“Well, don’t.”
“I would have apologised if I actually bruised you.”
I ignore him. If there’s a god out there, please make my erection go away. If Kieran saw I had a hard-on, I would never live it down. I would have to change my name, dye my hair and move to a different country. I’m not being dramatic.
“Thanks for, uh, helping me today,” he says. “I know it would have been a pain dealing with me, so…yeah.”
I close my eyes. I wish he’d stop speaking. I don’t want to hear his deep voice when I’m trying to get rid of my erection. I’m not hardbecauseof Kieran, by the way. It’s just terrible timing.
Kieran sighs, annoyed that I’m ignoring him. Whatever — I’m too busy trying to think of mundane stuff. Tests. Exams. The multiple to-do lists I have stored in my head. It’s impossible to maintain a hard-on while you’re too busy thinking of all the chores you have to do, right?
Then I make the mistake of opening my eyes and seeing Kieran, and all of my hard work goes out the window.
I have to get out of here.
I wait until he closes his eyes again, then I push myself out of the tub in record speed. “I’m going,” I declare, speed-walking out of the room, keeping my back to him. I don’t wait for him to respond before darting into the bathrooms and cursing my tented shorts.
Quickly, I get changed and head back to my room.
There’s only one way to fix the problem in my pants, and that involves my right hand, the shower and the bathroom door locked.
11
Kieran: Please
During dinner, Jasper compliments how quickly I improved. I say that Jasper’s a great teacher. Senior smiles, like he was right all along. If only he knew.
As soon as we return to our room, our smiles disappear. We change into our pyjamas and get into our separate beds, and don’t say a single word to each other.
For a moment there, we were almost getting along. I wasn’t lying when I said Jasper was a great teacher. He was a lot more patient than I expected and helped me up off the ground without acting like touching me was painful. Then he had to ruin everything in the hot tub. I tried to thank him because Senior has a point. Fighting all the time is exhausting. It’d be better to get along. But he just snapped at me and ignored me and then he ran out.
I’m tired but it’s still too early to sleep, so I kill time by watching an episode ofThe Witcheron my phone. I’m always a sucker for fantasy TV shows and movies. I’m about to watch a second episode when my phone rings.
I pick up. “Hey Dad.”
Jasper glances at me before returning his gaze to his own phone.
“How ya going, mate?” Dad says.
“Yeah, good. I went skiing today.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Wait a minute,” I say, and go to the bathroom. I don’t want Jasper to overhear my conversation. After I close the door, I tell Dad about the day.
“It sounds like you’re having a lot of fun.”
“I am, but I feel guilty about how expensive things are here. My ski pass alone was hundreds of dollars. It’s crazy.”
Dad whistles.
“I know Senior said he was happy to pay for me, but…can you pay him back? For my ski gear and ski pass at least.”
He takes a moment to reply. “Of course, I’ll do that. But don’t feel guilty, Kieran. Senior’s happy to spend money on you.”
I sigh, leaning against the bathroom wall. Sometimes I wonder if Jasper’s right to hate me. Maybe I am a leech, taking Senior’s money and time when I don’t deserve it. “Anyway, how was your day?” I ask.
Dad tells me about work, then complains about the weather. It’s been raining nonstop for a week in Sydney. He hesitates. “I, er…”
