by Sue Brown
She flapped a hand dismissively. “Whatever. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“A lot has happened recently. It slipped my mind.” He grinned at her. “Did you know Ramon is his brother-in-law?”
“What the hell?” she screeched, and Keenan winced.
“Well, almost. Ramon’s boyfriend, Mikey, is Cris’s boyfriend’s brother.”
It was a rare moment in the Day clan that Sarah could be rendered openmouthed and speechless. Keenan snapped a picture for posterity. She barely noticed.
“He never said. I’m going to kill him.”
Ramon was in deep shit at the next family lunch. Keenan was looking forward to that conversation over the family dinner table. How was their mom going to take the news that Sarah loved going to strip shows? Or that she’d dragged Keenan to one? Julia still viewed Keenan as sweet and innocent.
Keenan grinned to himself. He would allow sweet, but never innocent, and he intended to prove that later.
NATE ARRIVED with the tacos, and Keenan provided the explosions. He’d found out which movies Nate liked best, and when he realized Cris was a movie addict, he’d gone begging for DVDs. He’d quickly discovered Cris could have supplied obscure European arty movies or silent films if Nate had been into them. Keenan was thankful to stick with the explosions.
He took the food while Nate raided his refrigerator for beer. Then they sat down on the sofa, and Keenan pointed at the two tall piles of action movies by his DVD player. “Pick one.”
Nate’s eyes lit up and he dove into them like a kid with his presents on Christmas Day. “Are you serious? Oh my God. I haven’t seen this one for years.” He held up an 80s movie, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Keenan grinned. This was yet another side of Nate. “I haven’t seen any of them, so choose whichever one you want.”
“I don’t know which one to pick.” Nate hummed and picked up a box. “The Terminator it is. You get sci-fi, and I get action.”
“I can deal with that.” Nate slipped the disc into the machine, and Keenan pressed Play. Then Nate settled against Keenan.
He picked up his taco, paused, and turned to Keenan. “Do you care that we don’t go out that much?”
Keenan paused the movie. “No. I’ve never been a party animal. I only used to go out for a drink or to get laid. I work in a bar and I’m getting laid.” He smirked at Nate. “You?”
“Same really.” Nate took a large bite of his taco and chewed thoughtfully. “Back home I was settled, at least I thought I was, and here I go clubbing if I want to hook up.”
Go clubbing? Keenan was about to question Nate when he said, “I was out on the prowl when I met you outside that club.”
Nate raised an eyebrow. “On the prowl? And you met me outside Mane Event?”
“I was on my way to a club. Finding you was… unexpected.”
Unexpected? Keenan supposed it was. He raised an eyebrow. “Did you get lucky that night?”
Nate shook his head. “For some reason I kept thinking about a handsome, brown-eyed man I’d just met. No one else matched up.”
And didn’t that make Keenan’s heart turn cartwheels. He pressed Play again, and they sat back to eat, Keenan grinning in smug contentment.
At some point they started trading spicy kisses, and any interest Keenan had in the movie was abandoned as he ran his hands restlessly over Nate’s thick chest. Nate groaned as Keenan nibbled at the sensitive point under his ear.
“You are very distracting,” Nate murmured.
“I do hope so.”
Keenan carded his fingers through Nate’s hair and kissed along his jaw. “You’ve shaved.” Nate’s chin was baby smooth. “I approve.”
“I noticed you shave regularly. You don’t like beards.” Nate trailed a finger along Keenan’s jaw.
“No, not really.” Keenan had never been into facial hair, although he approved of a nice, furry chest.
“I thought I’d go… ah….” Nate arched up as Keenan’s hand wandered over his erection. “You’re going to drive me insane.”
Keenan licked his lips, tasting spices, beer, and that special flavor that was Nate. “I certainly hope so.”
“Can we take this to the bedroom?”
“You don’t want me to blow you here?” Keenan slid to the floor, between Nate’s thighs. He mouthed at the mound at the apex of Nate’s legs.
Nate lay back on the sofa, his eyes glittering as he stared down at Keenan. “Right here?”
