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You can make fun of me all you want if you’ll spar with me so I don’t accidentally kick holes in my ceiling.

Tai:See you in ten minutes.

Tai refrained from teasing him. Much. Instead they sparred as if a real reward were at stake rather than simple bragging rights. Maybe Tai had something egging him on too. Ryker couldn’t catch hold of the guy for what felt like a year. When he finally did, Tai did his usual twisting-like-a-landed-fish thing to get away and nearly threw Ryker off him.

Then, as always, he went still and said, “Okay.”

“Good match.”

“Good match.”

Ryker extended a hand to his friend, and immediately Tai was gone, across the gym to the vending machines. Ryker had hardly seen him grab his wallet from the pile of their shoes, wallets, phones, and keys. He grabbed his own wallet, then darted barefoot after Tai. When he reached the corridor, Tai was staring at the unopened blood pack in his hand.

“Tai?”

“Shh.” Tai held up one finger. He stood statue-still for another five seconds. Then he nodded to himself, tore the bag open, and drained the whole thing without a pause. When it was empty, he pitched it into the trash and walked back across the gym without a word.

Ryker knew not to take it personally. And now that Tai had reminded him, his throat began to ache. That match had been a lot of work. He fed his credit card to the vending machine and gulped a blood bag of his own. Slaked and energized, he darted back to the sparring area. Tai was performing what would be an Olympian-level floor routine if he were human. He tumbled and sprang, leaped and twisted, made his way all around the mat with multiple forward and backward flips, changing direction in midair. At last he stopped and walked over to Ryker.

“Thanks,” he said.

Ryker shrugged. “For what?”

“You never make it weird.”

“You never make me feel like a coward when I think the world’s going to fall out from under me, so… We’re even. And you know that.”

“Yeah. It’s easy to forget though, when…when it hits me like that.”

“Tai, I couldn’t even tell. You talk like you go slavering mad, but to the rest of us, you look like any other slaking vampire.”

Tai nodded, half-convinced. At last he said, “That was a good match, man. You made me work for that.”

“Same.” Ryker decided a question would be okay. “Before you broke the seal, were you actually counting in your head?”

“It’s a habit, counting to ten before I let myself open the bag. When I’m extra thirsty, I count to twenty.”

“Of course you do.”

Tai slanted him a warning look, and Ryker raised his hands in surrender.

“You have time to go again?” Tai said.

“Hmm.” Ryker glanced to the oversized clock on the wall behind the service counter. Past midnight. “I’d better get going.”

They walked out together, and they froze simultaneously at the sight of a certain brunette leaning against Ryker’s car, her gaze already pinned on both of them.

“I should’ve anticipated this,” Tai said.

“Nah. Go on, man. It’s fine.”

When Tai hesitated, Jacqueline’s teeth flashed. She didn’t move toward them, of course. She waited for Ryker to come to her.

“I mean it,” Ryker said.

He didn’t want to say more in her hearing, but he didn’t have to. Tai’s iron grip landed on his shoulder and stayed there until he made eye contact. Then Tai studied him for a long moment that Jacqueline was watching too. He nodded at last. “Take care, man.”

“We’ll talk soon.”