Page 23 of Something Unavoidable

Izzy wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes again, but he mimed zipping his lips.

Keegan opened his mouth to continue, but instead of an apology, he let out a pained yelp as something grabbed his ass and pinched,hard.

“Ow! Fuck,” he gritted out, staggering back, his hand protecting the spot.

There was a loud snort and the muted stomping of a hoof in deep bedding from beside him. He looked over, his eyes tearing with pain, and found Sunny glaring back at him, her ears pinned flat to her head and the whites of her eyes showing. She pawed the ground with her tiny hoof and snorted a warning.

Then she lunged forward again, teeth bared.

Keegan scrambled out of the way, and a moment later, Izzy slammed the stall door in her face and locked it. Keegan stared at the solid wood, breathing hard and wondering where he could find the nearest ice pack.

Izzy started laughing.

Keegan transferred his glare to Izzy. “You think that’s funny?” he asked.

“Oh my god,” Izzy choked out. He was bent over with his hands braced on his knees, laughing so hard that his face was red. “I knew Sunny was the right name for her.”

Keegan wanted to be annoyed. He was in pain and would have a massive bruise on his ass by tomorrow, but he couldn’t stop his lips from twitching.

Seeing him fight his amusement only made Izzy laugh harder, and soon, Keegan joined him. It really was funny. He knew better than to turn his back on a horse with an attitude problem, and Sunny had given them plenty of warning that she wasn’t a fan of people.

“Fuck,” he managed as his laughter died down. “That’s gonna bruise.”

“Want me to kiss it better?” Izzy asked, smacking his lips at Keegan. Then he lost it again. He staggered back and collapsed onto a hay bale, leaning against the stall behind it. Tears of mirth gathered in the corners of his sparkling gray-blue eyes.

Fuck, he was gorgeous.

Keegan knew it already, but still. Happiness, even at Keegan’s expense, transformed Izzy’s face—his whole body. The tension inhis neck and shoulders loosened, his mouth relaxed, and his eyes creased, making him look somehow both older and younger. Keegan definitely wouldn’t mind Izzy kissing his bruises better.

Or kissing other things. That mouth was something else.

When Izzy had calmed enough, he asked, “More sedatives?”

“For now,” Keegan agreed. They were going to have to figure out something else soon, but he was still hoping once Sunny was further along in her recovery, she’d become a little more agreeable. Maybe never enough to be considered friendly, but he’d settle for not actively attacking them.

He went to get the medication—and an ice pack—from his truck, ignoring Izzy’s muffled snicker at his obvious limp. When he returned, Izzy had his phone out, and it was buzzing with incoming messages.

“Is your group chat enjoying my pain?” Keegan asked good-naturedly. He was sure Micah, in particular, was getting a kick out of Keegan getting his ass bitten by a nine-hand-nothing pony.

Izzy didn’t answer. When Keegan looked closer, he realized all of the younger man’s tension had come roaring back. His shoulders were up around his ears, his breathing was shallow and trembling, and his knee was bouncing hard enough to shake his whole body. What the hell was going on? “Izzy?” He stepped closer, wanting to touch him, to soothe his tension. He knew better, though. Izzy was an affectionate guy with his friends, but Keegan wasn’t one of his friends. When Izzy didn’t respond, he tried again. “Izzy…Isaac.”

Usually, his full name got his attention, but this time, he didn’t even pause in his scrolling.

Keegan set the supplies aside and dropped to a crouch next to the hay bale.

Izzy’s face was alarmingly pale, his pupils so dilated his eyes looked black. This close, Keegan could hear the rapid seesaw ofhis breathing and see his pulse fluttering in his neck. He was rubbing his palm up and down his thigh over the old injury. His phone screen, when Keegan checked it, showed what appeared to be a social media post.

“Isaac,” Keegan said, resting a careful hand on Izzy’s bouncing knee. “What happened?”

Izzy flinched at the touch and made a sound that wasn’t words so much as a wounded whine. “D-don’t,” he managed.

Keegan removed his hand. “Talk to me, sweetheart,” he said, wincing at the endearment, hoping it didn’t make things worse.

Izzy swallowed rapidly and shook his head. “Nothing,” he choked out. “It’s fine. I’m fine.” His eyes didn’t leave the screen, and his tone was anything but fine.

“Isaac—”

“No.” Izzy shoved to his feet, startling Keegan enough that he had to put a hand down to stop himself from tipping over. “I can’t—” He stopped, his eyes darting like he wasn’t sure which way to run.

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