Page 64 of Should Our Stars Collide

“I’m glad you had fun.”

“I didn’t say I had fun.”

“Mhm-hm.”

“Hey,behave,” Kieran warns for the hundredth time. “Unless you want me to tell the airport security you have a bag of cocaine shoved up your ass.”

“Funny coming from someone who usually has something uphisass.”

Kieran stutters, his face crimson. “Y-you fucking pervert!”

“What?” Ash blinks innocently. “I was talking about that giant stick you seem to carry around.” He grins knowingly. “What wereyoupicturing?”

Ash does occasionally feel bad for teasing him, but only in the waya cat feels bad after knocking a glass off the table. Which is, not at all.

Karma will probably catch up with him eventually.

Turns out, karma works a lot faster than you’d think.

As Ash steps through the security scanner, one of the officers points at him, then crooks a finger in a clearcome heremotion.

Behind Ash, Kieran is cackling. “Perfect. This is my chance.”

“Just remember we’re traveling together,” Ash reminds him calmly. “If I go down, you go down with me.”

The way Kieran’s expression flips from gleeful to horrified in half a second is priceless. Ash bites the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He wouldn’treallythrow Kieran under the bus.

Probably.

Maybe.

Grinning, Ash steps forward to where the officer is gesturing. He raises his arms, staying still. The pat-down is pretty standard and methodical. The officer’s hands skim all the way from his shoulders to his sides. When they pat around his butt, checking the back pockets before sliding over to the front, Kieran almost loses it. He unsuccessfully stifles a laugh with his hand, looking like he’s only missing the popcorn.

What a child,Ash thinks affectionately. He loves seeing Kieran have fun, even if it’s at his expense.

Once on board and buckled in, Kieran’s not laughing anymore. His knee is bouncing, his grip on the armrest white-knuckled as the plane taxis down the runway.

“You okay?” Ash asks, suppressing a grin. While not a fan of seeing Kieran scared, he can’t help but enjoy this a little. Normally, it would be at this point that he’d reach for Kieran’s hand and comfort him while they take off. Alas, this Kieran is still a prickly cactus who mightstab if approached too hastily.

“Peachy,” Kieran replies through clenched teeth. “Love flying. Huge fan of being in a metal tube that defies gravity and logic.” He squeezes his eyes shut as they speed up. “How did I survive the flight here?”

Ash leans in, whispering, “I’m good at distracting you.”

He can feel Kieran’s glare even through the closed eyelids.

“Uh-huh. How about you walk your talk now, huh?”

“I’d love to, but I think it would get me punched.”

“Pervert.”

It’s not until Kieran grips the armrest so hard Ash is afraid he’s going to hurt himself that he finally reaches for him.

“What are you doing?” Kieran opens his eyes to stare at their joined hands.

“Just holding your hand. That’s all I’ll do, I promise.” He keeps his voice low. Comforting.

Safe.