Page 28 of Kiss Me Honey Hone

“Yes.”

“My jeans?”

“Yes.” Kenny made the tea.

“Did you check the pockets?”

“Yes, Aaron. I took out your phone. Which is there.” He pointed to a phone on the counter. “It’s out of battery. I can charge it, but your boyfriend has been ringing nonstop. I let him ring himself off.”

Aaron lifted from the stool to check the phone. “Ah. Right. Cheers.”

Kenny handed him a mug of tea. “Do you want me to charge it? I didn’t in case you wanted to…not be located.”

“Yeah. Thanks. Charge it later.”

Kenny nodded, then cupped his chin to look at him. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

Kenny stroked a thumb over his cheek, then let his face go tomove over to the blender and poured out a concoction of thick red stuff into a glass and pushed it over to Aaron. “Drink that.”

“What is it?”

“A smoothie. With added protein and vitamins. It’ll replace what your body has used up in fighting off the invasion.”

“I reckon a bacon sarnie will do a better job of sorting me out.” Aaron sniffed the glass.

“I can do you one of those, but you drink that first.”

Aaron knocked back the smoothie. Kenny narrowed his eyes as he watched, and only once Aaron slammed the empty glass down, did he get out bacon from the fridge. Aaron sipped his tea as Kenny grilled the bacon, a warmth settling in his chest. He half expected Kenny to send him on his way. Or make him go report the incident. But he stayed here, taking care of him.

Once Kenny had cooked the bacon, he assembled the sandwich. “Sauce?”

“Ketchup.”

“Thought you didn’t like tomatoes.” Kenny fetched the ketchup from the fridge, squirting it on the bacon.

“Raw tomatoes, I don’t, no. Turns out when they’re already seeped of their juices, I can stomach it.”

Kenny handed him the sandwich and Aaron bit right in. The utterly delicious artisan bread matched with perfectly crispy bacon oozing with butter and sauce made him feel human again. Kenny sidled over to the other counter, folding his arms, once again watching him in that assessing stance that had Aaron feeling as if he was on display. And that Kenny could see right through him.

“Why did your boyfriend roofie you?”

Aaron coughed down his bite. Well, he should have expected that.

“To be fair, I don’t think it was Taylor who did it.” He took another bite. “Well, I know it wasn’t him because he wasn’tthere. If he was in on it or not, I’m not sure. He could well have been.”

“So again,” Kenny studied him as if he were a case he was desperately trying not to admit he was emotionally invested in, “why would your boyfriend want someone to spike your drink?”

“You’re the criminal psychologist. Why does anyone roofie someone?” He shovelled in another bite of sandwich and looked Kenny dead in the eye. “Because they want to fuck them.”

That landed between them like a live wire. Aaron swallowed his mouthful, then gave a shrug as if the whole thing hadn’t scorched his insides.

Kenny’s frown deepened. He hesitated. S Aaron expected he would. “Are you and he not... sexually active?”

Aaron snorted. “You make it sound like a bloody health questionnaire.” He cracked his neck from side to side ready to have the awkward conversation. “We dostuff, yeah. Do you want a full breakdown of what?”

Kenny held up a hand. “You can spare me the details.”

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