by Helena Stone
Pride of Place
Mitch & Cian #3
Helena Stone
Copyright
Pride of Place (Mitch & Cian #3)
First edition: June 2019
Copyright @ 2019 by Helena Stone
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Table of Contents
Copyright Notice
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Reader Advisory
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
A Miracle in the Library (Mitch & Cian #1) - Excerpt
Thank You
About the Author
Also by Helena Stone
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank my readers. The reactions A Miracle in the Library and Lessons in Love received blew me away and made it clear that Mitch and Cian had managed to charm their audience. When the lads let me know their story wasn’t finished yet, I had no hesitation whatsoever about picking their romance up again.
I can’t thank Brigham Vaughn, K. Evan Coles, Paul Wright, and Tanja Ongkiehong enough for once again stepping up to the plate and making me look far better than I actually am. I honestly would be lost without them. Any remaining mistakes are, of course, my own.
And finally, I want to mention Dermot, my husband. This is the first book by me he hasn’t read before anyone else. But he did, once again, have to deal with me losing myself in the story to the point where I only gave half answers and had to be reminded to eat. I couldn’t do any of this without him.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the thousands of people, young and old, struggling to find a place to live in a housing market that’s overstretched and overinflated.
Reader Advisory
While a Miracle in the Library was a young adult story, Pride of Place and Lessons in Love feature two young men old enough to consume alcohol and be sexually active. This book is therefore meant for readers who are eighteen years or older and contains sexual acts between two consenting men.
Prologue
Early June
Cian
Good luck with your exam today. You’ve got this!!!!!
Mitch
Thanks. I’m not so sure about that, but we’ll see.
Cian
How did it go?
Mitch
Not too bad, I guess.
Cian
See. I told you so.
Mitch
Whatever. Still got seven more to go.
Late June
Cian
Last day!!!!! It’s almost over.
Mitch
Thanks be to fuck. Can’t wait to see you.
Cian
Soon
Mitch
The weekend is still soooooo far away.
Cian
Soon
Chapter One
Late June
Mitch
Done!
Mitch wanted to shout, maybe do a little happy dance as he and his almost former classmates made their way through the deserted school toward the exit. He’d reached the end of his secondary education. No more exams. No more high school. And if he wasn’t very much mistaken, he’d done well enough in his exams to get the points he needed to be accepted for the psychology course he’d set his heart on.
“How did you do?” Cormac, a classmate and one of the few people who hadn’t tormented him in the past, sidled up to him.
Mitch shrugged. “Okay, I think. How about you?” He knew better than to say he thought he’d aced it. Not only would he look a right fool if that turned out not to be the case, but it would also be very disheartening for Cormac if the same wasn’t true for him.
“I’m not sure,” Cormack confessed. “Some of it was fine, but some other questions…” He bowed his head for a moment. When he looked up again, he grinned. “But I’m not going to worry about that. There’s nothing I can do about it now, and since we won’t find out how we did until September, I’m not going to obsess about it.”
Mitch stayed silent as they pushed their way through the double doors and out of the school into the welcoming sunshine. Mitch was almost surprised to discover the weather was still glorious. True to form every one of the twenty days the exams had lasted had been sunny and warm, and he wouldn’t have been shocked to discover grey clouds and rain now that he actually had time to be out and about.
He was inclined to agree with Cormac. There was little point agonizing about the results, but he was sure that was unlikely to stop him from lingering on the uncertainty at regular intervals during the summer. If he had failed to get the points he needed, he might not get a place in his preferred college in Dublin. And if he couldn’t go to Dublin….
His pessimistic fears fled his brain as soon as he recognized the familiar and oh-so-cherished features belonging to the main reason he wanted to make it to the capital. Cian! Mitch’s heart skipped a beat or two. He’d had no idea Cian had plans to come back to Castleforest today. In fact, during their last conversation the previous night and again, that morning, in his daily text message, Cian had been infuriatingly vague about when they might see each other next.
“Are you going out tonight?” Cormac’s question reminded Mitch of his presence.
“Probably,” Mitch said, not really thinking about his answer. If Cian hadn’t shown up, he might have joined his classmates for a drink or two. Now he wasn’t sure what the rest of his day might look like, except that whatever he did would include Cian.
“Fair enough.” Cormac said, “I might see you later, then.”
Mitch nodded vaguely in Cormac’s direction before heading toward the school gate where Cian waited with a backpack slung over his shoulder and a huge smile on his face.
