Hot Sauce (Suncoast Society #26)(19)

Carl sat there, smiling, chewing his gum like he was angry at it. “You’re just having shit luck today, ain’t ya?” he called out.

“You can say that again.” Reed shut the engine off and got out, using a bow and stern line to back the boat onto the lift forks. Ten minutes later, they had his boat securely sitting on blocks, and Reed was racing for his truck to get his tool bag. The fuel dock clerk would tell the charter group he was running a couple of minutes late, and why.

After swapping out the prop—relieved to see the skeg itself hadn’t sustained any damage from the hit—he dropped the prop off at the repair shop for them to send out for him, returned his tool bag to his truck, hit the bathroom, and grabbed a sandwich from the marina’s store to take with him before running back to help Carl get him in the water again.

So much for an easy day, and for catching up on his schedule.

He quickly texted Lyle while Carl was moving his boat back to the water.

Running real late. Nothing but problems today. TTYL. Love U.

Before he slipped his phone into his pocket, Lyle responded.

:( Sorry. Love you, too. I’ll take care of dinner.

Reed stuck his phone into his pocket.

I definitely need a new cell phone.





Lyle was waiting at the door with a beer for Reed when the man arrived home that evening.

“Thanks, buddy,” Reed said, taking it from him after giving him a kiss. “You’re the best.” He walked in and dropped his duffle bag on the couch as Lyle closed the door behind him.

“Sorry you had such a crappy day.”

“Crappy doesn’t begin to describe it.” Lyle followed him to the bathroom, where Reed started stripping in preparation to take his shower. He told Lyle about the morning mechanical problems, then the prop.

“Well,” Lyle said, trying to put a positive spin on it, “it could have been worse.”

“I know. I could have whacked the rock hard enough to do damage to the lower unit. That would have put me out of business for several days. I don’t have a spare one of those just lying around, and they’re damned expensive to fix.”

“I called Jenny this morning,” Lyle told him.

Reed froze and slowly turned. “And?”

“Basco’s sister found out about his kinky side.”

He leaned against the counter. “How?”

“Apparently he had a journal or something, and his FetLife account.”

“Wow.” Reed stared at his feet.

“She—his sister—is going to Tony’s shibari class tomorrow night. Jenny’s going to meet her there.”

Reed stared at him. “Why?”

“Jenny said she wants to meet her brother’s friends. Apparently, she’s okay with him being…having been kinky.” He told Reed about the conversation. When Lyle finished, Reed stood there, his arms crossed over his bare chest.

“I’d like to go,” Lyle said.

Reed slowly nodded. “Okay. I’d like to meet her, too.”

Lyle breathed a silent sigh of relief. He hadn’t been one-hundred-percent sure if Reed would actually want to go or not. “Cool.”

He left Reed alone to get his shower. He needed to put the last touches on dinner, which he’d delayed until Reed returned home. He knew Reed didn’t care if Lyle ate without him or not, but Lyle preferred to wait. He’d spent plenty of years eating alone already. Not that he had a problem eating alone, but it was nice, now that it looked like he had his soulmate, to wait to eat with Reed.

He was definitely worth the wait.

In more ways than one.





Chapter Eight


The people I’ve met through the Suncoast Society munches and through Venture have become the kind of friends I wish I’d had all throughout my adult life. Still, I have to keep a distance. Work, for starters. Not that I’m worried about my job security so much, but who knows if or when I’ll run across someone and it becomes an uncomfortable situation.

I also don’t want Nessie caught up in this. I don’t know if she’d understand, and as her brother, the last thing I want to do is add stress to her life. Maybe there will be a day when I can start broaching the subject to her, when I find a like-minded kinky partner I want to settle down permanently with, and who I can’t hide from her, or her from them.

Especially if it turns out to be a man instead of another woman.

No doubt, then I’ll have to have some conversations with her, hint around, so she isn’t totally caught unaware.

And if they don’t like Nessie, or she doesn’t like them, I won’t be making that mistake twice. I will not let anyone keep me from my sister.

They’ll also have to pass the Carlo sniff test. :)

For now, there’s no reason to lay this burden on her when things are going too well. It’s a secret that’s no problem for me to keep for now. It’s not hurting anyone. And the last thing I want to do is needlessly hurt her over something that…

Trip number four through Tony’s journal was more like a type of emotional masochism. She fought the urge to pick out every little time he’d put her before his own needs, even though she hadn’t realized it at the time, and chastised herself for being a sucky little sister.

Late Friday afternoon, Vanessa still wasn’t sure what to wear. A text to Jenny gave her the easy answer—comfortable.