Page 32 of Scooter's Endgame
All I can do is pray I won’t embarrass myself like some untried teenager. I accidentally catch Gator’s eye and seriously consider throwing hands when I catch him wiggling his eyebrows at me. Apparently, I’m as transparent as clear glass. Shifting to cut him from my field of vision, I have to bite back a groan as the back of Kathleen’s head brushes across my aching dick.
I freeze and, deciding it’s probably better to just sit still, we remain like that for the rest of the evening, sporadic conversation with Gator integral to me not losing my mind. I thank my lucky stars when Luke comes over to ask his mother if we can go home.
Seeing an opportunity to end the suffering, I second the motion. She looks up at me, eyes big and luminous – and I want nothing more than to lean forward and place my lips on hers – a murmur of disappointment on her lips. “Do we have to?”
Laughter bubbles up, despite my current discomfort. It’s like she’s turned into the child and me the parent. “Yeah, I think we do. Considering how Luke’s been the last few days, it’s probably better to get him home for some rest.”
Her lips pull up in the most adorable pout. “I suppose you’re right. Sometimes, being an adult sucks.”
“It sure does,” I can’t help agreeing. It absolutely does.
I’m still debating how best to work my way out of the current seating arrangement when Gator gets to his feet and offers Kathleen a hand up. He’s being nothing but gentlemanly when his hold lingers far longer than I’m happy with to steady her as she sways on her feet for a moment.
Yet again, he says nothing, but the mischievous sparkle in his eyes communicates wordlessly exactly what he’s thinking. Giving me a solid whack on the back, he speaks up. “Why don’t you take Kathleen around to say goodnight. Luke and I will hang out until you’re ready to go.”
I simply nod and, a hand to her back, guide Kathleen around to say goodbye to our friends. Her graceful body is supple, warm and relaxed beneath my hand as we move around. Turning the screw a little tighter. I just pray my zipper is up for the challenge I’m currently experiencing. Finally, we make it out the front door and down to where Gator and Luke are waiting at the parked vehicle.
“Ready to go, champ?” I ask Luke.
“Yeah, Uncle Beckett,” he replies. Standing under the circle of light from a streetlamp close by, I can see how pale the child is. Here’s hoping he hasn’t overdone it. I’m not sure any of us are ready to deal with another emergency again. Shoving the worry away, I hit the remote to unlock the doors.
While Luke hops in the back and gets comfy, I help his mother into the front passenger seat. “Bye, Gator. See ya,” she calls around me as I lean in to fasten her seatbelt. The slight slur to her voice is pretty damn cute. At least I know she had fun tonight.
After all the crap they’ve been through recently, they both deserve a little fun.
Before I can back out of the confined space, Kathleen runs a finger down my cheek, her nail scraping over the five o’clock shadow. “You’re very handsome, you know that?”
Everything in me tightens, even as I hear Gator snicker behind me. “You’re not so bad yourself,” is all my brain can come up with in the moment. The rest of its resources are engaged in imagining what it would feel like to have that finger, and all its friends, all over my naked skin.
Backing away, I close the door, careful not to hurt her as I do. I’m almost too scared to turn around and say goodbye to Gator – I can just imagine the look of pure mirth on his face. Quite frankly, I’d far rather face down an enemy right this second that see that cheesy grin I know I’m going to find when I finally turn around.
In a ploy to delay the inevitable, I check the back to make sure Luke’s settled, and when I can delay no more, I turn to find an unexpected look of … understanding? Not exactly what I’d anticipated.
Then Gator proceeds to blow my mind with his words. “My friend, you have the opportunity for something beautiful in your life, if you’re willing to reach out and snag it. Don’t waste it like I did.” He sticks out a hand to shake mine, and too taken aback to speak for a moment, I simply shake his. “Safely home, bud. I’ll chat with you tomorrow.”
And with that, he turns and heads back to the house.
The indescribable expression in his eyes as he turned to leave has me curious what the backstory to it might be. I stand staring at the closed front door long after he’s gone inside and closed it behind him, lost in contemplation.
The sound of a car door opening pulls me out of my thoughts. “Beckett?”
“Yeah, sorry. Coming.”
15
KATHLEEN
God, my head is spinning so bad. That’s the problem with cocktails – they taste so good that by the time you realize you’ve had too much it’s too late. Not to mention, it’s been a while since I let loose with the girls – wives and girlfriends of Jeff’s teammates – whom I haven’t seen since Jeff and I split up, now that I think about it. Not even so much as a phone call.
Well damn, that’s mean. I could have done with a girlfriend to talk to, and I don’t really know Sage and Indigo that well, since we only really got to see each other at family days. I guess I now know who my fair-weather friends are though. At least they’re fun to hang out with casually. The party would have been pretty awkward had they not been there. So there’s that.
Although, I have to say, Beckett was so sweet – making sure I had something to drink, to eat, that I had fun. It felt good to be taken care of for a change. To be catered to instead of being the one to fetch and carry.
Looking over at Beckett, his strong hands handling the car with grace and ease, a random thought pops into my head. I wonder what it would be like to feel those same hands all over my body, on my naked skin …
My thoughts take flight, and I can feel my cheeks heat at the direction they take.
I must zone out, because the next thing I know, Beckett’s leaning over me and undoing my seatbelt. With zero thoughts in my head, and my self-preservation filter MIA, I find myself leaning forward and placing my lips over his as he turns to look at me.
