Knowing he had a bike, and assuming he loved cycling as much as I did, I considered asking Keith if he wanted to cycle together in the mornings. That was a friend activity, not necessarily a couple type of thing. But we’d be together getting all sweaty and stuff. Good plan, Ethan!
But he probably didn’t want to be away from his grandfather, and I couldn’t expect Gran to sit with Mr. Jenson at first light. She had priorities such as checking social media for the latest news aka gossip.
I rubbed a hand over my face as a couple on the TV argued. Skip it, guys. You know you want to get into bed. But this being soap-opera world, it’d be another ten episodes, months, or even years before they did the deed.
Yawning and checking the time, I rubbed one shoulder wishing someone was here to give me a massage. But was there a masseuse in this small town? I doubted it, and if there was, when did I have the time?
Fitting everything in was hard. Writing, exercise, working on the patio. By the time six o’clock in the evening came, I was beat. I’d shower at Gran’s and then shovel food in my mouth while looking longingly at the house opposite. We’d eat on trays in the living room while she watched her soaps before I drove home and collapsed into bed.
I blamed my grandmother for getting me addicted to her TV shows. Especially this one. I couldn’t work out who was who. Was that the guy with the beard in the last episode? Was he a bear or a wolf shifter? My head hurt trying to sort out the characters and their relationship to one another.
There were probably hundreds of forums devoted to dissecting the show, but my pride prevented me from searching. I could ask Gran, but I’d have to admit I was obsessed with it, and she’d tease me.
With one eye open, I peered at Floyd. I hadn’t covered him up and he was listening intently to the TV. Maybe I could get him to give me the deets. But as I sat up, groaned and stretched my aching muscles, the phone dinged.
Expecting it to be Gran, I stared at the unknown number. Someone trying to sell me something? But as I blinked and read the preview, my pulse quickened. Seriously, it did.
Hi, Ethan. This is Keith.
My shaking hands fumbled with the phone, and it refused to recognize my face, so I had to tap in the passcode to read the rest of the message.
Thought I’d take you up on your offer to chat. Hope I didn’t wake you.
No. Not at all. I’m awake. I jumped up and yelled, “Yes.”
Not taking his eyes off the TV, Floyd hissed, “Shush!”
“Sorry, Your Royal Highness. I’ll take this in the bedroom.” Not too late. Everything okay? I stopped myself asking if he was naked or if he wanted me naked.
Yeah. Stella gave me your number. Didn’t want you to think I was a creepy stalker.
He could stalk all he wanted. No problem.
It’s just if I watch one more episode of Shifter World I’m going to scream.
Did he just say what I thought he said? My fingers couldn’t take any more typing so I took a chance the phone wouldn’t wake Mr. Jenson and dialed Keith’s number.
He picked up on the first ring. “Hi,” he whispered.
“Hope it’s okay to call.”
“Yeah, let me just take my drink onto the porch. Grandpa’s just gone to bed.”
I was glad of the wait ‘cause my heart was pounding so hard it hurt. I took deep breaths until the rustling and footsteps that vibrated through the phone stopped. Something creaked and Keith said, “Okay. We’re all good.”
“I can’t believe you watch Shifter World,” I blurted out. Oh my God! What was that? Wishing I could rewind time, I tried to make it better, “I mean, Gran watches it, and I hear the TV while I’m working.” Yeah, I’m too cool to be a fan!
There was a pause at the other end. Shit! He probably thinks I spend my time arguing with Shifter World fans online and stalking the actors’ social media accounts to find out who’s dating who. I had looked up an actor but that was one time. One time!
Keith asked, “Isn’t that Shifter World I can hear in the background?
Damn! Busted! “It’s Floyd. He’s addicted. Needs to go through a soap opera twelve-step program.”
“Uh huh.”
“Seriously,” I insisted. “He can fill you in on all the goings on. He and Gran sit and discuss it for hours.”
“I’ll make sure to quiz Floyd next time I see him. He can tell me if Greg and Finn are sleeping together!”
