Page 5 of Soulmates

“You know, like, watched you and stuff. I notice things about you other people wouldn’t.”

His shock must’ve shown.

“Oh my Gods, your face! Not like that, you ape! Like you’d study an opponent. You’re my biggest competition here. You think I wouldn’t watch your every move? I need to know how to defeat you in any scenario.”

He glared. “Any scenario? And this includes how I interact with Maddox?”

“Well, sure. I mean, I need to know your weaknesses.”

“What are you going to do, take him hostage?”

“Man, that would work so great.” Santiago looked almost wistful.

“Back to the point, if we could?’

“Honestly, Jake, you’re with him all the time. Of course I’m going to notice your interactions.” Santiago paused. “And Jake? You know I’m gay, right? Like, gayer than you. So I am for sure not perving on you.”

“What?” He barked a laugh. “How are we comparing who’s gayer? On what scale?”

“The Kinsey scale.”

“Okay, well, I’m a one or a ten, or whichever is one hundred percent—”

“In love with Maddox. Who is a boy?”

“—gay.”

“Well, the scale goes from zero to six. And I’m a six. Maybe you’re a five-point-nine because I’m definitely gayer.”

“This is the dumbest conversation I’ve ever had,” he said.

“I doubt that,” she answered. “But back to the point. You should tell Maddox.”

“No. Absolutely… No.”

“Why? He’s obviously into you too.”

“He is not. I would know. I spend all my time with him.”

“Yeah, but do you look at him, Jake? Like, really look?”

Heat had crept up his cheeks at that, and he was grateful as hell for his darker skin tone that could hide a blush. Maddox would have been bright pink by now. “I look at him.”

“Right, but do you notice how he looks back?”

He hadn’t known how to answer that. Later on, he’d tried to watch Maddox as closely as Santiago had apparently been stalking him—the weirdo—but he couldn’t see whatever she meant by how Maddox looked at him. He saw nothing different from when they were kids, camping out in Jake’s family’s backyard, pretending there were ghosts outside their tent. Gods, they’d had such fun together even then. It was always the two of them. Even when other friends, siblings, or cousins were there—he and Maddox were together. In a room full of people, Maddox was a magnet, and Jake was the only one pulled in. It was impossible. It felt inevitable. But he didn’t see it returned in Maddox’s eyes.

Yanked back to the present moment by a quick smack to the side of the head, he glared at Santiago.

“Was that necessary?”

“I said your name three times. So, yes. Can we fight this out so we can move the fuck on? I may seem chill, but I am fully ready for this night to be over.”

“To be honest, you don’t seem that chill at the moment.”

She threw the first punch.

The fight went the way their battles usually did, with one exception. Neither went down. They traded jabs and spells long past when one or both should have fallen. It was like they couldn’t fall. None of the usual means of knocking someone out worked.

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