Casper grinned at him. “Jace Walker. Good to see you, man!”
Jace stopped in front of him. “I thought you left.”
“I did. Moved to the Big Apple. I’m home between jobs though. Heard about the new skywalk and the rappelling sessions and thought I’d give it a go.”
Jace would have preferred he hadn’t.
Kayden held out a hand. “Kayden Walker.”
“Older brother, right?” Casper asked, shaking his hand.
The men went around the group, introducing themselves. They made jokes here and there about shoving each other off the skywalk. Jace didn’t so much as crack a smile. But yeah, he could see why Casper was friends with these guys. It sounded like none of them had changed since high school.
“Safety’s important today,” Jace said, a bit too much force behind his words. “So if we tell you to do something, we need you to listen.”
He started going through the safety aspects of the session, but when he saw Casper muttering something to the guy beside him, he stopped. “You got something to say, White?”
“Nope.” A cocky grin spread across his face. “Nothing at all, Walker.”
“Good. Then shut up and listen.”
The grin dropped.
He was probably being a dick to the guy, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He felt Kayden’s questioning eyes on him, but he ignored his brother while he finished the safety instructions. Then the group put on their harnesses before stepping onto the skywalk.
“You okay?” Kayden asked quietly beside him as they led the group. “Because if you’re not, we can cancel this session.”
“I’m fine. I just hate that guy.”
Kayden shot a quick glance over his shoulder. “The blond with the smug smile?”
“Yeah, him. He was an asshole to Elle in high school.” He was an asshole to a lot of people, but he specifically recalled the guy being a dick to her.
“I’ll set him up.”
Probably a good idea.
Kayden fell back to talk to some of the guys as they headed toward the rappelling location. It was in the center of the skywalk beside a huge tree. It was the only part of the skywalk where the railing had a gate that opened against the tree they’d be rappelling down.
They were almost there when Casper fell into step beside him.
“So, you still good friends with Elle Marshal?” he asked.
Jace’s hands fisted. “We’re dating.”
“No fucking way.” Casper shook his head. “Not that I’m surprised. I’ve been back a few times over the years, and she’s turned into a babe. Nothing like what she looked like in high school.”
Jace swung around and stopped, blocking the guy from moving forward, and Casper almost walked into his chest. “You don’t talk about her like that.”
Casper’s brows shot up. “It was a compliment. Am I wrong?” Then he had the fucking balls to laugh. “I mean,yousaw her in high school. It’s why you didn’t date her back then, right?”
It took a lot of self-restraint to not hit the guy, and theonlyreason Jace stopped himself was because they were so far off the ground. Instead, he inched closer. “If Ieverhear you talk about her being anything but beautiful again, I will hit you so hard you won’t get back up. Got it?”
Casper’s mouth opened and closed before a hint of anger entered his eyes. “I can say whatever the hell I want. But I’m not surprised that Jace fucking Walker still thinks he can dictate what others can and can’t do.”
Jace inched another step forward, but suddenly Kayden was there, stepping between them, facing Casper. “It’s time for you to go, man.”
Casper glanced up, red shading his cheeks. “What? No! I’ve paid for this. I’m doing my fucking session.Hecan go.”
