The sun overhead was hotter than Kieran ever remembered it being before, and he could feel the sweat running down his back as he tried to keep up with the pack of people ahead of him. He considered himself an active person, and never missed a day of his exercise regimen. Keeping in shape had always been as important to him as making sure his grades, and later his workload, were completed properly.

He was learning quickly, however, that there was a huge difference between working out regularly in an air-conditioned gym, and having to exert himself in the wild. He’d already been on one hike with the other members of the retreat, but he hadn’t realized how easy a hike it had been until this one. After the night at the beach, Cole had emphasized how important it was for Kieran to keep trying to socialize, which had been the motivation behind agreeing to go on another hike.

Kieran quickly realized this wasn’t a leisurely stroll through the woods like the last one had been. Within a few hours, they’d wound deep into the woods and up the slope of the mountain. They’d all made sure to bring along plenty of food and water for themselves, but as the day progressed, it became hotter and more miserable. He was doing his best not to show how much effort it took him to keep up, but he knew it was a fight he was going to lose.

Cole and Tristan were accompanying the group, the latter having wasted no time in making a smart ass comment to Kieran at the very beginning of the hike. Kieran had done his best to ignore the man as the day wore on, knowing that to show Tristan any attention would only make him worse. As the stress and exhaustion began to wear on Kieran, however, he was finding his ability to ignore Tristan growing thin.

“Doing alright, back there?” Tristan asked, his attempt at seeming concerned ruined by the smirk on his face.

Kieran grunted. “Doing just fine.”

It was a lie, but he wasn’t going to admit how relieved he was they were making the trip back to the camp. They’d woken early for the hike, and the day was already beginning to fade into late afternoon. It was the most physical thing Kieran could ever remember having done in his life. Despite his dedication to making sure he was both fit and healthy, the hike had quickly drained every last energy reserve he had, and Tristan was doing a good job of draining him emotionally.

“You’re looking a little pale and sweaty there, my friend,” Tristan said, looking at Kieran over his shoulder.

Beside him, Michael chuckled. “He’s probably not used to this sort of thing.”

“Not the same thing as running on a treadmill once a week, is it?” Tristan asked.

From behind him, Kieran could hear Cole. “Tristan, are you really going to look at him and say he only sees a gym once a week? C’mon.”

Kieran would have smiled gratefully, but he didn’t want Tristan to see it. The longer the day went on, the more irksome Tristan became. The troublemaking man seemed to sense Kieran’s patience was slowly draining, and had grown more and more annoying. Kieran was looking forward to being away from him, as much as he was crashing in his bed for the rest of the night.

Tristan chuckled. “You been checking out the new guy’s body, Cole? That’s pretty scandalous. You that hard up to get laid?”

Kieran growled in annoyance. “Don’t you have better things to do than cause trouble everywhere you go?”

Tristan looked at Kieran. “Aw, are you feeling a little protective?”

Kieran grunted. “I’d really like it if you didn’t feel the need to pick and poke at me at every opportunity. We all understand that you don’t like me, but can you please just grow up and leave me alone?”

“C’mon, Trist. Let the guy have a moment’s peace,” Cole called up.

Michael leaned in to say something to Tristan, who chuckled, followed by a shrug as he turned back toward the front of the group. What irritated Kieran most was admitting that Tristan had managed to finally hit a nerve. The man had been searching Kieran’s reactions to find something that irritated him, and Kieran knew everyone had seen his annoyance flare up, and this respite would be short-lived.

Cole appeared at his side. “Seriously though, are you okay?”

Kieran shrugged, trying to speak quietly enough that no one else heard him. “I’m fine, really. It’s a lot different than going to a gym throughout the week, but I’m glad I was smart enough to keep up the exercise, otherwise I’d have dropped part way through. I can make it back on my own. It’s okay.”

Cole watched his face carefully. “You wouldn’t be the first guy to not be able to make it through one of our tougher hikes without struggling, so don’t feel bad. Hell, most of the guys we get here, we don’t even take on our big hikes right away.”

Kieran smiled tiredly at Cole. “You’re trying to make me feel better.”

“Yeah. Is it working?” Cole asked with a grin.

Kieran chuckled. “A little, but it’s more because you’re trying to make me feel better than anything else.”

“Talk to me. Maybe that’ll take your mind off the hike, and other things,” Cole said, his gaze drifting to Tristan’s back.

