Meanwhile, Seb and the guys had been pestering him since the kiss, wanting to know if it was for real.
Kieran rolled his gray sweatpants and placed them on topof the hoodie. A little truth might pacify him. “Lily invited me to see the fireworks with some of her friends.”
“Dude, you’re meeting her friends? I knew it. That was more than faking it for the camera.”
Sebastián was nothing if not relentless. Kieran shook his head and changed into his swim trunks. “Calm down, fangirl. We’re just friends.”
“With benefits?”
It couldn’t hurt for Seb to know, right? Natalia knew. Hell, all Lily’s friends at the beach house would know by morning if they didn’t suspect it already.
“Yeah.”
“Iknewit!” If a grown-ass man could squeal, Seb was doing it. “I thought you were crazy for swearing off relationships with staff members, but—”
“It’s not a relationship, Seb.” The words rushed out as if ejected from his racing heart, harsh and brooking no argument. “No strings, just fun. Andlow-key.” And if Sebastián said anything to the contrary at work, Kieran might as well turn in his two weeks. Nothing was more important than keeping the gym alive and maintaining his loyalty to the man who’d saved him. Not even Lily.
His gut soured.
“Yeah, I got you.” Metal clanged in the speaker’s background. “You need me to stay home and take Danny for the night?”
Tension eased from Kieran’s shoulders. He could count on his friend to keep his mouth shut. He shoved his beach towel and a bottle of sunblock into his bag. “Nah, I already dropped him off at Maeve’s. Go to your party, asshole.”
Sebastián chuckled. “Still grounded?”
“He got his phone back, but I can’t trust him to be on his own for the night.” He rolled a pair of gym shorts and a shirttogether and shoved them into his bag. He still needed to pack his toothbrush and toiletries.
“Well, have fun with yourfriendtonight.”
“Yeah, yeah. Catch you later.”
“Pack cond—”
Sebastián’s shout cut off when Kieran ended the call.
At least Sebastián was good for one thing. Kieran grabbed a pack of foils from his nightstand and shoved them into his bag.
* * *
Lily’s friends greeted them with cheers and cocktails when they arrived at the tiny waterfront property near Gary, Indiana. The two-bedroom rancher was the childhood home of Alex—the guy with the dark pompadour—and his dad, who still lived there, was away on business. Lily also introduced him to Natalia, though really she needed no introductions, and her spouse, Jack. Alex’s boyfriend was in the kitchen, a tall guy with white-blond hair.
“Remember when I told you I kept my ex’s cousin in the breakup?” Lily asked and led him to the blond prepping hamburgers for the grill. “Kieran, I’d like you to meet Ilya.”
Kieran offered his hand and raised his brows. “So, you’re the guy I get to interrogate for that asshole’s whereabouts.”
His words surprised a laugh out of the blond. Ilya stepped out from behind the small kitchen island with hands covered in hamburger and bumped elbows with Kieran. “I try to stay clear of that side of the family. Pretty sure they’d shoot me on sight now that they know I’m gay.”
Kieran grimaced. “Damn, that’s fucked up.”
When Shauna came out her junior year, it was a relief to everyone at home. No more stompy, moody Shauna trying to figure out if she wanted to be like other girls or be in relationships with other girls. Now he had her and Stephanie’swedding to look forward to right before the Local Legends tournament.
Ilya glanced toward the beige-walled room where Alex, Natalia and Jack had migrated, and his expression softened. “Yep. Now I’m free to be myself and love whomever I want, and I’ve never felt so lucky, you know?”
Kieran couldn’t stop himself from looking at Lily. She’d turned, gazing out the window toward the lake. “Yeah,” he answered. She glanced back toward him, her expression relaxed and her smile softening her eyes. “I think I do.”
She wound her arm around his as if she meant to escort him. “Come on. We should drop our bags in our room and help Ilya prep lunch.”
After a simple meal of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and chips, they spent most of the day swimming in Lake Michigan or on the loungers along the deck, drinking and eating and playing ridiculous games—Lily’s favorite was Sing or Swim, which landed Kieran in the lake each time because hell if he knew the lyrics to America’s Top 40.