I missed him. He’d never known quite how long three weeks could be. When both his mother and Cian had agreed that it would be best if Cian stayed in Dublin during the exams, Mitch had wanted to argue about it. In retrospect, he couldn’t deny that being able to focus solely on his studying had been a good thing, but that didn’t change the fact that before the exam madness started, he and Cian hadn’t been apart for longer than a week.
When he reached Cian, Mitch didn’t even think about it. He stretched his neck and pressed his lips against Cian’s. “Hey,” he said a moment later, “didn’t expect to see you today.”
Cian grinned at Mitch, his eyes wide. “Obviously you’ve no objections to being surprised.” He winked. “Or afraid to show your approval.”
Taken aback by what he’d just done, Mitch glanced around him, relieved to discover his classmates were too caught up in their own happiness to pay him any attention. Then he slapped Cian’s shoulder, the impact a little harsher than just playful. “Of course not. It’s great to see you. I just didn’t expect it. I thought it would be Friday before we’d get together.” A worrying thought occurred to him. “We are still going to Dublin, aren’t we?”
The idea of going to Dublin for the Pride Festival had been one of the very few thoughts that had kept Mitch going over the three-week exam period. Every test he’d sat had brought him one day closer to a weekend when
he wouldn’t feel the need to check his surroundings while interacting with his boyfriend.
Cian grinned. “Of course we are. As if I would miss Pride.” The expression on his face made it clear he thought Mitch was being ridiculous. “What are your plans for today?”
Mitch shrugged. “I was going to go out for a few pints.” He really didn’t care what he did next anymore, as long as he could do whatever it was with Cian.
“Sounds good,” Cian said. “I need to go home first and get rid of my stuff.” He indicated his backpack.
“Me too. I can’t wait to get out of this for the very last time.” Mitch waved a hand at his dark blue school uniform. “And resist the temptation to burn it,” he added.
Cian laughed. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”
“You have no idea.” Mitch grinned at Cian until he spotted his raised eyebrow. “Fair enough, I guess you do.” His elation about being done with school, about never having to return to the place that held so many dreadful memories for him, had made him forget that he was merely one among thousands of teenagers who had finished their secondary education minutes ago and that his was only one generation in a long line of pupils to experience this sense of freedom.
“I get it,” Cian said. “So, when do you want to get together?”
“Give me an hour or two.” As much as Mitch yearned to spend time with Cian, he knew his mother had taken the afternoon off work and would want to hear all about how he’d done.
“That works,” Cian agreed easily. “I don’t think me ma would be impressed if I just dropped off my bag and disappeared again.”
“Tell me about it,” Mitch muttered. “See you in a bit.”
Cian turned to make his way home.
“And Cian?”
He looked over his shoulder at Mitch.
“Thanks for coming. You made a good day fabulous.”
Cian winked. “Hey, that’s what boyfriends are supposed to do.”
Mitch watched Cian as he walked along the street toward the estate where his family lived, before turning the other way and making his own way home. It was as if he was half the weight he’d been when he got out of bed that morning. His heart was light, and all the tension he hadn’t been able to shift for over a month seemed to have evaporated, as if Cian’s appearance had magically rounded up his stress and discarded it.
“I’m in the kitchen.”
His mother’s voice greeted Mitch as soon as he closed the front door behind him. As much as he wanted to get out of his uniform and under the shower, Mitch knew better than to keep her waiting. After all, she’d been on the receiving end of his stressed-out, at times, foul moods for long enough.
He found her sitting at the kitchen table with what looked suspiciously like a slice of chocolate cake with a burning candle on top, in front of her.
“You survived the ordeal.” Her wide smile took any possible sting out of her words. “How did it go?”
“Okay,” Mitch said. “Cian was waiting for me when I walked out.” He couldn’t stop his voice from betraying his delight as he sat, and had no doubts his face showed the same.
“That’s nice.”
His mother’s less than enthusiastic response took him by surprise. She knew how much he’d missed seeing Cian, especially on the weekends. Because he didn’t understand her reaction, Mitch decided to ignore it. “I’m meeting him in a few hours for a night on the town.”
“Good for you,” she added, still disturbingly lackluster.
“At last we can start making plans for after the summer.” Mitch said. “Decide on when I’m moving in with him.”
His mother pushed the cake in his direction before averting her gaze.
Mitch took a bite of the chocolatey treat, almost moaning when the moist, rich, texture filled his mouth.
“I wanted to talk to you about that.”
“About what?” Mitch asked, only half listening as he brought the fork to his mouth again.
“You moving in with Cian.”
Mitch froze with the fork still between his lips as his mother’s words sank in. He pulled it out, and swallowed the suddenly tasteless chunk of cake.
