Chapter Twelve
“He’ll be here any minute,” Kerry said as he paced in his living room.
Betty raised her head and glared at him for disturbing her slumber.
“I’m not sorry, but you should be for trying to sleep instead of offering emotional support during my freak-out.
” Betty lowered her head, closed her eyes, and sighed loudly. “Why am I so nervous?”
Keegan had put him in charge of their date arrangements and had assured Kerry that whatever he chose would be perfect.
He’d remembered the advice his mother had given him: dinner, an activity, and then sex.
Lucinda hadn’t come out and mentioned sex specifically, but she had implied it.
Kerry had trouble deciding between two restaurants, two activities, and there were a dozen sexual activities he was eager to try with Keegan.
Then he got an idea from a TikTok video he watched while procrastinating on his admin tasks at work.
Kerry had found a partial stack of index cards and a black Sharpie in his desk, then set out to make this a night neither of them would forget.
But doubt dimmed his excitement as he waited for Keegan to arrive.
Just because something was popular on social media didn’t mean it translated well to real life.
A car door sounded from the front of the house, and Kerry looked out the window to see Keegan strolling to the porch with a backpack slung over his shoulder.
Keegan’s lips curved into a coy smile, and he walked with confidence and purpose.
Kerry’s nerves settled when he realized he was the purpose Keegan was so certain about.
“He’s here, Betty. Please be—” Kerry’s words died off when he saw that Betty wasn’t in her favorite spot on the back of the sofa.
He found his cat waiting by the front door to greet Keegan.
“Good,” Kerry finished as he joined her.
She spared him a disdainful scowl before her ears perked up.
Her superior hearing detected Keegan on the porch before Kerry did.
He opened the door before Keegan could knock or ring the bell. “Hey—”
Keegan pressed eager lips to his, cutting off Kerry’s greeting. When he moved to pull back, Kerry snaked his arm around Keegan’s waist and deepened the kiss. “Hi,” Keegan said when they finally separated.
“Hi.” Sharp teeth pierced his left sock, and Kerry yowled and hopped on one foot. “Damn it, Betty.”
The cat moved in once Kerry was out of the way. She purred obnoxiously loud and wove around Keegan’s legs before she rose to greet him. Keegan scratched her ears just right, and Betty closed her eyes in blissful happiness.
“Is he being mean to you, pretty girl?” Keegan asked.
“Me?” Kerry limped along dramatically, hoping to get a fraction of the attention Betty received. He wanted to feel Keegan’s magic touch too. “She bit me to clear a path to you. Betty wants all your attention.”
“Well, it’s only fair since I’ll be spending most of my time with you.” Keegan added a second hand to rub her chin, and she revved up her purrs like a small engine.
“I’m nervous about tonight.” Kerry hadn’t meant to admit it out loud, but Keegan’s softening gaze made him glad he did.
Keegan gave Betty one last scratch before straightening and crossing to him, placing a hand over Kerry’s heart. “You have nothing to worry about tonight. Wherever we go and whatever we do will be wonderful.”
Kerry captured Keegan’s sweet lips in a brief kiss. “Do you think we’re doing things kind of backward, though?”
“How so?”
“Traditionally, you go on dates and get to know each other before having sex,” Kerry said.
“It seems like dating is nothing more than people putting their best foot forward so they can get the other person in bed. A less cynical theory is that people go on dates to test their compatibility. We already know one another. Heck, we’ve already seen each other at our worst and still want to give this a try.
” Keegan’s lips curved into a wry smile. “And I mean, we know each other.”
Kerry nuzzled his nose against Keegan’s neck and kissed a path up to his lips. “I adore everything I’ve learned so far, but I want to know more.”
“How much more?” Keegan asked huskily.
“Everything. You fascinate me like no one ever has.” Kerry brushed a thumb over his full bottom lip. “I think I’ll treat our date as Keegan appreciation night.”
“Color me intrigued,” Keegan replied. “And where will this event occur?”
Kerry worried his bottom lip between his teeth. What if Keegan thought his plan was lame?
“Now I’m even more curious,” Keegan said. “Whatever you’ve decided will be perfect.”
“We’ll see about that.” Kerry reached behind him and pulled two index cards from his pocket.
He held them up so he saw what was written on them while Keegan saw the blank side.