Kieran was relieved at the opportunity for a distraction that wasn’t thinking about how tired and sore he was. Despite his constant failure to connect with most of the people at the retreat, he and Cole were getting along remarkably well. Kieran was quickly discovering what people meant when they talked about how important their friends were to them. He found he could talk to Cole about almost anything, and never felt the need to evaluate what was coming out of his mouth. It didn’t matter how brutal or judgmental he thought his opinions sounded afterward; Cole always seemed to take it in his stride. Kieran’s biggest weakness in expressing himself was that it always felt like it came out wrong, but somehow, Cole always knew how to look past the words and understand what Kieran had truly meant to say.

“Doesn’t your firm do, like, retreats or stuff that would bring you out to places like this?” Cole asked.

Kieran shook his head. “Most of the people I work with are about as city as it gets. Their idea of going out of the city is to go somewhere tropical, or a completely different city. I can’t tell you the last time I went anywhere like this before.”

That seemed to be all it took for Tristan to turn back around. “Used to sleeping in five-star resorts with plush beds and not so many mosquitos?”

Kieran glared. “Yes, though mosquitos don’t really care about whether a place is expensive or not.”

Tristan wrinkled his nose. “You know, you’re kind of boring.”

“I wasn’t aware I was here to entertain you; I was under the impression that your job was to help us with our stress, not add to it,” Kieran pointed out as calmly as he could.

Tristan raised a brow. “Yeah, but we’re also supposed to help with any serious emotional issues too, since no one comes here with all their screws tight. You’ve barely raised your voice at me, so I’d say you have some issues of your own.”

“And how does me keeping my temper somehow equate to me having emotional problems?” Kieran asked in annoyance.

“Because Tristan is unique in his ability to irritate everyone and anyone,” Cole said with narrowed eyes.

Tristan deliberately ignored Cole’s glare. “You haven’t even really told me off; that’s disappointing. It’s a little impressive, but disappointing too.”

“I think I can safely consider disappointing you to be the highlight of my week,” Kieran said stiffly.

Cole rolled his eyes. “Tristan, I know what you’re doing, but stop. The guy hasn’t even been here a week, and you’re already trying to rile him up. He’s hot and he’s exhausted, please just leave him be.”

Tristan eyed Cole curiously. “What, are you experiencing a newfound sense of protectiveness toward him? Getting even more soft-hearted than usual?”

“He doesn’t have to be soft-hearted to understand that being an asshole isn’t doing anyone but you any good,” Kieran snapped, not liking that Tristan’s attention had turned to Cole.

Cole glanced at Kieran in surprise. “Hey, don’t worry about it. He’s always like this.”

“That doesn’t make it acceptable,” Kieran growled.

Tristan chuckled. “Well, this is rich. Who’s protecting who here?”

Cole sighed. “Tristan, why are you being such an asshole?”

“Because he looks like if he doesn’t get something off his chest soon, he’s going to explode and splatter us with the gore. Don’t worry, Cole. I’ll be gentle with your new boy toy,” Tristan assured him with a wicked grin.

The rest of the group had stopped walking and they were beginning to draw in closer. Kieran’s irritation grew as he realized he was being made to put on a show for Tristan and everyone else’s amusement. He prided himself on being the sort of person who could control a given situation, only putting on a show of his choice, and at a time of his choosing. It was obvious Tristan was the one in charge of this situation, and he was using that control to embarrass the hell out of Kieran.

“I’m not his fucking boy toy,” Kieran growled.

Tristan’s smile widened. “My apologies, then. He must be the boy toy. Sorry, I never bothered to delve too much into his sex life before.”

“Tristan,” Cole groaned in frustration.

“Is there anything you won’t run your mouth about?” Kieran finally asked, feeling his control over his temper beginning to slip.

“That doesn’t sound like you’re denying it. Cole, I didn’t know you had a soft spot for the grumpy types,” Tristan said.

At a glance, it looked as if Cole was growing more irritated as well, but was trying his best not to show it in front of the others. Kieran, however, was struggling to keep his temper in check. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d dealt with such a focused attack from another person. Certainly not when he was left without a means of escape or being able to fight back. Tristan knew full well that Kieran’s self-control was weakened by his exhaustion, and he was putting Kieran on display for everyone to see. The man seemed to know every single one of Kieran’s buttons, and just when to push them to elicit the strongest reaction. Kieran couldn’t remember the last time someone had infuriated him as much as Tristan, and if he wasn’t so frustrated, Kieran might have been impressed.

