"Kieran, do you think that's a good strategy?" Jake asked as Kieran prepared to attack Austin's numerous troops on Brazil with his army of six. "You'll never defeat him, and if you do, it's a much harder position to defend than Argentina."

Kieran handed Austin the white dice, and he took three red ones with a grin Naomi found quite charming.

"I have a strategy, dear brother."

They rolled, and Kieran lost two troops. During the second attempt, Kieran lost two more and was down to two troops. A smile danced on his lips. What was his plan? Before she worked it out, he squeezed her hand, sending pleasant tingles up her arm.

Jake groaned. "I told you it was a bad idea."

"It's working as I intended."

"The goal is to capture the most territory. You've played this for years!"

Kieran rolled twice more and ceded the region to Austin, leaving Kieran with one spot on the board. Naomi wasn't doing much better, holding only three.

Austin chuckled, staring at her and Kieran as her date traced circles on her knee. "He may have a different goal in mind," Austin said.

Was Kieran losing on purpose? She struggled to focus on the game each time he held her hand or explored it with his fingertips like it had a secret map. His touch left her giddy.

Jake gripped his knees. "We are supposed to be playing board games."

"I'll be focused next game, I promise."

Jake huffed. "We should take a break." Before waiting for an answer, he walked down the hall where Naomi assumed the bedrooms were.

She looked up at Kieran with down-turned lips. "Should I go talk to him?"

"This is normal. He'll blow off some steam and be back in ten minutes," Kieran said.

The nods around the room confirmed his assessment.

She still regretted that her presence had stressed Jake out. He'd called Kieran out constantly for focusing on her instead of the game. As much as she'd encouraged Kieran to concentrate on the game, she loved that he couldn't. 

Once Lucy and her boyfriend took off to the balcony, leaving four of them on the couches, Landon asked, "Kieran, do you have any good snacks stashed away?" 

"You know I do." Kieran turned to Naomi and squeezed her hand. "I'll be right back. Can I bring you anything?"

"Sure."

That left Naomi on the couch with Austin. He rearranged his cards into a neat pile as she sipped her second caesar, which was quite delicious. Kieran had a few talents, and she was eager to learn more of them.

"Thank you for earlier." She grinned at Austin.

He returned the gesture. "I take it the conversation went well."

"Very well." Should she say more, or was that invasive? He had already helped her relationship. Perhaps it wasn't overstepping. "Kieran mentioned you and your partner are allo and ace too."

"I'm the ace, she's the allo. It suits her, she's the plant-lover, and I'm a pretty decent card player." He wore a playful smile beneath his neatly trimmed dark moustache.

Naomi chuckled. "Have you run into obstacles, or is it going pretty well?"

"All relationships have obstacles, but we talk through them and haven't met one we couldn't overcome yet. She's more understanding than my past partners have been."

Naomi smiled. "It's not my first time in this kind of relationship either. My last long-term one lasted almost two years."

He rubbed at his short beard. "Wow, that must have been hard to walk away from. Is that the one that just ended?"

Her eyes widened. How much did he know about her?

"Sorry, Jake's my best friend. I spent too much time here, and he and Kieran discuss you a lot."

"Oh?"

"Kieran's quite taken with you. He talks through many of his decisions. So I apologize if I seem stalkerish." He threw up his hands and wore a cute, innocent expression.

She chuckled. "Just well informed. But no, the guy before Kieran was a long-time friend. It hardly lasted a month. I didn't think it would rattle me so hard, but when you've always trusted the person who hurt you, it stings."

"Was it because of your asexuality?"

She nodded. "I understand we weren't compatible. But I also can't change it."

"Makes you feel powerless."

A deep breath eased some of the tension in her chest. "If it weren't for Kieran, I would have been a wreck. Although I probably still was, he'd acted like it wasn't a big deal." He really was the best.

"I was licking my wounds when I met Felicity too."

"Your current partner?"

Austin nodded. "I'd just misinterpreted a lot in a different friendship and almost ruined it with my romantic attraction. Even though neither of us could control it, it hurt to have those dreams shattered. Jumping from an ace crush to an allo romance was probably an overcorrection, but it felt right. Since then, we've talked about moving in together, about our futures, and it all looks promising."

Naomi had lived with Luke for the last six months, but it had only led to their downfall.

"I've never seen Kieran as determined to understand something until he learned you were asexual," Austin said.

"He's amazing, and I want to believe he'll be an understanding partner. I'm just..."

"Reliving every rejection?"

She let out a breath of relief. "I'm not the only one who does that?"

"Certainly not. While not every relationship works, not every relationship fails either."

Kieran and Landon returned with chocolate and chips. When he fanned out different Lindt, Cadbury, and Ferrero Rocher bars, she shook her head but grabbed a handful of all-dressed chips from the bowl.

Landon snatched a red bar. "You should come to the next game night. Kieran brings out the good stuff for you."

"Your favourite gelato in the freezer," Kieran whispered in her ear, sending goosebumps down her arms. "I kept it a secret, so you don't have to share."

Had he gone back to buy that for her? Forget the dessert. She was the one about the melt from his sweetness. "I'm all sugared out. But I'd love to next time."