“Right here.”
Nate unzipped his jeans and pulled out his cock. Keenan licked his lips as he looked at the glistening tip.
“You look like you want to eat me up,” Nate murmured, a smile playing around his lips.
“I do.” Keenan leaned forward and curled his tongue around the glans. Precome burst across Keenan’s tongue.
Nate moaned and clutched at Keenan’s shoulders, and Keenan smiled. He had Nate’s full attention as he nuzzled against the shaft, feeling the heavy weight against his cheek. To the background of a cyborg trying to destroy one woman, Keenan brought Nate to a loud and noisy climax. He rested against Nate’s thigh as Nate shuddered through the aftershocks.
Fingers curled lazily in his hair, skittering over the scar that Keenan sought to keep hidden. He traced the scar gently and Keenan relaxed. “Can we take this to bed now?”
“You’re not comfortable here?” Keenan asked. He could stay like this forever, pressed up against Nate.
“I’m comfortable,” Nate rumbled above him, “but I’d like to fuck you through the mattress once I’ve recovered.”
“We can do that,” Keenan agreed.
“And once Sarah Connor has saved the world.”
Chapter 19
IT WAS loud in Cowboys and Angels, and Keenan’s head was starting to thump. He’d been working for six hours and he needed a break, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen any time soon. Bradley and Liam were working the bar with him, and they claimed seniority and took their breaks first. It also didn’t help that there was a problem with the line for their most popular beer. Eddie had reamed Keenan out for not cleaning it last time he changed the barrel. But Keenan was damn sure he hadn’t changed the barrel for this brew, and he always cleaned the lines. It was Dan’s numero uno rule for working at the bar. He opened his mouth to protest and then shut it again. What was the point? He couldn’t prove it wasn’t him, so he accepted the yelling and went down to the cold basement to clean the line. If it got him away from Eddie’s glower, that was a good thing.
After a while he heard footsteps on the stairs and saw Liam’s cowboy boots appear. He turned back to the line. He was damn sure Liam was the one who hadn’t cleaned it. Liam was always getting away with that shit. He was related to Gideon’s late wife, and despite the fact that Dan threatened to fire him every other week, he stayed in the job.
“Hey,” Liam said. “I know you worked through your break, so I brought you a coffee.”
The gesture was unexpected, and Keenan accepted the mug with a “Thanks.” The coffee had too much creamer and not enough sugar, but he could live with that. It was hot and he was chilled to the bone. Gratefully he wrapped his hands around the mug and let the warmth seep through.
Liam didn’t vanish back up the stairs. Instead he just stood there, not speaking, but he didn’t seem anxious to meet Keenan’s gaze either.
Finally Keenan asked, “Are you down here to help me?”
“You weren’t the one who didn’t clean the line,” Liam muttered.
“I know.”
“You know?” Liam looked surprised. “Why didn’t you say something to Eddie?”
“What was the point? I couldn’t prove it wasn’t me.”
“I think it was me.” Another mutter, almost inaudible.
Now it was Keenan’s turn to be surprised. The one thing he had learned in the months he’d worked at Cowboys and Angels was that Liam had a Teflon coating. Everything rolled off his back, and he didn’t admit
to anything.
“Did you say anything to Eddie?” he asked.
Liam studied his feet. “Uh… no.”
“So why are you saying this to me?”
“Thanks for taking the heat.” Liam’s words tumbled out in a rush. “Dan said if I fucked up like I did last time, he’d fire me.”
“So I take the blame and you don’t get fired?” Keenan’s lip curled as Liam hung his head. “What do I get out of this aside from a cup of coffee?”
A really shit cup of coffee. Keenan finished it anyway. He was so cold that he really didn’t care.
“Whatever you want,” Liam said in a rush. “Any shift you want to swap with me, I’ll do it, I promise.”
Keenan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He doubted Liam would even remember that promise a week from now. The bartender wasn’t that much younger than him, but he seemed to have no fucking sense of responsibility. “Fine. Bring me another coffee and we’ll call it quits.”