“What’s there to talk about?” He had a feeling he wouldn’t like her answer, but he couldn’t argue without having all the facts first.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to move in with him now, straight from home?”
Mitch blinked at his mother, trying to figure out what might have triggered this surprising course of action. “Of course I do. I wouldn’t look forward to it if I didn’t, would I?”
“You’re so young. Both of you.” His mother had a sympathetic but determined expression on her face. “Don’t you think it would be better to live on your own for a while first? Figure out what you want from life before you start sharing it with someone else?”
“Where’s this coming from, Ma?” Mitch ignored her questions for a moment, far more curious about the timing of this conversation. “In all the months I’ve been talking about our plans, you never said a word against them. And now that the moment has arrived, you’re suddenly objecting?”
“I was never crazy about the idea,” his mother admitted. “I didn’t start the conversation before today because I didn’t want to distract you from your exams. Cian’s your first boyfriend. I’m not saying he can’t be the one for you, but how can you be sure unless you are free to play the field, so to speak?”
“Trust you to encourage your only child to sleep around. You must be the only parent in Ireland to come up with something like that.” Mitch meant to shock her, and if her frown was anything to go by, he’d succeeded.
“I never said you should sleep around. I just think you should be open to other opportunities, starting with where you’re going to live.”
“I have a place to live. I don’t need to look for anything.” Mitch’s shock turned to anger. “Way to ruin a fabulous day, Ma.” He pushed what remained of his slice of cake to the middle of the table, his taste for it suddenly gone.
For a few long moments, she just stared at him, her eyes sad. Then she nodded. “You’re right. My timing isn’t the best.” Her mouth stretched into what obviously was a forced smile. “You go and celebrate. Enjoy yourself. We can have this talk some other time.”
Mitch opened his mouth to state that he’d just as soon never have that particular conversation before thinking better of it. He was going to go out and enjoy himself if it killed him. Prolonging their discussion would almost certainly make that impossible.
“Right.” He got up. “I’m going to have a shower and change.”
When he walked past his mother toward the hall, she reached for him, her fingers brushing his wrist. He pulled his hand back. He’d no idea what had gotten into his mother’s head all of a sudden, but he didn’t like it, and the last thing he needed from her right now were shows of affection.
Mitch heard his mother’s hand drop to the table but continued walking down the hall and up the stairs. He was going to forget what she’d said for the night. They could talk after he’d partied his remaining exam stress away. Then he’d put her straight on why her suggestion made no sense whatsoever.
Chapter Two
Cian
Cian mentally shook his head at himself. He couldn’t believe how impatient he was while he waited for Mitch to come around the corner and join him in front of the pub they’d agreed on via text message. The past three weeks had been long…too long. It didn’t make sense, but he’d missed Mitch something terrible. He’d gotten used to spending every single weekend together, and the three weeks he’d stayed away had felt like a lifetime.
He inspected his surroundings, seeing numerous happy teenagers but not the one man he wanted to appear. He guessed a few more minutes wouldn’t kill him, not when they were about to start the next phase of their relationship where they would be able to spend all their time together.
For a moment his mood dropped, but before he could delve into bleaker thoughts, he spo
tted a familiar mop of raven black hair, and his spirits lifted. We’ll figure it out.
“Hey,” Mitch said when he reached Cian. “Were you waiting long?”
“Just got here.” Cian studied Mitch’s face. The shining joy he’d seen on Mitch’s features earlier seemed to have dimmed over the past few hours. “You wanna go in here?” He pointed at the pub behind him. Loud music and even louder voices reached them through the open front door.
Mitch looked past him before shaking his head. “Somewhere quieter, maybe.”
Something’s definitely off. Cian swallowed the questions he wanted to ask. He had a feeling they both needed a drink before they talked.
They slowly walked down the main street, passing several pubs packed with celebrating youngsters. On a quieter side street, Cian paused in front of a smaller bar. “How about here?”
“Works for me,” Mitch said before leading the way inside.
Cian instantly understood why the partying school leavers ignored this pub. While he welcomed the lack of music and television screens, he had no doubt it made this place boring to those who wanted to party the night away.
Less than a minute later, they sat opposite each other at a small table and simultaneously raised their pint glasses to their mouths. After they’d both drained about a quarter of their cider, they placed their drinks on the coasters and stared at each other. Mitch’s intense gaze suggested he was searching for something on Cian’s face, although Cian had no idea what the question might be. Then again, maybe he did.
“I just had the most surreal talk with me ma.”