Page 53 of Cross the Line

“Uh-huh,” Jason hums, dropping down onto the couch. He kicks off his sneakers and stretches his feet out onto the coffee table, making himself very comfortable. Relief and apprehension hit Theo all at once. He’s missed Jason. “You’ve been weird and distant and—what the ever loving fuck is that?”

It happens to be Rio, who appears from beneath the sofa and proceeds to attack the laces on Jason’s sneakers.

“Ah, yeah. About that.”

“There’s a kitten in your house, Theo.” Jason’s expression would be hilarious if Theo weren’t on the hook for the explanation.

“There is.”

“A kitten,” Jason repeats, as if Theo doesn’t know. “You don’t have pets. Why do you have a pet?”

“So the thing is,” Theo starts, filling his lungs with air and then holding it. He has no idea how to explain this without lies upon lies. And now that he’s staring at Jason after he pulled out that damn contract, he doesn’t have the heart. Then again, Theo doesn’t have the heart to be honest when he barely knows what the truth is himself. “Uh, well?—”

“Alec got to you, didn’t he?”

“Alec,” Theo croaks, ears ringing.

“Damn kid and his bleeding heart. Me and Charlie have been placing bets on who he’d rope into taking the next stray. I figured that Riley kid, and Charlie was sure it’d be me, but I guess he came to you. Did he do it when you helped him move?” Jason doesn’t give him time to answer, leaning forward to look at the kitten. “What’s her name?”

“Rio,” Theo answers, dropping onto the opposite end of the couch. He grabs a beer, cracking the can open and chugging it.

“She’s so small. Is she healthy?” Jason asks, petting her. She looks ridiculously small in his massive hands and she lets out a tiny hiss. “Damn, she’s feisty.”

“Pretty sure she only looks that small because you’re huge.”

“I know, right?” Jason grins. “I’ve been training with the boys.”

“Aren’t you kind of old to be training with high schoolers?”

“I’m the same age as you are, asshole. I’m also their coach. I’m setting a good example. Plus it makes me bigger.”

“If you get any bigger, your clothes are gonna pop,” Theo points out, nodding to Jason’s sweats, which might as well be painted on.

“Thank you.” Jason grins, lowering Rio to the couch. “Now back to you.”

“Do we have to go back to me?” Theo groans. He flops back against the couch cushions, nursing his beer.

“We do,” Jason affirms, grabbing his own beer before flipping the pizza box open. The scent of garlic and cheese assaults Theo’s nose. Jason grabs a slice, folding it half before fitting most of it in his mouth in an obscenely large bite. He lifts one eyebrow in a silent invitation for Theo to speak.

He knows Jason. He knows there is going to be no getting out of this when he’s being so direct. The best he can do is deflect with the smallest bit of honesty possible, and absolve himself of the guilt through the assertion he’s protecting their friendship.

“I, uh, there’s a person.”

“Dude, if you’ve been in a hookup mood, you just needed to tell me. I’m not gonna judge if you’ve been getting freaky more than normal.”

“I haven’t been getting freaky.” Theo snorts. “It’s not like that.”

Jason swallows his second bite, taking a huge gulp of beer before fixing Theo with a piercing gaze. “What do you mean it’s not like that?”

“I mean, it’s not like that.”

“It’s always like that. If there’s a person, you fuck and move on.”

Theo stares at his beer. This was a bad idea, a horrible idea, and yet he knows he can’t backtrack. As wrong as it feels to deceive Jason, the truth is he needs his best friend, now more than ever.

“I haven’t fucked them.”

He’s careful to use gender-neutral language and offer as few details as possible. Lucky for him, Jason isn’t nearly as nosy as Alec. The thought catches him off-guard. Since when does he compare Alec and Jason?

---