“I came up with a few ideas for our date but couldn’t settle on one.
I’m going to present a series of options to you throughout our date, and you will blindly choose what we do next. ”
Keegan’s eyes glowed with delight. “Oh, this is fun.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Kerry bounced the cards in front of him. “Round one is a choice of where we will eat.” Kerry had written Saucy Bones Barbecue Joint on the left index card and Eleanora’s steak house on the right card. “Which do you choose?”
Keegan squinted like he was trying to see through the card stock.
Kerry had already tested that out and knew he couldn’t read the options.
Keegan cocked his head to the side and nibbled on his lips as he considered.
He reached for the card on the left but pulled back at the last minute.
He stroked his fingers over the top of the card on the right but didn’t grab it.
Keegan squared his shoulders, snatched the left index card, and flipped it around.
He whooped and did a little shimmy that might’ve been a happy dance.
“I love Saucy Bones.” He looked at the remaining card in Kerry’s hand. “What’s that one?”
Kerry shook his head, folded the card, and tucked it away. “Nope. I’m saving this idea for our next date.”
“Feeling pretty cocky that you’ll get another one, huh?” Keegan teased.
“A man can hope.” Kerry removed Keegan’s backpack from his shoulder and placed it on the sofa. “Ready to get our night started?”
“Absolutely.” Keegan spun and headed to the front door, and Kerry followed.
Kerry opened the door for Keegan. “And just what do you consider my worst behavior?”
Keegan waggled his brows and headed onto the porch. “Why don’t you tell me what the other restaurant option was first?”
“Eleanora’s.” Kerry could tell by Keegan’s expression that he didn’t expect him to give in.
“But you can’t tell Debbie and Rick.” Eleanora’s was their stiffest competition, though the Feisty Bull was the superior steak house.
“So, how bad was my worst?” Kerry raked his memories to see how badly he’d shown his ass in front of Keegan.
His minx marched toward the truck as if he didn’t plan to answer him, but he turned at the passenger door and smirked. “The family rummy tournament earlier this year.”
Kerry threw his head back and laughed. “Things got a little intense.”
“A little intense? I thought someone was going to get hurt.” Keegan shook his head. “And I thought the poker nights at the ranch got wild.”
“Hey, I’ve heard about Saturday night poker on the ranch. I’d like to get in on the action.”
“I can make that happen.” Keegan opened the door but paused before climbing into the truck. “The crew has taken their role as my found family very seriously, so be prepared for them to flex their brotherly concerns.”
Kerry patted his shoulder. “I got broad ones and can take it.”
“You’ve got big everything,” Keegan replied. “I plan to enjoy every inch of you.” He hopped into the truck and shut the door.
Kerry debated hauling him back out of there and going back to the house, but Keegan deserved a fun night out. Kerry did too. They’d have plenty of time for exploration later. Kerry got in the truck and fired up the engine. “Just out of curiosity, what do you think your worst behavior was?”
Keegan groaned and briefly buried his face in his hands. “The way I acted on Sunday at the family dinner. I was so obnoxious.”
“You were hurt,” Kerry countered. “And it’s my fault for baiting you because I was jealous.”
“No,” Keegan said. “I grew up with a woman who blamed everything on everyone but herself. It would be too easy for me to fall into the same trap, so it’s important that I own up to things when I mess up.”
Kerry reached over and took Keegan’s hand. “We’ll have to agree to disagree about family dinner on Sunday. What you see as bad behavior, I see as the kick in the pants I needed.” He felt Keegan’s gaze on him and glanced over with a smile.
“I want to believe that,” Keegan said.
“Then do.”
They kept the conversation light on the way to the restaurant, catching up on their day.
Kerry sensed Keegan was holding something back, but he didn’t push.
They’d talked on the phone after Keegan’s shift the previous evening, and Keegan had mentioned that he sometimes gets lost in his thoughts after a therapy session.
He made Kerry promise to pull him out by his legs if that happened.
Kerry wouldn’t do anything of the sort, but he could sit beside Keegan and be there when he needed him.
Saucy Bones was a happening place for a Wednesday night. Smoke billowed from behind the restaurant. If someone didn’t know better, they might think the place was on fire. Kerry tilted his head back and inhaled. “Smoked meat is the best,” he announced.
“Period,” Keegan agreed.