Page 61 of All the way home

“What about you? Off the top of your head?” Teasing, Zach mimics his earlier tone. “Tell me about yourself.”

Of course, Kieran seems unbothered to be asked. “Most of the interesting stuff about me is Rena-related.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Shifting in his seat, Kieran smiles fondly. “She would have been valedictorian except that she didn’t want to be. Our whole life she’s gotten truly insane grades, and on top of all of that, she was soccer captain three years in a row in high school.”

“Wow.” Zach folds his arms. “Except . . . that’s not about you.”

“Sure it is.” Kieran grins. “You can extrapolate a lot about me from that information.”

Which is true, technically. If Kieran’s saying all that about Rena like it’s a miracle, probably it’s not true about him. But—

“Nah.” Shaking his head, Zach taps his foot rapidly against the tile. “That’s cheating.”

“Fine.” His grin shifts, a little wilder. “I wasn’t quite dead for this, so it’s not as cool as your story, but for my first ever kiss, I was technically unconscious.”

All Zach can do is gape at him. Then he laughs, caught between horror and grim intrigue. “There’s a lot to break down here. Technically? Also, why were you unconscious?”

“I was ten. Swallowed water at a pool party. Had to get mouth-to-mouth from one of my friends’ older cousins. Very romantic.”

“Sounds like it.”

Predictably, Kieran doesn’t have any qualms about eating in front of people. And he doesn’t even look weird doing it, either, which is unfair, because he’s eating a burger, and by rights he should have a bit of an awkward vibe going on.

Putting down his burger, Kieran asks, “What about you? Who was your first kiss?”

Subtle.

After a moment, Zach clears his throat and says, “Seth.”

He waits for it to hurt.

It doesn’t.

Across the table, Kieran waggles his eyebrows. “Ooh. Seth?”

“Yeah.” Zach is impressed at his own chillness. “We dated for a while.”

It’s so weird to say that. Like, yeah, it’s technically true, but it doesn’t feel true enough, and at the same time, he wishes it had never happened at all.

“Past tense,” Kieran notes.

Zach smiles a little down at his burger. “Yeah.”

Is it weird to talk about exes with someone you’re sort of . . . kind of flirting with? Even if Zach had a single clue what’s going on, he’s pretty sure there isn’t a rulebook for what you’re supposed to do when you meet someone brand-new and then get stuck with them for four hours straight.

“Funny story,” Zach starts, then has to pause and build up the courage to continue. “He was my first kiss, but we didn’t actually get together for ages after.”

“That does sound like a story.” Fiddling with his straw, Kieran gives him an encouraging smile. “Tell it to me.”

“It’s kind of long.”

Kieran laughs. “Thing is, we have time. I can see the gate from here. We’re not boarding yet.”

“Oh God.” Leaning back in his chair, Zach unfolds his arms and picks up his burger. “You’re going to have to earn that one.”

“I plan to.”