“You mean—?” Liam looked hopeful.
“I mean you need to get your fucking act together, Liam. I’m not taking the blame for you again. Cleaning the lines is the only rule Dan gets his panties in a twist about. Why do you keep forgetting?”
Liam took on a sulky look. “I hate doing it.”
“So do the rest of us, but we still do it. It’s part of the job.”
Liam nodded and turned to leave.
“Coffee,” Keenan reminded him.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Liam vanished with a clatter up the stairs, and Keenan sighed. He didn’t expect to see the coffee any time soon. He turned back to the work he was doing so he’d get it finished before Eddie reamed him out even more.
Five minutes later Liam was back, only it wasn’t Liam. It was Dan, and he didn’t look happy. Great, Keenan was in for another reaming out. Dan was also holding a mug.
“Liam said this is for you.” Dan didn’t hold it out, and he didn’t return Keenan’s tentative smile.
“Yeah, he said he’d make me one because I was down here.”
“Eddie told me what happened.”
“I’m sorry, I—”
Dan held up his hand. “I know what happened. I’m not stupid. Or blind. Why are you covering for Liam?”
“Because I couldn’t prove it wasn’t me,” Keenan said.
Finally Dan handed over the coffee, and Keenan took a grateful sip. “And Liam thought he’d make you a coffee to make up for it?”
“He admitted it was him.”
“Not to Eddie he didn’t,” Dan pointed out.
“He admitted it to me.” Why couldn’t Dan let it go?
“And?”
“And that you’d fire him if he screwed up again,” Keenan reluctantly said.
“And you agreed to keep quiet, even though your job could be on the line?”
Keenan hadn’t thought about it like that. Dammit, he really hoped Dan wasn’t going to fire him for one mistake. “Yes.”
Dan pressed his lips together. “I ought to fire him.”
“You should have gotten rid of him a long time ago,” Keenan said without thinking.
He waited, but Dan didn’t shout at him. “I know. But family ties, you know?”
“I heard,” Keenan said.
“Look, we’ll let it go this time, but you never do that again. You’re too good an employee to let go for misplaced loyalty.”
Keenan’s eyes opened wide. “You think I’m good?”
Dan nodded. “I wasn’t going to mention it because you’re still new, but we’re opening a new Cowboys and Angels soon. I want to offer you a managerial position.”
“Me?”
Dan laughed. “Well, I’m not gonna offer it to Liam. Are you interested?”
Keenan was shocked. “Yes, definitely. I’m interested.” He shut his mouth with a snap to stop rambling.
“We’re not ready yet,” Dan said. “We’ve found a property, but it needs work on it.”
“Whenever you’re ready.” Keenan would happily wait if he knew he had the chance of a permanent job and more money.
Dan looked pleased. “Do you want me to talk to Eddie? Smooth over his ruffled feathers?”
Keenan shook his head. “Let it go. It’s not worth the trouble. Besides, I promised Liam I wouldn’t tell him… or you, come to that.”
“The mistake Liam makes is thinking we’re all stupid,” Dan said, his tone resigned. “I will be having a word with him. He’s treading on very dangerous ground.” Keenan wisely kept his mouth shut, and Dan shot him a knowing look. “Have you finished down here?”
“Yeah, it should be fine now.”
“Let’s get out of here. You must be frozen.”
“The coffee helped,” Keenan said. “You made that coffee, didn’t you?”
Dan’s lips curved in a wry smile. “Is it that obvious?”
“Have you ever drunk Liam’s coffee?”
He followed Dan up the steps. The volume of people in the bar had calmed while Keenan was down in the basement, but it was still busy.
Eddie’s expression darkened when he spotted Keenan. “Keenan, what the hell have you been doing down there?”
“I’m sorry,” Keenan said mildly. “The line works now.”
“If you’d done what you were told to do, it wouldn’t have stopped working,” Eddie snapped.
Dan opened his mouth, but Keenan caught the panic on Liam’s face and gave Dan the briefest shake of his head. “It’s okay,” he muttered under his breath.
