Read Online The Rules Regarding Gray by Elizabeth Finn - Free Book Online

was clearly a latchkey kid with little supervision, and that didn’t surprise her in the least. Jas was the outsider who most kids were more fearful of than genuinely interested in knowing, and even though that came with a number of amusing stories related to school pranks and fights, it was still sad to hear in a way. But she soaked it up.
    “You remember that day your dad showed up at school and pulled you out in the middle of football practice?” Ian glanced at Jas, but Jas remained silent, nodding subtly. “He rolls up in this old fucking Ford Mustang. It was rough, but it was so fucking cool.” Ian chuckled. “He was a big man, your dad. Comes strolling up with that cool-cat swagger of his, and you just took off with him.”
    Jasper’s eyes met hers, but he looked away quickly. She wasn’t sure what to make of his disposition at the moment.
    “We took bets whether we’d ever see you again.” Ian was silent then.
    She looked between them, feeling more tension than anything else. Jasper was staring at the table, but it wasn’t irritation. He just seemed to be somewhere else.
    “Well, clearly he came back,” she tried for no other reason than to cut through the thick air that hung around them.
    Ian glanced at her. “Yeah, he did. A week later, black eye, scuffs all over his face and limping. He looked cool as hell actually.”
    Her eyes snapped to Jas as he looked up to her. His brow flinched, and all she could seem to manage was to stare wide-eyed back at him.
    “We didn’t get along so well that week,” he commented with little inflection.
    Ian chimed in quickly though. “You were a big kid. I bet you left him looking just as bad.” In Ian’s own way, he was trying to support his friend.
    Jasper shook his head subtly. “No.” He said nothing else, and he stared at the table for a moment before blowing out a deep breath of air. When he looked back up to Ian, he smirked. “Way to suck the life out of the party, Ian.” He clapped his hand on Ian’s shoulder, smiling and laughing, and then his focus shifted to Gray, and he studied her for a moment as she took a drink of wine.
    “How about you, Gray?” Jasper lifted his own glass to his lips.
    She shrugged. “I danced. Not much more to say.” She knew she sounded lame.
    “There’s always more to say,” he responded.
    “No, in her case there really isn’t,” Ian tossed out. “If you can believe it, I’m only the second man she’s ever slept with. Still can’t believe she let me stick my cock up her ass,” he commented as an aside.
    Jasper’s eyes remained on her, but she glanced down at the table, feeling the hot tendrils of embarrassment coursing through her.
    “To take a note from Gray’s book, I’m sure she would have told me that herself if she’d wanted me to know.” Jasper’s voice was warm, and when she glanced up, he was looking directly at her rather than Ian. “That doesn’t mean I don’t think there’s more to say. So spill it, Gray.” He demanded with a gentle smile.
    She sighed. “Okay. I came from a great family with loving parents who supported me perfectly. I started dance when I was young, and … I was good at it.” She thought about what she wanted to say then. “It was all I did. I knew early on I wanted to make a career of it, and you don’t do that without giving yourself over to it completely. It was my life. I didn’t go out, have fun, do all those normal kid things. I was in a studio practicing.” She shrugged. Yeah, it was more than lame.
    “Nothing wrong with being disciplined,” Jas offered.
    “No…” She thought about that for a moment. “But I missed out on life. While other people were out having adventures—”
    “And fucking,” Ian threw out.
    She rolled her eyes. “I was keeping a strict rehearsal schedule.” Her lips pursed, and her brow flinched as she stared at the table.
    Jasper’s warm voice pulled her back to him. “You’re young. You have plenty of time for