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He gave me a soft smile and a nod. “I want to, if you’re okay with it.”

“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck, not sure what else to say. “Of course. It’s totally fine.” I found myself moving closer. All I wanted was to touch him again, to pull him to my chest and hold him, breathe in his scent. For a moment, I thought he was going to reach for me, but when he didn’t, I backed away.

Kieran’s smile wavered and he pressed his lips together firmly. “Then it’s settled.”

We stood there, watching each other wordlessly for what felt like too long. I was trying to gather the courage to say something—anything—when a scream cut through the silence.

“Help,” Lena called from her bedroom.

I frowned and hurried down the hallway, Kieran close on my heels. Lena was standing in the middle of her room when we burst in, her face slightly pale.

“What’s wrong?” I looked around to see what could’ve caused her to scream like that.

“Spider.”

“Where?” Kieran asked.

Lena pointed to the wall next to her bed, and sure enough, a very large spider was making its way across the wall near her pillow. “Do something about it, please.” Her voice trembled.

“Do you… want me to kill it?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice pitched high with panic.

Before I could make any kind of move, Kieran left the room. “Be right back,” he called. “Don’t do anything without me.” A few moments later, he returned with a glass and a piece of paper. “Here, I’ve got it.”

We both stepped back and watched as Kieran captured the spider in a glass, slid the paper underneath, and triumphantly held it in front of him like a prize.

“Jesus,” Lena muttered.

“I’m going to go release this guy. He’s harmless and he’ll be happier outside.” With that, Kieran was gone again.

While he was gone, Lena had me inspect the rest of the room for additional spider friends and when she was satisfied there weren’t any other offenders, I wished her goodnight and left the room.

Kieran stepped inside just then, glass empty and paper crumpled in his hand.

“You saved her,” I said with a small laugh.

“It was nothing.”

“Thanks,” I said quietly. My body burned with the desire to kiss him again, but a part of me was too scared. Scared of being caught, or rejected, or interrupted again. Instead of kissing him, I gestured down the hallway. “I’m going to turn in, too.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Ellis.”

My cheeks flushed hearing him say my name. “’Night, Kier.”

Chapter Nineteen

Kieran

Just a few days after the spider incident, Lena, Ellis, and I piled into Lena’s sedan and headed out for Thanksgiving. The plan was to stay long enough to be polite, eat the meal, and then head home. “Home to drink heavily,” Ellis had said more than once. Their parents had apparently decided to have a joint Thanksgiving dinner rather than their usual separate meals. Neither Ellis nor Lena were excited about the change.

We pulled into their mom’s driveway shortly before eleven that morning with two pies Lena had baked the day before boxed up and ready to be enjoyed. When Lena put the car into park, Ellis took a deep breath.

“It’s going to be fine,” Lena said gently.

Ellis made a noise at the back of his throat in protest. “What if—”

“Trust me.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “They’ll just be happy to see us.”