A Different Slice

27 - Fight (Naomi)

"Kieran, do you think that's a good strategy?" Jake asked as Kieran prepared to attack Austin's numerous troops on Brazil with his army of six. "You'll never defeat him, and if you do, it's a much harder position to defend than Argentina."

Kieran handed Austin the white dice, and he took three red ones with a grin Naomi found quite charming.

"I have a strategy, dear brother."

They rolled, and Kieran lost two troops. During the second attempt, Kieran lost two more and was down to two troops. A smile danced on his lips. What was his plan? Before she worked it out, he squeezed her hand, sending pleasant tingles up her arm.

Jake groaned. "I told you it was a bad idea."

"It's working as I intended."

"The goal is to capture the most territory. You've played this for years!"

Kieran rolled twice more and ceded the region to Austin, leaving Kieran with one spot on the board. Naomi wasn't doing much better, holding only three.

Austin chuckled, staring at her and Kieran as her date traced circles on her knee. "He may have a different goal in mind," Austin said.

Was Kieran losing on purpose? She struggled to focus on the game each time he held her hand or explored it with his fingertips like it had a secret map. His touch left her giddy.

Jake gripped his knees. "We are supposed to be playing board games."

"I'll be focused next game, I promise."

Jake huffed. "We should take a break." Before waiting for an answer, he walked down the hall where Naomi assumed the bedrooms were.

She looked up at Kieran with down-turned lips. "Should I go talk to him?"

"This is normal. He'll blow off some steam and be back in ten minutes," Kieran said.

The nods around the room confirmed his assessment.

She still regretted that her presence had stressed Jake out. He'd called Kieran out constantly for focusing on her instead of the game. As much as she'd encouraged Kieran to concentrate on the game, she loved that he couldn't. 

Once Lucy and her boyfriend took off to the balcony, leaving four of them on the couches, Landon asked, "Kieran, do you have any good snacks stashed away?" 

"You know I do." Kieran turned to Naomi and squeezed her hand. "I'll be right back. Can I bring you anything?"

"Sure."

That left Naomi on the couch with Austin. He rearranged his cards into a neat pile as she sipped her second caesar, which was quite delicious. Kieran had a few talents, and she was eager to learn more of them.

"Thank you for earlier." She grinned at Austin.

He returned the gesture. "I take it the conversation went well."

"Very well." Should she say more, or was that invasive? He had already helped her relationship. Perhaps it wasn't overstepping. "Kieran mentioned you and your partner are allo and ace too."

"I'm the ace, she's the allo. It suits her, she's the plant-lover, and I'm a pretty decent card player." He wore a playful smile beneath his neatly trimmed dark moustache.

Naomi chuckled. "Have you run into obstacles, or is it going pretty well?"

"All relationships have obstacles, but we talk through them and haven't met one we couldn't overcome yet. She's more understanding than my past partners have been."