Page 28 of Starting Over in Cedarwood

“Your office.”

He snorted. He had an office, but almost never used it. Instead, he kept a locker like the rest of his staff. The office was more of a breakroom for anyone who wanted to use it and had once been the place he met with Kyle for blowjobs. If Kyle wanted head, he could go somewhere else. “I’ll head over there.”

“Good luck. He seems pissed.”

“When is he not?” Kevin left the stock room and navigated around the building to his office. With the door open, he saw Kyle sitting on top of his desk. Kevin stopped in the doorway. “Kyle. You requested me?”

“I did.” Kyle remained on the desk. “Close the door.”

Back in the day, that had been the code phrase for head. “I’ll keep it open. What do you want?”

“A conversation with you. Close the door.” Kyle pointed at Kevin. “Do it.”

“No.”

“Kevin.” Kyle groaned and slouched on the desk. “Don’t be like this.”

“You need to stop. What we had was in the past and it’s going to stay there. We work at the same place—that’s it. We were together and we split. Accept it. Stop calling me about silly things and don’t email me. You don’t need me.” His heart hammered. He’d never stood up for himself like this and he liked the rush of adrenaline.

“You don’t know that.” Kyle left the desk. “What do you see in Shaun? What’s he got that I don’t? Huh? The cat? Does he like Shaun or has he tried to claw his eyes out?”

“Shaun and Leo get along.” Kevin folded his arms. “Next issue.”

“Leo is a cat.”

“And part of the family.” Kyle would never understand. To him, animals were nothing more and never would be.

“You give that rotten cat so much control,” Kyle said. “A cat can adjust.” He crossed the room and yanked Kevin into the space, then shut the door. “Now forget about them, because I need you.”

Kevin ducked out of Kyle’s range. “No.”

“No? We were tight and you love me.”

Kevin gritted his teeth. “I did, but you didn’t love me in return. I can’t do this with you. I can’t let myself get hurt again. I’m tired.”

“Kevin.”

“The biggest thing is that I’m with someone and I’m not cheating on him with you.” He darted around Kyle and left the office. He hated that he’d let Kyle get under his skin. So he’d given the cat a lot of control. The cat was still part of his family. But more than that, he’d bestowed too much power on Kyle. He’d allowed Kyle and his manipulations to steamroll him.Christ.Kyle thought he could come back at any time and his mood swings didn’t matter.Bullshit.

Kevin headed out to the concessions area and Nedra waved at him.

“Help,” she said. “I can’t keep up.” She loaded racks of buns onto the rolling cart. “We’re short-handed again.”

He glanced at the score. The game was only in the second inning, but the team was down by four.Shit.Kevin sighed. Unless he jumped in to help and spoke up to the powers that be, nothing would get fixed.

Kevin assumed one of the positions at the counter and took orders. He helped patrons, but considered what he wanted to do to change the staff problems. If the team kept losing, there was a good chance the crowds would dwindle. Unfortunately, a losing streak meant no one wanted to be there. He couldn’t justify having more people to help with concessions if the crowds weren’t there to eat the food.

He rolled his shoulders. At least he had a job. He’d worry about the staffing issues later.

Chapter Five

Shaun rolled away from his desk and checked the layout on the board on the wall. He needed to keep his mind off Kevin. He’d watched the baseball score online the day before and winced at the crushing loss. The last time the team had played so poorly, Kevin had been worked hard. He hadn’t heard from his boyfriend the night before, and while it annoyed him, he understood.

He couldn’t wait for their lunch date, but had no details, so had no idea when Kevin might turn up.

Cara stood in his doorway. “Hi. I’m heading out for lunch. Want to come along?”

“I’m good here, thanks.”

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