“A scene!”
“Do you want to see your sister?”
Derek would not let this go easily. Kieran wasn’t sure about Kelly. Seeing Hassan reunite with Omar made him want that for himself, but was he being selfish? How much pain was he going to inflict on his sister by letting her know not only that he was alive, but what their mum had done? She was an adult now, so would have a right to know. And what if Kelly had a really positive relationship with their mum? His bombshell could destroy all that for her. He didn’t want that level of responsibility on his shoulders.
“I don’t know if it would cause more harm than good.”
“We don’t have to act on it now. We know where she is, and I can always talk to her first and understand what she knows.”
“Yeah, but you don’t know what that bitch has said about you as well. She might believe you’re doing life imprisonment for my murder, and then you just appear.”
“Unlikely, given you supposedly died in a car crash.”
“That’s a bit . . .vanilla.”
Derek chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to be meeting the guys in an hour?”
“Yes, but I just need a little something to get me through the afternoon. You know, after this devastating piece of news.”
“You look bereft. It’s a miracle you’re coping.”
Kieran smiled and dropped to his knees, looking up at Derek... just waiting for permission. They wouldn’t have time for everything he wanted to do, but he could still enjoy a pre-lunch snack.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, sitting in their booth at Knights Corner.
“I’m sure Daddy Derek kept you busy,” said Milo, with a smile.
“Please don’t call himDaddy. That’s my safe word.”
They all cracked up laughing.
“What do you call him, then?” asked Milo.
“Derek, orsir, if I’ve been a bad boy.”
They laughed again. It was the first time he’d been with Hassan, Milo, and Liam as a group in what felt like ages. He’d see them individually or spoken to them on the phone, but being all together was rare now. Liam didn’t live in London anymore, Hassan never stopped working, and Milo was working on becoming the next Barbara Cartland. He had a publishing deal for a gay romance series, which Kieran referred to aswolf porn, given it was the romantasy genre. He’d gotten the Barabra Cartland reference from Derek and had to google who she was.
Omar arrived at their table with a drink for Kieran. One of the others must have ordered it for him.
“Thanks, whoever this was,” said Kieran.
They all shook their heads.
“The gentlemen over there sent it over,” said Omar, gesturing to the bar.
It was Grant Kincaid, who raised his glass in a silent toastto Kieran. He returned the gesture and took a sip of the drink. It was a fruity cocktail, and he’d be ordering more of these, whatever they were. He gave Grant a slight smile and turned back to his friends, who were all watching.
“How is your boyfriend?” asked Liam.
“Boyfriend? We’re not... I don’t know what we are, to be honest.”
“Fuck buddies,” said Hassan.
“No. It’s more than that. We’ve just not had that conversation. He makes me food and gives me orgasms. I guess that makes him a boyfriend.”
The others laughed.
“Do you go on dates?” asked Liam.
