11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jon sent him a series of panicked, but then increasingly confident texts about Riley during his first week of practice.

If this fails and he flops and I get fired, I expect you to let me crash in your guest room for free.

Kieran had texted back. I can do better than the guest room. How about my bed instead? And I'm perfectly willing to accept sexual favors instead of rent.

Then, the next day. Shit, this guy can really run. You don't realize how fast he is, because he's deceptively evasive. One moment he's behind the line and the next he's fifteen yards down.

Kieran had typed out his answer with a grin on his face. Guess you're gonna have to write him some more running plays.

Guess I will.

Two days later.

Carter's never been happier. I thought he'd accepted Nelson's limitations, but I guess not. Cause he's fucking thrilled with Riley.

Let me guess, the Condors fans are gonna feel the same.

Then a day later, Deacon and Jem brought Riley into the bar, along with Landry Banks, Beckett West, and a few others.

He got to meet Riley Flynn in person—and when he'd had a second that night, he'd texted Jon. Met your new QB. He's the real deal, I think.

You've never even seen him throw a pass. LOL.

Superpower, remember?

That's for booze, not football. Unless there's something you've neglected to tell me . . .

Sometimes it gives me a feeling about people, too. I think Riley's your guy. Same as you're mine.

That what your superpower told you about me? I thought it was conspicuously silent.

About what you should be drinking, yeah. But not about you. I knew you were gonna matter. More than anyone else.

It wasn't saying I love you , but Kieran hoped that Jon understood that he was in this, for as long Jon was willing to give him. Hopefully the rest of their lives. Which was why he was letting Jon set the tone on how public they were being about their relationship.

When you believed you had forever, there was no need to rush.

Well, damn. You're cute.

Keep me?

I'm certainly not getting rid of you.

The next day, Jon called him up, late afternoon, and Kieran picked up, Nadia cutting citrus next to him.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"Wanna come to a game?"

"Uh." Kieran hesitated. "This weekend's?"

"Yeah. We have a bunch of games on the road, to start the season, so it'll have to be this weekend. I'm gonna be honest, I kinda want to vomit whenever I think about it. But if you're there, at least once, maybe I won't. Maybe I'll keep my shit together," Jon said.

"Uh," Kieran repeated. He wanted to. He wanted to. But Sundays were always busy here at the Pirate's Booty, and he wasn't used to taking that day off, ever.

"You should go," Nadia said, nudging him. "Your cute boyfriend wants you to go to see his football team play? You say yes."

"What was that?" Jon sounded amused. "Did someone just call me your cute boyfriend?"

"Nadia," Kieran said, rolling his eyes, but it wasn't a lie. Jon was his very cute boyfriend.

"I know you're busy on Sundays, but I thought, maybe you could get Nadia and Brock to help you out . . ." Jon trailed off hopefully.

"That's what she was just saying," Kieran said, chuckling. "So I think I'll take her up on it."

"Awesome," Jon said. "I'll get you tickets to Mr. G's suite."

"A suite?"

"Like I'd let my very cute boyfriend sit in the stands," Jon teased.

Which is how he ended up, less than a week later, at the Condors' stadium, watching from the owner's suite as Riley and the team ran onto the field.

Kieran couldn't believe he'd lived in Charleston this whole time and never made it to a Condors game, but this was his first one.

And also, his first one attending as a special guest of the head coach.

Of course nobody around him in this luxurious suite knew just how "special" he was—only that he was a friend of Jon's—but Kieran had long ago decided that he didn't mind. That he was willing to give Jon as much time as he needed to work out how to live more publicly.

Seeing all this pomp and circumstance, the packs of media, reporters, and photographers, the attention Mr. G garnered, and the reaction of the fans the moment the team took the field, Kieran began to truly understand the pressure Jon was under. It only made him more determined to give him the space and the time to do what he felt he needed to do.

