Page 31 of We Are Just Us

“That’s exactly the level of commitment that worries me.”

Rory laughed and adjusted the straps on his backpack. He was still fully clothed—tank top, shorts, hat, sneakers. Normal. Reassuring.

“Just wait for the trek back up. It’s a doozy. You’ll wish this was a prank.”

The trail wound down the cliff in tight, dusty switchbacks, steep enough to demand attention. People passed them heading up, flushed and sandy, breathing hard.

Relief moved through him. “Okay,” he said quietly. “So at least no one’s committing a crime on the way down.”

Rory glanced back over his shoulder. “Yeah, no. You earn the nudity. And even then it’s not a requirement.”

“That’s…not comforting.”

The descent was hot and close. Rory walked a few steps ahead, steady, occasionally pointing out loose gravel or a tricky step. Kieran focused on his footing and absolutely not on Rory’s shoulders or the way sweat darkened the fabric between them.

They reached the bottom and the beach opened up—wide, bright, calmer than Kieran expected. People scattered along the sand in loose clusters. Some clothed. Some not. Some half-and-half. It was surprisingly normal.

Rory dropped his backpack near a low dune and rolled out a towel. “Okay. Here’s where things diverge.”

Kieran glanced at the sand suspiciously. “You’re being ominous.”

“Relax. This is the part where it’s only fair.”

“Fair?”

Rory shrugged out of his tank top. “I saw you naked.”

The ground shifted under him. “That was an accident.”

“Still counts.” Rory stepped out of his shorts and kicked them aside. The baseball cap stayed on. “I figure the universe likes symmetry.”

Kieran looked away. Then looked back. He regretted both.

He told himself it was normal to look, even if it was Rory.

Fucking liar.

Rory stood there like the sun had personally appointed him its representative, relaxed, entirely too comfortable in a state Kieran was still negotiating terms with.

His body was lean and strong, naturally hairy in the way Kieran had noticed from across fences and driveways but never fully absorbed. His dick was there. Average. Unassuming. Like it had nothing to prove.

Looking at him made Kieran think hugging him would solve several emotional problems at once.

God damn.

What made it worse was how little Rory seemed to care. He wasn’t posing or flexing or checking for reactions. He bent to spread out a towel, stretched his arms overhead, shifted his weight in the sand with zero awareness that Kieran’s eyes had popped out of their sockets.

Then came the inconvenient awareness building below his waist. Not panic but…interest. Interest with momentum.

He forced his gaze away, then wondered if that was noticeable.

Get it together. This is a beach. A beach with significantly more dick and balls than usual, but still just a beach.

Still. He didn’t leave.

“You good?” Rory asked, settling onto his towel.

“Processing,” Kieran said. “Deeply.”