The Haunting Crush (Mesa Boys #4)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

K ai looked out over the restaurant, the tables and bar almost full of people, but manageable. He grabbed a wine glass out of the dishwasher and dried it with a white towel, then scanned over the bar top for empty drinks. Everyone seemed fine for the moment. His gaze caught on Conner, in a blue button-down shirt and black slacks, walking past the hostess stand, then the windows with a view of the park. He must have come straight from work. He glanced at the clock on the POS station—6:05 p.m. He grinned.

Conner took a seat on a barstool and gave him a wide smile, his intense ice-blue eyes focused on him. “Hey, baby.”

He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to Conner calling him that. As heat flushed Kai’s face, he set the wine glass down, then grabbed a menu from the island and stepped to him, his ponytail swaying across his back. “Hey.” He handed the menu to him and rested his hands on the back bar. “Beer?”

Conner licked his plentiful lips and smiled. “Yep.” He perused the menu.

Kai grabbed a beer glass from the cooler and poured him a beer from the tap. He knew exactly what beer he liked. The last few days flashed through his mind, the easy way their lives meshed and the hot nights in bed. His cock jerked in his jeans. He should stop thinking about that. He cleared his throat, then brought the beer to Conner and set it in front of him. “So, what do you want to eat?”

“Just get me a burger.” Conner handed the menu to him. “Too bad I can’t have your home cooking tonight.” He smirked.

Kai rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, it’s already Thursday. I’ll cook you dinner soon enough.” He walked to the POS station and entered his order. He didn’t have to ask him what type of burger, what sides or how he liked it cooked. He already knew. Seemed he was getting to know Conner pretty well. His gaze caught on movement behind him.

A young man with blond hair held up an empty wine glass, waving it in the air. “Hey, bartender.”

Kai turned around. “Want another one?” How’d he miss that? Conner was too distracting.

The young man gave him a coy grin. “Yes.”

Kai went to work, pouring a new white wine, then brought it to the young man.

“Hey, what’s your name, anyway?” The young man leaned into the bar front on his elbows and bit his lip.

“Kai.” He narrowed his eyes. Was this guy about to hit on him?

“Kai...” He smiled. “I’m Samuel. You native or Mexican?” He sipped his wine.

Kai pursed his lips. Here we go. “I’m part native.”

“Looks like you got the best part.” Samuel flashed his blue eyes at him, then looked him up and down.

“Excuse me?” Kai cocked his head.

Samuel licked his lips. “You’re very attractive.”

Heat flushed Kai’s face. He stared down at the sink. What was he supposed to say to that? Conner was sitting right here. He turned to Samuel. “Uh, thanks.”

Conner stood up and stepped a few bar seats down to Samuel, resting his hand on his seatback. “Hey, he’s taken. ”

Samuel gave Conner the once over. “By whom, you?” He laughed, then placed his fingers at his mouth. “Hey, haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

Conner grimaced, then glared at Samuel. “No, I’m sure you haven’t.” He tensed his mouth and pointed at Kai. “Anyway, he’s taken. Kai’s my boyfriend. So, lay off.”

His boyfriend? Kai widened his eyes. When was that decided? Not that he minded. Not at all. It was finally real. He held his hand out to Samuel. “Nice to meet you Samuel, and yes, this is my boyfriend.”

Samuel shook Kai’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Kai.” He focused on Conner. “And you are?”

“None of your business.” Conner scoffed and went back to his chair.

Kai offered Samuel a quick grin, then jogged to Conner, leaning over the back bar. “Hey. Don’t be a dick to the people who come in here, okay?”

Conner scowled. “He’s the one being a dick.” He thinned his generous lips, then fixated on Samuel. “Who does he think he is, coming in here and hitting on you? Did he really think you’d be hot for him?”

Kai lifted his brows. Hot for him? “What?”

“Do you get that a lot? People hitting on you while you’re working?” Conner wrinkled his nose, then gulped his beer.

Kai took a quick look around. Hopefully, no one was listening to their conversation. “It happens. I work in a place where people are drinking and hooking up.”

Under his breath, Conner said, “Maybe you shouldn’t work here anymore.” He frowned.

“You can’t be serious.” I won’t even entertain such a comment. Kai shook his head, then picked up a rag and wiped down the area next to Conner, now vacated by a couple.

Janice walked through the black swinging door from the kitchen with a plate of food in her hand, then set it down in front of Conner. “Burger? ”

Conner smiled at her. “Yes, thanks.”

