Page 14 of Disorderly

He wrapped his fingers around mine, pulling them from his lips. But before he did, his lips pursed, and I almost thought that he kissed them. Curse my stupid, overactive imagination, and hormones. There was no way that Peter would do that. Kissing my fingers was very different than the few times he kissed my hair or forehead.

“I would have never left you alone if I’d known what would happen. If I’d even known what they were thinking, I would have turned around and punched them.”

“I know. And that’s why you don’t have to feel guilty. It’s why I need to stop being angry with you.” I slumped against the steering wheel but jumped up, nearly throwing myself into Peter’s arms when I worried I’d sound the horn. A stupid reaction since there wasn’t anyone around, but my brain obviously wasn’t thinking too clearly.

My thoughts must have been written on my face because Peter smirked as he pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me into one of the hugs I loved best. His mouth hovered by my ear. “I’ll work on it, but do me a favour?” I nodded, rubbing my cheek against the hard muscle of his chest. “Don’t stop being angry with me. Make me work hard to earn your forgiveness.”

I pushed back until I could look him in the eye, confused.

“You deserve good stuff happening to you and this will help you to realize it.” His pressed his lips to my forehead before lifting me back to my seat. A warmth filled me, making me feel like I wore his hug. It didn’t matter that I didn’t fully understand what he was saying—I mean who asks for someone to stay angry with them?—I was just happy that the tension between us was gone. My chest felt freer, like the bands had been burned away with his words.

He started the car and pulled back onto the road. Disaster Hamsters’ theme song played, bringing a smile to my lips.

“So, cheerleading, huh?”

I smacked his arm. “And it’s all your fault,” I growled.

The sound of his laughter filled the car… and me. For the first time since the waterpark, I felt happy. Truly happy. Now if only I could feel that way all the time.

Chapter Ten

Jason

“You made it.”

“I did.” I pulled Jarrod into a quick kiss, conscious of the fact that I desperately needed a shower and didn’t have much time. The job site we were working at was a couple of hours away which was why the crew working with me lived in the provided trailers, alternating which weekends they came home for. For those with families, it was a little harder on them, but the money we were making made up for it. And the promised bonus if we delivered on time and on budget—not to mention if we were to deliver early—soothed most complaints. All that meant that I never had a chance to shower before I hopped into my truck to rush back to Voyageur Bay and the first high school football game of the season.

“Go grab your shower.” Jarrod swatted my ass. “I’ve already got you a little something to tide you over until we hit the food trucks.” As I entered our bedroom, I heard him call out, “She’s going to be so excited to see you.” And that’s what made my whole frustrating and stinky trip home worth it. Katy.

When I spoke to Katy on Wednesday, it had taken some wheedling to get her to spill her secret. The one I heard in her voice when she spoke about her day at school. She’d never been one who’d been able to hide things when asked a direct question. Sometimes even an indirect one caused her voice to hitch and squeak a little as she tried to quickly think of something to say without telling her secret and without outright lying. It was her little tell and not something I ever told her about, worried that she’d grow conscious of it and attempt to mask or change it. But when she finally revealed what she’d been reluctant to say, I knew that I needed to be at her first game. It hadn’t mattered that I wasn’t scheduled to come home this weekend, her first appearance as a high school cheerleader took precedence.

The cleanliness of the floor almost made me not want to soil it, but the call of the shower was too much to resist. I stripped, dropping my sweat soaked, saw dust and mud-covered clothes onto the pristine floor. As I did so, I couldn’t stop the pleased chuckle from leaving my lips. Whenever Jarrod came to stay with us, the house always appeared cleaner by the time he left. It was great to see that this benefit remained even if he now lived here.

The hot water soothed my aching muscles and the scent of the peppermint and rosemary body wash that had been my birthday gift from Katy last year—she’d asked Kate and her mother to make it for me and they liked it so much that they’d added that scent combination to the line of products they sold—helped wake me up. By the time I pulled on a clean pair of low-rise jeans and a light knit sweater—a Christmas gift from Katy—I felt like a new man. Not bad for a five-minute clean up.

