Matt glanced up from the couch, his legs sprawled across Keith’s lap. “Nice date?”
Jasper hesitated. “Yeah,” he said, unsure why the question felt like a trap.
Matt squinted at him a moment, his lip curling with disgust. “It’s been over a month. You’re still interested in him?”
Jasper frowned, glancing at Keith, but he seemed to be actively ignoring their conversation. “Why shouldn’t I be? He’s”—the best thing to happen to me in a long time—“amazing.”
“Amazing?” Matt asked, staring at him like he’d grown a second head. “Did you seriously call that sociopathamazing?”
“Did you just call him asociopath?” Jasper clenched his hands into fists as he stepped into the room. “What the fuck is your problem?”
Matt dropped his feet to the floor and stood with a sneer. “Myproblemis you’re falling in love with someone you know nothing about.”
Jasper froze, his breath whooshing out of his lungs. Falling in love? He wasn’t… falling in love. This was nothing more than a two-month thing where he could get laid and actually feel like someone gave a shit about him for once.
Which might not have been fair, considering how much Amber and the others had done for him. Taking him in, giving him safe harbor, helping him get to or from campus and work. But they all had each other, and he didn’t have anyone. He hadn’t even really spoken to his own brother since he was thirteen. Not since Noah moved out and left him to deal with their father on his own.
“I’m not,” he whispered, taking a step back.
Except he was. He totally was, and everyone could fucking see it.
Could Vincent see it? Did Vincent see how desperately Jasper wanted something more thanjust sexwith him?
“Nice job, dumbass,” Keith muttered to Matt.
Jasper glanced up from where he’d backed into the wall, latching on to Keith’s arms when Keith planted his hands on Jasper’s shoulders. “I’m not,” he said again, wishing he could make that true by saying it.
“Breathe,” Keith said, taking a deep breath.
Jasper whimpered and clutched at Keith’s shirt like a lifeline, coughing as he tried to match his breathing. It hurt, and the walls continued threatening to close in on him, but Keith stayed with him, and his voice managed to keep Jasper grounded long enough to calm down. The panic finally ebbed back after an eternity, and he slumped beneath a wave of exhaustion. “Sorry.”
“Good now?” Keith squeezed his shoulders with a sympathetic look. “Tea?”
Jasper nodded, followed Keith to the kitchen, and collapsed into a chair at the table. He scrubbed his palms against his face with a shaky breath. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? “I’m screwed.” He wassoscrewed. How the fuck was he supposed to walk away now?
Keith huffed a laugh. “A little.”
Jasper glared at Keith before sighing, crossing his arms as he resisted the urge to bang his head on the table. “Why aren’t you all pissed off at me like Matt?”
Keith didn’t answer immediately, glancing towards the living room, but Matt had vanished like the cowardly little shit he was. He sighed softly and brought two cups of hot tea to the table. He sat across from Jasper. “What has Vincent told you?”
“That he hurt Matt. He didn’t exactly go into detail.”
“I won’t either. I know most of what happened, but Matt hasn’t told me everything. If I were him, I’d probably hate Vincent too.” He paused, drumming his fingers against his cup. “I know people can change. That they can learn from their mistakes. I’ve seen Vincent at the club, and I’ve never seen him hurt or abuse anyone. But I still know what he did to Matt. I’m not going to tell you not to trust him for something he did nearly ten years ago, but I’m not going to encourage you either. You’re an adult. You can make your own choices.”
Jasper stared at Keith as his brain tried to wrap itself around all that, surprised that Keith wasn’t trying to tell him what to do or not do. Now that he thought about it, even Amber hadn’t tried to interfere too much, which was surprising considering she’d been bossy to the point of tyrannical when they were kids. He’d never forget the time she thwacked him with a tree branch until he kissed her shoes.
Looking back now, that was probably the first hint of her Dominatrix manifesting, and he felt a brief twinge of sympathy for Terrance, but he quickly shoved those thoughts away. He did not need those mental images of his cousin.
He took a small sip of his tea and let out a slow breath. “Thanks.”
“Sure. We’re here for you, Jas. You may be Amber’s cousin, but we’re all family.”
Jasper swallowed and refused to acknowledge the sting in his eyes. He nodded faintly, not trusting himself to speak, especially considering he’d been kind of a dick to them lately.
Keith stood and reached across the table to squeeze his shoulder, then headed upstairs.
Once he was alone, he let out an explosive breath and scrubbed his face again.
