In the Mix Read online

  “Something smells good, Mom.” I smile and take in a big whiff.

  “Stuffed peppers, sweetie.”

  “My favorite!” I say in an excited gaspy manner.

  “You say that every Sunday, no matter what I’m making.” She laughs at me. It’s true. What can I say?—My mom knows her way around a kitchen! “Alright, you kids set the table while Dad takes his shower. Dinner will be ready in twenty.” She pats my cheek and heads back to the kitchen.

  “So, anything new?” My mother hints as we all get ready to dig in.

  “I don’t know, Mom, you think Lindsay left anything out in her reports?” I inquire with my sarcastic charm then shoot a playful smirk at Lindsay that makes her giggle. I could never get mad at my little sis. I reach over and poke a finger at her side.

  “I’d like to meet her.” Mom announces.

  “Oh, I don’t think that will happen for a while. Well, that is, unless you go in with Lindsay one day.” I shrug. There’s no way I’ll get Ceese here to meet the parents, I can’t even get her to go on a date with me!

  “You will love her, Mom. She’s my best friend!” Lindsay beams and my heart grows just a little fonder of CiCi. “She always tells me I do a good job and when I make mistakes, she never gets mad. We just go over it again. She’s a really good person.”

  “Well, she sounds like a good egg to me!” Mom’s eyes light up at Lindsay’s declaration. I know my mom already loves CiCi just because CiCi treats Linz the way she does—like there’s nothing wrong with her. “I just question her judgment when it comes to who she lets court her,” she says and shakes her head with an added sigh.

  “What do you mean, Mom?” I shoot her a quizzical look. Is CiCi dating someone that I don’t know about? Did my sister tell her and not me?

  “I don’t know why she’s making you work so hard for a date with her.” She switches out her fork for her glass and takes a sip.

  “She’s just afraid.”

  “Afraid of what? You’re a good guy! You’re successful, have your head on your shoulders, and, if I do say so myself, you are quite attractive.” She raises her brow and gives me a proud smile.

  “He gets his looks from his mother,” my dad pipes in.

  “I don’t know, Stu, I see a lot of you in him.” She tilts her head at him in a flirty fashion. My sister and I catch each other’s eyes and roll ours, then chuckle. Dad leans towards her and pecks her lips. I know it sounds silly, because I’m still young, but at thirty-eight, I can’t help but feel my time is running out to find and have what they have.

  “CiCi likes Kyle,” my sister announces before shoving a mouthful in.

  I clear my throat, “She does?” I try to act as nonchalant as I can, pushing food around on my plate, only glancing up for a second.

  “Yes. She smiles a lot when the guys sing your songs to her. She smiles most of the day. But then, she stops.” She shrugs.

  “She stops smiling?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why, dear?” Mom asks.

  “I asked her that yesterday.”

  “And?” I grab my drink and swig.

  “She just said she wishes you would stop.”

  “Why does she wish that if she likes the attention Kyle is giving to her?” Mom is officially in her I’ll get to the bottom of this mode. Yeah—good luck, Mom!

  “She just said she’s not the right girl for him and that she’s not really interested. She feels bad that he’s wasting his money.” She takes her last bite. My sister could be the champion of any race that involved eating. Sometimes I call her The Hoover but that usually warrants a slap on the arm from my mom.

  “Well, then, son, you shouldn’t waste any more money on her,” dad says as if he’s solved a problem.

  “Stewart Eli Cooper! Where is the romantic man I married?” Mom turns his way and slaps his arm. She’s a dainty woman but she really packs a wallop!

  “What? He’s not getting any younger.” Dad points his hand in my direction. “I want some grandkids before I’m too old to enjoy them.

  “Thanks, Dad! You’ve always had the amazing ability to lift one’s spirit.” I smirk at him. Asshole—I mean that lovingly, of course.

  “Always happy to help,” he chuckles.

  “I wonder what’s she’s done that makes her feel like you deserve better.” Mom says, though I think it was mostly to herself.

  “I don’t know, Mom.” I shake my head. “I really like her, though. Yet, I really haven’t gotten to know her much. I’ve learned more about her through Mitch and Charlotte than from her. Heck, even Lindsay knows more about her.” It sort of makes me feel like a shmuck. There’s just something there. Something that ignited inside of me from the very first moment we met.

  No. Not that.

  Well—a little bit of that. I am a man.

  There’s a pull there. I can’t say that I’ve felt it—ever—with another woman. I look into her eyes and I just feel that those are the eyes I was meant to look into. Her kiss—guts me. Every night, I replay the kiss outside her door—the night I went all ninja at the bar and the kiss at her shop. Oh man—that kiss at her shop. I think my knees were weak for days.

  “Why don’t you try to get to know her better?” she starts. “Don’t roll your eyes at me! I know you’ve been trying to date her. Instead, just get to know her. Ask her a question or two about herself when you run into her. Make sure you run into her more. Maybe the serenades are too much for her. You might be pushing her farther away, son.” And with that, she puts her concentration back into eating.