“How’s it going, Kai?” She stood next to him, crossing her arms.

“Good. Everyone seems happy.” He glanced at Conner. Except maybe him. He chuckled.

Conner took a bite of his burger.

“So, I scheduled you for two day shifts next week, Wednesday and Thursday. You okay with that?” She scanned the restaurant.

He slapped the towel on the bar top in front of Conner. “Well?”

Conner swallowed his burger down. “Yes, I’m happy with that.”

Her brows lifted. “Oh, so you’re changing your schedule for him? You two finally ended up together?” She smiled at Conner.

“Yes.” As Kai smirked, he held his hand out to her. “Conner, this is Janice, my manager.”

Conner wiped his hands on a paper napkin. “Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand.

She shook it. “Likewise.” She touched Kai’s arm. “Damn, Kai, he is good looking.”

Kai grinned. “I know.” And he’s mine .

Conner widened his smile and shook his head.

“Well, got to get back to work.” She tapped the bar in front of Conner. “See you later.”

“Yep.” Conner sipped his beer.

She jogged off.

A customer at the far end of the bar pointed to an empty beer glass and Kai refilled it, then came back to Conner and dried wine glasses from the dishwasher.

“Kai.”

His heart skipped. Damn, Conner still had that effect on him. “Yeah.” He watched him.

A shy grin played over Conner’s mouth. “So... I took Monday and Tuesday off next week.” He peeked at him .

Kai set the wine glass down and picked up a new one. “Oh, and why is that?”

“I want to take you somewhere special.”

“Where?” He looked at Conner.

“It’s a secret, but I’m taking you out of town for two nights.” Conner looked him over. “I wanted to get you out of here and maybe forget about this ghost thing for a while.”

Kai’s heart warmed. It sounded perfect. No one had ever done anything like that for him before. He sided to the back bar, grinning at Conner. “So, you’re taking me on a romantic getaway?” He snickered.

Conner flushed. “Yeah, is that okay?”

“Oh, it’s more than okay.” Damn, Conner didn’t even get that it was a joke. Kai picked up a new wine glass. If they were going to be gone this weekend, then when would they have time to deal with the ghost problem? “Did you ever find out when Brent can schedule that medium?”

“Yeah, he’s not available until next weekend.” Conner dipped a French fry in ketchup and ate it.

Kai let loose a long exhale. “Okay. Bryce isn’t finding anything in the wash. I think the medium is our only hope of stopping the weird shit in my house.”

Conner nodded and gulped some beer. “I think you may be right.” He took a bite of burger, then swallowed it down. “Though I’m getting used to having you at my place.” He gave him a shy grin.

Kai chewed the nail on his index finger. Come to think of it, he was getting pretty used to being at his place, too. Where was this thing going between them? He still didn’t really know what his deal was. Conner wasn’t all the way out. He knew that much.

“Hey, someone wants another drink.” Conner pointed down the bar.

“Shit.” He had to pay attention. Kai strolled down the bar to an elderly couple. “I’m sorry. What can I get you?”

Kai, dressed in a black long-sleeve shirt and jeans, sat in the passenger seat of Conner’s BMW M3, squeezing his eyes shut. “When can I open them?”

“Not yet. Almost.”

He clutched the handle on the door. Where the hell was Conner taking him?

“Okay, you can look.”

Kai opened his eyes, brushed his bangs off his forehead, and peered out the windows of the car. Small shops of differing shapes and sizes, most colored in a clay-orange stucco, surrounded him with sidewalks and parking lots. He looked up behind the shops. Colorful water and wind worn sandstone mountains rose up with striations of red and orange, the noonday sun bringing out patterns in the cliffsides. Toward the bottom of the mountains, scrubby oaks and pinyon pine dotted the reddish clay dirt. “Sedona?”

Conner, wearing a gray button down shirt and jeans, grinned. “Yes, and we’re staying here.” He pointed at a small sign nestled in a bed of red rock, surrounded by flowers. “L’auberge.” His grin widened into a full-on smile.

Kai’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious? I’ve never been here.” Jesus, how much had he spent on this get away? This was one of the most exclusive resorts in Sedona. He stared at him.

Conner drove the car down the side street. “Well, now you have. We have reservations for lunch here, too, so I hope you’re hungry.”

