Authors: Katie Allen
“Of course,” she exclaimed, sounding just as cheerful as before. “You two must be the ones who bought the old Cooper place on Mason Street!”
Nodding, Pete extended his hand. “Pete Giordano. This,” he waved toward Trevor,
“is Joey. Joey Long.”
20
Hide Out
The waitress shook Pete’s hand, beaming. “Cindy Cord. That’s my daughter, Tina.”
She pointed at the cook, who was still stealing glances at them from the kitchen. When Tina saw all three looking at her, she turned crimson and gave an awkward wave before focusing intently on the food.
“Oh she’s going to be disappointed when I tell her you two are…um…” Cindy trailed off, looking more puzzled than embarrassed. “Partners? Or did you go to Iowa or somewhere to get married?”
As Trevor made a choking sound that he tried to turn into a cough, Pete told her,
“Partners is fine. I’m still trying to convince Joey to tie the knot but he’s a little gun shy.” Leaning closer to her, he said with a conspiratorial smile, “His parents fought a lot.”
“Ah,” Cindy breathed, nodding. “Understandable. Well, welcome to Honeysuckle. It’s always nice to see some new faces, especially such good-looking ones.”
“Um…thank you.” Pete made a conscious effort not to look at Trevor, knowing he’d crack up at the man’s expression. The bell on the door jangled as two women entered the diner.
“Better get back to it,” she said, winking. “This place is going to fill up fast when word gets around that you’re here. Everyone’ll want to get a look at the new arrivals.”
On cue, another four women surged in.
Trevor watched in horror as they battled for the table closest to his and Pete’s.
“How do they know already?”
“Somehow they just do in this place.” Cindy shook her head and laughed.
“Although I think part of this is due to Tina texting everyone she knows when the pair of you walked in here. She had her eye on blondie here. I’ll have to go break the news you’re both unavailable.” Still chuckling, she bustled off.
“Hi!” A pair of matched redheads leaned over their table, flashing identical cleavage.
“I’m Kari,” one breathed, flashing a toothpaste-ad white smile. “This is my sister, Kylie.”
Pete gave a stilted nod and opened his mouth to speak when Cindy’s voice from across the room interrupted him.
“They’re gay, girls,” she hollered from the other side of the diner. “So stop harassing them and let them enjoy their lunch.”
The twins’ faces fell as a disappointed murmur rippled through the now-full diner.
“Oh,” Kylie said. “Well, it’s nice to meet you anyway.”
“Maybe we can go shopping together sometime?” Kari suggested as the two drifted away.
“Sure,” Pete grunted. When they were out of earshot, he added under his breath,
“In hell, maybe.”
21
Katie Allen
“I think we
are
in hell,” Trevor muttered, eyeing the crowd packed into the diner.
“A hell with brisket.”
Pete laughed. “Could’ve been worse. They could’ve dragged us out on the street and beaten our heads in.”
With a long-suffering sigh, Trevor wondered, “
Would
that’ve been worse?”
Pete laughed and then caught a glimpse of another group of women making a beeline toward their table. “Heads up—more Honeysuckle hags at two o’clock.”
Before the giggling women could descend upon them, Cindy came to the rescue.
“Girls, go sit down!” she ordered, a tray loaded with plates balanced on her shoulder.
“Let the poor boys get settled in before you pester them to death. Shoo!” The women obeyed, switching direction and moving back toward their table, although they shot sour looks over their shoulders at Cindy’s oblivious back.
“So sorry, boys,” Cindy said, setting overflowing plates in front of them. “Not a manner to be found among the lot of them. I had a word with Tina about her part in bringing them all here. The regulars are going to make a stink if these girls eat all the brisket.” She sighed, glancing down at their plates. “Anything else I can bring you?”
“No thank you,” Pete said politely.
“Well, it’s on the house today.” When Pete began to protest, she shook her head, her mouth an uncompromising line. “You should be able to eat your meal in peace. I’ll try to keep these girls in line but you’ve already been bothered too much. Enjoy!” She hurried off again, fixing a stern eye on a table of gigglers who looked about sixteen years old.
“That was nice of her,” Pete said and Trevor nodded, taking a bite. His eyes widened as he chewed.
Jamming another bite in his mouth, he said around it, “This is good!”
Pete tried the brisket and almost groaned. It
was
good. Really good. Amazingly good. He took another mouthful.
