Page 132 of Should Our Stars Collide

“That leaves you two,” Carrie's excited voice makes him draw back.

“Huh?”

“When will we be hearing wedding bells?”

Wedding…what?

“Muuum.” Gabe looks exhausted, like someone who’s been through, well, a cyclone. And possibly an earthquake.

“Soon,” Ash replies breezily, while Kieran is trying to string together a coherent thought.

Carrie clasps her hands together. “Lovely!” Satisfied with the answer, she moves on to the next topic, as if nothing happened.

A few seconds later, the waiter brings over their dessert.

Once Kieran’s picked his jaw up off the floor, he turns to Ash. “Someone’s confident.”

“Sure am.” Ash spoons up his pistachio rice pudding and brings it to his mouth. “As you know, I can be very convincing.” He takes way more time than necessary to put the spoon in his mouth, and even longer to pull it out, giving it way more tongue action than necessary.

Kieran feels heat crawling up his neck, and his belly tingles. He still vividly remembers what Ash’s tongue felt like, in his mouth and inhis?—

“Not in front of my salad, please.” Gabe glares at them across the table, cheeks flushed.

Oh shit. Can he— Can he sense horny emotions too? Fuck, that’s mortifying.

“My salad is okay. Please, proceed,” Zeke encourages with a grin.

Well, that just killed Kieran’s boner. And his appetite.

“O-kay,” he sing-songs. “I think it’s time we wrap this up.”

His prayers go unanswered.

“You’ve gone very quiet. Is your social battery drained? Which would be understandable,” Ash notes with amusement when they’re walking to the carpark.

Kieran laughs. Ash is partially right. They will need to find an excuse to get out of any future multi-dates because this wasintense.His ribs still feel bruised from the hug Carrie had given him, and his ears are ringing from how everyone tried to talk over each other. And now he can’t even look Gabe in the eye because the guy felt his emotional boner. Yuck.

That being said, something else is on his mind. He only registered it during dinner, listening to the others bicker, all vastly different personalities clashing together. As the night progressed, the truth lodged itself under his skin.

He puts a hand on Ash’s arm to get his attention. Ash stops immediately, concern etched into his features.

Kieran smiles shakily, to put his mind at ease. “I just realized how many people came into my life because of you.”

Ash blinks. “Me?”

“I always felt so…isolated from the rest of the world. Sure, I had Dee, but…you know how that turned out. And then I met you and…”

“And Ipissed you off.”

“You did.” Looking back to the time they’d met, he can’t help but laugh. If he wanted kids, this would be a story he’d never stop telling. Maybe he’ll still get a chance if he becomes a godfather. “You also turned my life on its head. I didn’t know it then, but that’s exactly what I needed,” he rushes to say, in case Ash takes it the wrong way. “Someone to shake me up and get me out of this…state of numbness. Thanks to you, I have a family now. An infuriating one.” He chuckles, feeling exasperated fondness bloom in his chest. “But they’re all people who don’t bail when things get rough.”

That’s all he ever wanted. He can admit it now, he never wanted to be on his own. It’s just that he spent so long trying to convince himself of the opposite that, somewhere down the line, he could no longer differentiate between his own personal truth and the mask he fabricated to protect himself from getting hurt.

Meeting Ash had torn that mask right off, giving him no choice but to look the raw truth in the face. It was painful, and scary, and the best thing that’s ever happened to him. He’s taken a long journey to get here, but he’s finally home.

Hand flexing at his side, Ash finally reaches for him, drawing him in for a hug. Kieran clings on, burying his face in Ash’s chest, inhaling his scent. Fuck, how had he lived 26 years without Ash’s hugs? Bottle that shit up because it will cure depression, seriously.

Ash pulls slightly back so he can fit a finger under Kieran’s chin, prompting him to look up. “I’d love to take credit, but you’ve known them since before you even met me. Maybe not Carrie, but who knows. You might’ve met her at some point anyway.”