Rough and Ready, page 9
“To be honest,” Keeley said, “it was probably one of my better dates. The conversation hasn’t been awkward, he’s obviously not hard to look at, and since you owe me for crashing another date, you’re now buying my drink.” She laughed at her own joke. “And food. How about a plate of wings?”
Rafe shook his head. “We came for cheesesteaks.”
Keeley seemed to like that idea better. She raised her hand for the waiter. “Never mind on the check,” she said. “We’d like to order food.”
“Of course,” the waiter said. “Let me grab you some menus. Would you like drinks?” he asked Rafe and Gio.
“A pitcher of Yuengling,” Gio said, looking at Keeley’s empty wineglass. “And three frosty mugs.”
“You got it.”
The waiter left to get their drinks and menus.
“You sure you’re okay?” Rafe asked again.
“In case you guys haven’t noticed, none of my dates end well. This is pretty much par for the course.”
“I have noticed,” Rafe said. “Maybe you should give Tinder a rest for a little while.”
“Oh, totally,” Keeley agreed. “I’m going to take a page from Gio’s book.”
Gio frowned. “What’s that mean?”
Keeley leaned her elbows on the table, shifting closer to Rafe, giving him an adorable, playful grin. “How do you feel about dating amongst employees at Baros Corporation?”
Was Keeley coming on to Rafe?
Rafe was silent for a moment, no doubt letting her words sink in. Gio sat there, as dumbfounded as his friend, expecting some ugly emotion to appear.
Shouldn’t he be jealous? Upset that she was expressing interest in Rafe?
Gio waited. And…nothing. It felt like all the common sense in the world wasn’t going to help him stop his wayward, wicked thoughts. Because the truth was, he wanted Keeley, and he wanted Rafe there too, for as long as he was willing to stay.
Kayden was going to kick his ass.
Before Rafe could reply to her question, the waiter arrived with their beer and the menus, even though they all knew what they wanted.
“I’ll take a Philly cheesesteak and fries,” Rafe ordered, looking around the table.
Keeley and Gio both said, “Same,” and the waiter left to place their order in the kitchen.
“What do you mean about employees dating?” Rafe finally asked.
“Chad asked me out,” she confessed.
“Who the fuck is Chad?” Gio blurted out, louder than he’d intended.
Keeley leaned back, surprised by his outburst. “He’s a waiter at Eclectic.”
Gio had forgotten about the guy at the nightclub. He shot Rafe a glance, and he could see his friend grappling for an answer. Keeley had given him the perfect opportunity to put the kibosh on her dating Chad—he just had to say no company hanky-panky—but Rafe was too fucking nice to take it. More than that, he probably saw this as a way of keeping Gio, and maybe himself, away from her.
“Do you want to go out with him?” Rafe asked.
Keeley shrugged. “We’ve talked a few times, and he seems like a nice guy. At least I wouldn’t be going into the date blind. We’ve met in person and he’s cute. So…yeah, I guess.”
Rafe nodded. “Okay. Fine. I don’t see a problem with that.” And while his friend’s words seemed reasonable and calm, Gio couldn’t help but get the sense Rafe wasn’t as unaffected by Keeley’s request as he was acting.
Gio was long overdue for a couple of heart-to-hearts—first with the man in the mirror, and then with Rafe. Because he could feel a shift not only in himself but in his friend as well. And Keeley was at the center of it.
He considered Kayden yet again and blew out a long, slow breath, trying to figure where the hell he was supposed to go from here. Because if he continued to pursue this, there was a chance it wouldn’t be just one of Kayden’s buddies taking his sister to bed. It would be two.
He put those thoughts away for now because they were a million miles from that possibility becoming a reality. Rafe wasn’t on board…yet.
So tonight, they were just three friends hanging out.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Keeley started. “Now that you guys are going to be roommates and renovating the haunted mansion, I think it would be cool to film you working on it.”
“Film it? Why?” Rafe asked.
