“Does your mother know?”
“She’s in jail,” said Chad. “I went to say hi yesterday and all, and to tell her I’m going to be moving to Madison for the new semester. She, like, started screaming and swearing.” He shrugged. “But she’s got literally everything to deal with now, that attempted murder business is totes getting her down.”
“I hope you’re still inviting her to the wedding,” said Dom. “When is it?”
“When’s yours?” asked Chad, catching Dom by surprise. Chad looked up at him and grinned one of those annoying victory grins. Dom stood. The little snot could finish boxing a tree on his own.
He wandered toward the bathroom, irritated with how Chad’s simple retort had made him feel. He had actually had the urge to reply with a date, a month, anything. And he had nothing. More than that, Chad’s insinuation had felt right. Dom ran a hand through his hair. Shit, he couldn’t be thinking about something like marriage. Not seriously. Not…
His phone rang, the familiar tone indicating Devin.
“You don’t have to answer it, you know,” said Kiko, suddenly beside him. “I’m not going to annoy you about it.”
Dom didn’t move to get it, but he couldn’t look Kiko in the eye. If they got married, would he have to invite his family? Shit, he really needed to not be thinking about this.
“Probably trying to invite me to visit again,” he said. “I told him I wasn’t going without you.”
“I’m touched,” said Kiko. Dom shrugged.
“If they’re really going to pretend they accept me, they have to accept all of me, and that includes you.”
“I’m part of you?”
“You know what I—” began Dom, then saw how Kiko’s eyes twinkled. Something lurched inside him. How he loved this man. He smiled. “Thanks. For understanding. For everything.”
He wanted to ask Kiko to check the pipes in the bathroom with him, get him inside the bathroom, and lock the door. He wanted to make out with Kiko in his own store during business hours, wanted to grab him through his pants and see whether Kiko actually packed a spare change of clothes. Probably.
“I’ve been thinking,” said Kiko. “And you’re right.”
“Of course I am,” said Dom, thinking Kiko was going to offer him a job after all. He’d proved himself a good worker over the past month, and clearly they got along fine at Yolks on You. He was ready for this step. “And the answer is yes.”
“I haven’t asked a question yet,” said Kiko. “It could be anything.”
Dom shrugged. He’d say yes to anything Kiko asked of him, even—
“We ought to have a vacation together. Over the holidays, no family. Just us and a cabin somewhere. Or a beach somewhere. Or…is there any place you always wanted to go?”
“Like, next Christmas?” asked Dom. Damn, he sounded like Chad. This had not been what he was expecting Kiko to ask. Kiko nodded. “That’s a long ways off. Are we still going to be together?”
“Are you going to leave me?” asked Kiko. Dom grinned a nasty grin and Kiko rolled his eyes. “So then we’ll mark it on the calendar. Start thinking about where you want to go, what you want to budget. I want to get this all planned out so we can be excited about it all year.”
“Fuck, do I love you,” said Dom.
“Children,” hissed Kiko. “Don’t make me regret taking you up on one of your ideas.”
“You won’t,” said Dom as Kiko turned his attention to a customer. If Kiko took him up on this idea, what else would he do? Dom figured he had to stop thinking before he dug them both in such a deep hole they’d have no choice but exist in it together.
Although, that didn’t sound like a bad idea. Spending more time with Kiko, sharing in this life, this store even, sounded like exactly the kind of hole he wanted to dig himself into. He smiled at that and got back to work.
* * * *
Recipe: Dill’s Pickle Bacon Relish
1 ½ lbs bacon
2 cups sweet onion, diced
2 cups shallots, diced
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ cup bourbon
1 16 oz jar sweet pickle relish
Cook bacon, remove from pan to cool. Drain pan, leaving 2 tablespoons grease in bottom.
Add onion and shallots and cook on medium until caramelized.
Add garlic and cook another minute.
Add chili powder and smoked paprika, stir, then add bourbon and sweet pickle relish.
While the mixture is cooking, crumble bacon. Add bacon to pan and stir.
Store in airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat desired amount as necessary.
* * * *
Recipe: Pickle Bacon Pinwheels
1 8 oz package crescent rolls
2 oz cream cheese
½ cup pickle bacon relish
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375F. Roll out crescent rolls and push on dough with fingers until perforations are smoothed out and dough becomes a solid flat rectangle.
Spread cream cheese evenly over dough. Spread pickle bacon relish over cream cheese. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
Roll up and cut into ½ - ¾ inch slices. Place on cookie tray and bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
* * * *
Recipe: Gaby’s Savory French Toast Breakfast Bake
1 loaf crusty sourdough bread
½ lb bacon
½ lb sausage
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon thyme
Prepare the bake the night before by spraying a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick spray. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and place in pan.
Cook, drain, and crumble the bacon over the bread.
Cook, drain, and crumble the sausage over the bread.
Sprinkle the feta over the bread.
In medium bowl, add eggs, milk, and thyme and whisk. Pour evenly over bread. Cover dish and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, preheat oven to 350F. Uncover pan and bake 35-45 minutes, until golden brown and no longer wet.
* * * *
Recipe: Kiko’s Slow Cooker Roast
3-5 lb spoon roast
¾ cup red wine
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
garlic cloves
In a large Ziploc, add the roast, wine, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Before cooking, remove roast and set aside marinade for later. Slit meat all over in Xs about 2 inches apart. Insert whole garlic cloves into slits and push in so you can’t see them.
Place roast in slow cooker and add the extra marinade.
Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve drizzled with marinade liquid.
* * * *
Recipe: What’s in Chad’s Pantry Bars
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups potato chips, crushed
3 cups pretzels, crushed
½ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup peanut butter chips
In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and corn syrup to boil. Add the peanut butter and mix until melted together.
Remove from heat and add potato chips and pretzels, stirring until well coated. Press in pre-greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.
Allow to cool. Do not refrigerate as they will become too hard to cut.
THE END
* * * *
ABOUT JESSICA PAYSEUR
Jessica Payseur lives and writes in Wisconsin, where she spends the long winters solving murders. Fictional ones, of course. With a bottle of mulled wine and more cats than laps, she crafts cheesy mysteries with sexy sleuths and happy endings. She enjoys snail mail, trying not to get lost geocaching, and bicycle rides as long as they end at winerie
s. Follow her on Twitter at @jessica_payseur for updates on what she’s currently drinking. For more information, visit pgofcups.blogspot.com.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!
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