Whit then turns to me. “Call off your pet.”
“Mal’s not my pet. He is feral, though,” I respond, and Mal snaps his teeth at pale dude.
But I’m a nice guy, so I take pity on him.
“Look, Mal, leave Casper alone. You’re scaring him.”
Whit bites his bottom lip at my quip, and I see his knuckles whiten as he grips his thighs.
“Alright,” Mal says and then stands up to his full height. His muscles bunch under his shirt as he flexes them.
“Apologize,” I tell Mal, and he tilts his head, considering this before he says, “Sorry, Casper.”
“My name’s not Casper,” not-Casper says softly.
“My bad,” Mal says flippantly. “You making my boy, Whit, feel uncomfortable? Got a little handsy for a bit there.”
Casper holds up his hands, his ears turning pink.
Are his nails painted? Yep, yep they are.
“I…meant no harm.”
“Keep your hands to yourself, hm,” Mal says, and Casper turns to glance at Whit, who is silent through the entire thing.
Interesting.
Mal studies the boy and then moves to stand near Whit and me.
“Welp, my job here is done. See you later?”
“Yep,” I say and watch as Mal fist bumps Whit and then struts away.
Whit watches him go and then turns his stare to me. Casper is scooting farther away from Whit, putting space between them.
“Did you need something, Caleb?” he asks after a moment of silence.
I shift on my feet and shrug. “You’ve been making my bed.”
It’s not why I’m here, to discuss my sheets, but I don’t know what else to say. I feel slightly crazy. I don’t like how not-Casper looks at Whit and then at me.
I narrow my eyes at him before moving them back to Whit.
“Does it bother you?” he asks.
“Nah, you do you.”
“Anything else?” Whit asks.
I look over and see the two girls staring at me, their eyes wide and confused.
Yeah, girls, me too.
“You going to Houdini on me for much longer?”
Whit taps his fingers on his thighs. “I should be home soon.”
“Fine,” I say and then rock forward on my feet. “I’ll see you then.”