Kai gulped and placed his hand on his stomach. They’d had breakfast before they left, but nothing since. “Yeah, definitely hungry.” He looked out the windows as the car descended. Scrubby brush gave way to greenery and tall cottonwood trees, their fall colors on full display. Small log-sided cabins with shingle roofs came into view, nestled among the trees in front of Oak Creek. “Shit, this place looks so peaceful. ”

Conner drove the car around a circular drive and parked under a high awning held up by columns of river rock, connected to a building of dark brown wood siding. “Stay here. I’ll go check us in.” He leaned over the seat, gave Kai a quick kiss, then got out and strutted through the double glass doors of the building.

Kai wrangled his fingers together in his lap, scanning the grounds of flower beds, vines on trellises and tall pine trees. He’d never in his life be able to afford to come to a place like this. Hell, he’d only stayed in the cheapest of motels whenever he’d been anywhere, and usually if he did go anywhere, he camped. No wonder Conner had asked him to bring shirts with collars. This place probably had a dress code. He bit his lip.

Conner jogged to the car, opened the door, and climbed in. He smiled at Kai, then patted his thigh. “This is going to be awesome.” He drove the car along a smaller drive and parked in a spot in front of the last of a row of log cabins. “We’re here. Let’s get our stuff.”

Kai got out and waited for Conner at the trunk of the BMW, surveying the area. The bubbling of the creek sounded off in the distance and the cool air chilled his skin. “Good thing you told me to bring a jacket.”

Conner stepped to the trunk and opened it with his key fob. “I wouldn’t let you come unprepared.” He hauled out Kai’s suitcase, then his own and shut the trunk. “Let’s get these inside and head over to the restaurant.”

“Sure.” He rolled his suitcase through a set of tall pines, down a cement pathway with flower beds on either side and up the front steps of the cabin to stop on the covered portion of the porch. He looked out over the creek, flowing over boulders, and fallen trees, stretching across at least fifty feet to the other bank. “Wow, the creek is pretty big in this area.”

Conner opened the door on the cabin. “I’m sure that’s why they put the resort here.” He stepped inside.

Kai followed Conner into the cabin, taking it all in, the king- sized four poster bed in dark wood with fine white linens and a navy-blue blanket laid out across the bottom, the brown leather settee bench at the foot of the bed, the square wooden table with two wicker chairs sitting next to a window looking over the creek and finally the sitting area of large beige upholstered chairs resting in front of a fireplace with a television hung over it. The walls and ceiling were all wood paneled but painted white. “This is a really nice fucking place, Conner.” He grinned. “Holy shit.”

Conner stepped to him and wound his arms around Kai’s shoulders, then kissed his lips. “I wanted to take you someplace really special, because I want you to know how special you are to me.”

Kai gazed into his intense blue eyes, warmth filling his chest. God, I love him. He swallowed and wrapped his arms around Conner’s waist. “Thank you, so much. No one has ever done anything like this for me.”

“Well, get used to it, because I’m only getting started.” Conner smirked and placed a longer, more sensual kiss on his mouth, then rested his forehead on Kai’s and swayed them both. “We’re going to have such a great time here.”

“We better.” Kai snickered.

Conner released him. “Let’s go to lunch.”

Kai, now wearing a light black jacket over his shirt, followed Conner to a wooden deck looking out over the creek under a canopy of colorful cottonwood trees. Square tables were set up with white linen tablecloths and iron patio chairs. White ceramic vases held small bouquets of orange flowers.

Conner met with a ma?tre d’h?tel. “Reservation for Mitchell.”

“Right this way, sir.” The ma?tre d’ wore a black vest over his white shirt and black slacks. He led them to a table on the creek. “Here you are. Will you be ordering wine? ”

Conner sat down and picked up a wine list from the table. “Yes, this one.” He pointed to the menu.

“Certainly, sir.” The ma?tre d’ left.

“What did you order?” Kai unfolded the linen napkin and placed it in his lap.

“A nice chardonnay.” Conner grinned. “I thought it would go well with the atmosphere.”

Kai nodded and moved his long hair behind his shoulders. In a teasing tone, he said, “Perfect for such a lovely day.” He snickered.

A female wine steward with her blonde hair in a bun stopped at the table, a napkin draped over one arm, and showed the wine bottle to Conner. “Here you are, sir.”

He nodded.

She opened the bottle, set the cork on the table, and poured a small amount into Conner’s wine glass.

He picked it up, swirled the wine, then sipped. He grinned. “Very good.” He set the wine glass down and beamed at Kai.

She nodded and poured wine into Kai’s glass, then more wine into Conner’s glass, set the bottle into a marble bottle insulator on the table, and left.

Kai sipped the wine. A mixture of oak and honey filed his mouth. “Damn, this is really good.”

