Page 87 of Should Our Stars Collide

Time-travel complications aside, how could Ash be okay with this?

“Don’t you want the other Kieran back? You know, the one who doesn’t insult you all the time and has better anger management? The one who exercises and doesn’t live on tequila and sarcasm?” Face heating up, he adds, “The one who puts out?”

At the last part, Ash cracks a smile. “I do miss the hanky panky.”

Kieran scowls. So much for a serious conversation. “I don’t know what I was expecting. And I can’tbelieveyou just said ‘hanky panky’.”

“Kieran, you two are not that different,” Ash says, more solemnly now. “You still keep me on my toes, call me out when I cross a line. Youlive and breathe sarcasm and, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re still a hothead.”

“Oh.”

Is that right? The way Ash always talks about future Kieran makes it sound like they’re two completely different people.

“That being said, I have no doubt you’ll be able to go back,” Ash adds, placing his hand on top of Kieran’s. “You just need to have a little more faith in yourself.”

Kieran looks at their joined hands, freaked out by the fact that he’s…not freaking out. Is this how exposure therapy works? The more Ash touches him, the more unfazed he becomes?

To be fair, he’s already had Ash’s boner pressed against him, so hand-holding shouldn’t get his blood pressure up.

“What are we?” he ends up asking.

“Huh?”

“We already established that what we have is not normal. So what are we?”

Ash opens his mouth and promptly closes it. “I’ll tell you once I get some food in you. That’s non-negotiable,” he adds when Kieran is about to protest.

“Fine.” He’s only agreeing because he’s hungry, not because Ash gave him an order. He kicks off the blanket, getting ready to stand up, but Ash stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Stay. I’ll whip something up.” He gives Kieran’s cheek a gentle stroke, then disappears into the kitchen. Just like that. Like it’s normal. Like it’s nothing new. Like he’s not completely rewriting Kieran’s body chemistry.

Fuck, Kieran hates him. Can’t stand him.

But there’s a small possibility—tiny, miniscule, practically insignificant—that he might like him too.

21

One unexpectedly delicious stir-fry later, Ash sits them down on the sofa and dives straight in.

“I’ll start by saying that what we are didn’t happen overnight. We put a lot of time and effort into making it perfect for both of us.”

“Okay, tell me one thing first,” Kieran interrupts. “Are we doing, like, BDSM stuff?”

Please, let me be wrong.

A corner of Ash’s mouth lifts. “You caught on, huh?”

Fuuuck.

“You can only threaten to spank me so many times before I realize something doesn’t add up,” Kieran deadpans, hoping his expression radiatesdeep displeasure.

“To put your mind at ease; it’s not what you think. What we do is more…nuanced.”

“Can you not talk in riddles?” Because this vague shit doesn’t help. At the mention of BDSM, Kieran’s mind automatically conjures up images of dungeons with chains and whips hanging on the walls.

“There are no whips or chains in the apartment. So stop freaking out.”

“Get out of my head,” Kieran snaps.