Stuck in the Middle (MxMxM)?

Chapter 18 - Touring Sutton

The man had a huge smile on his face. "Alright! We gotta put Smaug back first."

"Got it." Ryder put the animal back and used some hand sanitizer before they got into the man's car.

So far he had yet to confirm if the man's family were hunters, mostly because none of them were home. His father was working, his sister was out with her friends, and his mother was grocery shopping. So that had given them the house to themselves.

He had also shot Kendric a text, but the man wasn't free and promised to hang out Sunday. Which helped Ryder book most of his weekend.

Adan did the typical tour guide routine, pointing out interesting landmarks like the school, the local museum, the old coal mines, and their own little strip mall. Which was much more modest than the one in Blue Field. It had a few restaurants, a salon, a vintage toy store, and a candy shop. A little off to the side was an ice cream parlor.

"Across the street is the park. There's a small splash pad, a playground for the kids, a field for sports, and the local library where they sometimes hold free concerts and set off fireworks for the Fourth of July."

"That sounds like fun. Back home, we had to drive to the swimming hole to see the firework displays. Not that we couldn't shoot our own off. Some folks would do their own thing. And they never cheap out."

"Sounds dangerous. "

"It's not. There are no woods around to catch fire, and the fire department patrols the area since they know how rednecks can get."

Adan laughed.

Ryder felt like this was the perfect moment to pry. He still had to figure out if the man was a hunter. But when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

They were having fun, and he didn't want to ruin it by being weird. But...His life may literally be on the line.

Do it Ryder!

"By the way," He took a different approach. "How much do you know about Kendric?"

The mood shifted, and he knew he made a mistake bringing the man up. What a lousy choice. He should have just come out right and asked if he was a werewolf hunter instead.

"Why?" Adan asked, his voice going stern.

Ryder tried to play it off as he fiddled with his thumbs. "I overheard some rumors around school. That he committed murder and used to beat up people from Sutton for fun."

He was surprised when the man snorted. "What? Murder? Kendric?"

Relieved that the man found the suggestion funny, he laughed along, though not as heartily. "Yeah, stupid, right? But people seem to have a really bad impression of him."

"He can be an ass at times. But he's not that bad of a guy. I doubt he'd ever willingly hurt someone who didn't ask for it. And even then, he tends to hold back."

"You guys fought?"

"Not physically, no. We argued a lot since we competed in everything. I remember getting so frustrated in high school when he'd show up at every competition I was in. I felt like he was stalking me. As a matter of fact, I was the one who tried picking fights, but he never attacked me. Though I guess there was one time he did hit someone, but honestly, I wanted to hit him too."

"What happened?"

"A guy from my school started spouting really offensive stuff. It made the rest of the Sutton team look bad, and if Kendric hadn't of hit him, I would have. It was the one time we were all on the same side." The man's eyes seemed to go distant as he spoke.