“Yeah, one of my favorites, Cakebread Cellars.” Conner drank his wine. “So, figure out what you want to eat. I’m starved.” He picked up his lunch menu.

Kai perused the menu. “The chicken salad wrap looks good.”

A male waiter came to the table. Conner ordered Kai’s wrap and some Italian sausage sliders for himself.

“So, what are the plans for today?” Kai lifted his wine glass and tilted it, watching the legs of the wine dribble down the sides in the mid-afternoon sun. Good thing he was in the food industry, so he’d know how to handle being in this high-end restaurant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have a clue.

Conner shifted forward in his seat, tenting his fingers on the table. “For starters, I have in-room massages scheduled for this afternoon, then maybe we can walk around Tlaquepaque’s shops, and after dinner, of course, we can have our bourbon on the porch. Tomorrow, I was thinking we could hike to some of the old ruins. How does that sound?”

Kai lifted his brows. “It sounds, uh, great.” He’d never had a massage before. He twisted his mouth. Should he ask Conner about it? He glanced at him. He didn’t want to sound stupid. “So, um, will the massage be with a man or a woman?”

Conner smirked. “I asked for women. I don’t want a guy touching you like that.”

Kai pressed his lips together. But Conner would have a woman touching him . How did he feel about that? Maybe it wasn’t a sexual thing anyway. But Conner was a pretty sexually wound-up guy to begin with. He narrowed his eyes at him.

“What?”

Kai fingered his fork. “So, what if I don’t want a woman touching you ?”

Conner chuckled. “Would you rather a guy did my massage?”

Kai pictured Conner on a massage table, his hard cock jutting up from under a sheet, coming as soon as a male masseuse touched his shoulders. He shook his head. “Shit, no.” He squirmed in his seat. He’d rather be the one giving Conner a massage. “Maybe we should do each other?” He lifted a brow.

Conner laughed. “Are you serious? It’ll be fine. These massage therapists know what they’re doing. They’re all trained in Swedish massage.” He grabbed Kai’s hand and rested them on the table. “There’s no happy ending,” he said. “Unless we want to give each other one after they leave.” He wiggled his brows.

Kai’s cock jerked. Damn, all this talk was already making him horny. Maybe they’d have to skip the shopping. He drank some wine and lifted a corner of his mouth. “I do like the idea of a happy ending after they leave. ”

“So do I.” Conner squeezed his hand.

The waiter dropped off their food.

Kai picked up his wrap and took a bite, chewed, then swallowed it down. “Damn, that’s good.”

“So is mine.” Conner took a bite of slider and sucked juice off a finger. “So, Kai, I want to know more about you. I mean, I know you, but I feel like there’s a lot I don’t know.”

Kai sipped his wine and looked out over the creek, the sun shimmering off the water as it hit boulders and rocks and moved swiftly downstream. “So, what do you want to know?”

“Well, like how long did you live on the Navajo Nation? What was that like? Do you still go up there and visit relatives?” Conner ate a truffle fry.

Kai set down his wrap and studied him. That was a lot of questions. Where should he start? “So, my dad was half Navajo on his mother’s side. He always lived there. He met my mom in Flagstaff, so I’m told. I don’t know all the details.” He frowned. There was so much about his parent’s relationship he didn’t know. It wasn’t something his mother liked to talk about. “Anyway, I was born up there and we lived there until I was about five.”

“Five...” Conner drank some wine. “Wasn’t that about when your dad?—”

“Yeah. He had diabetes and didn’t manage it very well.” Kai frowned. “My mom didn’t handle it well when he died. My sister, May, and I ended up in foster care for about a year, somewhere around Flagstaff.” He sighed. “My mom got into drugs.”

Conner widened his eyes. “Oh, shit.” He laid a hand on Kai’s thigh. “I’m sorry. It sounds like it was pretty rough.”

“Yeah, it was.” Kai gazed at him, thinking back. How different would his life had been if his father hadn’t died?

Conner focused on him, wrinkling his forehead. “Is it hard to talk about?”

Kai drew a deep breath. “Sometimes. It’s not something I tell everyone.” He fought against memories trying to surface of his mother passed out on a tattered couch while he’d tried to make something to eat for May and him, then finding no food in the house. During that time, they were always hungry. He stared out at the glimmering water of the creek, letting it sooth the pain hovering under the surface of his emotions.

“So, how did you end up in Fountain Hills?” Conner bit his sandwich.