“Think about it. I capture some video as you two are working, you can talk about the ghosts, the history of the mansion, the renovation work. It would be great marketing for the inn. Amazing promotion. I can almost guarantee if the videos take off, the inn would be booked out for months before it even opens.” Then, because she was Keeley and too adorable for words, she added, “And if you take off your shirts when you’re hot and sweaty, I can also guarantee women will be lining the block to spend a night or two with you…I mean, with your ghosts.”
Gio scoffed. “I’ll leave the TV star shit to Joey. He loves being the center of attention, mugging for the camera and all that crap.”
“I’m being serious about this. I’ve given it some thought, and I really do think it would be a great way to promote the inn. I mean, you obviously want the business to be a success, right?”
“Of course we do,” Rafe said, “But—”
“Don’t say no yet. Just promise you’ll think about it. Or better yet, I’ll get some raw footage when you start working. I’ll put it together, you can watch it, and you can make your decision then. After you see what I have in mind, you’ll know I’m right.”
One look at Keeley’s face, and Gio knew they hadn’t heard the last about this. Regardless, he was determined to keep his answer a no.
But before he could say that, Rafe answered for them. “We’ll think about it.”
She smiled brightly. So brightly, Gio realized there was a good chance he’d get roped into this just because she wanted to do it so badly. Then he considered the perks. With her doing the recording, he’d get to spend even more time with her.
Gio sighed, then caught sight of someone approaching them in his peripheral vision. From the sudden resigned look on Rafe’s face, he knew it wasn’t someone he wanted to see.
“Hey, Gio, Rafe.”
Gio pasted a fake smile on his face as he turned to greet Jill.
Jill was a pleasant enough woman, but once she got her hooks in a man, she was relentless. He’d had to block her number two weeks after their breakup because she kept blowing his phone up with calls and texts.
That had been his reason for dumping her in high school, which—like an idiot—he’d forgotten. He’d tried to console himself with the fact it had been fifteen years, and there’d been a chance she had changed. She hadn’t. If anything, she’d gotten worse.
“Jill,” Rafe said with a single nod.
“It’s so great to see you both. I was sorry to hear about your grandpa,” she said to Rafe.
He acknowledged the kind words. “Thank you.”
“I haven’t heard from you in a while.” Jill was looking pointedly at Gio, who didn’t have a clue why she thought she would. He’d told her the relationship was over, and when she suggested they be friends, he assured her the best thing was that they not see each other anymore.
“I told you that you wouldn’t,” Gio said, trying for gentle, but managing nothing better than an annoyed growl.
Then Jill finally noticed Keeley at the table. “Oh. I’m sorry. Are you guys on a date?”
Gio didn’t respond because that question might lead to a conversation that revealed more than Keeley knew. Time to end the interaction now before Jill said anything more. “It was good to see you, Jill. Have a nice night,” he said dismissively.
For once, she got the message, walking away without putting up a fuss.
Keeley’s brow was creased in confusion. “You dated her, right?” she asked Gio.
He nodded.
“And you broke it off?”
“Yes,” Gio replied. “A few months ago.”
“Why would she think we were all on a date? Who goes on a date with their best friend?”
Gio tried to brush off the question. “Probably a slip of the tongue.”
He should have known better than to try something that lame with Keeley. She was too smart. “I don’t think it was,” she mused.
“Leave it alone, Kiwi,” Rafe warned, which was the equivalent to waving a red flag in front of her.
“Did you date her?” she asked Rafe.
He shook his head. Rafe wasn’t lying. He hadn’t dated her.
But…Keeley wasn’t backing down. “Did you sleep with her?”
Rafe held her gaze for a long time, and Gio could see him debating his response. Finally, he gave her the truth. “Yes.”
“At the same time as Gio.” It wasn’t a question.
Rafe sighed. “What part of ‘leave it alone’ are you struggling with?”
Keeley grinned, then turned her head, putting Gio on the hot seat. “Were you both sleeping with her literally at the same time?”
Gio nodded, despite the daggers Rafe’s gaze lobbed in his direction.
