Page 7 of The Beautiful Mess

He lowered his window a few inches, hoping the fresh air would work its magic again. “Why does everyone assume I’m getting laid on a Friday night?” When he wasn’t responding to emergency calls, Kerry spent most of his free time tending bar. Sure, the patrons flirted and slipped him their numbers, but he’d stopped taking them up on their offers months ago. Eighteen of them, to be exact. The brain fog lifted enough for him to picture shimmering hazel eyes in the moonlight.Christ.Kerry closed his window because pining for Keegan wasn’t the clarity the moment called for.

“If you’re breathing, some guy is trying to ride your dick,” Dom said. And it had been that simple once, so why wasn’t Kerry eager to get back to his old habits? “And to be frank,” Dom continued, “there would be plenty of guys who’d totally goWeekend at Bernie’son you.”

Kerry laughed at both the reference and the memory of watching the movie with Dom when they were teens. Dom had been delighted to think they’d take stiff dicks to the afterlife with them. The idea of someone riding his corpse’s cock made Kerry shudder. “Fucking gross, dude.”

“Sorry,” Dom replied. “I’m just trying to stay awake on my current stakeout. A woman thinks her husband is cheating on her. I’ve been following this boring bastard for a few nights, and the only thing he’s straying on is his wife’s strict diet.”

“Or he’s picked up your tail,” Kerry teased.

Dom snorted. “As if. No one sees me unless I want them to.” Which was pretty impressive considering his size. He was only a few inches shorter than Kerry but just as broad. “Plus, I see the look of pure bliss when the guy bites into junk food. Pretty sure he just came in his pants at this Taco Bell. He ordered two large packs of those Cinnabon delights, and he’s mowing through them. I think he’s on number twenty out of twenty-four.”

Kerry’s stomach growled. “I could go for some of those about now.” He’d tried to eat dinner before heading to the Thirsty Cowboy, but nothing sounded good. Suddenly, cinnamon sugar-coated donut holes stuffed with a gooey cream cheese icing center sounded amazing. Sharing them in bed with—

“Nope. Not going there.” Kerry didn’t realize he’d said the last part out loud until his friend chuckled.

“Didn’t invite you, buddy.” Dom yawned, and leather creaked on the other end of the connection. Kerry pictured Dom stretching in the nondescript minivan he used for stakeouts. “So, why are you calling me on a Friday night when you should be balls-deep into a firm, willing ass?”

Kerry locked his brain before any tempting images could form. “I need to hire you to investigate someone for me. It’s really important, Dom.”

“Are you home now?” Dom’s voice shifted from a teasing best friend to a serious investigator in a heartbeat.

“Not for another fifteen minutes.”

A persistent dinging came through the connection, followed by the familiar sound of an engine turning over. “I’m about ten minutes behind you.”

“Don’t you want to know what the investigation is about?” Kerry asked.

“You said you needed me, so I’m coming. I’ll get the details when I arrive.”

Kerry’s throat tightened with emotion again, so his voice came out gruff when he spoke. “I don’t expect you to bail on your case, Dom. I’m having breakfast at eight with Steven. You could—”

“Shut up,” Dom growled. “You’ve never asked me for a fucking thing as long as I’ve known you.” That couldn’t be true. “Besides, we’re long overdue to share a few beers and catch up. Tell your attack panther to behave.”

Kerry snorted. Betty wasn’t a panther, nor was she vicious. She was a calico-colored Maine coon cat, whose enormous size and panther-like prowess intimidated most people. Dom was all bluster now, but Betty would melt him into a puddle of goo when she curled up in his lap and purred loud enough to rattle the rafters. He would scratch her ears and coo to her within minutes of his arrival. “See you soon.”

Kerry kept his window down for the duration of his drive home. The combination of road noise and cool air kept his mind from wandering back to the near kiss with Keegan. There would come a time later when Kerry could let his imagination and what-ifs run wild, but he needed to focus on saving his business. Betty met him at the front door. She stood on her hind legs and put her front paws on his abdomen, stretching to show her sleek magnificence. Betty’s copper eyes perfectly matched the dark orange patches of fur that stood out in stark contrast to the black-and-white coat. If Kerry didn’t know better, he’d think Betty’s narrow-eyed gaze was a sign of judgment or disappointment. She was one hell of a hunter and never failed to capture her prey, and here Kerry had struck out again. He scoffed at his own ridiculousness. It wasn’t like he brought his hookups home to meet his cat, which meant he’d projected his morose attitude onto his sweet lady.

Kerry gave her ears a vigorous scratching before moving farther into his house. He gazed around the two-story log cabin to make sure his home was at least presentable. No one would accuse him of being a slob, but the place could use some tidying up. With everything going on lately, cleaning had been the last thing on his mind. Kerry loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and sorted through the mail and a little clutter on his countertops before wiping them down. He moved into the living room to straighten up the coffee and end tables and run his handheld vacuum over the leather furniture to remove cat hair. Betty sat on the throw blanket draped over the sofa and licked her crotch while monitoring him with his noise maker. The doorbell rang, and Kerry turned off the mini vacuum and headed toward the front door.

Dom stood on his porch with takeout from Taco Bell and a battered messenger bag slung over his shoulder. “Don’t shoot, man,” Dom said when he saw the vacuum in Kerry’s hand. “I come bearing gifts. I heard the lust in your voice when you heard about the guy eating at Taco Bell. Some things never change.” Dom gestured to the vacuum in Kerry’s hand. “But some do.”

“Get in here, fool.”

Dom stepped into the house, and Kerry shut the front door behind him. They headed into the kitchen with Betty fast on their heels. Kerry returned the handheld vacuum to its charger and grabbed two beers from the refrigerator. Dom set the food and laptop bag on the table before pulling Kerry into a bear hug.

“It’s been too long,” Kerry told him when they pulled back.

“That it has,” Dom said as he unpacked the bag of food. “I grabbed a little of everything because you sounded half-starved on the phone, and the smells coming from the place made my mouth water.”

Kerry’s stomach growled on cue, making Dom laugh. A white paw snuck up from under the table as Betty tried to snag some of their food. “I don’t think so,” Kerry said. He reached down and pulled her out from under the table. “You either behave, or I’ll shut you in the laundry room.”

Dom reached forward and let her sniff his fingers before moving in to scratch her ears. Betty fired up her engine and purred loudly. “If I could be sure I’d get a cat as perfect as you, I’d adopt one in a heartbeat. My ex is allergic to anything with fur, feathers, or scales, so pets were off-limits.”

Dom had said little about his divorce, and Kerry hadn’t pushed, though he was dying to know what happened there. Kerry had made it clear he was ready to listen anytime Dom wanted to talk and had left it at that. This was the first time Dom had mentioned his ex since he moved back to town, and Kerry took it as a good sign that he barely detected venom in Dom’s voice.

Kerry gently turned Betty’s head so he could look into her eyes once Dom returned his attention to sorting the food. “Can I trust you or not?” Betty narrowed her eyes as if she were on the verge of opening a can of whoop ass on him, so he released her. She huffed away from the table, leaped onto the back of the couch again, and resumed bathing her privates.

They dropped into chairs and attacked the food as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks, so several minutes passed before either of them spoke again. Kerry settled back in his chair and sipped his beer as Dom pulled his laptop from his messenger bag.

---