Kieran #2
“Uh…” Jordy hesitated, glancing over at Chester before letting a long-winded, rambling tornado of words tumble out.
“Well, I was afraid that maybe Kieran would get in trouble, and I knew that part of why the situation had gotten so escalated was because of his protective mate instincts over me, but we hadn’t exactly gotten around to the part about actually doing it yet, so I just wanted to make sure that everyone knew why, and so we-”
Clearing her throat, the officer raised her palms up to indicate for him to stop. “Understood,” she said quickly, an awkward smile planted on her face. “No need to elaborate, Mr. Nolan.”
“Ah, sorry,” he finished.
I couldn’t help but glance over at Chester, who was staring at Jordy thoughtfully, though he still looked sort of haunted.
That was probably because he’d always imagined his kid as an innocent little ray of sunshine and not the kind of person who’d hook up with his stepbrother in a supply closet, even if we’d had a good reason for it.
“Well, if we’re all done here, then we need to get home and get some food in you,” Chester said, eyeing Jordy with more apprehension than I’d ever seen between them. Guilt smacked me again as I realized I was partially to blame for the tension, but I wasn’t sure what to say.
Walking back through the parking lot was agony, only because when we reached my truck and Chester’s car, parked side-by-side right up close to the building, I didn’t know what to say or if he’d want Jordy riding home with him or not.
“Well, uh…” Chester started, scratching at his chin. “I’ll just head out and you two can follow behind me. I need to think. And we’ll talk at home.”
“Dad?” Jordy said. He still sounded just a little out of it, to my displeasure. “Don’t be mad, okay? Everything is good.”
“We’ll talk at home,” he repeated, before opening his driver door. “I love you,” he added, before slipping in and closing it. I wasn’t sure if he meant both of us or not, but I’d take what I could get.
Jordy sighed as I maneuvered him into the passenger seat, setting him down as gently as humanly possible. He clung to me for just an extra second, before finally releasing my shirt. I listened to Chester’s car drive away before I leaned back inside, hovering over my mate. Mine. Finally.
He stared up at me for a few moments before the corner of his pretty mouth perked up and he snorted.
“So that was… not great.”
Groaning lightly, I shifted my gaze up to the roof of the truck. “I’m sorry about how everything happened, Angel. And I’m sorry you don’t feel good.”
“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Kieran,” he said, reaching out for me and pulling me deeper into the truck so he could hook his arms around my neck.
He’d been clinging onto me forever now, but I guess he still wasn’t sick of touching me.
And I knew I would never get tired of being touched by him.
“You did everything right. You were absolutely perfect.”
He tilted his face up for my kiss just as I leaned in for it, like we were a pair of magnets.
His soft sigh against my lips felt like a sweet balm washing over me, and I was sure I could never love anything or anyone as much as I loved him.
Only the nagging voice in my head that reminded me I needed to get him home and safe and resting could peel me off him.
“How likely do you think it is that my dad’s going to give us some privacy so we can cuddle in my room or something?
” He wondered, once I’d gone around to my side and started up the truck.
Clearly I wasn’t the only one mourning the fact that we’d barely gotten a chance to really just talk and be with each other and let ourselves feel the changes from our bond.
Scoffing, I gave him an incredulous side-long glance as I pulled out of the parking spot. “Not a fucking chance.”
AT HOME, JORDY was fed and forced to lay on the couch under Chester’s eagle eye, on the threat he’d drag him to the hospital if he didn’t stay there and not move an inch.
Mom had come home as soon as Chester had gotten in touch with her, and she’d cooed and fussed over Jordy since the second she’d walked in the door, putting a cold compress on his head and fluffing the pillows around him.
I sat on the floor in front of the couch, watching him closely while we talked.
I was sure Chester had probably told her about what had happened between Jordy and I, but she didn’t bring it up until his levels started to stabilize and he was feeling a little better.
Once the chaos died down a bit, they invited us to explain what had been going on, and how we’d ended up at the point we’d gotten to.
It was akin to torture, trying to explain how things had started between us, and how we’d never meant to go behind their backs, but everything between us had just been…
inevitable. I didn’t know if they would understand, but I tried my best to be transparent, relieved when Jordy took the reins for most of the conversation.
