“Carter, let the kid enjoy his date night,” Sawyer said, shaking his head beside him.
“I did not sign up to help with this festival only to let a celeb like this slip away from me. Speaking of which, Prince Owen, we’re always looking for donations, and, Keegan, if you’re looking to help out…”
“I’m already helping out with the petting zoo and adoption center for the shelter,” I chimed in.
“Oh, that’s right. Well, Prince Owen, if you’d care to sign up to help, we’d be more than happy to have you.”
As if pulling it out of thin air, Carter produced his card, which Owen took and thanked him for.
“Is this guy bothering you?” Sawyer asked us with a wink, and as I busted out laughing, he smiled.
“You guys, this is my job. It might be annoying, but this is how you get shit done.”
“We all appreciate how much you’re working to help out the town,” Jace said.
“Thank you, Jace. At least one Kruse is on my side here.”
“I think it’s impressive how you’ve adjusted to Fever Falls,” Dax said, “considering you’re an LA boy to the bone.”
“Well, now that I’m a new member of Saturgay…”
“More like a Saturgay intern,” Sawyer said.
“Definitely intern,” Ash added.
“Whatever. Better to be an unpaid intern of Saturgay than an unpaid employee.”
We all enjoyed another laugh and chatted some before Owen and I grabbed drinks and popcorn from the attendant.
“So what’s this Fever Falls Autumn Festival?” Owen asked as we headed back to the car.
“It’s this thing we do every year. One of the many events to support charities and nonprofits in town. Kind of a big deal. It’s a great time for the animal shelter because we run this event where people can meet and greet puppies and kitties up for adoption. Find them some good homes.”
“Sounds like a good cause to invest my time in. I guess I’ll have to take Carter up on his offer.”
“You don’t have to do that, O.”
“Keegan, I want to do it. When is it?”
“Early November, right after Halloween. We’ll all be helping out and getting stuff together for the big day…and there’s this ball.”
“A ball? And who was going to escort you to this ball?” he asked, his expression full of suspicion.
“Well, now, I guess my prince boyfriend.”
“I can’t believe I’m just finding out about this. Thank God I came to town to discover this secret life of yours.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. The festival happened every year and had naturally become a part of all our lives, so I had hardly considered mentioning it. However, it was nice seeing that Owen wanted to be a part of my life as much as I wanted to be a part of his.
We returned to my car and enjoyed the alien-frat-horror B flickThe Frat Kids vs Space Warriors. Campy as fuck, it was hilarious and even had some sexy shirtless guys, and when one of them was getting it on with one of his sorority girlfriends, I used the opportunity to slip my arm around O’s shoulder.
He side-eyed me as he was about to put a couple of pieces of popcorn in his mouth. “Are you trying to make a move on me, Mr. Kruse? Because I have to warn you, if you plan to keep your arm around me like that, then I’m going to have a difficult time.”
“Difficult time with what?”
“Keeping my hands off you.”
“That doesn’t sound like such a terrible—” Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, he dropped his popcorn back into the bag between his legs and mashed his lips against mine. The heat he gave off rushed against my face as we clawed at each other, nearly as desperately as we had when we’d first gotten into the car after he’d arrived at the airport. He drew me near, attempting to put the popcorn on the floorboard but knocking it over so it went flying out of the bag. Neither of us gave a fuck, though, as he discarded it, and I crawled into his lap, ducking to keep my head from hitting the ceiling.