“They so are,” I yelled without thinking.
“I knew it,” Keith replied. “Those long gazes across the water cooler.”
“Right? Who does that at work?” But as the words left my mouth, it hit me that the sexy omega I’d been hoping to get close to was having a conversation with me about a shifter soap opera. Not what I imagined we’d be doing when we finally got together. “Wait, are we discussing fictional characters?”
“I think we are,” he agreed.
“That’s sad. Or not. I mean they provide an escape for a lot of people so…”
“Yep. Grandpa loves it.”
Now what? We’d admitted our deep dark soap opera secrets. Did we have anything else in common? “The offer to have a beer is still open. Or dinner. If you’re interested.” My voice trailed off as I waited for Keith to respond.
“I’d like that. Both to a meal and a beer.”
“Wow! Really? I mean, great! When?” Was that too eager? Probably.
“I’d need Stella to help out, though. The nursing staff isn’t allowed to be alone with him according to policy, and I don’t trust anyone else to be with Grandpa.”
“I’m sure she’d be happy to. Your grandfather has a TV, and especially if we go halfsies and buy her favorite bottle of wine and a packet of spicy corn chips.”
“But I have to remind you of what I said last time, Ethan.”
What was that? I hunted through my memories. Sand? Mac and cheese? Me shirtless? Floyd? Oh no, the not-serious thing. “Mmmm.”
“We have to keep it casual.”
My eyes lit up at the word ‘it.’ What we were had a name. We had an it! I wanted to reach into the phone and kiss him. Well, I’d have liked to do much more than that, but we were too far apart for me to rake my eyes over his gorgeous body and strip off his clothes.
Small steps. Baby steps. We’d bonded over a soap opera. Things had to look up from there.
“Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
“You heard what I said, right.”
I sank onto the floor. Some couples had one night together. Others conducted a love affair through letters, while the unlucky few lost the love of their life through time and distance. If nothing else, we’d always have Shifter World! “Loud and clear!”
110
Keith
Put a fork in me. I was done. Except I couldn’t be. PT was coming and they wanted to teach me how to do everything they were doing. Which in theory was a great idea. I could help Grandpa throughout the day in little increments, and he would be back on his feet sooner.
But theories only work—never. And the reality was that I spent the morning being trained by Barbara on how to do things neither my grandfather nor I wanted me to be doing because his health insurance paid for a set number of her visits then done. No exceptions. I’d offered to pay myself, but there was something in her contract with her agency that prevented her from doing so, and three phone calls and two aspirin later, I discovered that her agency wouldn’t do anything the insurance did not permit even if I offered to pay cash.
What would people do if they didn’t have someone who was strong enough to help? Be in a rehab, the exact place Grandpa dreads.
At least PT wasn’t there yet, although part of the training me thing was because they had to cut their number of days because...you guessed it...insurance. I just couldn’t with all of it.
The knock on the door told me it was time to slap on my happy face and face the reality that I was going to be his PT person for at least half the week. And really I didn’t mind if it weren
’t for the nagging feeling I wouldn’t be good enough. It wasn’t what I went to school for, and shit, it wasn’t even something I’d ever had myself. This sucked. Big time.
I opened the door with a smile, “Lori, thanks for coming.” Goodness a lot of people came in and out of this place. “Grandpa is in his bedroom. He said you wanted to start with some lying down exercises. I think he just wanted a nap.”
“I’m thinking a little from column A and a little from column B. Let’s go see what we can accomplish in my hour.”
A lot. A freaking lot. I shut the door behind her, my body covered with sweat, my head pounding again, and Grandpa sound asleep not even two minutes into his show. And to think I thought I was done earlier, and there was still one more person coming, his nurse. One of, at least.
I popped in the shower, so very done with the day. I wanted to curl up and take a nap—or snuggle up with Ethan. Because that was a healthy thing to be thinking about in the shower. At least in there no one would see the semi I was now sporting.
