“Aw, when my Hot Lips is missing me?”
He rolled his eyes.
“Say it. Say you miss me when I’m gone.”
“You know I miss you,” he reluctantly shared.
“I miss you when I’m gone too, Keegan.” I kissed him again, not even wanting to think about having to head back home when I enjoyed the second life I was creating with him in this wonderful place.
“But as enamored as I am with you, I’m afraid I’m about to do something horribly wicked,” I confessed.
“What? Oh, no, no!” But just as soon, I had my hand under his arm, and he was in stitches.
I doubted I had ever known myself to be as happy as I was in such simple moments shared with Keegan, but as Keegan’s phone buzzed with a text message, our good time came to an end as he said, “Shit.”
“What?”
“Ice machine busted at work, and my boss, Benny, sent a group text to the staff to see if any of us could bring some over. You mind if we leave early and grab some?”
“Mind? I would love to!”
“You wouldloveto go to work with me?”
“Keegan, I love being a part of every aspect of your life. Like volunteering with you at the shelter and watching you get all adorable about the new Shih Tzus.”
He blushed, surely embarrassed at how overly affectionate he’d been with the seven Shih Tzus added to the shelter’s family the previous weekend.
But he shouldn’t have been, considering most things he did had a way of making me that much more infatuated with him.
“It’s kind of a good thing there are so many cute ones there. I think it’s the only thing keeping me from picking one to adopt.”
On the way to Fever Pitch, we swung by the gas station, where I saw two guys standing at the ice freezer out front, throwing bags over their shoulders.
“Hey, what’s up, guys?” Keegan said as he stepped out of the car and approached them. “Did you get a text from Benny too, Jude?” The guy he asked had brownish-blond hair, and I’d seen him hanging around town with motocross celebrity Rush Alexander.
“He had Fever’s back a few months ago when the same thing happened to us,” Jude said, “so I wasn’t about to let him down now that the shoe’s on the other foot.”
“He’s just pretending he doesn’t have a heart of gold,” the other guy said playfully. “How’ve you been, Keeg? And you must be this prince we’ve been hearing about? I’m Camden.”
As Jude extended his free hand, Camden offered a slight bow, which made me smile before shaking both their hands.
“Nice hat, Keeg,” Camden said as they low-fived, and the way Keegan beamed made me instantly jealous. There was this part of me that felt I should be the only one to compliment his hats.
“Thanks, man,” Keeg told him, blushing.
And he could make him blush? I was not amused. Something about the exchange—how relaxed and friendly they were together, mixed with Keegan’s own manner—made me wonder if Keegan had messed around with either of them.
“If you guys can grab some extra bags and load up your car,” Jude continued, shaking me from my jealous thoughts, “we’ll stash them in the walk-in freezer at the restaurant. He’ll need plenty since he can’t get anyone out to fix the damn thing until tomorrow.”
“Of course,” Keegan said, and we joined in the work.
When we finished stocking up on bags and slid back into the car, I had to ask. “Have you messed around with either of those guys?”
He opened his mouth to answer, but I spit out, “No, that wasn’t fair of me to ask. I’m sorry. If you did, it doesn’t matter. I’m just not used to being jealous over a man.”
“You were jealous of them?”
“You have to admit they’re very attractive.”
