《Twice Shy》Stolen Present

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Jack's current life was spread out across the couch and coffee table. His laptop and the pair of desktops he rarely used but insisted on constantly upgrading were next to each other on one end. His notebook and phone sat on the other end with a black rubber doorstop. As far as peace offerings went, Lindsey couldn't have done much better.

He unzipped his duffel bag and frowned at his clothing. Fresh and painfully unfamiliar. He zipped it back up, not wanting to dwell on how permanent his situation might be.

Or how stupid he was for rolling with it and wanting to roll with it. He should have called someone else first. He could always bail and shack up with Sam and Candace if there really was a threat looming around the corner.

Some form of lecture or judging silence was in his future, and he was not looking forward to calling Sam. He would wait until Kieran had gone to bed to subject himself to that phone call. He wasn't ready to have more ammo for his uncertainty. He was just couch surfing on his not-so-ex's couch. He needed to figure out what to say to Sam that didn't make him sound like more of a desperate loser than he already was.

Kieran paused as he passed by and looked from the doorstop to Jack with a raised brow.

Jack lifted the doorstop and shook it at Kieran. "Yes, I'm still hung up on this, and you earned it. And you know what? Lindsey's on my side, 'cuz she gave it to me."

"I'd been wondering where it wandered off to. It goes to the back entrance."

Jack deflated a little. He was disrupting someone else's routine, and the pettiness surrounding his present was no longer as enticing as it had been a moment earlier. "Oh. Uh, did you want it back?"

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"Keep it. I'll get another one. Perhaps I'll label it and chain it to the door." Kieran's lips pursed in thought. "Or install one that flips down."

"Now I feel bad," Jack mumbled as he dropped the doorstop back onto the coffee table.

"I thought the purpose was to make me feel bad?"

"That was before I knew Lindsey was a thief." Although, he should have known since the door stop did look like it had seen some use.

"Think of it as penance."

"Sure…"

"What would you like for dinner?"

"Oh, yeah. Food. Uh, I can make a run to the store tomorrow and grab up some ramen or something. Keep myself outta your hair."

"You're far from an inconvenience, sweet thing."

"In that case, I'll get some Chinese. There's a nice restaurant about two streets over," he said as he pulled out his phone. There would be no wiggle room for that. No guilt, and he could easily cover the cost. "As long as the mom's answering, this'll be easy."

"Very well. Here's my credit card. I'll have Peking duck if it comes in a natural color," Kieran said and dropped his card onto the coffee table.

Jack looked from where the card had landed to Kieran. "What? No! You can't just do that!"

"I can call it in if you'd like," Kieran offered. There was a sense of confusion about him. "Is this about the money or the calling?"

Jack could just imagine what Kieran would sound like, asking if the sauces were neon colored or not. If he knew the restaurant owner's son would be answering, then he'd gladly sic Kieran's judgy ass on the upselling kid. However, the mom didn't deserve that and it wasn't worth the risk of missing out on extra fortune cookies. "No. I'll do it. They know me. I mostly just want eggrolls and rice anyway," he lied.

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"We can share if you'd like. Or you can get something for an easy lunch tomorrow."

Jack leaned back with a groan and dropped his head onto the back of the couch. "Okay. Fine. You win. I'll get real food."

"Lovely."

"Just don't judge me, 'cuz the sauce is pretty red." Jack looked up and grinned.

Kieran raised a brow and smiled playfully as he moved around the coffee table to the other side of the couch. "Should I buy you some boxes of mac'n'cheese to go with your ramen? Is that what you're hinting at?"

"I can buy my own. I know! I'll make us a big batch," Jack threatened. "Plenty of leftovers. It's always better the next day. I'll even throw in some food dye to make it extra-orange."

Kieran's smile widened as he sat down beside Jack and leaned into him. "Why not green? Toss a few clovers atop for garnish."

Jack stifled a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Maybe I will! Is that even edible?"

"Moreso than your current diet, I should think."

"But not as tasty," Jack said and licked his lips. He was successfully flirting without a drop of booze in him. Even with the looming doubt that he was saying the wrong things, he was feeling pretty good about his progress, and Kieran had yet to look at him like he was an idiot.

Kieran leaned closer as if to kiss Jack, his mouth parting to speak. He backed off, glancing to the side as he lightly coughed. "Not as tasty, no," he said hesitantly.

"Lemme guess: I'm the tastiest thing in the room?" Jack said with a disappointed sigh. He would have loved to hear a cheesy pickup line coming from Kieran. He missed out, and it wasn't fair. He wasn't that fragile.

Kieran sat up, giving Jack a guilty grimace. "I wouldn't know," he said before wincing. "It would seem that treading carefully is proving hazardous for me. I am trying."

And with that, Jack understood what Lindsey had meant. He was damaged and not on any menu, but he wouldn't mind if Kieran joked with him as if he weren't fragile and off limits. He didn't know how to say it was okay other than coming right out with it, but could he handle the embarrassment of calling attention to it?

"It's fine. I'm fine. We're all good. I'm gonna order pizza. Chinese. That. God." He frowned at his phone and looked back at Kieran. "You can say things, y'know. I'm yummy, addictive, whatever. I know."

Looking away from Kieran's thoughtful expression, he distracted himself by picking up the credit card from the table. He ran his fingers over the embossed name and numbers. There was no middle initial. He was fairly certain his debit card had his initial. He made a note on his phone to check later.

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