Page 82 of After the Siren
Xen and Paddy had opted to go for a walk along the beach instead of getting in the water. The waterwaschilly. But Stavs couldn’t show weakness, of course – not with Keeley striding in as though it were the middle of summer. Jake was going to go in as well, once he’d finished observing.
Stavs and Keeley had hit it off almost immediately. Jake knew – and maybe Stavs knew – that the surfing was a test. Some dudes weren’t great about learning shit from women. But Stavs cheerfully deferred to her, and wasn’t even getting that cranky about his consistent failure. Given what a perfectionist he was on the field, that was a miracle.
Jake went to join them, eventually, and the surfing lesson devolved when Jake pushed a triumphant and upright Stavs off his board. Keeley was drawn into the ensuing melee, and then Plugger plunged into the water to see what was going on.
Jake somehow ended up on Stavs’ back, his legs wrapped around Stavs’ waist while Keeley splashed them. Stavs was laughing so hard he was unsteady on his feet. He lost his balance and fell sideways, submerging them both. They surfaced, both laughing and gasping, and then Jake tackled him and they went under again while Plugger barked gleefully.
Jake didn’t realise anyone was watching them until he heard Keeley say, ‘Oh,’ in the sort of tone you used when you realisedthe milk had gone off or you’d just tracked something gross into the house.
Jake turned to the shore. He already knew who’d be there.
Kyle was standing on the edge of the water, leaning on his surfboard. It wasn’t a surprise; he spent plenty of weekends back with his family.
Jake hadn’t seen him in person since they’d broken up. They’d started fighting in the car, taken the fight back to Jake’s room, fucked against the wall, then ended things. His last memory of the two of them was Kyle turning back to look at him and saying, ‘I’m not waiting around for you to realise you’ve fucked this up.’ Jake had felt like someone had punched through his ribcage and grabbed his heart. And also like he wanted to crack Kyle’s skull open and force the way he felt into Kyle’s brain so he would understand and come back.
Now, he waited for a surge of feeling and got ... almost nothing. Echoes of all the things he’d felt, for all those years. He’d never been one to try to hang on to things once he’d been forced to let go.
Plugger – thetraitor– went splashing towards Kyle, who leaned down to scratch his ears.
‘We can ignore him,’ Keeley said.
Jake sighed. Kyle didn’t like being ignored. If he wanted to say something, it was probably best to get it over with. And if he hadn’t wanted to say something he would have fucked off into the surf.
‘Is that —’ Stavs started.
‘The dickhead-in-chief?’ Keeley said. ‘Guess he likes having to replace his slashed tyres.’
Jake splashed her. ‘Keeley.’
‘Mmm.’ Stavs’ tone suggested he’d stand watch for her while she did it. It was kind of nice.
The three of them walked out of the surf together. Kyle was still hot. Unfortunately. Same wavy brown hair, same striking green eyes, same broad shoulders and good arms. He’d been the first guy Jake had everlookedat, even if Kyle hadn’t looked back for years.
He wasn’t as hot as Stavs, and Jake was petty enough to be pleased. Not that he and Stavs weretogether, but Kyle would definitely assume they were after all the wrestling in the water.
Stavs had grabbed his towel and was giving them some space. Keeley had joined him, steadfastly pretending Kyle didn’t exist, even though they’d known each other for more than twenty years. She did not forgive.
‘Hi, Jake,’ Kyle said, but his eyes were on Stavs, who’d unzipped the wetsuit and pulled it down to his waist. It was a good look on him. His hair was getting a little unruly, tangled and drying in the breeze.
And now Jake was definitely staring at Stavs’ bare chest. He returned his attention to Kyle. ‘Did you want something?’
It wasn’t like they’d agreed to stay friends.
Plugger looked at Jake balefully, but he trotted over to Keeley when she snapped her fingers. Plugger had always liked Kyle. Like Jake, he wasn’t very smart around hot dudes who scratched behind his ears. So to speak.
Kyle was giving him the kind of look Jake had never learned to read. ‘Just saying hi. I’m visiting Mum and Dad for the weekend.’
Jake nodded. ‘Hi.’
Kyle tilted his head towards Stavs. ‘Nice to see you moved on quickly.’
That was a lot, given that Kyle’s Insta stories for the last eight months had been exclusively blurry club photos and low-key thirst traps.
Jake decided that, for once in his life, he was going to keep quiet. He didn’t have anything to say to Kyle. He’d imagined, so many times, finding the words to shut Kyle up, to make Kyle realise he’d beenwrong. But he’d never been able to match Kyle with words and he never would. It seemed less important now.
Stavs came over before Jake caved and broke the silence. ‘Coffee time, Jaze?’ he asked. He wrapped an arm around Jake’s shoulders. It was the type of thing any of Jake’s mates might have done. It still sent a little tendril of satisfaction uncurling in Jake’s stomach.
‘Hi,’ Kyle said, turning all his charm on Stavs. ‘Haven’t seen you around before.’ It wasn’t flirtatious. Not quite.