  I think she may have something here. I am going about this all wrong. I think I know just what I’m going to do!

  Throwing the gear into park, I’m beginning to wonder if maybe this was a really bad idea. I turn off my car and thumb a beat at my steering wheel as I stare straight ahead at the Home For Good animal shelter in Hampstead. I roll through all of the questions she could possibly hammer at me. My answers, I think, are pretty solid. That’s it—no more sitting here! I’m gonna go in before I pussy out!

  I climb out of my car and head up to the door while checking my watch. It’s 11:00 am and she should’ve been here for an hour already doing her Sunday of the month that she volunteers for. Yeah, I got her schedule down pat, so what?

  With a big breath, I open the door and head in. CiCi has her back to me as she is on the phone. I walk up to the counter and wait.

  And . . .

  I may be taking inventory of her nice ass.

  I lift my eyes up quickly as she hangs up the phone. She turns with a smile that quickly drops. I would’ve rather had an actual slap across the face then the imaginary one I just felt. Stay cool, Kyle, this is a way in. Form a connection other than the heat you two feel.

  Oh the fucking heat I feel for this girl!

  “What do you want?” she asks as she starts shifting papers around. Busy work. I get it. I also get that I am affecting her the way she is affecting me. Why does she fight it so?

  “Lindsay’s birthday is this week.” I start. Her eyes widen in surprise and warm up a bit at my sister’s name. “So, I thought it was time to get her a dog. It seems like she’s doing a good job working for you. She’s responsible and knows what to do now—thanks to you.” I add with a nod of my head. “She’s always wanted a dog. So I thought it would be perfect. I thought it would be even better if I got the dog from here. She’s always talking about the shelter and wishing she could find all of the animals homes right away.” Fuck, I’m overdoing it! Shut-up, Kyle!

  “I’m sure there’s a shelter where you live.”

  “There is.” I agree. “However, this is the one she’s always talking about because of your involvement here. So, I think she would be thrilled to know I got her dog here. Shall we look?” I ask quickly to thwart her from any ideas of putting me out to get the dog somewhere else.

  “Um . . . okay,” she says hesitantly but then comes out from behind the counter. “This way.” She gives me a half sm
ile before walking ahead of me. And yes—I check out her heart shaped ass again. It may not really be heart shaped—but there are hearts flying out of my eyes at it. Yum! I’d like to take a bite out of that crime. “What kind of dog do you think she’d want?” She turns abruptly to me.

  “Who?” I ask as if I’m in a daze. I suppose I am . . . or was. Oh, fuck it! I’m screwing this up already! How do I know? Call it hunch, but I’m going by the look of suspicion on CiCi’s face. Her raised eyebrows are screaming “liar!” at me. “Sorry,” I say quickly. “My mind wandered away.” I open the door behind her that leads into the back. “After you.” I wave her in.

  “Well?” she asks as she walks ahead of me again into the other room.

  “Well, what?”

  “Kyle!” she yells with frustration, turning on her heal again to face me.

  “What?” I throw my hands out and try not to smirk. It’s quite the challenge. We all know how I like to smirk.

  “What kind of fucking dog does she want?!”

  “Preferably one that isn’t a fucking dog; that could be embarrassing when she takes him out for walks.” I tease.

  “What are you doing here?” she seethes. Damn it, she’s even hot when she’s angry. Maybe hotter.

  “I told you. I’m here to get a dog for Linz.”

  “I think you’re here to provoke me,” she challenges.

  “I am not here to poke you. Well, not today at least.”

  “I said pro voke,” she says slowly, breaking up the syllables for me like I’m five.

  “You definitely said poke.”

  “I did not.”

  “You must want me to poke you.” I continue to bait her.

  “I do not!” she says through clenched teeth. I step closer to her to the point where we are nose to nose. I note the tempo change of her breaths. It matches my own. Our heads struggle against what seems like a magnetic force wanting to join our lips. Mine brush against hers, slightly.

  “Why do you fight it so much?” I murmur.

  “Fight what?” she asks breathily.

  “This. Us. Let me in, Ceese.” I grasp her face in my hands gently.

  “No.” She tries to pull away.

  “Let. Me. In.” My hold firmer with a slight shake at each word.

  “No.”

  I slam my mouth against hers.

  Not two seconds go by and she’s giving it right back to me, fisting the ever-loving fuck out of my hair, I might add. I don’t care. She can angry kiss me all she wants, just as long as she’s kissing me. Slowly, the anger dissipates and our tongues explore each other’s mouth at a savoring pace.

  Reluctantly, I pull away. One more swift peck and . . . an eskimo kiss. “C’mon, let’s find a dog for my sister.”

  “Um . . . do you know what kind she um . . . would want?” she stammers.

  “You’d know best.” I let my hands drop down to hers, squeezing them before I let go of her left one. I lace my fingers with hers and tug her along a bit. “C’mon.” I jerk my head towards the cages.

