She spent all day yesterday helping my mother get settled. I gave Kenny a tour of the B&B and she loved every square inch. I’ve always known I’d inherit the place one day, and walking Kenny through those hallowed halls felt like I was giving us both a glimpse of the future.
“Professor I-Don’t-Bang-Chicks-Anymore Elton!” A caustic male voice booms from behind.
I turn to find Cal following me into Hoffman Hall where my newly minted office is located.
“What are you doing here?” I don’t slow down my pace for him.
“Consulting. They asked me to help renovate the weight room.”
His bald scalp is dusted with snow, and it gives him that dignified asshole look he’ll achieve in about twenty years.
“I owe you something.” A shit-eating grin hedges on my lips. I walk up—clock him in the jaw and feel a satisfying pop beneath my knuckles.
“Shit,” he barks, nursing his wound. “I think I lost a filling.”
“That’s because you’re a pussy.” I head upstairs, and he continues to tail me like the stray dog he is.
“What the hell was that for?”
“For being an ass. Why the hell did you hit on Kenny? And don’t deny it,” I say, stepping into the glorified closet which officially houses a plaque lucky enough to bear my moniker. “I saw you with her at Starbucks.”
“That?” He falls in the seat across from me with a dumbfounded, albeit slightly injured, look on his face.
“Yes, that.” I pluck out my laptop and fire it up. “Look, if you’re going to cheat on Lauren, pick on someone else. Kenny is off limits.”
“For your information, she was hitting on me.”
I give a little laugh at the thought.
“And what’s this ‘Kenny’ business?” He balks. “As far as I know, the rest of the planet refers to her as Kendall. Don’t go down the thorny trail of pet names, my friend. It only leads to more misgivings.” His nostrils flare as he slides down the seat.
“Kenny fits her. It’s cute, like Kenny. You’re not allowed to call her that, by the way.”
“Cute.” He mocks. “You know what’s not cute? The ex-great love of your life stalking me.”
“I have no ex-great love of my life. Therefore, I know not what you speak of.” I pluck a stack of papers from my briefcase and scan them.
“Blair, you moron. We’re talking about Blair.”
“You’re talking about Blair. I wouldn’t classify her as any great love. More like an unnecessary evil.”
“Evil? A bit harsh don’t you think?” His brows peak as though suddenly her virtuous standing were a matter of personal interest.
“I stand by my statement. Although, I retract the word ‘unnecessary.’ She was very much a necessary evil on many levels. First and foremost to contrast what true happiness is. And that, my friend, is what I have with Kenny. Things are progressing.”
He shakes his head. “Never mind, Kenny. When are you going to have the big pow-wow, with Blair? You know it’s coming. Blair is like a piranha when she gets her mind set on something. And right now that something is you. Besides, she assured me she just wants to be friends.”
“I don’t need any more friends.”
“You guys have a history together. You lasted longer than my father’s last three marriages. I don’t know. I think you should at least have a sit down. It’s going to be a long life, and Blair Lancaster just so happens to run in the same social circles.”
“Then I’ll find new social circles. Look, I’m not interested in any kind of relationship with her. I’ve moved on. I wish her happiness, success, and someone else’s dick to occupy her time. My body is quite content with the woman I intend on spending the rest of my life with.”
Cal jerks back like he’s having a seizure. “You talking marriage?”
“I don’t see why not. Kenny is beautiful and sane, so already she’s two up on Blair.”
“Low blow.”
I consider it for a moment. “You know all those girls I rolled around the sheets with these past few months? I never once felt satisfied.” A sigh escapes me. Countless hours, countless fruitless pleasures I subjected myself to just trying to fill some hole. I wonder what it would have felt like with Kenny if I had waited for her—if I hung on until I met her that night at the party, and we shared everything together for the first time. My skin electrifies at the thought, and my dick ticks in my boxers like a bomb. “Anyway”—I blow out a breath as I scan through the stack of papers in front of me—“I have no intention of fucking things up with Kenny, so you can tell Blair to beat it.”