After we’d spilled our guts long enough to end up at the events of the day with Andrew, repeating the stuff with the party and the texts and the auction for Mom’s sake, Chester inhaled and let out a deep sigh.
“I’m glad that everything worked out and that you two were there for each other, but… I wish you would have come to me,” he said, shaking his head a little to demonstrate his displeasure. “This is something your mom and I could have helped you with.”
Clearing my throat, I glanced over at Jordy, who looked as guilty as I felt.
“Is this how we’re going to do things now?” He wondered. “Just you and Kieran against the world? I don’t get to be in the know about what’s going on in your lives?”
“No!” Jordy denied. “No, it… It seriously wasn’t like that,” he swore.
“We just… I mean, we didn’t think it was going to get that serious.
Right, Kieran?” He added, shifting his gaze to me.
He wanted backup. I couldn’t even remember why we hadn’t told anyone.
I’d probably wanted to handle it myself, out of some twisted sense of ego and pride for Jordy’s wellbeing.
So maybe Chester had a point. But I wouldn’t concede that when Jordy was expecting me to back him up.
“I… Um… We didn’t mean it like that,” I repeated. Grammar and vocabulary seemed to have left me around the time we’d emerged from the supply closet and I still hadn’t exactly gotten it back.
Chester stared at me for a few moments before rising to his feet and gesturing for me to follow him as he made his way toward the patio door.
“Kieran, can we talk? In private?” He asked, sliding open the door and stepping outside before closing it behind him.
Resisting the urge to grimace, I rose to my feet so I could follow him.
I glanced over at Jordy, who gave me what he probably thought was an encouraging expression, like he was trying to tell me everything would be okay.
All bundled up in blankets and pillows, still looking just a bit sleepy, he was so cute I almost couldn’t stop myself from believing him.
Maybe that was part of our bond, too. He’d always been the one person who could pull me out of my darkest thoughts.
“It’s going to be okay, honey,” my mom assured me, giving my hand a little squeeze as I walked by. “No one’s upset. I’m happy for you both,” she added. “And we love you.”
Whether by we she meant she and Chester or she and Jordy, I wasn’t sure, but I supposed I was about to find out.
Stepping out onto the patio deck, the briskness of the air surprised me.
It was starting to get a lot colder in the evenings.
Summer was fading into fall, and Jordy would be gone soon.
To my surprise, the thought didn’t cramp up my guts with worry like it usually did.
I was sad about it, and I’d miss him, but there was no fear or apprehension about losing him anymore.
Making my way across the patio, I came up next to Chester and mirrored his pose, setting my elbows on the deck railing to look out across our little yard, with its HOA-approved weed-free emerald grass.
Neither of us said anything for a bit, until finally I couldn’t stand the tension and looked over at him. He was staring at me with that kind, patient expression I’d come to know very early on from him.
I suddenly remembered being in tenth grade, when he’d only been engaged to my mom, and having him show up at some lame little fundraiser art show the school had organized using art submitted by the students.
At the insistence of my teacher, I’d very reluctantly provided a couple of pieces.
Two that I had considered more normie, landscapes of a flowery meadow and a snowy mountain.
The third had been kind of weird and dark and out there, a bio-mechanical depiction of Medusa turning people to stone with her laser eyes.
Not only had he turned up to support me, when he really hadn’t had any obligation to, but he’d openly and loudly praised my work to anyone that got close enough to hear his voice. And he’d liked the weird one, when everyone else had only complimented the landscapes.
“I like this one,” he’d said, genuine affection for me evident in his voice, “Because it reminds me of you. You should keep drawing this kind of stuff, because that’s who you are.”
I’d never had a man show up for me like that, let alone tell me it was okay to be me, even if I was a try-hard, edgy little weirdo.
And he’d never really dropped that supportive attitude toward me.
Even if he didn’t exactly get the whole tattoo and crazy art thing, he always wanted to see what I was working on and always said nice things about it.
The painful little hitch in my chest I’d felt since he’d run up to us in the youth center snapped, and I found myself vomiting up all the worries and concerns I’d had since the beginning about seeing Jordy behind his back and how I’d never meant to betray his trust.