“That little girl can cook,” Trevor said between bites. Pete nodded, his mouth full. If he would be living in the same town as this place for seven months, he was going to get fat.
* * * * *
Thanks to Cindy, they ate their meal in relative peace. The noise in the diner had ramped up to a level where they could talk without worrying about being overheard, although they limited their conversation to satisfied grunts as they shoveled food in their mouths.
“How was it?” Cindy asked as she cleared their plates.
“Wonderful,” Pete told her.
“Tina’s a great cook,” Trevor chimed in.
22
Hide Out
“Isn’t she?” Cindy beamed. “And she’s only a senior in high school. She’s going to culinary school in California next fall. I’ll miss her like crazy though. It’s been just the two of us at home for so long.”
“Thanks for handling crowd control.” Pete tipped his head toward the other tables.
“No problem,” she told him, waving off his gratitude. “Don’t worry. You’re new and interesting now but everyone’ll calm down soon. Won’t be long before you’re chasing after these girls instead of them running after you.”
Pete cleared his throat and Cindy shook her head. “Of course you won’t be chasing them. Sorry about that—I just forgot for a second.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Pete told her with a grin.
She blinked at him, silent long enough that his smile fell away. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“Oh no,” she reassured him with a breathless laugh. “You are just the prettiest thing I’ve seen in a while. Don’t mind me.”
Speechless, Pete felt his cheeks burn.
“It’s almost sickening, isn’t it?” Trevor drawled, adding a flash of desire to top off Pete’s embarrassment.
“As if you’re not just a doll yourself,” Cindy scoffed teasingly. “The two of you are quite the pair. Wouldn’t be surprised if the sight of you caused a few of the local men to switch sides.”
Trevor choked on his drink of water and Pete laughed out loud. The sound brought the diner patrons’ heads around and he sobered quickly.
“I like you, Cindy,” Trevor announced, giving her a sweet smile.
“Feeling’s mutual, boys,” she said, giving him a pat on the arm. “Come back anytime.”
They managed to escape the diner mostly unaccosted, although Pete was pretty sure he felt a hand patting his ass as they squeezed through a group of people waiting to eat who were milling around by the door. Once they were clear and headed toward their pickup, Trevor shook his head.
“That was nuts,” he said. “That must be how a boy-band singer feels.”
“Please.” Pete slanted a laughing glance toward him. “You loved that. All those teen girls panting for you?”
Making a face, Trevor muttered, “No thanks.”
His expression was so disgusted Pete raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“Um, jailbait, you know,” Trevor explained.
Now Pete was really curious—Trevor looked almost panicked. A crazy thought tickled at Pete’s brain as he eyed the other man but he quickly shook his head and dismissed it. That was just wishful thinking. “Want to do some grocery shopping?” Pete asked.
23
Katie Allen
“Sure,” Trevor agreed with so much enthusiasm Pete’s curiosity rose again.
“Well, it won’t be
that
much fun,” Pete told him, grinning when Trevor blushed.
“Whatever,” Trevor grumbled, avoiding the other man’s eyes. They climbed into Pete’s pickup and buckled their seatbelts. Before he turned the key, Pete turned to face Trevor.
“You were good in there,” he said seriously. “Very believable.”
Ducking his head a little, Trevor told him, “Thanks.”
They drove the three blocks to the grocery store in silence. Trevor stared. He blinked and stared again. It was true. Pete was singing. It was under his breath, but he was definitely singing. The guy was examining the label on a box of pasta and he was singing along to the lite-rock shit that passed for music at the grocery store. He wasn’t half-bad either.
“What the fuck, man?” Trevor asked, his voice full of laughter. Pete’s head came up and he looked at Trevor, oblivious. “What?”
“Don’t act all innocent,” Trevor told him, his lips quivering with the effort of holding back laughter. “Boyz2Men? Really?” He watched with pleasure as Pete’s cheeks darkened and he dropped his eyes.
“Sorry.” Pete snuck a quick peek at Trevor. “Was I singing?”
The cop is too fucking cute for my own good.
“You were.” Trevor nodded solemnly.
“Shit. Sorry.” A small smile crept out as Pete’s eyes flashed toward Trevor again.
“Was I dancing too?”
His eyes widening, Trevor could only shake his head.
Dancing?
“Sometimes it just happens,” Pete sighed. “I hear the music and bam!”