Kieran grinned at her and slipped his arm around her shoulder. With a happy sigh, she leaned into his shoulders.

As they chatted, Naomi learned Austin worked in app development like Jake, and they'd met long before Kieran and Jake moved to Manitoba. Landon worked in IT for a private company as did Lucy. Kieran and Naomi were the outsiders with non-tech-related professions.

Ten minutes passed, and Jake hadn't emerged. Naomi excused herself from the conversation and headed in toward the hall. Unsure which room he'd hidden in, Naomi called out Jake's name.

"Come in." His defeated voice came from the second door.

She entered and closed the door behind her. The computer equipment made her do a double take. The long L-shaped desk had at least two computers and multiple monitors, one that was huge and curved. She'd never seen graphics so sharp.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine." His stern face said otherwise.

"I'm sorry about Kieran. I can switch spots with someone if it helps him focus."

He sighed and turned off his screen. "It's not your fault. I expected this, just not tonight."

She chewed on her lip. "Do you mean Kieran and I involved romantically?"

Jake nodded and met her eye for a moment. "I am happy for you both. But he should have waited. You've been through a lot."

Both brothers were sweethearts deep down. "I was planning on saying something to him today if he hadn't beaten me to it. We're very much on the same wavelength."

"Oh." He scratched at his shorter hair. "I suppose that's a good sign."

"Your brother is amazing to me, and I care about him a lot. But I will share him with you, don't worry."

Jake laughed dryly. "People tell me I don't adapt well to change."

"If you've dealt with negative changes, that might explain why."

"There isn't a why. It's how I am."

"How about I talk to Kieran so he plays this game properly, and you can play the next one without us?"

"Okay."

As she turned the doorknob to leave, Jake spoke. "Thank you, Naomi. I am grateful you're here and part of our lives."

She smiled. "Likewise"

When she exited the room, Kieran stood before her with a quirked eyebrow. "That's not the bathroom."

A scoff echoed behind her. "Insulting her intelligence isn't recommended in courtship. Naomi's quite bright."

"It was an observation, not an attack."

She pressed her palm to Kieran's chest. "No need to fight. We are returning to the game. You will play to win as best you can, and we'll sit out the next one, deal?"

He looked back at Jake then captured her hand in his and nodded.

Jake let out a 'hmmph' sound to himself.

"What?" Kieran asked.

"There are benefits to this I hadn't foreseen," Jake said.

Naomi laughed to herself as Jake did the same.

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "I missed something."

"Nothing significant." She squeezed his hand as they headed for the living room.

Once they'd fulfilled their promise, losing fair and square, she and Kieran found a place where they wouldn't disturb the game. The breeze on the balcony had them retreating to the hallway. Kieran offered her the choice of the office where she'd spoken to Jake earlier or his bedroom with the assurances that there were no expectations attached and that he'd recently cleaned.

"If you've gone to the trouble of cleaning, we could go there. I am curious what your space is like."

He opened the door and motioned for her to enter first. They stepped into a room painted the same off-white hue as the living room and kitchen. A large window overlooked the city lights, slightly offset from his bed. The photo hanging over the bed featured a white and red lighthouse perched on a rocky cove and light fog drifting over the rocks and parts of the water.

"I'd hang ocean photos if I moved this far from the coast too." Naomi chuckled.

"It's Peggy's Cove." Heaviness hung in his voice.

His tattoo had the ocean in it too.

She brushed the thought aside, as she didn't need his life story the same night he confessed his attraction. Especially if he was guarded and not saying more.

"It's beautiful."

"Just like you."

She laughed. "I knew that line was coming."

"You would hear that a lot."

She took his hand in hers and brought it to her lips. "I still enjoy it, especially from you."

The floor creaked behind her as Kieran stood closer. "Can I hug you?"

"Of course."

He wrapped his around her stomach and rested his head on her shoulder. His touch was so tender and warm.

"If we stayed outside, we could have done this all night," she teased.

"You make a good point. But I'm glad we're here because when you leave, I can remember this, and it'll be like you're here with me." He hugged her tighter.

He acted like he expected this to be fleeting, or perhaps, he would miss her that much. At the beginning, she tried not to fall too hard because it hurt so much more when it failed, but Kieran made that tough to do. Perhaps, he struggled in the same way. Austin had hinted at that too. She'd act optimistic and hope it stuck.

"Are memory Naomi and I in a competition? Because I will fight for you."

He chuckled, and the tension in his arms faded. "There's no competition, although I'd love to watch that fight. You seem like an agile opponent."

"I protect the people I care about."

He kissed the top of her head. "So do I."     

Photo of Risk board by Dave Photoz from Unsplash

Up next will be Naomi and Kieran's first date! Any guesses of where he'll take her or what they'll do?

I've scheduled the next 2 updates for Wednesday and Saturday of next week. I'm off on holiday for a week, celebrating 10 years with my wonderful partner who has often been the inspiration for some of Kieran's understanding nature. I'm off to enjoy the mountains, camping, and a way-too-long drive. Have a great weekend everyone :)