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10TOGETHER
Jasper
The sun was high above us by the time I pulled the kayaks off the truck and set them down on the rocks. Alex took his, one that was quite a bit smaller than the custom one I had made years ago.
The lake glistened bright blue in front of us, reflecting the sun. I enjoyed the heat and the way it turned Alex a little red, although I’d thrown a ball cap at him so he wouldn’t burn. Tan skin or not, I knew he would be the kind to peel if he were out in the sun too long without protection.
This week had been perfect so far. Last night had been…special. I had never thought I would feel the way I did now, and was excited to see where our paths would take us.
When we went back to our city, I would have some business to help the Barista with. But until then, I wasn’t going to worry.
The darkness hadn’t followed us here.
“I love it here,” Alex said, grinning.
“I do too,” I agreed as we pulled our kayaks to the shore.
I could see others here and there along the banks of the lake, but overall we had the place to ourselves. With it being the middle of the week and the middle of the day, there weren’t many out exploring like we were.
“I packed us food in a cooler for when we get hungry,” I said, winking at him. “Did you grab your water bottle from the bag in the truck?”
Alex cursed under his breath and I watched, amused, as he set the kayak down and jogged back to the truck to get his water.
No dehydration on my watch. Humans needed a lot of water to maintain themselves, whereas I could go days without it if needed. Preferred not to, but still…
Didn’t worry as much as I worried about my new mate.
Almost mate.
I frowned a little. I had taken him as mine, but I still needed to seal the bond. I didn’t want to pressure him though.
I still needed to tell him about it…
Most monsters in our world could develop soulmate bonds if they were lucky enough to find their mates. That was the reason the Barista was so good at what he did. He could see the potential threads that weaved fate because they lasted through death.
And gods knew, he’d seen more than his fair share of death.
Alex walked back up, gripping his water bottle like it was a prize.
“Alright,” I chuckled.
The two of us pushed our kayaks out onto the water and I grabbed my paddle as I climbed in. Alex did the same, his boat wobbling as he settled in.
“I won’t race you,” he said, grinning at me.
I laughed. “No racing. Well, I guess if you wanted to. But we’re just here to explore.”
“I used to be scared of the water,” Alex said as we began to paddle out.
There was no wind, so the lake’s surface was serene— only interrupted by the ripples we created.
“I can imagine,” I said, thinking about some of the things he had mentioned about his past. “It saddens me that humans learn about creatures in bad ways.”
Alex shrugged. “I think that eventually it won’t be like that. At least, the Barista seems hellbent on changing the tide.”
He was hellbent on that and many other things.
“There’s been a lot of improvement,” I said, thinking about the past.