  “A lapdog,” she mumbles.

  “Ok.” I smile. “Show me what you have.” I run my thumb over the top of her hand. She looks down at our entwined hands as she follows along. “Let’s look at the oldest ones first. I think she’d feel best about giving one of them a home,” I say to distract her from any thought of pulling away from me.

  “That’s a great idea, actually.” Her eyes widen. “I have just the dog for her!” she says excitedly and drags me towards the right instead. I stare at her in amazement. These animals bring out such a light in her; I’m half-jealous of them. She lets them in.

  “Are you sure about this?” I ask her for the hundredth time. Mickey is cute and all . . . ya know . . . with the exception of his continuous growl and several attempts on my life already. Let the record show: I’ve had him leashed and next to me for all about five minutes now. I may be sweating profusely at the thought of traveling home with him.

  “Just give him space and you’ll be alright.” She goes to pet him but quickly backs up when he nips.

  “Do you have a muzzle for him?” I ask impatiently. I can’t believe she’s serious about me taking him. “You know, I’m starting to wonder if you are doing this on purpose.”

  “What do you mean?” She shoots me a look of confusion that simmers my boiling pot down. I’m overreacting. Fuck. This dog is scary as hell. It’s a white terrier-mixed-something-or-another with beige spots. However, all I see are his fucking teeth, grinning at me with an evil smile. It’s not a smile, though. It’s an “I’m going to eat your nuts for lunch, Kyle” vicious grin. “Kyle?” She touches my arm, tearing my gaze away from Mickey “The Man Eater.” “Are you ok? You don’t look so hot.”

  “You don’t think I’m hot?”

  “I said you don’t look so hot.”

  “So, you don’t think I’m hot. Should I work out more?”

  “No. I think you’re hot . . . I mean . . . you don’t need to work out more. It’s nice. You . . . it’s nice. Oh fuck! Why are you doing this to me today?” She throws her hands in her hair and paces around a little. Mickey seems nervous by her actions. Me? I’m smirking.

  “Doing what?”

  “This!” She throws her hands out. “You’ve never done this before!”

  “What? Get you flustered?” Still smirking . . .

  “Yes! What the hell?!”

  “I’m taking what I can get.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” She widens her eyes. Her beautiful—I so want to stare into them the rest of my life—eyes.

  “Until I can get you flustered the way I want to get you flustered, this will have to do.” I take a step towards her, crowding her personal space. Our eyes track back and forth like we’re watching a tennis match. But you know what we’re really doing, right? “You’re losing your edge, gorgeous.” I step back but then lean down near her ear. “I can almost taste your pussy on the tip of my tongue,” I breathe. Her lungs push air in and out rapidly. I straighten up and slowly begin to back away from her, taking Mickey along with me. “See, you have me pegged as a nice guy and I am. However, I have no problem being bad, Ceese. In fact, I’m pretty good at it, baby.” I raise an eyebrow to join my smirk. Checkmate. She’s speechless as I leave with the man-eater. Although, after that stare down, he seems to know I’m the boss now. He even gets into my car with no problem.

  “Woo!” I howl after closing my door. “Did you see that?!” I ask Mickey. What? There’s nobody else around. “I totally beat her at her own game! You see, she usually says something inappropriate to throw people off, but I did it! And it worked!” I grin at him. His upper lip curls and . . .

  I may have just thrown up in my mouth.

  I quickly start the car up and roll down the windows. This fucking dog is going to kill me one way or another—I swear!

  Flick on . . . flick off.

  Flick on . . . flick off.

  “Fuck you, Mr. Miyagi, and the bastard from the electric company,” I groan quietly and hit the flashlight on my cell phone. I walk in fully to my house and shut the door behind me. I look down at the little green shut-off slip from the electric company. Oh good! I only have to pay $358.03 to have it turned back on—that’s the deposit.

  Fuck my life.

  Well, I can’t sit here and act like I didn’t know it was going to happen. It was either the electric at the shop or here. I think my customers would find it odd if I handed their pets back to them soaking wet.

  Looking around in the darkness, I decide to do what I do best: mess with my sister. You’ll see what I mean. Bitch falls for it every time! I quickly pack a few things and run back out, locking the door behind me. This will be better for me anyhow. I don’t want to spend another night replaying, what I now refer to as, The Kyle—what the fuck was that?—Incident.

  I jump into my car and start it up. Yes, there should be enough gas in this baby to get me to her house. Fucking hell, I feel like a goddamn teenager


  “Hey, sorry I’m late!” I say out of breath as I charge into Charley’s house.

  “Late for what?” She turns around with a look of confusion.

  “I’m watching the kids tonight for you guys. Do I have the wrong night?” I ask, giving her my “what the fuck is wrong with you?” face.

  “Uh . . . we haven’t asked you to watch the kids.” she states but I can see she’s trying to ponder whether she did or not. See? Bitch always falls for it.