.
"Still isn't that too young to take over the Sinclair Facilities? He's weird too he looks like he's into shit like cosplay and anime." Duncan grimaced.
Lionel hummed taking in Harold's appearance. The youngest Sinclair boy looked nothing like a stereotype Duncan had just described him as. Clobbered in a starched white shirt tucked under a pair of black slim fit slacks and black loafers Harold looked nothing like a cosplay nerd. If anything Lionel thought he was dressed far too maturely in the casual suit. "Cosplay and anime huh?"
Duncan defended "Ask Peyton. What else do you know about him?"
"That's all I know."
"Well whoever he is let's separate him from Peyton."
Lionel was amused, he pat Duncan's shoulder with respect, both their eyes searching the club for more of their friends from the team and Peyton.
One of the girls hovering over the Sinclair boys, called out to Lionel "Hey sexy get over here and see!" more girls echoed "Yes Lionel! Come! Come!" they all chanted.
Girls loved Lionel, Duncan thought it had to do with his good looks, easy charm and parties where the girls were always treated like royalty. Lionel tried to drag him to the bar, where the Sinclair brothers were.
Duncan refused to go, choosing to go sling back shots with the rest of the team and the rest of the night he had to actively try his best not to pay mind to the bar area where the Sinclair brothers were the sight of attractive with anyone who was anyone.
For some inexplicable reason, he disliked Harold for more than the fact that he was a Sinclair.