Page 11 of Tiny's Law

He’s beautiful.

“Earth to Kourtney.” Reggie’s voice breaks through my daze, and I smile apologetically.

“Sorry, today wore my ass out.”

Reggie smirks at me, nodding nonchalantly towards the bar. “Sure. Tired.” He says ‘tired’ with air quotes, causing me to roll my eyes.

“What? He’s hot,” I shrug.

“Who’s hot?” Owen asks, taking a sip of his lemonade.

“He’s not there anymore,” Reggie says before I can even look back toward the bar where the man in question was sitting.

The waitress brings out food with perfect timing, effectively putting an end to that conversation. Even back in law school, Reggie was very opinionated about the men I gave attention to. God forbid I accepted a date or even slept with a man. Reggie was all over it. He was never afraid to give me the good, bad, and ugly about every single one.

I appreciated his opinion and to be frank, I definitely could’ve used it when it came to Ben. Maybe then I wouldn’t have been with the douche canoe for so long.

Ben was the only guy I’ve ever dated that Reggie didn’t get a chance to be around too much. Reggie was only able to come to Phoenix to visit once during our relationship. That one visit was all it took. He was not shy nor quiet about his dislike of Ben. It was no surprise our relationship didn’t last another week after the visit.

When discussing it, I like to consider the year I’d dated him to be a lapse in judgment. I was approaching twenty-seven with not even the slightest prospect of marriage and children, and I think at the time I was just a tad desperate for love. I told myself that my ideas of finding a man who treated me like my dad were pipe dreams. It’d never happen. So I ignored everything I stood for and dated that asswipe.

I sure as shit will never make that mistake again.

It’s also safe to say that I value Reggie’s opinion on the men that I date more than anyone else's. I mean, hell, look at Owen. He’s to Reggie what my dad is to my mom. He would do anything and everything when it comes to Reggie’s happiness. Poor Owen was willing to let a twenty-pound cat move into his house all because Reggie wanted his best friend, meaning me, to move in, and he’s allergic to cats!

“He was cute,” Reggie says over a bite of his BLT.

“Who?” Owen whips his head to look at his husband.

Reggie rolls his eyes. “Oh, hush. You know you’re the only one for me.”

Owen harrumphs and turns back to his meatloaf.

“I didn’t get a good look,” I admit. “But his body? Whew.”

Owen chuckles, and Reggie smiles at me. “I think we could really find you a good man here, Kourt.”

I shake my head. “No, a man is the last thing I need right now.”

Reggie smirks. “Or it's just the thing.”

I put my fork down and pin my eyes on him. “Unless you can find me Owen in straight form, I don’t want it.”

“What does that mean, ‘Owen in straight form?’” Owen asks with a curious glance between his husband and me.

Reggie smiles and squeezes Owen’s bicep. “It means she wants someone who loves her like you love me. Who protects her, cooks for her, cherishes her, pleasures her like you do me.” Reggie waggles his eyebrows at Owen, who gives a resounding “Okay,” to get Reggie to shut up.

I laugh at their banter and shrug. “He just means that I want someone that treats me like you do him. Like my dad treats my mom.”

Owen chuckles lightly. “Is this what we call reverse daddy issues?”

“Probably,” Reggie and I say at the same time, causing us all to break out into a fit of laughter.

That night, lying in my bed in my new home for the first time, I go to sleep and dream of my new life. The one I hope to hell I get to have and enjoy.

Chapter 5

Tiny

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