“So that threesome thing you mentioned wanting wasn’t hypothetical. You’ve actually gone there, done it.”
“It was just sex,” Rafe explained, jumping in quickly. His friend clearly wanted to spin things his way. “The two of us were exploring a kink. It was nothing more than that.”
“Is Jill the only woman you’ve ever shared?” she asked.
Gio shook his head, but Rafe had reached his limit on explanations.
“This conversation is over,” he stressed.
Studying Rafe’s face, Keeley finally nodded and let it go, clearly not willing to upset him.
But Gio knew she’d be back with more questions later. He could practically see them swarming in her mind.
The next two hours passed in laughter as they devoured their cheesesteaks, watching Elio play hockey on the big-screen TVs hanging from nearly every wall.
Once the game ended, they walked out together. Keeley had taken an Uber to the bar, so Rafe—their DD—offered to drive her home. They discussed the game the entire way to her place. Keeley was as avid a hockey fan as they were—maybe more.
Of course, that wasn’t exactly surprising. All of his friends, brothers, and cousins were die-hard hockey fans, or more accurately, hard-core Philly fans. The sport didn’t matter. Most of them played either high school hockey or football throughout their teens.
When Kayden moved back into his family home after his parents’ deaths, he’d hosted a weekly hockey night for their big group of guys. Keeley was always there, sitting on the floor, yelling at the players, the goalies, the refs, and the coaches as much as they did. She’d grown up hanging out with them. Probably a lot more than most kid sisters. But that was to be expected.
After all, Kayden was overprotective to a fault, so she spent way too many of her teen years being dragged along to Eagles—let’s go birds!—games and poker nights, so he could keep an eye on her. And he’d been right to do so.
Liza had once compared her to a preacher’s kid, the type of teenager who constantly chomped at the bit. Keeley had a bit of a wild side, so she hadn’t made things easy on her brother when she was in high school. She was a social butterfly at heart, something her parents had found easier to accept than Kayden, who’d enforced strict curfews. As such, she’d snuck out of the house at night to go to parties, and had invited boyfriends over when Kayden worked the night shift, even though he’d forbidden her to have boys in the house when he wasn’t home.
Gio used to laugh whenever Kayden shared Keeley’s crazy exploits, but now, he looked back on those stories and sympathized with her brother.
“Okay, here we are.” Rafe pulled up to the curb and turned off the car.
“Well, I have to say my horoscope was right on today,” she said before getting out.
“Oh yeah?” Gio prompted.
“It said, interesting news and stimulating conversations were coming my way. Nailed it.”
Gio chuckled. Rafe did not.
Keeley climbed out of the back seat, surprised when he and Rafe got out as well. Rafe came around the car and stood next to Gio on the curb…making him curious. Rafe had warned him not to kiss Keeley again, so had he gotten out of the car as a way to reinforce his request?
“You don’t have to walk in with me,” she said. “There’s a security code on the door to the building.”
Gio knew that. Knew that was one of the requirements Kayden had laid down when his sister said she was moving out after college. It had taken Keeley a few months longer than she’d wanted, trying to find a place in a safe neighborhood that she could afford, that checked off all of Kayden’s boxes.
Rafe leaned against the car. “We’ll just watch until you get inside.”
“Cool.” However, Keeley didn’t turn to leave. Instead, she just stood there.
“Is something wrong?” Rafe asked.
“Where’s my good-night kiss?” she demanded.
“Did your horoscope predict that too?” Gio asked, hedging. He’d decided Rafe was smart to issue the warning, that he’d be wiser to hold back until he figured out how to proceed with Keeley. It was those first two kisses that now had his emotions in turmoil.
“Keeley,” Rafe said, in the same tone he’d used a thousand times, whenever she flirted with them. It was the perfect blend of patience and exasperation, something only Rafe could pull off.
Keeley was a quick learner, so she hastened to say, “It’s just a kiss. It doesn’t mean anything.”
Gio snorted. “You’re getting spoiled.”
