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Not that I’m complaining, I thought as I scratched behind her ear with one finger, setting off a ragged purr.
It was close to lunchtime, and we only had one patient—a golden retriever named Benji—and their owner left in the waiting room, and my stomach gave a hungry gurgle. When the front door opened, I glanced up and saw Kel arriving for his afternoon shift.
“Hey, Jas,” he said, but his usual energy was muted, his eyes puffy and red. It could’ve been from the icy winter chill that had descended over the city, but I knew better. “How was the morning?”
“Oh, Kel, what’d he do now?” I asked, meaning his husband, my shoulders sagging. I felt anger and frustration for my friend. It was none of my business, not my marriage, but I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he’d been cheating. I mean, nobody worked that much overtime. It was suspicious as hell, but my friend seemed determined to ignore the red flags.
He shook his head, not saying anything, and I waited. He peeked over his shoulder at the waiting room then came around behind the desk. I dreaded what was coming. “I left him,” he finally spat out, the tears he’d been holding back breaking through and spilling down his cheeks.
“Oh, hun, c’mere. I’m so sorry.” I gave him a hug, with the kitten cradled between us. I may not have been his husband’s biggest fan, but no matter how toxic a relationship was, we were allowed to feel grief when it didn’t work out. The kitten gave a little mew.
Kel lifted his tear-stained cheek from my shoulder and gave a sniffly laugh. “Aww, gimme. I need kitten cuddles.” I passed the baby over, and he nuzzled into her fluffy fur.
“Do you want to talk about what happened?” I asked.
He shook his head, fanning his eyes with a hand. “Not yet. That conversation will have to be done after-hours with copious amounts of alcohol. For now, I’m completely cried out. It’s been decided, no more tears.” He grabbed a tissue and dried his cheeks. “How about we talk about your smoking-hot ex instead. What’s going on there? Has he proposed marriage yet?” Kel’s smile was wobbly, and I knew he was reaching for a distraction.
I sputtered, mouth gaping. “What? No! Of course not, that’s ridiculous. Except…”
Sensing some juicy news, his eyes got wider. “Except what?”
“He might not exactly be my ex anymore. Maybe.” I gnawed on my lip, unsure where to begin or how to classify what was happening between me and Eric. We were more than acquaintances, not exactly friends, with a whole lot of lust thrown into the mix. I could still recall the way his finger teased at my hole, while I humped his leg like a dog in heat.
“Shut. Up! Tell me everything, and don’t leave out any of the sordid details. I need to live vicariously through you, and there’s nothing hotter than a sexy new romance with a professional athlete in prime physical shape.”
I could feel the blush warming my face. I felt cornered, pinned under Kel’s needling gaze, and even when I said nothing, my silence seemed to be filled with a detailed description of all the dirty, dirty things I wanted to do with my maybe-not-ex.
“I, uh…” I looked around for another topic of conversation to hide behind, but I was thankfully saved from having to answer by the clinic’s door swinging open, bringing with it a blast of cold air.
“Speak of the devil,” Kel murmured, smiling at whoever had just come in.
“Wha—” I spun around in my chair to find Eric sauntering through the waiting room, a smirk on his lips that could indeed be classified as devilish. “Hey! What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn’t be back in town until tomorrow.
“Caught an early flight, and I thought maybe I could take you to lunch.”
“Aww, you guys are just too cute. I totally ship this,” Kel said, pointing with a finger back and forth between us.
Eric beamed at him. “Why, thank you. Always good to find an ally. And your name is?” he drawled, leaning over the counter to offer his hand to shake.
“Kelly Nickerson, but you can call me Kel. All my friends do.” And then Kel freaking giggled! “And I can already tell that you’re gonna treat our Jasper here like a king. Am I right?”
Eric’s chuckle was throaty and did nasty things to me. “If only I could convince him to sit on the throne.”
“By throne, do you mean your lap?” I muttered under my breath, just loud enough for Eric’s ears, as Brent stepped out from the back hallway, grabbing Kel’s attention.
“Best seat in the house,” Eric said, throwing a wink my way.
I could feel Brent’s attention shifting toward me and Eric, and it had me on edge. I was eager to get the hell out of here and out from under his glare.
“You guys can head out now,” Kel told me. “I’ve got the kitten, and I’m sure Brent can handle taking the one patient to the exam room.”
“Thanks, Kel. Let me just grab my coat,” I told Eric.
Brent stepped in my way. “Where are you going?”
“Just out for lunch. I’ll be back in an hour.” I took my coat and scarf off the hook on the wall.
“Actually, I’m gonna need you to stay. There’s some end-of-year paperwork that needs to be filed,” he said quickly, trying to take my coat away, but I tightened my grip on it.