Kai’s attention returned to him “Oh, well, after my mom got out of rehab, she was able to get us from foster care and she decided to move far away to make a new start. I guess addicts need to get away from the people they used with.”

Conner nodded. “So, you moved there when you were seven?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t start school on time. So I was in the class behind you, even though I’m the same age as you.”

“Seriously? We should have graduated together?” Conner gave him a warm smile.

“Yeah.” Kai let a faint grin curl his mouth. “My family lived in The Village.” He freed his hand and picked up his wrap, taking a bite.

Conner furrowed his brows. “Oh... I didn’t know you lived there. I guess Bryce lived there, too?”

Kai nodded, chewing, then swallowed. “My mom and Bryce’s mom still live there.” And it pretty much looks exactly the same.

“Shit, so Bryce is staying in The Village until this ghost thing is settled?” Conner took a bite of a new slider.

“Yeah.” Kai finished off the first half of his wrap. Conner had no idea exactly how poor he really was. Maybe he hid it well. “Tell me about your family.”

Conner freed a quick chuckle. “Oh, I don’t know how much there is to tell. I mean, you saw the house I grew up in. It’s not like I wanted for anything.”

Kai poured more wine into their glasses. “You’re an only child, right?” At least there weren’t any siblings that he knew about when they were in school together.

“Yeah. And with that brought a lot of fucking expectations.” Conner sighed. “But I think I told you about that.” He laughed sharply. “Probably when I came into the restaurant drunk that night.”

Kai poked at a side salad with his fork. “Yeah, you did.” He snickered. “You also asked me how gay people hit on each other.” He shook his head, chuckling. “Guess you figured that one out.” Now that the pieces were fitting together, he was realizing why he’d asked those questions.

Conner flushed and sipped his wine. “Yeah, good thing, huh? You weren’t going to do anything.” He gazed at him.

Kai’s gaze caught on his ice-blue eyes. His heart skipped. Damn, he’s so stunning . How did I ever get to be with him? “Yeah, I’m glad you did.”

“I want to ask you something, Kai.” Conner came forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the table. “Did you have a crush on me in high school?”

“Uh...” His mouth dropped. Shit. What was he supposed to say?

“There was a rumor going around that you did.” Conner grabbed his hand.

Fucking Bryce and his big mouth. He released a choked laugh. “Yeah, um, I guess I did.”

“S-so, you had a crush on me all this time?” Conner kissed Kai’s hand.

Kai slumped his shoulders. Might as well come out with all of it. “Yes, I’ve had a crush on you for so long, I can barely remember a time when I didn’t.”

Conner bent over the table and placed a long, tender kiss on his lips. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.” He smiled.

Warmth flowed through Kai’s heart. It’s not just a crush, now it’s love. He scanned his face, taking in his narrowed blue eyes, the full lips, the gentle scar under his eye. He’d kissed that scar. Now it was his. He inhaled deeply. It was time for Conner to spill it. “So, you told me you liked me in high school, too. Can you elaborate on that?” He smirked.

Conner went back in his chair and freed a puff of air. “Oh, wow. Well, I did like you, but I was really confused. I was dating Paige. My parents loved her.” He glanced toward the creek, then focused on Kai. “Those minutes we spent in my bedroom confused the fuck out of me.” He raked his hand through his side-swept bangs. “I had heard about you crushing on me, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. So when I saw you standing there all alone in the hallway, I don’t know, I couldn’t stop myself.” He sipped his wine. “I wanted to know what it was like to kiss you. I kept thinking about it when we were in chemistry class together.” He snickered. “That’s probably why my grade was so bad. I couldn’t concentrate with you there.” He looked Kai up and down. “I guess it was a sexual thing at first. After I got you in my bedroom, well...” He raked his teeth over his lower lip. “I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” His face went slack. “I daydreamed about you all the time.” He pulled him close by the shoulder, brushing his lips over his cheek, then whispered in his ear, “I’ve been jerking off, thinking about that night all these years.”

Kai widened his eyes. “Damn.” His cock twitched in his jeans. They needed to find their bed fast. Oh, but they had massages scheduled. Damn it, I’m going to be horny as hell through the whole thing.

Conner freed him and licked his lips. In a soft voice, he said, “I’m fucking hard as shit right now.”

Kai looked around them. Only a few guests were dining a couple of tables down. “Should we cancel the massage?”

A wicked grin played over Conner’s mouth. “No, let’s wait for it.”

Kai shut his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them. He’d wait. It would be almost impossible, but he’d wait. “Okay.”