Page 39 of Disorderly

I reached across her, pulling her bra up and over, covering it before doing the same with her sweater. Both of us shivered as my hand brushed over her nipple despite the care I took not to touch it. I grinned down at her as I stood. “Sorry, but that needed to go away, or the pizza guy and Peter would have walked into a show.”

With a wink and her chuckle following me, I headed to my bedroom, calling over my shoulder that I’d be right out. And since I didn’t close the door behind me, I heard her groan when I dropped my pants to the floor, walking to my bathroom bare assed.

“You play dirty,” she hollered, but the sound of laughter and joy in her voice was worth it, making me smile.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Peter

I threwmy messenger bag on the side table in the hall. I was so done with the day, with the week. Christmas break couldn’t come soon enough for me. I shoved my heal into the bootjack and yanked it off before switching feet. Using it always brought a chuckle and a pinch of sadness.

It had been a Christmas present to my dad from Katy. She’d found some designs online, purchased the wood and the felt along with a little piece of rubber to make sure it didn’t mark up the floor. Then she’d taken it all over to Jason’s and talked him into helping her make it. She’d been worried that dad might fall or pass out while taking off his winter boots since he refused to sit on the stool she’d moved into the front hall. It hadn’t been like he was at risk for something like that, but she’d been reading some articles online after my mom died about the risk of falls in seniors and she wanted to make sure that dad wouldn’t be another statistic. This despite the fact he was only in his mid fifties. He’d been so touched when he opened it that he promised he’d use it every day and he did. We pretended not to see the tears in his eyes as he hugged her, but we had. So now, we used it, keeping his promise to her.

The scent of pizza filled the air the deeper I walked into the house. And the soft hum of conversation between Jarrod and Katy wiped away the lingering sadness that came from thinking about my dad. Holidays were always the hardest without my parents here to share them, but the guys and Katy around helped.

“You’re home.” Katy grinned at me around the slice of pizza she held to her mouth.

“I am.” Even those two words couldn’t hide the weariness.

Jarrod stood and walked towards me. “Sit. The pizza just arrived. And I’ll grab you a drink.”

As he passed by, I reached out, snagging his arm. I wasn’t sure if it was everything going on at school, the season, seeing Katy and Jarrod so comfortable with each other as if we were a real family, or if it was something else all together, but I wanted, no I needed to acknowledge his position in my life. I leaned, pressing a swift kiss to his lips—probably the first one I’d done in front of Katy since the infamous one, but I didn’t even worry about it. “Thank you. I’m wiped.”

He nodded, giving me an understanding smile.

I slid into the seat beside Katy. Without thinking, I leaned over and kissed her cheek. Normally I kept my kisses to her head or temple as a way to keep that line between us. But this time I didn’t even care.Fuck. What did I just do? I can’t be kissing her like that. It’s not acceptable.My only consolation was that I hadn’t kissed her on the lips. An idea that plagued me throughout the day and was given free rein during my dreams at night.

“Beer or lemonade?” Jarrod’s voice carried a hint of something in it. A tightness that I didn’t know how to interpret. Had he seen the kiss? Did he realize that it was different from my normal? “Peter?”

“Oh, sorry, rough day. I’ll take a beer.” But as he set the beer in front of me, I wondered if I was making a mistake. Alcohol lowered my inhibitions and as that kiss showed, my inhibitions were already low. I didn’t know if I could trust myself to drink it with Katy close by.

“What happened? Has Ashley been bothering you again?” Jarrod picked up his slice of pizza—one with salad on it—and took a big bite. “Fuck, Katy. You were right. This pizza is amazing. I would never have thought to have arugula on it, but it works?”

“What’s on them?” I pointed to the boxes, thankful for the diversion. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to talk bad about another teacher in front of Katy because she knew all about it. Hell, she’d even witnessed some of the blatant come ons, but I felt uncomfortable talking about it tonight. Or maybe it was just that I didn’t want to acknowledge that things needed to change. And change in a way that I wasn’t sure if Jarrod—and Jason—would agree to.

“The one Jarrod’s trying has pesto, cremini mushrooms, smoked pancetta, garlic, thyme, and a dressing on the greens. Then there’s”—she pointed to the second box—“cremini mushrooms, pepperoni, fennel sausage, garlic, and oregano with a tomato sauce. And the final one has smoked pancetta, apple, brie, thyme, candied walnuts, and maple syrup.”

I raised my eyebrows at the last one. “For dessert?”

“No silly.” She smacked my arm as Jarrod laughed. “It’s a regular pizza. The tiramisu is for dessert.”

“If you say so,” I teased. “Because syrup and candy on a piece of fried bread sounds like dessert to me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Then eat it for dessert and I’ll have your tiramisu.”

“Guess she told you.”

“Now wait a second, I think I deserve two desserts. I had to put up with awful people today. And I need some lovin’ from my food.”

The smile on Katy’s face fell at my statement and I wanted to kick myself for making such a horrible joke even if it was true. “Was it really that bad? I thought that Krissy and the girls had given up?”

“It wasn’t that bad,” I tried to reassure her, but from how she narrowed her gaze at me, I thought my voice gave away the stretching of the truth. “Fine. It was bad. And unfortunately, Krissy and some of the others have decided that they don’t care. It doesn’t help that Ashley is still acting unprofessional in front of the students. But everything she says and does in front of the students is innuendos so Principal Kotiuk can’t do anything about it except giving her warnings.”

“I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around me. The hug—like all of hers did—made the tension melt away. I still felt horrible and tired, fed up, and moody, but I could breathe easier. It didn’t feel like I was trying to suck in air through a straw while my chest was tied up tightly. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”

“I know.” I patted her back as I kissed her head. If there was one thing I knew, it was that Katy would do anything to make one of us feel better. After mom passed away, Katy would sneak into my bed during the night, telling me that she felt sad and couldn’t sleep until I cuddled with her. And while I knew she was sad because she loved my mom and mom’s death brought up memories of her father’s death, I also know she did it because she knew I was one the one who needed the cuddles.

“It’s strange. They don’t go after the guys who are already dating other people except for you.” Katy released me, going back to her pizza. But her comment stuck with me, burying inside, allowing my mind to turn it over and examine it. Somewhere in it I was sure was the answer to my problem.

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