9. Keats

9

KEATS

S earching the fridge, I don't find what I'm looking for. I completely forgot to pick up strawberries from the store. My sister may be annoyed. Summer gave a list of what to stock since she's staying over with her boyfriend who just proposed, Nash, and my nephew, Bo. Bo can get a little cranky if he doesn't have his snacks; in fact, he stomps his feet and is an adorable little one-year-old. They only live a few towns over but staying over means nobody has to worry about alcohol intake or working around Bo's schedule.

Glancing at my watch, I think I can swing it to the grocery store and back in 30 minutes. Grabbing my phone and keys, I'm halfway down my porch stairs when I see it.

Esme is pissed.

Hair flowing behind her shoulders, arms hanging with fists by her sides, that sexy-as-fuck frown and her near stomp coming my direction. Hurricane Esme, here we come.

"You are the most despicable human on earth."

Before I can even open my mouth, she reaches me and pushes me with her palms against my chest, nearly knocking me back a few steps .

"What the hell have I done now? We are going to have make this quick, I need to run an errand."

Her jaw drops. "Oh, I don't think so, mister."

Esme's brazen demand has my eyes turning to saucers. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?"

"Me?" She points to herself.

"Yeah, you. The one who needs to be tamed."

Her hand lands on her waist and she tips her hip out. "Maybe I would be if you were a normal human being who doesn't just walk away."

Ah. This is about that.

"Last night, I was a gentleman."

"Couldn't you just fuck my brains out? I mean, all the signs were there that I would have been on board with that. But no , my neighbor from hell decided to head on home."

Proudly I smirk to myself. I mean, I did hold out. That was more because she scares the hell out of me. She thrills me, and last night we kind of just gelled together in conversation. A line between enemies with benefits might have been crossed because, well, we are more than bearable together. For some reason, I thought it was better that we parted ways. I would hate to have crossed the line between pretend date to hey, this might be an actual date-ish . Maybe pissing her off a little gave me a rise, too. That makes me the man who should check his sanity, especially since my dick did not appreciate my act of bidding Esme adieu.

Now she's bobbling her head side to side. "You. You dragged me to that party. That's like two social events with you in two weeks. Dragging me along for all of this and ruining my aura," she seethes. "Damn it, murder mystery party."

Gawking at her, I'm now in disbelief that she has some nerve. "Oh really? I'm pretty positive you got an invite for that too, and it just so happens we ended up driving home together."

She points a finger at me. "You are the worst neighbor. Always such a mind fuck."

Oh, I'm going to challenge her on this. "It's not my fault you voluntarily came home with me and then we?—"

"Whoa." That voice is not ours. "We don't need to hear more."

Esme and I zip our attention to my sister who is standing by their car. I didn't hear them arrive.

Nash just smirks because I know he is taking pleasure in this.

I'm frozen, and Esme's mouth is parted open, ready to croak out her death. "How long have you been standing there?" I manage to get out.

"Long enough for me to enjoy this weekend's roasted BBQ." Nash has a cheeky smile, because he won't let this go. He turns to open the door to the back to get my nephew from his car seat.

My sister wiggles her fingers to Esme. "You must be the neighbor. I've heard about you. Not exactly in your favor." She smiles tightly. "But you seem to be handling my brother… kind of… maybe."

"Summer," I grit out a warning to my little sister.

"What?" Her voice rises an octave, and she shrugs. "Clearly she returns the sentiment, and it's not my problem that we showed up to your lovers' quarrel."

"We are not lovers," Esme and I say in unison.

Nash just chuckles under his breath. "Sure." He doesn't believe us, clearly.

Well, peachy.

My neighbor just voiced her opinion on my failure to ram my cock into her last night, and my soon-to-be brother-in-law is ready to have the upper hand all weekend in provoking me.

Summer examines her nails as she sits on the couch in my living room. It's all for show, because in three, two, one… "She seems, uh, nice?"

I rub the back of my neck, feeling a little tense. "A delight." There is zero enthusiasm in my tone.

It causes my sister to chuckle. "Are we on a reverse of roles? Last time, you gave me the romance advice, even though you don't have the greatest track record."

Glaring at her, I don't appreciate my little sister mocking me. "Not a reversal of roles," I firmly state.

She simmers a laugh. "Okay, if that's the case, then it shouldn't bother you if I voice my opinion on your situation. Since, after all, you claim there is nothing going on between you." Summer has a mischievous smile.

"Don't I have a nephew somewhere to play with?" I search the room and stretch to look down the hall.

She swats me. "Nash is getting him down for a nap. Thanks for stocking your house with the portable crib. One less thing to worry about. But don't go off topic. What's the deal with crazy lady who has you completely wrapped around her finger?"

"Or I could have her under my thumb," I counter.