I scrubbed my hair, willing it away. Except instead of willing it into submission, I thought about what it would feel like if Ethan were washing my hair and the damn thing turned into a full-on woody. Because of course it did.
Fuck it. I grabbed the shower gel and pumped a few squirts into my hand. There was nothing wrong with jerking one off in the shower. I just wouldn’t think of Ethan, because that would be wrong. I’d told him we couldn’t be anything but casual, implying he wouldn’t be the main attraction in my masturbation sessions.
Except he was. He so very was. I pictured him bending over in those jeans he wore the first day and him catching me staring. If you think that looks good, you should see this. Imaginary Ethan turned around, dropping his pants so I could see his long, thick erection pointed in my direction. Like what you see? Imagine how it will feel inside you. He’d stroke himself slowly as I rid myself of my clothing, needing to feel it more than my next breath. Imaginary Ethan would push me over the side of the couch, because fuck it, it was my imagination and we could switch locations midway. I of course did, needing to feel him between my cheeks, sliding into my slick hole and...
And long spurts of my cum hit the shower wall. So much for knowing how it felt, even if it was only imagination land. At least I didn’t have a hard-on anymore. That had to count for something.
I cleaned up and went to get dressed, nearly snagging my pajamas and stopping dead in my tracks.
“Shit. It’s date night.”
I couldn’t go out.
I just physically. Could. Not.
Between all that had happened already today, and one more nurse visit still to come, I just couldn’t handle a date, not even a friend one. I was grumpy, tired, and sore. I was waiting for Nurse Sam to arrive and check out Grandpa, and as soon as they were done, I was heading off to bed in the hopes of a better day in the morning.
Maybe Ethan would reschedule.
Or maybe we’d both be better off if he didn’t.
Whichever which way, I needed to call him now and not wait until the last minute like an asshat. Or worse, just not showing up. I got completely dressed, not wanting to call him naked. Some things were just crossing the line, and apparently cancelling a date in a towel was that line for me.
I dialed his number, hating being that dick, but not sure what else I could do. At least I wasn’t texting. That would’ve put me right back into asshat territory, and I very much didn’t want to be that for Ethan. He was too nice for that.
“Hey,” he answered the phone, all sexy like. Fine, it was just Ethan like, but damn that was sexy.
“Hey. Listen, today has sucked monkey balls. I think it is better if maybe we cancel.” Please don’t be too mad.
“Tell me about your day.”
I dumped all the things on him from insurance woes to PT fails, and even my burnt toast. I left nothing out. By the time I was done, he was probably thanking every star that I was not coming out.
Except he wasn’t. Instead he said, “I have a better idea. Trust me?”
Goodness help me, I did.
111
Ethan
Poor, Keith. He’s having such a rough time.
How could I make it better? I couldn’t magically improve Mr. Jenson’s health issues. His broken hip needed time to recover, and I wasn’t able to magic away the old man’s physical pain as well as Keith’s emotional hurt—much as I wanted to.
But he had to eat, and Gran had come down with a cold and couldn’t sit with Mr. Jenson. She protested when I told her to stay home, saying she was fine. But when I pointed out Keith’s grandfather didn’t need her germs, she gave in. She grumbled and let me put her to bed with a hot water bottle.
So much for the nice dinner I’d planned with Keith at a restaurant by the river with great food, good wine, and even better company. But ding ding ding. Instead of us going to dinner, dinner could come to us.
I dashed off a quick text to Keith asking if he had food allergies or major food dislikes. He wasn’t vegetarian as he’d eaten pancetta in the mac and cheese casserole I cooked the day I started on the patio.
He replied with, No, why? I’m just waiting for Sam.
I was taken aback at the reference to another guy. Keith and I had had plans and now he was getting together with someone else.
The nurse, he clarified.
Of course it was the nurse. I wasn’t worried he was ignoring me for a six-foot-two alpha with washboard abs and a dazzling smile. Nope, not me. “Insecure much,” my inner voice mumbled.
