Page 68 of Companion Required

Shortly afterwards, Kennedy insisted they dry off and put on their swimwear before heading up to the villa for showers. Often, Kieran had been the one to instigate sex between them, but this time Kennedy took control with a sense of urgency. Kieran enjoyed these rare moments, allowed Kennedy take his fill of him. Lying next to each other, both panting, Kieran smiled up at the slowly turning ceiling fan of teak and metal.

He’d noticed Kennedy peering at him quizzically a couple of times of late—when Kieran laughed along with the girls, when he leaned in playfully and pecked Kennedy on the cheek, or when he jumped up to help the villa staff bring food to the table. Kieran had decided to live by his words, to enjoy the last days of their time together unencumbered by any negative or melancholy emotions.

Because, clearly, something Kennedy hadn’t realised or appreciated was how much Kieran had changed. Not only did he feel a newfound confidence in himself, but for the first time in as long as he could remember, he was looking forward to the future.

On the Monday morning after their return, he would be starting a new and exciting job. Not only that, but with the ten thousand pounds—double the amount agreed—sitting in his bank account, he could not only pay his sister, pay off a chunk of his and his brother’s studies and get himself a new suit, but have enough to put down a deposit on his own rented place. How could he possibly hate Kennedy for that?

Finally, he had a future—even if that future did not include Kennedy.

On their last night together, they visited a restaurant recommended by the guidebooks, Sunset Spice, a Balinese seafood restaurant built on the beach, overlooking the sea and the sunset. While Kennedy walked barefoot out onto the sand to take a phone call, Kieran marvelled at how healthy he looked with his deep tan, accentuated by his beige chino shorts and short-sleeved white cotton shirt.

“Kieran, we’ve been meaning to ask. How would you feel about sharing your swimmers with us?” asked Laurie, a little sheepishly.

Kieran’s mind had been elsewhere and, with the small bottle of Bintang in his hand, he turned quizzically to them.

“Which ones? The red or the gold?”

Steph choked on her cocktai, then proceeded to cough uncontrollably. Laurie laughed too, and patted Steph on the back.

“Your sperm, Kieran. Steph and I want to start a family and, well, we think you would make the perfect donor. What do you think?”

This time Kieran dropped the bottle he had been holding to his mouth, and only just managed to catch it before the contents spilled all over the tablecloth.

“For heaven’s sake, Laurie,” said Kieran, aghast, but catching up quickly. “Drop a bombshell, why don’t you?”

“Seriously, though,” said Steph. “It would be great if you could think this over. We’re going to do it anyway—one of the reasons Laurie’s been losing weight—and we were set on using a reputable semen bank friends of ours had recommended. Even though they give you information about the history of the donors, you’re unlikely to get to meet them. If it’s any consolation, we both came up with the idea of asking you.”

“What would I need to do? I mean, I’m not sure I’m ready to bring a child into the world.”

“To put it bluntly, it’s only your sperm we need. Usually donors in the UK don’t have any legal obligation to the child or any responsibility in how the child is brought up. They don’t need to support the child financially and they’re not even named on the birth certificate. But the reason we’re asking you is because we’d be more than happy for you to be a part of our child’s life, but only if that’s what you want.”

“Wow, girls. That’s a lot to take on board.”

“I know. We both do. But will you at least consider it?”

“Of course I will. But why didn’t you ask Kennedy? He’s your best friend.”

“I ran the idea past him months ago. In a subtle, but theoretical way. If you’d seen the look of horror on his face, you’d know why I’d never consider him. Even if it’s not strictly his own, I think Kennedy would freak out about the simple notion of knowing there’s a kid out there with his genes.”

“Funny, I can’t think of anything nicer,” said Kieran.

Even though he had been looking at Kennedy, he didn’t miss the exchange of glances between the girls.

“Don’t take too much time to think it over,” said Steph. “Clock’s ticking, as they say.”

Steph reached out her almost empty glass to clink a cheers with the neck of Kieran’s bottle.

“Christ! You want me to fill it now?” said Kieran, nodding at the glass, a mischievous smile on his face, which had both girls laughing aloud.

“What did I miss?” came Kennedy’s voice.

“Nothing,” said Kieran, smiling up at him. “Absolutely nothing.”

* * * *

Two hours before their arrival into Heathrow, Kieran awoke to a member of the cabin crew placing a tray of breakfast in front of him, onto a tray table he hadn’t set up. When he rubbed his eyes and looked to his right, he found Kennedy smiling at him.

“I know you’d never forgive me if I let you miss breakfast.”

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