She gave him a haughty look. “The kisses aren’t that great, Gio,” she teased.
He had to give it to her. She had his number. Wild horses couldn’t have dragged him away from a challenge.
He reached for her shoulders, pulled her close, and made sure to give her the kind of kiss that would having her changing her tune—it was slow and hot and long.
Keeley’s hands found their way to his waist, her fingers gripping his shirt tightly. It took everything he had not to pull her body flush against his, to let her feel the impact she was having on him.
He’d kissed countless women in his life, so he couldn’t begin to understand why this kiss felt…different. Felt like so much more.
Maybe it was because he’d known Keeley for most of her life. He’d seen her at so many stages, watched her blossom into this beautiful, intelligent, funny woman.
It would be so easy to let himself get carried away, to push for more. But he wasn’t sure Keeley was ready for what he wanted from her, and he knew Rafe wasn’t.
So he slowly gentled the kiss, then backed away.
He expected this interlude would end as the previous two had. Rafe would hug her, they’d say good night, then he’d spend the rest of the night alone with his hand, as visions of Keeley danced in his head.
Keeley, apparently, had other plans. “Why don’t you ever kiss me?” she asked Rafe.
He frowned. “That wouldn’t be smart, Keeley.”
“Why not?” she pressed.
“Because we’re friends. Because you’re Kayden’s sister. Because you work for me now.”
Keeley grinned, the look on her face pure minx. “You had that list ready to go, didn’t you?”
Rafe opened his arms. “Behave yourself and come give me my hug.”
Gio had become quite fond of Keeley’s hugs as well, not even sure when those had started. They’d never touched much at all before, but somewhere during these past few weeks, in addition to simply saying goodbye after work, Keeley never failed to give both of them hugs.
Keeley crossed her arms. “No. I want a kiss instead.”
Rafe looked at Gio. “See what you started?”
Gio shrugged, unapologetically. “Sometimes it’s fun to act on impulse.”
Rafe shook his head. “One of us in this little trio has to be levelheaded.”
Gio wanted to respond to that, but he literally couldn’t. He got too hung up on the word trio. He liked it. Too much.
So when he could speak again…he poked the bear. “Go on. Kiss her.”
Rafe frowned.
“Yeah.” Keeley added her own taunt to the game. “Unless you’re afraid you’re going to fall into the same category as all those other bad kissers in my past.”
“I’m not Gio,” Rafe said. “You’re not going to taunt me into getting your way.”
“Just one kiss?” she asked, in the most genuine, least-flirty voice he’d ever heard from her.
While Gio responded to teasing, apparently Rafe was a sucker for sincerity.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “You were warned. Both of you were.” That was all he said before he cupped Keeley’s face in his hands and kissed her.
Gio’s brows rose nearly to his hairline as Rafe took possession of Keeley’s lips with a passion he had never witnessed in his friend. It was deep and sexy and hungry, almost desperate. Keeley gripped Rafe’s forearms, but Gio didn’t mistake her touch as part of the embrace. No. She was holding on for dear life.
Gio stood there, stock-still, watching. And that heart-to-heart he’d promised to have with himself transpired right there, right then.
This…God…
This was happening.
The kiss could have lasted for ten seconds or ten hours, but when Rafe released her, none of them moved. Hell, Gio wasn’t sure any of them were breathing.
“Rafe,” Keeley whispered at last, as she touched her kiss-swollen lips, her cheeks flushed bright red.
“Damn, man,” Gio muttered.
That was when Gio suddenly realized Rafe had never kissed Jill or Jennifer or Vanessa. Not once. He had always left the kissing to Gio, just like he’d left the relationship part to him.
He had never seen his best friend kiss a woman. Not until this moment.
And he couldn’t help but wonder what that meant.
Rafe should have looked victorious. Should have been as smug as hell, but instead…he looked lost. Especially when he said, “Keeley. When I kiss a woman, it means something.”
With that, he turned around, heading back to the driver’s side and climbing into the car, leaving Gio and Keeley standing side by side, speechless.