Summer gives me a look that says she's not buying it. "Maybe Esme can join us for the BBQ."

"Absolutely not." That would be a trainwreck of epic proportions since Esme is a loose cannon and Nash can be an ass because it's fun.

"Fine. Are you two like dating? "

My face screws up.

"A benefits kind of thing?"

Quickly, I give her a pointed look. "I am absolutely not discussing this with you for the sake of our sibling relationship."

Summer flaps her hands as if she is a penguin on speed. "Ooh, you are so having a thing with her." She gets comfortable, bringing her feet up and under her while her chin rests on her hand against the back of the sofa. "Is it going somewhere? It seems like she's on par with your need to debate."

I'm going to have a headache by tomorrow. "Simmer it down, oh young one."

She curls her bottom lip, pretending to pout.

"What has Summer in a tiff?" Nash enters the room, as my nephew must have fallen asleep. "Are you not giving her the lowdown on what we witnessed?" He flops down on the chair on the other side of the coffee table, bringing his arms behind his head and throwing his feet up on the table.

Clearing my throat, I give him a warning to get those damn shoes off.

"Relax." He got the hint. "Just remember, the ball is in my court to push your buttons this weekend. I'm going to love every second of this. The neighbor seems to have a thing for you. You two must be having a bad day, though. Don't worry, it will turn around. Fate is fate." There is sincerity in his words because that's how he and my sister happened.

"He's probably not at that stage yet." Summer looks to Nash. "You know, realizing it could be the right thing."

"I can tell. Your brother could loosen up a little. At least he has an excellent wine fridge."

My sister returns her gaze to me. "You can't want to be alone forever. No way. One day you will realize work isn't life." She places her hand on my knee then shakes me. "Let's try to get there before a midlife crisis kicks in."

"What a cheerleader," I rebuke.

"I'm totally in your corner. It just seems like you met your match, and look at that, she's a door knock away. Prime opportunity to keep this thing moving."

I groan and stand up, ready to flee. "You're talking as though I'm seeing Esme. You are like ten steps ahead."

"Uh-oh. Keats said steps ahead. Sounds to me that it has crossed his mind. Time to start shipping Keats and Esme." Nash does a little fist pump in the air and grins.

"Wine. We need wine," I declare.

While they both chuckle, I begin to walk away, only to stop.

"Keats, I forgot to tell you something important," Nash calls out and sounds serious. I turn to answer only to see him holding up a tiny little pearl bead between his fingers. "You really need to be careful. Bo has grabby hands." He is trying not to burst out laughing. "I found this in the hall. Huh, seems to be from a woman's necklace."

Nash and Summer now let loose, and the laughter can probably be heard down the street.

Sipping my coffee, I feel rested. After BBQing last night and calling it an early night, we all woke a little while ago. I had to check a few emails, but I'm trying to turn off so we can head to the park later.

Nash is busy offering Bo scrambled eggs from his fork as they sit at my kitchen counter. Everything seems quite tranquil.

Tranquil .

Not possible. An alarm goes off in my head, and my head lolls to the side. "Where is my sister?"

"She went for a walk."

Did she?

I quickly stride straight to my front door and open it, only to hear happy voices.

"You're killing me. My brother tried to destroy your box of chocolate?" My sister seems to be best friends with Esme as they stand on the property line chatting.

Casually, I find myself standing next to my sister. "Morning, ladies, what a coincidence that you two crossed paths at eight in the morning… and I didn't know it was chocolate cupcakes. And I didn't try to destroy your box. Not my fault someone thought leaving mail under the front porch bench on an 80-degree day was a smart idea," I grind out because I'm unable to throw on even a pretend smile. Not when I want to grab Esme's arm, haul her inside her house, and kiss her mouth shut.

Esme ignores me and focuses her attention on Summer. "It doesn't matter. I repaid him in full when someone sent him those popcorn gifts and it got delivered to my house, and I made sure that the hole in the box would make the birds happy with a snack." She shoots her eyes at me before whipping them back to Summer. "He is a saint to animals."

Esme gives me a fake smile. "Oh dear, a little grumpy today? It must be a throwback to middle school drama club when you had to perform with a flute in a lion's costume when you were in the Wizard of Oz school play. The cowardly lion suits you."

I zip my sight to my sister. "You told her that?" I nearly shriek.

She shrugs. "What? It's a classic Keats story. Plus, Esme is so fun, I'm sure she appreciates these stories. A photographer, too. I'll need to get your number so I can book a session. "

My eyes bug out between them, and Summer looks at me oddly. "What?"

"I told Esme that I focus on engagement and family photos only, of course." Esme's stare at me is cheeky.

I take a long breath. I don't like being stuck between these two. Not one bit.

"I think I hear Bo crying," I tell my sister.

