Page 44 of Chasing Secrets
Jalen huffed out a laugh that shook more than he wanted it to. “Cool. Now I want one of those burgers before Zeppelin burns them out of spite.”
“Good plan.” Chase kissed him once, soft and ridiculously pure for a guy who’d said far filthier things in bed that morning. The kind of kiss that made Jalen feel seen instead of devoured. “Come on. You’re getting the first one.”
“Bold move, stealing from Zeppelin’s grill,” Jalen said, letting Chase’s arm stay slung around his shoulders as they headed back toward the chaos. “If I die, bury me with Preston’s deviled eggs as a warning to others.”
“Noted,” Chase said, fingertips idly tracing Jalen’s shoulder as if they had all the time in the world to memorize each other. “But you’re not dying today. You’re eating, and then you’re letting me kiss you again under that ugly maple Wade refuses to trim.”
“Rude. That maple is doing its best.”
They reached the tables to a chorus of half-insults and offers. A plate appeared in Jalen’s hands. Someone shoved a bowl of slaw at him. Preston called across the grass that he’d saved a spot on the blanket, which was a lie because he’d spread out like a cat and claimed every inch.
Voices overlapped, bright and messy. Sauce dripped down Jalen’s wrist. He licked it off and pretended that hadn’t been weirdly intimate with sixteen witnesses. Chase leaned in and bit the corner of Jalen’s burger, eyes laughing when Jalen squawked and shoved him halfheartedly.
Sun on his skin. Smoke in his lungs. Laughter snagging on things inside him that used to be jagged edges. He didn’t have to name any of it out loud. He just had to stand in it and eat his burger like a functional person.
Quinn passed him a cold soda with a brotherly smile. Condensation slid over Jalen’s palm and dripped onto his knee. Chase looked as if he wanted to lap it up. If his mate went for it, Jalen would let him.
“Hey,” Preston yelled from the blanket. “Bring me a cookie unless you hate me.”
Laughter spiked and receded, conversations flowed, and Jalen’s chest did a weird, warm ache that felt suspiciously like relief. He glanced around at the wolves who’d made space for him without requiring a password, who yelled across the yard for him to try the corn, who argued over playlists like it mattered.
Maybe it did.
Chase’s knuckles brushed Jalen’s shoulder as he sat, a quiet touch that said “still here” without making a scene. Jalen leaned into it, just slightly, and let the afternoon settle over him like something he could finally live inside.
Not perfect.
Not fixed.
Just…good.
He could handle good.
THE END