Now we were in the no man’s land of too early to go to bed, but too late to do anything else. With a nice alcohol buzz running through my veins, and Angus a warm weight on my lap, I leant my head back on the sofa and turned to face Jasper. “Don’t you like Clive?”
“What?” Jasper’s eyebrows scrunched together as though he was trying to work out what I’d said. We hadn’t had that much to drink, had we?
I counted the bottles on the table.
Not too many.
“I know you said he was all right and everything, but you seemed a bit tense when he picked your mum up earlier.” He hadn’t said much, but his body language had screamed uncomfortable or pissed off. Definitely not happy.
Jasper sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. I thought for a minute he’d brush me off, but he met my gaze, blue eyes far too intense but I didn’t look away.
Couldn’t.
“To be honest, I’m not sure what it is.” Another sigh. “I mean, objectively I know he’s a nice guy. He treats her well, and I can see that she’s happy with him.”
“But?” I prompted when he seemed to falter.
“But something about him just pisses me right the fuck off.” He covered his face with his hands, and I let him be, unsure of what to say. Cole was his best friend, not me. I should probably leave it to him to talk to Jasper about shit like this, but he seemed so lost in that moment and the caretaker in me couldn’t leave it alone.
“Hey.” I went for a knee pat but sorely misjudged the distance and ended up grabbing his thigh. Angus grumbled at the sudden movement.
Dropping his hands, he looked from me to my hand, then back again. “Yeah?” The spark of interest in his eyes sent heat coursing through my veins, and the temptation to leave my hand where it was almost won out. But common sense returned, albeit at a snail’s pace, and I pulled back, clasping my hands to keep them out of trouble.
I didn’t miss the flash of disappointment on Jasper’s face, but this was the beer talking. We’d both be happy we didn’t cross a line come morning. “It’s okay to be pissed off, you know,” I said, finally remembering my train of thought.
He frowned for a moment before letting his head drop back against the sofa with a sigh. “Is it, though?” He turned to face me, and we were suddenly far closer than I’d been prepared for. “Pretty sure that makes me a selfish, spoilt arsehole,” he grumbled.
He looked so cross with himself it made me laugh. That only made him frown harder, which in turn sent me into peals of laughter.
“I’m glad you find my life so amusing.”
I shook my head, trying and failing to stop. At this point I wasn’t sure what I was laughing at any more, I just couldn’t seem to stop. Jeez. “Sorry,” I gasped out.
He shook his head at me, but his frown was gone, a smile curving his lips and growing wider by the second. Much better.
“Wanker.” He nudged me hard and I fell over onto the cushions. Angus jumped down in disgust and wandered off.
When I finally got a hold of myself, I wiped at my eyes and sat up again. “Fuck, sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh, but your face...”
An eye-roll was all the response I got, which was probably fair. “I meant it though. You’re allowed to not be over the moon about your mum’s relationship.” He still looked sceptical. “When did your mum and dad split up?”
“Um... seven years on January tenth.”
The fact that he knew it down to the day told me it was still a sensitive topic. “So, you’ve essentially been the man of the house for the past seven years.”
His expression told me he knew what I was getting at. “I suppose.”
“So, don’t you think it’s understandable to feel a bit of resentment about someone coming in and taking that spot from you?” I was no therapist, but it made sense to me. It’d been just Jasper and his mum for years; he was bound to feel animosity to any new addition to their family.
“I don’t know... maybe.” He fisted his hair and blew out a breath, clearly frustrated. “Still doesn’t make it okay.”
“You should talk to her, let her know how you’re feeling instead of feeding her bullshit lines about needing your own space.” Fuck, I’d not meant to say all that, and I bit my lip, convinced I’d overstepped.
Jasper huffed out a laugh, thank fuck. “Thank you, Dr Walker, I didn’t realise my monthly rent included an hour’s therapy. Or is that extra?”
I grinned back at him. “That’s on the house. Next one will cost you though.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He yawned then, the action contagious.
