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“Because I don’t want to,” James said. “I don’t blame you, Shiloh. As insufferable as Ryder can be?—”
“Hey!”
“—he is pretty cute.”
“I’ll show you ‘cute,’” I snarled at James.
Shiloh whipped their head around again, too quick for James to come up with something snarky in response. They closed theireyes and grabbed their stomach—were they about to be sick again? After a few deep breaths, they centered themselves and stood, taking their plate to James at the sink. “I think I’m going to get an Uber home. Thank you for breakfast,” they said to James before turning to me. “And thank you for last night. I’m?—”
“Shi,” I warned.
“Grateful,” they finished shyly, pulling their phone from their pocket and dashing from the room.
I started to follow them, but James called me back. “Give them their space,” he said quietly. “Imagine how they feel right now. Besides, we should talk about yesterday.”
I groaned and pushed my half empty plate away. I wasn’t hungry anymore. “Do we have to?”
His response was cut off by a knock at the door. “Are you expecting anyone?”
I shook my head but thankful for the delay in conversation, rose from the table. James swept my plate away as I went to the front door.
“Kian!” I exclaimed, surprised to see him on the front step. I hadn’t expected to see him again so soon. A gust of wind made me shiver. “Come in.”
Kian stepped over the threshold. He looked… tired. His hair was a mess. Dark circles framed red-rimmed eyes; he hadn’t been sleeping. Or he’d been crying. Or both. Whichever it was, I couldn’t blame him. “I um, I was hoping we could talk.”
“Sure.”
I gestured to the couch and Kian sat, Carlos leaping up to curl next to him. Kian’s hand immediately fell into his fur, as if Carlos was a comfort to him.
James appeared in the room, drying his hands on a kitchen towel. “Hi, Kian. Can I get you something to drink?”
I chose to ignore how domestic that felt.
Kian declined, and James turned to leave. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”
“Wait,” Kian called after him. “I’m actually glad you’re here. I was hoping to talk to both of you.”
James looked at me with panicked eyes, asking permission to be there. I shrugged in response. If Kian wanted to talk to both of us, who was I to say no? I settled onto the two-seater, James taking his place next to me after tossing the towel onto the kitchen counter. He was the one to break the silence, looking between me and Kian. I didn’t know how to start, and Kian was busy scratching Carlos behind the ears.
“What’s going on?”
Kian took a deep breath, but he didn’t take his eyes off the dog at his side. “I don’t know if Ryder said, or if you know, but he told me. About you.”
James nodded. “He didn’t want to hide the truth from you, but that meant revealing what I am.”
“Did you know my parents?”
“No, I didn’t. But Kian, I can’t even begin to tell you how truly sorry I am.”
Kian’s jaw clenched. “Everyone’s sorry, but I don’t need any apologies.”
I fidgeted with my hands in my lap, unsure where I fit into all of this. “Whatdoyou need from us?”
He sighed, dropping his head into his free hand. His voice cracked when he spoke. “I don’t know. I need to figure something out though, because feeling like this is driving me up a wall.”
James squeezed my thigh. I let my hand find his, finding solace in weaving our fingers together. “Would it help if you knew more about me?” he asked Kian.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