The suite had an open bar and a large buffet, with everything from hot dogs to fancy Wagyu beef sliders to peel and eat shrimp. Kieran grabbed a beer and a plate and headed towards the front with its two rows of padded seats. He wasn't here to glad-hand and network with all the other bigwig guests of the owner, only to watch his boyfriend and his team.

As Kieran settled into his seat, he watched with dismay as Riley ran back out of the end zone, and the pass he completed was called incomplete. Jon ripped off his headset, pacing back and forth on the sideline, and his heart begin to race as his boyfriend argued with the ref.

But the ref wouldn't change the call, and not only did Riley's great play not count, but the Commanders scored two points instead.

Kieran stared at the sideline as Riley looked dejected, Landry talking to him, along with Jon.

God, please let this work.

It wasn't like Jon wouldn't have job prospects if this season was a failure. He was a young, exciting coach. But the opportunities wouldn't be in Charleston, and Kieran wasn't ready to start a long-distance relationship. He would, if he had to, but he wanted, more than he'd realized, and not just because of Jon, for him to succeed. Because this city deserved something more than the pain of the old owners. Because this team deserved more, deserved something to hold their head high about.

Kieran had believed this before, but now that he'd met more of the team—Riley and Landry and Beck, and the others—he wanted it for them, even more.

Riley shook off the mistake, though, and Kieran was thrilled to see him play his heart out the rest of the game. It wasn't just him, though. The whole team gathered together and collectively proved that even though they'd just lost their original starting quarterback, they were going places.

After the game, Kieran didn't linger, because he knew Jon would have a lot to do—locker room speeches and then press conferences. Instead, he headed out to the Pirate's Booty, checking in with Nadia and Brock as well as his other employees, making sure everything was good.

Nadia looked up as he walked in. "Seriously?" she exclaimed.

"What?"

Nadia rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here? It's your day off . You know what that means, right?"

"Sort of?" Kieran shrugged.

" And , you're such a sentimental fool," she added, with a smile. "You bought a Riley Flynn jersey?"

Yep, Kieran was wearing the new Riley Flynn jersey he'd bought at the game. It had made sense. He liked Riley so much, and why shouldn't he want to do everything he could to support the guy?

His older jersey was Deacon's, from ages ago, when he'd first been drafted by the Condors, so it had been time to get a new one, anyway.

Kieran shrugged again, flushing a little.

"I guess that's the best way you could buy a Jonathan Kelley jersey without actually buying one," she teased.

"If that had been a choice, I'm sure that would've been mine." Kieran wasn't ashamed of that. How could he be?

"Exactly," Nadia said. And made a shooing motion with her hands. "Now get out of here and go home to your very cute, very successful boyfriend. Celebrate properly, alright?"

"I . . .uh . . .are you sure?" Kieran glanced around as he slid behind the bar. "It's pretty busy."

"And," Nadia said firmly, "we have it handled."

"Alright." Kieran knew when it was right to give up gracefully. "Next week we'll talk about a raise. Maybe a manager role."

Nadia's eyebrows lifted.

"You're doing the work of a manager," Kieran said. "And if I want to spend more time with my very cute boyfriend, I'm going to need more help."

Nadia gave him a nod and went back to the drink orders spitting out of the ticket machine.

Kieran pulled his phone out of his pocket as he walked home. Meet me at my place? he sent to Jon.

He'd walked the few blocks to his townhouse before he got a text back. Be there in an hour. Or so. Apparently everyone's decided we're going somewhere after two freaking games.

It WAS a great game.

After the beginning, yeah. Ugh.

But you guys pulled it off, anyway. You never gave up. Because it's not in your DNA.

You're really missing your calling as a pep talker.

No. Kieran thought about this as he let himself into the house. Caught sight of himself in the hallway mirror in his Flynn jersey. Then he kept typing. No, I'm right where I need to be. Right where I'm supposed to be.

And in an hour (hopefully) I will be too. With you.