Ignore me, I texted back. After a quick look at the restaurant’s menu, I chose dishes for us to share along with wine and beer. Floyd complained when he saw me heading for the door, so I turned on the TV, and he shut up. I should set him up with an audition for the show. Make tons of money and I can retire.
I turned my attention to thinking of Keith. I wanted to get to know the omega with the adorable blue eyes, and not just ‘cause he was a hottie. He was devilishly hot when his eyelashes fluttered, damned hot as he wriggled his ass, and smolderingly hot when he leaned close to me and sweat dribbled down my spine.
My cock responded to the inferno that was building inside me, and I considered taking another shower and rubbing one out while picturing Keith’s lips wrapped around my dick. Yes! But a quick glance at the time told me to get my act together. Restaurants in small towns stopped doing deliveries early.
I hightailed it to Gran’s, where the food was being delivered, and rummaged in her pantry for a picnic basket and tablecloth. I picked roses from the garden and stuck them in a vase. When dinner arrived, I added cutlery, glasses, plates, and napkins. After putting everything in the basket, I surveyed my masterpiece. It was a lot of food. Hope he’s hungry.
It was still light outside so we’d be able to sit on the porch. Mr. Jenson could join us in his wheelchair, and if he hadn’t eaten, there was plenty of food for him too.
After ringing my neighbor’s doorbell, I studied my sneakers that had seen better days. Time for a new pair.
Keith opened the door, and I was struck by the shadows under his eyes and the defeated hunch of his shoulders. Not waiting for him to say anything, I asked, “How’s your grandfather doing?”
“I’m about to find out.” I swung around and stared at a female omega carrying a large bag and with a name tag on her crisp blue shirt that read, “Sam.”
“Sam!” My enthusiastic greeting had her raising one brow and glancing at Keith.
“He’s cool,” he said with a laugh.
“I’ll take your word for it,” she told him as she eyed the goodies in my overflowing basket. “Someone’s in for a treat.”
She strode inside leaving Keith and I staring at one another. His mouth gaped as warning bells rang in my head. Is she talking about a meal or… after-dinner entertainment? “F-Food,” I stuttered. “Just dinner. Nothing special.”
Keith lifted the lid and the aroma of garlic, chili, and cumin wafted out. �
�If I were a character on Shifter World, I’d swoon right now.”
“And I’d catch you,” I added without missing a beat.
“Come on. Let’s eat.”
I gulped at the word ‘eat’. Why does everything have a double meaning with Keith? Food was one thing, but I’d get on my knees and swallow his dick in a second.
As though he could read my thoughts, Keith continued while stumbling over his words, “The f-food. In the b-back g-garden.” He led me through the house and outside where wicker chairs with red cushions were arranged around a small table, and the sweet perfume of primroses filled the air. “Grandpa’s had his dinner.”
We unpacked the basket in silence and put fish tacos, beef fajitas, pork carnitas, chicken enchiladas, guac, salsa, and red rice, plus the drinks on the table. Keith surveyed the spread. “Were you expecting a football team? Or an army?”
I shrugged. “I went a little overboard, huh?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “I’d say a lot.”
“You and your grandpa can have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.”
“And many lunches to come. But you forgot something?”
No! “What?”
“Wait.” He dashed inside and came back with a lighter and two candles. “Perfect.”
“Let’s eat. I’m starving.” I poured us a glass of wine each, and while diving into the food, we chatted about the weather, sports, our favorite foods, jobs, and the future. He told me his dream was to open his own tailoring business while I explained the premise of my book.
“I’d love to read it when it’s done.” Keith nibbled his lower lip. “If you’d like me to, I mean. I can see the project is your baby, and it must be hard to put it out into the world.”
“Much like a new suit.”
“Exactly.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I work on a design for days—sometimes weeks— and when I show it to a client, he might dismiss it with a wave of his hand.”
Love at Blind Date Complete Series: Books 1-4 Page 40