"Really? I don't hear anything."

"Yeah, screaming," I say dryly.

She waves me off. "Ah, it's fine. Nash is with him." My sister seems invested in continuing the conversation with Esme. "We are probably heading to the park soon if you want to join. I'm sure my brother will say he hates that idea, but he really loves it." If Summer weren't blood related, then I would kill her just for pulling on my cheek like I'm a child.

Esme continues to smile at my sister. "That's sweet of you but I have yoga, and quite frankly, even outside, your brother seems to be tainting the air."

"Really?" I tear my eyes to Esme, and my sharp glare is returned in full. "You want to go down that road this early in the day? Because I could think of about ten ways of how you ruin living on this peaceful road."

She stands taller and squares her body to me. "Peaceful? That's the choice of words that you would like to use? You're being a bit optimistic there."

"Optimism is up your street if you would like to replay the other night."

A hand breaks our wall, and we both snap our attention to my sister who is smiling nervously. "Again. I don't need to hear rehash number two. I already got an earful yesterday."

Esme steps back and smiles at my sister. "It was nice speaking with you." She takes a few more steps back, and her eyes remain pinned to mine for a few ticks before she turns her back on us.

I watch her leave and hate that I enjoy the view.

My sister interlaces our arms and leads me away. "You are so compatible with her."

Instantly, I look at her strangely. "What planet do you live on?"

She indicates for me to sit on the step with her because a bonding moment is upon us. "Why are you being so stubborn?"

I sigh. "Summer, I haven't been in a relationship in a long time. Why the hell would I even entertain the idea with batshit crazy over there?" Except she's not. Esme is wild, funny, and meets me in the middle of every escapade.

"Liar. You love it. You should ask her out."

I sputter a chuckle. "Why are you pushing this so much?"

"I want to see you happy. I have Nash and Bo, and yes, you are part of my life, but life can be better when you also have your own circle of people close to you. Consider it a bonus."

That does make sense.

"We'll see. I'm kind of busy with the upcoming period. The hockey draft and free-agent player contracts shopping around for teams means a lot of legal documents need to be signed, T's crossed and I's dotted. Not to mention, the sponsors want to relook at terms, oh, and Oliver mentioned about reassessing division of work for next season," I list.

My sister doesn't seem impressed. "Not one thing in that sentence is for you and your personal life. It's really kind of depressing, actually."

I lean back with my arms on a step. "Maybe you have a point. I'll make a note to buy a plant or something next time I'm at the store."

Summer nudges my arm. "You are annoying and making me kind of angry now. Have you not learned from me that snap —" She clicks her fingers. "Everything can change in an instant."

A heavy moment of silence swirls around us. I give her a tight side hug because if anyone can shed some light it's her. She's a widow, after all. "You're right."

"Then open up a little. Tone down the frustration. You two are literally flirting through bickering. The way you look at her and the way she looks at you is so painfully obvious that I'm not sure how your neighbors haven't throttled you two yet. Normally, bystanders are the first to notice."

Smiling to myself, I have to give her props for pushing her agenda on me. The get-her-brother-a-girlfriend agenda.

"Just let us be. Time will tell if we decide to take a step back and be civil. Even if moments have happened that indicate it could be another way, we seem to continue to be only this way."

"Building it up, huh. Just means you are closer to knocking down your wall."

My nose tips up as I observe my sister, oh so wise. "Is it my wall that's the problem? Because I'm not quite sure if it is."

Esme and I are a game of who will falter first. Maybe that's what drives us, turns us on, and if we both admitted it then we would actually have to face one another underneath our exterior. That sure as hell scares me.

"I swear, if next time we visit you don't have a girlfriend on your arm, then I'm going through my contacts to set you up. Except, someone who might be a match for you is a stone's throw away. "

"She'll throw the stone back."

Summer's warm smile spreads. "All the more reason she's good for you. My brother always liked a challenge. Please." She brings her hands together in prayer. "Do it for me. If you see a chance to ask her out or make a move or anything that resembles something worth exploring, promise that you will do it."

My sister is convinced that she's right. No chance of even attempting to tell her she's wrong.

Besides, deep down I know everything she says makes sense.

"Promise me. Please, please, please." Puppy eyes. My sister brought out the puppy eyes.

"You sound like the kid I used to take to Jolly Joe's for ice cream. Will you begin to stomp and whine? I need to make you stop because I only signed up for one baby to visit this weekend, not two." I'm playing this off. "Okay."

Summer throws her arms around my neck. "You won't regret it."

"Discussion over. I need breakfast."

She hops up and holds her hand out. "Me too. Breakfast of celebratory champions."

I can only smile back and follow her, letting my eyes wander to Esme's house for a few seconds, wondering what will happen now that my barrier just got thinner.