“I’m not surrendering toyou.”
“Fine.Suffer, then.”Jasper reached out with his other hand and tickled Corey’s side.Corey screamed and wiggled, but Jasper didn’t let him go.
“Fine,” Corey eventually panted between two bouts of laughter.“I surrender.”
Jasper let him go, still laughing.When he turned to Kerry, it was to find her watching them fondly.She shook her head, her blonde hair dancing around her face.“I train with a bunch of children.”
“Even worse, you’refriendswith a bunch of children,” Jasper pointed out.
“She’s not my friend,” Corey said, sticking his tongue out at his sister.
Kerry flipped him off, causing him to rush toward her.She knew how to read him as well as Jasper did, though, so she was ready for him when he slammed into her.
Jasper shook his head and grabbed the towel he’d left on the closest bench.He dried the sweat off his face, then took his water bottle to get a drink.Corey and Kerry were still fighting, so he slumped onto the bench and stretched his legs out in front of him.
He was enjoying himself.He always enjoyed himself when he was training, even though it was a reminder of his life as a hunter, but lately, he felt like he hadn’t had enough time to spend with his best friends.They lived together, but all three of them had demanding jobs, and now, Jasper also had Archie.He wasn’t spending all of his nights at home anymore, so he was seeing his best friends less often.He needed to stay close to them, though.With what was happening with the hunters, he knew he’d need all the support he could get, and even more than that, they were his friends, and he missed them.
Kerry and Corey eventually stopped fighting, and Corey flopped onto the bench next to Jasper.He shook his head, sending droplets of sweat everywhere, making Jasper grimace.
“Can you not?”Jasper asked.
“Can I not what?”Corey asked with a grin.“I’m not doing anything.”
“You’re disgusting,” Kerry said.“You both are.”
“What didIdo?”Jasper asked, offended.
“You’re a man.”
“Yet you love us anyway,” Corey teased her.
“And you’re lucky I do.”
Jasper knew how true that was.He wasn’t sure Corey did, but his relationship with Kerry was different.They were related by blood.She’d always be in his life, one way or another.When Jasper had found out that he was a monster, he’d been afraid that he’d lose his best friends.It had been a real possibility, and he’d been distraught at the thought.He was glad they’d stuck around and that they didn’t see him differently.It would’ve been easy for them to.
“Are you coming home with us after this?”Corey asked, bumping his shoulder against Jasper’s.
“Archie’s waiting for me.”
“You’re spending the night at his place again?”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you just move in with him?You’ve been spending more time there than you have at the apartment.”
Jasper arched a brow.“Are you kicking me out?”
“Well, your bedroom is bigger than mine.”
Jasper laughed.“Hands off my bedroom.”He shrugged.“I don’t know.We haven’t talked about moving in together, and every time I think we might have that conversation, something happens.Besides, there’s the mess with my biological family and Leroy, and honestly, I wouldn’t blame Archie for wanting to keep some distance between us.”
Kerry snorted.“That man doesn’t want to keep some distance between you.He wants you, no matter what and who you are.”
Jasper smiled.“I know.”
“And of course we don’t want you to move out, but it’s the next logical step, isn’t it?”
“Eventually, but we haven’t been together long.”
