Page 11 of Strays
Jay stopped a few minutes ago and is now sprawled in the grass. I drop beside him and nearly choke on my water. It’s warm and metallic, but I keep drinking. My stomach's bloated from it, and I’m still thirsty.
Shane’s still running. He blows past us in a blur, shirt drenched.
Jay glances over at him, then at me. “Think that’s his three hundredth lap?”
“Probably four hundredth,” I mutter.
“Show off.”
I nod, but I’m not really paying attention. At 6’8, he’s two inches taller than me, and right now, all I can think about is how awkward his long arms and legs look.
Would I look awkward to the nyra?
I probably will, since the three of us look so alike.
When they first formed the stray packs, the research team paired us based on genetic compatibility. So even though we’re not biologically related, we look like blood brothers: same light olive skin, hazel eyes and dark hair.
My eyes drift up to the sky, and without meaning to, I ask, “Do you think she’ll find us weird?”
Jay snorts. “You mean ugly?”
“I mean... I don’t know. Too awkward?”
Jay shrugs. “Depends on the nyra. She might think awkward is hot. Some girls dig that.”
“Shut up,” I laugh.
But then his confident face cracks. “Do you think she really won’t mind us being strays?”
I think for a minute. “I don’t see why she would’ve agreed to the meeting if she wasn’t open to bonding with strays.”
He nods, a little less tense.
Shane finally slows, then collapses into the grass beside Jay like a felled tree, panting hard. “Okay, now we’re done.”
Jay throws his hands up dramatically. “Captain Shane says we’re done. Thank fuck.”
Shane doesn’t even rise to the bait. He grins and says, between breaths, “Where do you think we’ll be living next month?”
Jay sits up. “If she’s not our scent-mate, same shitty apartment, same downtown Greenster.”
Shane sits up too and elbows him. “Why do you always do that? Ninety-three percent compatibility, Jay. Just enjoy it for five goddamn minutes.”
Surprisingly, Jay smiles.
“Yeah, man.” He lies back down, hands behind his head. “Ninety fucking three.”
Shane smiles back and drops onto the grass too. I can’t help doing the same, and for a while, the three of us just lie side by side, staring at the sky.
The silence stretches until Shane breaks it. “Feels amazing, doesn’t it?”
“Like it’s too good to be true,” I reply.
Jay nods. “Exactly.”
I hear a snort from Shane. “I said enjoy it for five minutes, not five seconds.”
“Do you remember when we were kids, we used to lie down on the grass just like this? On the lawn in front of our pack house?” Jay asks.
