Page 99 of Should Our Stars Collide

Kieran all but drags Ash outside when Dawson casually starts on the idea of a double date in the near future. At the car, he pops theboot so Ash can put Tequila’s toys and bowls in. He protests a little when Ash insists on Tequila riding shotgun with him, but then just throws his hands in the air, grumbling under his breath.

Ash really wishes they were at the point where he could kiss the frown off Kieran’s face.

“I forgot to mention,” he starts, once they’re on the road. “I’m supposed to go back to work tomorrow, but I can postpone it if you’d rather I stay with you.” He’s booked back-to-back after his holiday, but as much as he cares for his patients, his time-traveling boyfriend takes precedence.

“And why would I want that? I’m already getting cabin fever,” Kieran replies snottily. The little brat.

“Thought I’d ask. What about you?”

“Me?”

“Do you want me to run you through what you do now, or will you be taking time off? I mean, you dictate your hours, so no stress.” And it’s not like they’re hard up.

“It’s fine. Pretty sure that a quick look through my files and emails will give me an idea of what I do. But I won’t dive back in right now. I’d rather spend time taking Gabe up on his offer.”

“What offer?”

“To learn how to block you out.” He throws Ash a deadpan glance before focusing back on the road.

“Good. We can test it later.”

“Not a chance.”

Ash laughs. So it would seem Kieran learned how to fortify his mind in the future before going back to his time. Which means he already knew what to do when Ash offered to teach him. He just went along with it, so as to not raise suspicion. Clever, sneaky little cookie.

“So, what’s the deal with her?” Kieran asks, nodding at the carrier. “Why get a cat that hates the person you live with?”

“We didn’t have much choice. She was a stray. Walked up to me when I was leavingLost and Ground.I took her to a shelter Dawson recommended and left my number so I could check on how she’sdoing. They called me two days later saying she was inconsolable ever since I dropped her off and asked if I’d consider adopting her.”

“I never would’ve pegged you as a pushover,” Kieran quips.

Ash omits telling him the reason why he caved without resistance was that she’d reminded him of Kieran all too much, the little drama queen that she is.

“I have my moments.”

“And I was okay with it?” Kieran checks, sounding doubtful.

“You had some objections, but I changed your mind.”

“How?” When Ash doesn’t say anything, just keeps smiling like an idiot, he sighs. “Forget I asked.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to know the details?”

“Positive.” He shakes his head. “Never knew I’d be competing with a damn feline.”

“You’re not competing,” Ash tells him solemnly. He can sense the flicker of insecurity under all that snark from miles away. “It’s always been you, Kieran.”

Kieran’s chest expands with a slow, deep inhale. He’s white-knuckling the steering wheel, but stubbornly looking ahead.

Sensing a shift in energy towards something deeper and more fragile, Ash takes advantage. “I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been rather accepting of our relationship since we had the big talk.”

“Yeah, well…” Kieran coughs, hands opening and closing around the wheel. “I did some thinking. I mean, what’s the point of denying it? Clearly, this is the reality. At least in this timeline. There must be a reason why we ended up this way. And…I do look happy.” Ironically, he’s frowning again as he says that. “When I see our pictures, or listen to Kieran 2.0 wax poetic about you. And I know looks can be deceiving, but everyone else seems to believe we’re a package deal.”

“I do like the sound of that,” Ash says to break up the tension a bit, since Kieran’s body looks like a bowstring getting stretched to its limit.

It works, a wobbly grin appearing on Kieran’s face for a moment.

“What I’m trying to say is…I may not understand how we got to be like this, but I’m willing to listen. Maybe even explore it.”