Before Trevor knew what was happening, Pete had grabbed him by the hand and waist, pulling Trevor against him so they were plastered together from thigh to chest. Panicking, Trevor tried to pull back, knowing what the proximity to Pete would do to his body, how it would expose the feelings he was trying very hard to hide. Instead of releasing him, Pete spun Trevor through some quick dance steps. Resisting the urge to melt against him, Trevor pushed hard against Pete’s shoulder, stumbling back a few steps when he was suddenly free.
Breathing hard, he stared at Pete. “You told me not to fuck with you.” Trevor was humiliated to hear a tremor in his voice. “So don’t fuck with
me
!” He turned away and closed his eyes, trying to force his body to stop shaking.
“Trev,” Pete said softly, touching his shoulder.
Trevor shrugged off his hand. “Fuck off.” He knew he was being an idiot. It was his own damn fault. He was always crushing on the unavailable ones. He just couldn’t seem to help himself.
24
Hide Out
“Listen,” Pete persisted, standing too close behind him. “How about some new rules?”
“What new rules?” Trevor asked, interested but still wary.
“Actually, we’d just need
some
rules,” Pete corrected himself, a touch of amusement in his voice, “since we haven’t actually come up with any yet.”
His embarrassment over his hissy fit fading, Trevor turned around to face him.
“What rules then?”
“Well, I know one of yours is no tangoing in the grocery store.”
Flushing, Trevor scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. “No dancing in the grocery store should kind of be a given.”
“Sorry.” Pete shrugged, dropping his gaze for a moment. “Won’t happen again. Don’t know what got into me.”
Squashing down an extra-stupid rush of disappointment at the promise, Trevor grunted skeptically. “No more singing either.”
“Now wait a minute!” Pete’s laughing gaze snapped up to Trevor’s. “That probably
will
happen again. Pick another rule.”
“Your turn,” Trevor said, tossing the rule ball to Pete so he could think.
“Okay.” There was a small hesitation before Pete continued, “Physical contact.”
“What about it?” His stomach flipped.
“I don’t know,” Pete said, shooting him an exasperated glance. “If we should have it—in public, I guess. If so, what’s okay and what isn’t. That sort of thing.”
Trevor knew he was scowling but couldn’t help himself. This was insanely awkward. “We can’t
not
touch,” he growled. “That’d look suspicious. I mean, we’re supposed to be a couple here.”
“True,” Pete agreed, looking just as uncomfortable as Trevor felt. “So what’s the limit?”
“In the diner,” Trevor managed to say despite the flush creeping up his cheeks, “we were holding hands and neither of us freaked, so that’s okay.”
“Okay, good.” Pete nodded. “So holding hands is acceptable. What about, uh…”
His voice trailed off in a mumble.
“What was that?” Trevor mocked him, cupping a hand behind his ear. “Did you say blowjobs?”
Pete jerked as if he’d been punched. When their eyes met, his blazed with such heat Trevor started. He’d expected laughter or even outrage, but this looked like…desire. A suspicion flared to life in his mind.
Recovering quickly, Pete shook his head. “Kissing,” he clarified. “I said kissing.”
Emboldened by what he’d just seen in Pete’s eyes, Trevor stepped closer. “I’m good with kissing,” he murmured, staring at Pete’s mouth.
25
Katie Allen
Pete cleared his throat. “Kissing but no dancing,” he mocked hoarsely. “You’re not very consistent.”
“Mmm.” Trevor made the sound in his throat as he leaned closer, locked in on the hard line of Pete’s mouth.
Pete’s eyes flicked up and then back to Trevor’s face, a comprehending smile starting. “Putting on a show for the deli guy?” he asked in a low voice.
What?
What does the deli guy have to do with any of this?
Then Trevor stopped thinking, since Pete had caught him by the arms and turned him a half-circle, shoving him back against the shelves. For a second, he wondered if this was a repeat of what had happened on the porch earlier and Pete was about to lecture him for teasing. Instead, with the shelves etching horizontal lines into Trevor’s back, Pete leaned in and pressed his mouth to Trevor’s. It was a hard kiss, Pete’s lips unyielding and merciless. Something shifted in Trevor and he melted, turning pliable in the other man’s hold.
Too soon, Pete pulled back. The two men stared at each other, startled. Pete inhaled, as if he was about to say something. A stranger’s voice interrupted.