Page 29 of Christopher

Could they be friends if they poked at each other the entire time? Drake didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. Whether they liked it or not, they were in each other’s lives to stay.

“The date would have been better if Karl hadn’t been there,” Drake explained.

“Wait, your blind date?” Kyle asked.

“Yes. I still don’t know what he was doing there beyond having a meal with someone, but I haven’t looked too hard into it. I don’t care.”

“That’s the right spirit,” Kyle said as he patted Drake’s shoulder. “Please tell me one of you told him to fuck off, though.”

Drake laughed. “Oh, it was better than that. We got him kicked out by the manager. Well, the waitress decided to get the manager involved, and we didn’t actually ask for Karl to be kicked out, but you know what I mean.”

Surprisingly, Kyle seemed to, because he nodded. “I never met him, but from what Chris told me about the way you two met, I can guess that Karl isn’t a good person.”

“I wouldn’t wish him on my worst enemy. I don’t actually have enemies, but still. If I did have some, I wouldn’t want them to be anywhere near Karl.”

Kyle grimaced. “That bad?”

“Probably even worse than you’re thinking. He started yelling in the middle of the restaurant and insisting that Chris was abusing and hurting me. It was horrifying, especially in the beginning when the waitress wasn’t sure who to believe. I had to tell her that Chris is my mate and that Karl didn’t take it well when he found out. That’s when she got the manager.” Drake hesitated, but he might as well go all in. “Chris took care of me after that. He asked for our food to be put in boxes so we could take them when we left, and we had dinner sitting on a bench watching the stars.”

Dennis sighed. “That sounds romantic.”

“It sounds cold,” Kyle snarked. “But that’s what I would have expected from my brother. I hate that you had to deal with Karl, though.” He looked around as if he expected Karl to walk in. “Just point him out to me if you see him, and I’ll take care of him.”

Drake wouldn’t have been surprised by the offer if it had come from Dennis or Eddie, but it was coming from Kyle. He didn’t really know his brother-in-law beyond the fact that Kyle and Dennis were together. The two of them were still very much inthe honeymoon phase, which meant that they tended to spend all their free time in their room. Dennis didn’t have a lot of that since he’d opened the bakery, but he and Kyle seemed happy, and that was all that mattered in the end.

“I appreciate the offer, but I think Chris would rather deal with Karl himself if he ever comes back. I don’t think he will.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“There’s no need to fight. Karl’s an asshole and an idiot, but he doesn’t have a reason to continue bothering me. He knows Chris is my mate, and we told him to fuck off twice. I’m sure he learned his lesson.” And if he didn’t, Drake could take care of that himself. He wasn’t harmless. Karl was human, so even if he was to become violent—and Drake didn’t think he would—Drake wouldn’t have problems taking him down. Hell, if things came to that, he’d shift and nip at his heels. He might not be big in his aardwolf form, but hewasbig enough to do some damage if he really wanted to.

And he had no doubt he’d want to do if he ever crossed paths with Karl again.

“So meeting your ex didn’t deter Chris?” Eddie asked.

Drake smacked his arm. “Karl isn’t my ex. We had one failed blind date.”

“The rest of my question still stands. How are things going with Chris?”

Drake glanced at Kyle. It was weird to talk about Chris when Chris’s brother was right there, but unless he asked Kyle to leave, he didn’t have a choice.

Kyle raised his hands. “Whatever you say, it won’t leave this table. I’ll always be on my brother’s side, but since I know him so well, I realize he can be a bit of an asshole and that he tends to push people away and close himself off. I can help you with that if you want.”

“It’s not him. He’s pretty perfect.”

Kyle snorted. “There’s nothing perfect about Chris. Trust me, I grew up with him, so I know.”

“I think that what Drake was trying to say is that he feels that Chris is perfect, but he’s not,” Dennis declared.

Drake could feel him staring, and he knew precisely why. Kyle might know Chris like the back of his hand, but Dennis knew Drake just as well. They’d only been friends for a few years, but they’d instantly felt comfortable with each other. They still did.

“Well, no one’s perfect, but you guys are mates,” Kyle said.

He was frowning as if he didn’t understand what Dennis was talking about. He didn’t know Drake as well as the others, so it was understandable.

“You can’t make yourself into a man you’re not just because you think it will make it easier for Chris to accept you,” Eddie said. “What happens when the two of you bond and you slip up? Because you know you will.”

“We’ll be bonded, so I hope nothing.”

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