Page 12 of Trained Royal
Standing, he collected his belongings and showered in his bathroom rather than using the ones next to the gym. With it being Sunday, neither of them had plans, and Kieren wanted to catch up on the project he was working on.
When he finally settled on the sofa with a cup of coffee and his tools, with a random film playing in the background, he took a breath and opened his drawing pad. If anyone saw what he drew, they’d think he was certifiable or a stalker. Page after page of hand-drawn pictures of Patrick lay before him, with a few of the view from the window of his room thrown into the mix. No one knew he could draw because it was something he had pushed aside when his family had died. He’d left university without the degree he’d been aiming for and thrown himself straight into security.
He’d only taken up drawing again when he’d taken the job with Patrick. He hadn’t been able to resist capturing the expressive features. And once he’d started, he couldn’t stop. It was like a fire had been lit within him as it had all those years ago when he drew anything and everything he saw, when he had visions of selling his artwork in galleries across the country or even the world.
He snorted at his immature dreams, but at the same time, he wished for the peace he’d had back then. Nothing to worry about, nobody to force him to do anything, nothing in his way. How life changed in the blink of an eye.
Picking up his pencil, he focused on the drawing he’d been trying to perfect. Patrick had been playing the piano for his parents a few nights ago. Kieren had been passing by the open doors and stopped, mesmerised. The serenity on Patrick’s face had hit Kieren hard. He catalogued every nuance of his features while hiding in the shadows of the door, then immediately went back to his room and began drawing. His retinas retained the image, but something eluded him as he tried to capture the essence of the performance.
His phone startled him, and he checked the display before answering.
“Zane! Where the hell have you been?” Kieren chuckled.
His friend’s voice came across the speaker in droll tones. “I’ve been on holiday, remember?”
Zane Turner and Kieren met at university. Zane was slightly older than Kieren, but they found their interests and humour aligned extremely well. They had hardly been apart during those first few years, even sharing a room, but when Kieren’s family died, and he dropped out, they’d lost touch for a while. Only Zane finding him and badgering him had kept them from losing touch altogether.
“Ah, yes. Where was it again? Austria? Australia?” He knew exactly where Zane had gone, but he loved teasing him.
“Aruba, you ass.”
“I remember now.” He chuckled. “How’s Viv?”
“Good, thanks. Even better now we’re married.”
Kieren froze, then shot upright, holding the phone closer to his ear. “What the fuck!”
Zane’s laughter flowed down the line. “I planned to just propose, but when we saw the place we’d booked, we decided to go all in and make it a honeymoon, too.”
“You actually got married over there?”
“Yep. I’m no longer an unmarried man. The ball, chain and anchor are firmly—and happily—in place.”
He shook his head. “Oh, my god! Congratulations! I’ll kick your ass when I see you, though, because I wanted to see you get hitched. But wow. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. We’re planning on arranging a reception here soon, but we’re not sure when yet. As soon as I have the info, I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll be there.” He huffed a laugh. “You are never one to have patience, are you?”
“Why waste time when this is the only life we have?”
The words hit harder than Zane probably meant them to, and Kieren slumped back, his hand barely keeping the phone to his ear. His parents and sister had their lives cut short. Shouldn’t he be living his life to the fullest in memory of them?
“Kieren? You still there?”
He blinked repeatedly and cleared his throat. “Yeah.”
“Sorry, man. I didn’t think.”
“No, it’s fine. You’re right. So, so right.”
Zane said nothing for a moment, and Kieren lost himself in the memory of doing something for himself for the first time in a long time—being with Patrick.
“I take it you have something to share,” Zane said finally.
“Huh?”
Zane chuckled. “You made it sound like there was something on your mind. Orsomeone.Who is it?”
