Best Kept Lies (Best Kept #3)

Chapter 15: I'd Need More Than Five Minutes

When I step into the dinner, it's barely past midnight. Jasper should almost be finished, but I don't see him first off. When the kitchen doors open, Jasper emerges and I expect a smile. He doesn't look happy at all.

"You okay?" I ask.

He moves around the counter and grabs his bag from beside the register. "Didn't really have a good day," he murmurs and then points to his shirt. "A little kid decided he'd throw his dessert on me. Actually, I think it was a mixture of chocolate ice-cream and ketchup." Then he sniffs. "I think there could've been maple syrup in there too."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I say. "Do you have extra clothes or anything?"

Jasper shakes his head. "I should've learned by now. I'm just gonna run home and shower, because I know I smell. You wanna go with me really quick?"

I'm surprised for a moment. "Really? You can just go home; we don't have to—"

"No, come on," he says and shoulders his bag. "It won't take long and my house isn't too far from here." He takes the keys from the countertop too and walks ahead of me.

We walk out of the diner and Jasper locks it behind us. I follow him to his truck and I get in on the driver's side, but slide over the cab to get to the passenger spot. Once Jasper's inside, he starts the truck and we leave.

"I'll have to sneak you in," he informs. "Everyone's probably sleeping, but sometimes my mom or dad will wait up until I get home."

That makes me slightly nervous. "It sounds like you're breaking another rule then."

"I'm only breaking it if I get caught," he explains.

I laugh and shake my head. "Then what if one of your parents are up? Or what if Jaylen catches you? There's no promise he won't squeal."

Jasper comes to a stop at a red light and lets out a long breath. "I like how you already know that Jaylen is a weasel even though you met him for five minutes."

"It took less than five minutes to figure that out," I tell him.

Jasper laughs a little and presses on the gas when the light turns green. "A little sibling rivalry is always present in the Cunningham household. It's to the point where my parents will either keep score or they ignore it completely."

Interesting. "What's the worst thing you've done to Jaylen?"

Jasper sucks air in through his teeth and thinks for a moment. "Probably when I put honey and glue in his shampoo a couple of years ago. I got grounded for a month and Jaylen lost a lot of hair. The month of grounding was totally worth it."

"But I'm guessing he got you back..."

"He did," Jasper replies. "It wasn't as bad though. It was more of a fail, actually. He tried putting clear tape in front of my bedroom door so I'd open it and run into it. What he didn't know was that tape isn't so quiet. I was sitting in my room and trying not to laugh the whole time he was doing that."

"What happened?"

"I ran into it," he states simply. "But I didn't do it the way he wanted it to happen. He was hoping I would've lost some hair too. See, if I told him I knew the whole time, then he would've planned something else. I was trying to save myself."

My laugh kind of sputters out. "I guess you did a pretty good job then."

When we get to Jasper's house, he parks his truck in front of the house and gets out. I mock his actions and follow close behind him as we trek to his front door. He pauses at the door with his keys in his hand. "Stay here for a second," he whispers. "Just wanna make sure no one's up."