He was far from impressed, however, and he balled his hands into fists at his side. The bite of his nails in the palm of his hand barely helped to ground him. He didn’t want to admit it, but Tristan was right. It made Kieran furious to hear Tristan direct his barbs at Cole. Kieran didn’t know much about Cole, but he was sure the man didn’t deserve to be singled out by Tristan’s attacks. He had to give Cole credit where it was due. He apparently had more patience than Kieran, since he looked only annoyed and faintly distressed.

“Could you please just leave me be?” Kieran finally asked, wishing he could shout but not wanting to push his temper any further over the edge.

“Tristan, c’mon, man,” Cole pleaded.

“Just think of it as me priming him for later. I might not know much about your sex life, but you strike me as the type to like it a little rough,” Tristan commented with an infuriating grin.

The temper that had been straining against the walls of Kieran’s self-control finally boiled over. For a moment, he suddenly remembered how bad his temper had been when he was younger. The unsettling feeling of heat within his chest, so fierce it was painful. That feeling had once only been a memory from his teenage years, but now it returned with a vengeance. A deep and dangerous snarl pulled from his throat as he took a step toward Tristan.

“Would you just shut your fucking mouth for once?” Kieran barked.

Tristan’s eyes widened. “Oh? Did I finally hit the right nerve?”

Kieran, unable to contain himself any longer, swung his fist at Tristan. Cole gave a startled yelp beside him and hurried out of the way. Tristan stepped back, weaving to avoid the blow, his eyes never leaving Kieran’s face. The others in the group backed up as well, some of them making noises of amusement as Kieran advanced on Tristan.

“Kieran, don’t!” Cole called as he continued to back away.

“No need to get angry,” Tristan said with a laugh, still trying to avoid Kieran.

Kieran’s chest heaved and his steps faltered as he tried to grab for Tristan. He missed by a mile and felt his muscles seizing up. Gasping for air, he tried to think around the sudden wash of pain, and the strange weakness, mingled with surges of strength, that seemed to be taking over his body. He’d seen seizures before, but had never had one. As his knees buckled beneath him, he wondered if this was how it felt.

“Kieran?” Cole’s concerned voice asked from beside him.

“The hell is wrong with him? Is he having a heart attack? Holy shit,” One of the voices Kieran didn’t recognize asked.

“He’s fine,” Tristan barked at them.

Cole’s face swam through Kieran’s blurry vision, his expression one of worry. “Tristan, I think…”

“I know. Michael, get over here and make yourself useful,” Tristan ordered.

“Kieran, I need you to breathe for me, okay? Focus on your breathing for a bit, and we can get you some help,” Cole told him, his voice soothing.

A strong hand wrapped under Kieran’s arm and hefted him up. Another feral noise passed Kieran’s lips as he tried to struggle against whoever it was touching him. The physical contact was too much to handle. His mind felt stuck in a storm of thoughts and emotions, and the touch was too much; just one more thing for his mind to fight.

Another hand was laid on him, and he heard Cole’s soft voice. “Hey, it’s just us. We’re going to get you out of here.”

Kieran tried to nod, unsure if he succeeded. “Cole? What’s happening? I’m…too young for a heart attack.”

“This is no heart attack. Trust me, you’re okay,” Cole soothed.

“Hurts,” Kieran gasped out, wishing he could clutch his chest to try to soothe the throbbing pain.

“It always does the first time,” Cole said.

What the fuck did that mean? It was impossible to focus his mind enough to make sense of it. Kieran could barely hold himself up and he stumbled, his arms slung over Michael and Cole’s shoulders. He didn’t know how he knew, but he’d be okay so long as Cole was there. The thought settled into his mind and rested there. It wasn’t enough to make the pain in his body ebb, but it made it easier to bear.

“We have to hurry,” Cole said, his voice suddenly tight.

“It’s fighting hard,” Michael said, and Kieran thought he was talking to Tristan.

As they helped him away, another stab of fear entered his heart. He might never see Cole again. He hadn’t kissed him. He hadn’t told him how he felt. How did he feel?

He hoped to God it would stop soon.