“So how are you enjoying the move? Living in a small town all it’s cracked up to be for a big city slicker like you?” I filled my mouth with a giant bite of the toasted ham, mushroom, and Swiss sandwich. The tangy taste of the balsamic vinegar along with the hint of cloves in the ham exploded across my taste buds. I moaned at the flavour. The food the developer provided for us in their onsite cafeteria was hearty and plenty, but even though it tasted pretty good, it was nothing like this. Nothing like the special little twists the chefs in our town put on the local fare. There was a reason that we were becoming a foodie destination and why tourists kept coming back year-after-year.

“Good, huh?” Jarrod grinned at me as he ushered me towards the front door.

I swallowed. “Katy made it, didn’t she?” I took another large bite. As much as I never wanted the flavour to end, to eat slowly so that I could savour every bite, I couldn’t stop from mowing down on it. Lunch had been hours before and even the small afternoon snack hadn’t been enough to tide me over. Not when we were usually putting in close to twelve-hour days of hard manual labour in the sun and heat.

“She did. Not that she knows you’re coming since I kept it a surprise like you asked, but when she arrived at my office after school, she was so nervous.” I nodded, knowing exactly where this little tale was heading. “She asked if I could take her to the butchers and then Buns By The Bay. Once we arrived home, she proceeded to make a half dozen of these sandwiches.” He licked his lips. “I never knew that a fried portabella mushroom would taste so good on a ham and Swiss. Same with balsamic vinegar.”

I looked at my empty hand with disappointment. But if she made six of them, then maybe… “Does that mean—” He shook his head and we both pouted.

“That was the leftover one. She brought one to her mom and one to a new guy at school who’s on the football team.” Jarrod sounded a little jealous, slamming the door to his SUV behind him. The action brought a smile to my face. He’d been the one I wasn’t sure of. While Peter might not be willing to admit that he wasin lovewith Katy like I was, the only way I could foresee everything working out was if Jarrod wasin lovewith her as well. Without him, I—and Peter—would have had to make some very difficult choices in the future. That was if Katy didn’t discover that her love for us paled in comparison to someone her own age. Even though she’d returned my kiss a couple of weeks ago, proving that what everyone always said was a crush, was so much more, I still harboured a fear that what she really felt was just a crush and a comfortable sense of familiarity.

But at least I could ease some to tenseness in Jarrod’s shoulders that started when he mentionedthat football player. “You must mean Mason. He moved back to town this summer, but he was one of her best friends when she was little.” I couldn’t stop the chuckles when I remembered how skinny, little Mason used to follow Katy like she was the momma duck. He was almost scared of his own shadow, but for her, if she went first, he was willing to brave just about anything.

Fuck!Now I was feeling a little fear. If he was on the starting line-up of tonight’s game as a new student, then he couldn’t be the same skinny kid he’d been back then. Guys had to be at least half a foot taller than her even to be considered for the team. Would the fact that he wasn’t smaller than her turn her head?Nah, Katy-bear isn’t shallow like that. She’s not swayed by someone’s looks, but by their heart. It’s why she hasn’t really dated anyone.My pep talk, which should have allayed my fears did the opposite. If she was making him a sandwich, then he must have retained the sweetness he had as a youngster. And that would be something she’d be attracted to.

By the time Jarrod pulled into the school parking lot, I was a ball of nerves. Sure we talked a lot over the past few weeks, and we kissed—there was no way I could ever forget that. It starred in all my dreams—but what if her feelings for me changed? What if she regretted the kiss?

“Listen, before we head in, I wanted to let you know that Peter told me what happened, what he did at the waterpark and the hospital. And I know that’s he’s really sorry about it. He’s been beating himself up over it.”

I nodded not knowing what to say. Jarrod may have grown closer to Peter since they basically lived together for seven years—seven formative adult years—but I’d know him for probably twenty-three of his twenty-eight years. It meant that I’d seen the same behaviour from him for years. He always thought with his dick. When a pretty woman or even a woman with big tits walked into his view, giving him a smile, his big brain took a hiatus, allowing his smaller one to call the shots. And I was tired of it. Rationally I knew he wasn’t to blame for what happened to Katy and I knew that he only slept with the nurse at the hospital because he was beating himself up with guilt, but that was the problem. He chose to walk out of her room when she needed him. He chose to hurt her. That was something I was having trouble forgiving.

“He’s trying to change. He’s spent time with Katy.” That I knew. Katy told me that on the phone. She also told me how he’d taken her out for supper at Beach Boy Restaurant in Gimli and how it had been almost like old times between them.

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