“If you say so.” Dan disappeared in the direction of the stairs to his apartment.
“You can bus the tables,” Eddie said. “Then get the glasses washed.”
Keenan held back a sigh. It was going to be a long night.
AT SOME point in the evening, Nate appeared with a man Keenan didn’t recognize, but he looked like a cop. Keenan didn’t go near them, partly because he didn’t want to cause Nate any problems but mainly because Eddie found him every shitty job he could. He watched them and noted they seemed to be involved in an intense discussion. Occasionally Nate looked up and scanned the bar until his gaze landed on Keenan.
“Clean out the men’s restroom,” Eddie said. “Someone’s hurled in there.”
Keenan opened his mouth to tell him what to do with his job, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught Nate smiling at him. He couldn’t throw in his job in front of Nate.
“Sure,” Keenan said. “I’ll clean it up.”
As Keenan dealt with the vomit because some dude was incapable of hurling into the john, he cursed Liam, Eddie, and everyone he could think of. Then he pressed his lips together and gave up breathing, because the stench was unbearable.
Toward the end of the evening, Keenan emerged from the men’s room just as Nate was going in. This time he’d had to clean up piss.
Nate broke into a smile as he saw Keenan. “Hi. Every time I look up, you’re coming out of the john.”
Keenan forced a smile on his face, trying to ignore that he was wearing bright pink rubber gloves. “That’s because I spent all evening in the bathroom.”
The smile faded off Nate’s face and his eyes narrowed. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I’m fine. I didn’t expect to see you this evening.”
“My brother-in-law wanted to talk.”
“I thought he was a cop,” Keenan admitted.
Nate gave a snort. “Close enough, or he’d kill you if he heard you say that. He’s a feeb.”
“FBI?” Keenan’s eyes widened.
“Yeah.”
“Keenan, where the hell are you?” Eddie stomped around the corner. “How long does it take you to clear up piss?”
“I’m here,” Keenan said.
“There’s vomit to clear up by the bar. Get to it.”
Keenan swallowed back the anger. This was his job, after all. “I’ll get the mop and bucket.”
Eddie stomped away, and Nate studied Keenan. “Tell me what’s going on
.”
“I’d better mop up the vomit.” He forced a smile and turned to walk away.
“Keenan,” Nate said in a warning tone.
“It’s been one of those days, Nate. Eddie’s just pissed with me, that’s all.”
“Baby—”
Keenan shook his head. “If I still want a job by the end of the evening, I’d better do what he asks. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Keenan—”
“I need to go. Have a great evening.” Keenan bypassed him, ignoring Nate’s outstretched hand.
“Nate, how long does it take to use the john?” Nate’s brother-in-law appeared.
Keenan used the distraction to get away from Nate and get the mop from the janitor’s closet. It wasn’t hard to find the sick. The culprit was adding another pile alongside the first, with his friends cheering him on.
One of the men looked at Keenan as he approached. “Hey, Trey, you scored.”
Trey, who was busy turning his guts inside out, paid no attention.
Dan bustled over, a grim look on his face. “You guys, out. Trey, go home. Keenan’s got better things to do than clean up after you.”
Keenan ignored them all as he cleared up the vomit with gritted teeth and mopped the floor. He was done with this shit. Usually they spread the crappy jobs between them. He’d done them all because of a misunderstanding. No more. He’d had enough.
Nate was waiting for him as he came out of the janitor’s closet, and Keenan wanted nothing more than to throw himself in Nate’s arms.
“Dan says you’re done for the evening,” Nate said.
“Done?” Keenan asked uncertainly.
“His exact words were he was sick of seeing you martyr yourself. He would clear it with Eddie, and Liam was in deep shit.” Nate folded his arms. “Gonna explain to me what he meant?”
Keenan shook his head. “I just want to go home.”
“I’m taking you.”
“What about your brother-in-law?”
“He’s already gone. Are you ready to go?”
“I need my jacket.”
“Go get it.” Nate stayed where he was, making it clear with his body language he wasn’t going anywhere.