Page 4 of Kennedy

That thought flew right out the window when his gaze stopped on a tall man standing behind the couch, talking to a woman. He had broad shoulders and an air of authority that told Lewis he wasn’t one of the trainees, which might be a problem, and not only because he could probably kick Lewis out without anyone being able to stop him.

But also because he was Lewis’s mate.

* * * *

SOMETIMES, IT WAS HARDto toe the line with the trainees. The trainers had a teacher-student relationship with them, but at the same time, all these people were adults. They had to be to enter the program.

It meant that the trainers developed strange relationships with the trainees, though. Some of them, like Hawthorne and Wallace, realized they were mates and fell in love. Kennedy wasn’t planning on falling in love with any of the trainees, and by now, he was sure none of them was his mate, but sometimes, it was hard to let go of his teacher persona and relax, even when they invited him and the other trainers to a small gathering in their living quarters. It had become especially difficult as the time approached for the trainees to choose what they wanted to do after the program was over. They only had a few more weeks of training, and once that happened, they would be on the same footing. Kennedy hoped that some of them would keep in contact because he liked them, which was one of the reasons he was here this afternoon.

“It’s weird,” Rhonda muttered before taking a sip of her soda. “I want to tell all of them to stop drinking and go train.”

Kennedy snickered. “You’d have to do the same.”

“I’m not a trainee.”

“You haven’t been in a long time, but we’re all adults here.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not too sure about that. Some of them still behave like teenagers.”

“Which is why not all of them will pass our evaluation,” Kennedy murmured as he leaned closer.

Movement by the door caught his attention. For a moment, he thought it was Seymour standing there, looking around the room with wide eyes. Something about his behavior alarmed Kennedy, and he frowned, wondering what was wrong.

This wasn’t the way Seymour would normally react to spending time with his friends, which meant something had to have happened. If Kennedy had to guess, Jimmy’s father had somehow cornered Seymour again. Seymour was strong, and he was more than capable of kicking the man’s ass, but it didn’t mean he didn’t find Wallace Senior intimidating.

Kennedy’s confusion only lasted a few moments. Seconds after he’d started worrying, Seymour suddenly appeared, carrying two glasses. He held out one of them to the man Kennedy had thought was him, and the man took it with a smile.

“Hawthorne did mention he had a twin,” Rhonda said, probably noticing what Kennedy was watching. “It’s a bit weird, though.”

“Why? You’ve never met twins?”

“I meant how different they are. I’m pretty sure that Seymour’s brother owns a flower shop in town or something like that. Maybe a coffee shop? Anyway, he sounds like he’s nothing like Seymour.”

Which was a good thing. Kennedy liked Seymour, but he wasn’t sure the world was ready for two of them. Owning a coffee shop or a flower shop or whatever it was, Seymour’s brother sounded like the man was staying out of trouble.

Kennedy was curious. The little he’d learned from Rhonda wasn’t nearly enough. For some reason, he felt compelled to seek out Seymour’s brother, but it was as if the man was avoiding him. Every time Kennedy moved in his direction, he vanished. If Kennedy hadn’t known Nix couldn’t shimmer in and out of the facility beyond the few spaces dedicated to that purpose, he would’ve thought that was what the man was doing.

But why would he avoid Kennedy? They’d never met, so he didn’t have a reason to. Had he heard something from Seymour that made him want to stay away? Kennedy couldn’t imagine what, but he couldn’t deny what was happening.

Seymour’s brother was actively avoiding him.

For some reason, it was frustrating. Kennedy didn’t understand the need to find out more about the man, but it had him moving around the room and trying to corner him. He thought he did when he finally got the man by the window, only to realize it was Seymour and not his brother.

“You look like something happened,” Seymour said. “Please tell me that’s not the case. I need the next few weeks to be calm. I have to focus on finishing the program, and I already have Jimmy’s father to think about.”

Kennedy shook his head. “Everything’s fine as far as I know. I didn’t expect to be invited to this party.”

Seymour looked around and shrugged. “It’s not really a party.”

“Still. I’m a trainer, so I’m not sure I actually belong here.”

“We’re all adults, Kennedy. You might be a trainer when we’re on the mats or in the classroom, but here, we’re equals.”

Kennedy arched a brow. “Are we?”

“I’m sure you could kick my ass without breaking a sweat, but I guess so.” He hesitated. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Does it have to do with the program? Do you want to go to the office, or do you want to talk here?”

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