He was still at first, and I worried I’d made a mistake until he wrapped himself around me, kissing me back. It was everything I had wanted it to be. Like the world around us faded away, and it was just us.
That was until a gasp by the door startled us. Jasper was there, eyes wide and mouth slack. He apologized and ran away. I jumped up and followed him, chasing him down the stairs, towards the door, and outside. He ran all the way to the tree line outside of Hawthorn’s house until we were a little way in.
“Stop,” I called, my breath ragged. Even for a shifter, I wasn’t much for running.
He did, keeping his back to me. “It’s fine.”
“W-what’s fine?” I asked, my breath still coming in large gulps.
“You two can continue, I’ll leave you alone.”
“No,” I said quickly. “You don’t understand.”
“Understand what?” he asked, his voice clipped and frustrated. “You guys…like each other. I don’t want to get in the way.”
“You aren’t in the way.”
“Of course I am,” he continued. “You guys want to be a couple, or whatever, and when I’m there you can’t do what you want. I can just?—”
I couldn’t listen to it anymore. I pressed my lips to his, effectively quieting him. Just like Hawthorne earlier, he was frozen in place. But unlike Hawthorne, he never returned my kiss.
I pulled away, slightly embarrassed and worried I’d just ruined everything. Jasper looked shocked, his eyes wide as he stared at me.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I just thought?—”
I landed against the tree behind me with an oof. Jasper was hovered over me, his blue eyes shimmering. “What did you think?” he asked.
“I-I thought you liked me too. Likedustoo.”
He moved closer to me at what felt like a glacial pace, until our lips were a breath apart and our noses touched.
“I do.” He leaned in and sealed our lips in a kiss. One he reciprocated, one he dominated. It wasn’t the same as kissing Hawthorne. He had a more minty clean taste that tickled my tongue and made me shiver. But it was just as good.
When he pulled away it was too soon. “We should go back and talk,” I said.
He agreed. When we got back, Hawthorne was freaked out, but I was managed to calm them each down and we decided to date. Though it was a bit weird and new at first, we found a rhythm for us and had been together ever since.
Luckily, I wasn’t lying about their delivery being near her office and pulled into the parking lot right at one. Leaving those memories behind, I pulled down the sun visor mirror to check how I looked. My hair was a mess, so I grabbed the hair tie around my wrist and threw half of it up so at least it was out of my eyes.
With that sorted, I grabbed the bag I brought and headed inside. It was a simple, clean office, with a few scattered fake plants and the smell of printer paper in the air.
“Can I help you?” the woman at the front desk said.
“Yes,” I said, approaching. “I’m looking for Harper Maloy.”
“Oh, she’s the third office on the right,” she said, gesturing to the hall.
“Thanks.” I headed in that direction. There were photos of each of the agents on a plaque on the outside their doors, and I stopped to look at Harper’s. She was smiling, with her roundedcheeks and slightly flushed skin. Her hair was down in the photo, styled to perfection, as it normally was.
The door was cracked open, and I knocked lightly before pushing it open. She turned my way, phone held to her ear.
She smiled at me, putting her hand over the bottom. “Sorry, I’ll be done in a sec if you want to sit down.”
I nodded and sat on the other side of her desk, looking around. She had some photo frames facing her that I couldn’t see from here. I yearned to turn them, but I didn’t want to intrude. Jasper said I had a habit of doing that and I shouldn’t scare her away.
The rest of the office was fairly bare. Her certificate was on the back wall, along with two pieces of paper that looked to be kids' drawings. I wondered what they were about.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when she slammed the phone down on the hook. “Sorry about that,” she said. “I’m ready for lunch.”
