Page 98 of Our Little Dove

“We are,” Fintan quips with a seemingly forced smile as he turns to face me. “Something is clearly wrong. You can talk to me, you know,” I say, stepping closer.

“Nothing to talk about, little Dove. Don’t worry about it. Let’s get some coffee and start this thing,” he says, this time with his signature cocky tone, as he kills the cigarette in the soil of the potted plant next to the door and walks inside.

Alex looks confused as she stands there, staring at me like she wants me to explain Fintan’s behavior but fuck if I know what’s going on with him today.

I offer her a shrug and walk her inside where the scent of fresh coffee starts permeating the kitchen.

“Just ignore him, baby, he’ll be back to normal in no time. Maybe he just needs more time to process the plan we came up with,” I say as I give Alex a quick peck on her cheek.

“Sure,” she says, sounding wary. “You guys enjoy the coffee; I’ll grab some later.”

“What? You’re not having?” I ask as she turns toward the hallway. “I need to get some work done before I get fired… When I’m done, we get started on the video. You two probably want to watch it before editing it and posting it on Hush,” she says, and her words send a cold chill down my spine.

“Sure, I’ll bring you a cup,” I offer. She smiles, looking over at Fintan and back at me before responding. “Thanks, Kai. The laundry should be done soon, mind putting everything in thedryer? I’m sure Fintan doesn’t want to spend all day without a shirt on.”

“Will do,” I say and Fintan rolls his eyes when he turns to face me. Alex disappears down the hallway and I take a seat at the island, resting my face in my hands.

“What’s your problem?” I say on a deep exhale. “What?” Fintan says as he slides a cup of coffee toward me before taking a sip of his.

“You’re acting like a dick, Fin,” I say, taking the cup between my palms. “And you’re acting like a well-trainedpet!” he whisper-yells.

I stare at him for a beat, not knowing how to respond to his ridiculous observation. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I spit out, feeling my blood pressure rise.

“We’re in this shit together. Why are you suddenly acting like she’s the enemy again? I thought things were good. They certainly seemed good last night and this morning, or am I missing something?”

He scoffs, taking another sip of his coffee. “Perhaps we need to clear our heads and think more about what we are doing here.”

I cock my head as I stare at him, frustration boiling over as he walks past me and out the backdoor again. I don’t know what his problem is but he needs to reign it in. Fast. This is not like him and we’re in too deep for him to start acting like a fucking brat.

I decide to let him cool off outside while I head to the laundry and shove everything in the dryer. Taking a few moments to cool myself down, I head to Alex’s bedroom and plop down onto the bare mattress to think.

I’ve been pacing around in the backyard for what feels like hours, smoking and attempting to sort through whatever the fuck I’m feeling.

I don’t get how Kieran is so cool with the plan. He is the one who suggested we post the footage from Alex’s torture, but did he think this through?

Am I the only one feeling conflicted?

Once I feel relatively more like myself, I decide to go back inside. Kieran isn’t in the kitchen or the living area, so I stalk down the hallway, past Alex’s home office and spot him in her bedroom.

He looks deep in thought as he lies on the bed with his feet still on the floor, flicking his lighter on and off. “Want some company?” I ask as I lean my shoulder against the doorframe.

“Whatever,” he responds, shrugging against the mattress.

“You feeling better?” he asks in a clipped tone without looking at me. “I guess,” I say, deciding I don’t want to get into this right now.

We need to get this over with. If he really is okay with the footage being posted, who am I to question it? That day wastraumatic for both of us; degrading and humiliating, but it was also the fucked-up ice breaker for us.

“We’ll need to edit the footage Alex has from the basement before we can post it,” I say as I take a seat on the edge of the bed next to Kieran. He lets out a deep breath, gets up and walks to mess with his hair in the floor length mirror.

“Are you ready for this? I know it was your idea to use that footage, but I don’t want you to reopen that wound if you’re not ready for it,” I whisper as I get up and stalk toward him. Placing my hand on his back, I stare at our reflection in the mirror.

A small smile tugs at Kieran’s lips as he watches me, and I can’t help but mimic his expression. We look good together.Black and white.

He leans back and presses his lips to my temple, and I instinctively close my eyes for a beat, savoring this silent moment between us.

This feels like a cliché,“The calm before the storm”, and perhaps it is but we have blossomed in the chaos with Alex.

“I think I’ll be fine,” he whispers as he turns to face me. As I open my eyes, he tilts my chin up and we share a kiss before he pulls back.

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