Chapter 11
Keith
“What are we doing?” she asked, four days later as her hand wrapped my arm as we drove the way back to my house. I had told her we were having dinner, but I never said where.
And somehow, I thought it was a good idea to take her to my family dinner.
Why?
I had no clue, but at the time that I suggested dinner, it seemed good. Now, the closer we drove to my house and the ruckus that was about to ensue, I’m not sure I wanted to subject her to all of this.
“Keith, this is the way to your house.”
“Yes, it is. Is there a problem?”
“Tell me you are not taking me to this famous Sunday dinner or something?”
“You get to officially meet the whole family. All the cousins that own the shop and like to cause trouble in my life. Last week’s dinner was priceless.”
I pulled up to the house but all she did was cling to my arm even tighter.
“Brittani, it will be okay. I’ll let Tim tell you about last week. Come on.”
I climbed out of the truck then walked around the front end, opening her door for her. She gave me her hand, and I walked to the front door.
She was shaking and so was I.
This seemed like a relationship thing, right?
And yet I wasn’t in it for that.
Okay, maybe. A little. Not a lot though, not at all. Because we didn’t do those. Though we never defined what we were.
I swung the door open, and stepped in, the other people stopping their conversations to stare at us. I took a breath, giving them an eye, walking into the kitchen.
“Stop with that bullshit. Brittani is my friend and I can invite her.”
“Well, yeah,” Kayla said, leaning against Tim, “but you made her mad, and now you’re walking in as friends? What did I miss?”
“I apologized,” I offered.
“Wait, I’m sorry, my cousin did what?” Kory asked and I glared at him. “Man, you don’t apologize. This isn’t like you. What can I say?”
“People do it all the time, why is it hard to believe I could?”
Even Nick snorted at the comment, and I pointed a finger at him. “What is he doing here?”
“He needed a break, Keith. I know it’s a family dinner, but he’s my best friend, I can invite him,” Kylie said. “Besides, Tim and Kayla are just dating and she invited him.”
I rolled my eyes at her, not even the same thing. But I wasn’t going to get into that.
“Ignore them, Brittani. They’re just pains.”
“But it’s great to see. I don’t get to see you around your family and the dynamic is cracking me up.” She got some food before finding a place to sit. “Please keep harassing him, I’m here for it.”
I bumped her side, making her grin as she shoved a forkful of food in her mouth.
“Anyways, I want to ask Kory a question,” Kylie said, propping her head on her hand and staring at her cousin.
“Yeah, sure, what’s your question?”
“Did you happen to see who the new music teacher was in town?”
Kory’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth and I watched him, my brow lifted. Even Brittani stopped eating, picking up on the fact that this was something huge. And it kind of was. I saw her around town, I’m sure Kory did too.
“You mean Amber?” he finally got out, setting his fork down.
“Yup. I’ve known you’ve seen her. Have you said anything to her?”
“I can’t,” he got out, pushing a hand through his hair. “I’ve wanted to a few times. She even waved at me, but there’s a kid with her and I don’t…Kylie I can’t get hurt again.”
My eyes flashed to Brittani who looked at me.
“Amber left Storyville. They were the hot young item, thought they were getting married. Then one day she left, no explanation, no nothing. And now she’s back, and none of us have talked to her because of Kory.”
“I’m not part of the family,” she said, looking at him. “I’ve talked to her a few times at the school. She’s amazing. She’s also single.”
Kory’s head popped up to look at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because her mail says Ms. O’Shea. I looked her up, saw her maiden name was O’Shea. So, not married.”
She didn’t know it, but she just made his day. Because we saw the kid and assumed she was married.
“It wouldn’t hurt to talk to her, Kory,” I offered, making him cringe.
“Yeah, maybe,” he said, before turning the conversation to anything other than him.
The one rule we had, though, was no shop talk, and that’s the one thing we avoided. Even if we did have some exciting news, we just didn’t go there.
“Man, there was no drama tonight,” Kory said, walking out of the house. We leaned against his car, and I couldn’t help but chuckle, Brittani leaning against me.
Kylie and Nick walked over, both of them shoving each other and Brittani just looked at me, a brow raised.
“Are those two ever going to realize they need to date?” she asked me quietly and I burst out laughing because that was a question we asked all the time, but they just claimed that would never happen between them.
“When you figure it out, let us know. Because we tease them all the time, and they just wave us off.”
“It’s going to take something big for them to see they were meant to be,” she offered. “But then again, friends make the best lovers.”
“Oh, just friends do?” I wiggled my brows at her and she smacked my chest, making Kory groan.
“On that note, I am so out of here. You two take care. Be safe. And no humping each other in public.”
I shoved him and he laughed, climbing in his car, and taking off.
“Ready to go, Brittani?”
“If I must.” We walked over to my truck and I helped her in. I walked around the front and got in, smiling at her.
“Yes, you must. You got work tomorrow and for some ungodly reason, I have an early tattoo spot.”
“By the way, thank you for bringing me tonight. Your family is great and they made me laugh so much. And the food was delicious.”
“Thank you. They keep me entertained in ways they shouldn’t.” I drove along the road, my hand seeking hers as if it was the most natural thing to do. And maybe it was. Because she felt so good there, so right. Just like when her body pressed against mine.
And ah, shit, there went the dirty mind.
I had been good all night, not thinking of her liking that and yet here I was, alone with her in the cab of my truck, and my mind was going there.
I wanted her.
I wanted her on levels I didn’t even know or that I could even make sense of.
“What are you thinking?” she asked me as I took the turn to go down her road.
“How I’ve been good all night, but now I really want to have my way with you.”
She beamed as I pulled up in front of her house. She glanced at it, the dogs barking in the window, and her head tilted as she thought.
“Isn’t it the gentlemanly thing to do to walk me to the door and make sure no harm befalls me?”
“Why, it sure is. My grandmother would have had my hid if I didn’t do that.”
I helped her out and walked her to the door, my hand on her back the whole way.
“And wouldn’t it just be rude not to come into my house to make sure no one got in?”
“Is that an invitation?”
“You’re damn right it is,” she told me.
She didn’t give me a chance to say no as she hauled me in.