Page 31 of Wilder

Or rather—his curfew.

Since he was still in high school, he didn’t have the luxury of the adult bedtime Grey and I enjoyed, which meant he still had to answer to Xavier when it came to staying up late.

Not that it stopped us from trying.

Thankfully, Xavier seemed fine with letting him stay up with us for a little while longer, probably figuring that Dex was safe enough in our company.

Or maybe he just wanted to give his kid some space.

Either way, we weren’t complaining.

“So, Dexter. Dex? D-train?” Greyson slapped a red reverse card down onto the carpet on top of the slowly growing pile between the three of us. “You excited to go on your campus tour tomorrow?”

His legs were kicked up behind him, swaying slightly in the air as he leaned on his elbows, casually flipping through his remaining cards like he wasn’t about to absolutely ruin my hand.

Dexter let out a small snort as he slapped down a skip card that had me narrowing my eyes.

Of course. Of course these two would team up against me.

“Yeah,” he said, watching with far too much amusement as my turn got completely bypassed. “You two ever been there?”

“Nah,” Grey answered, grinning like a little shit as he and Dexter continued their silent alliance, throwing down another card—this time changing the pile to blue.

Oh, I’m so getting them both next round.

“But I hear it’s a nice place,” Grey continued, clearly unbothered by my growing scowl. “Big campus. Lots to do. Should keep you busy. What are you planning on studying?”

Dexter shrugged, picking at the edge of one of his cards as he considered the question carefully. “I’m not sure yet. They’ve got a good engineering program, though.”

I perked up slightly. “Oh yeah?”

His expression shifted, something thoughtful settling onto it. “I like figuring out how things work.”

Grey snorted. “So, basically you like breaking shit apart and then trying to put it back together?”

“Jarhead stuff,” I answered before Grey could launch into one of his overly enthusiastic explanations. “If it isn’t obvious by his buzzcut, this joker is in the military.”

Grey shot me a look, flipping me off casually as he leaned back on one elbow. “Thanks for giving him the rundown, cowboy.”

Dexter’s gaze flicked between us, the corners of his mouth twitching like he wasn’t sure whether we were messing with each other or if this was just how we talked.

To be fair, it did sound like a bit. Maybe in a way it kind of was.

Grey and I had a habit of bouncing off each other like this since we were kids, our conversations littered with half-insults and casual jabs that would make grown men weep. It was all second nature by now—an easy back-and-forth that felt more like home than anything else so far.

But to an outsider?

Yeah, I could see why Dexter was looking at us like we were performing some kind of long-running comedy sketch.

“Quite the opposite career paths,” he finally noted, his voice laced with something thoughtful, like he was filing that information away for later. Probably was, actually.

Grey and I grinned at the same time, exchanging a quick glance before replying in perfect unison, “No kidding.”

Dexter just shook his head, small touches of amusement twitching at the corners of his mouth. “What made you both want to do that instead of going to school?”

I liked this kid’s curiosity. It was refreshing. He wasn’t simply interested in making small talk. He actually wanted to get to know us. Seeing as though our families were quickly becoming blending, it was only fair that we all got to know each other anyway.

Before I could answer, though, Greyson was already opening his mouth.