him.
Hold on, I—
Ernest’s tongue slid like silk into Toby’s mouth and explored as if he had all the time in the world, caressing, coaxing, persuading.
And just like that there was nothing going on in the universe except that kiss. Toby wrapped his arms around Ernest’s lean, hard-muscled frame and quickly discovered parts of his own anatomy that were just as hard. Some tiny thread of sense asked why his pretend boyfriend was sucking his face in a more than real way, but the idea of complaining was not in Toby’s repertoire. Still, Toby’s fast pulse and hard dick were dangerous. They weren’t nearly fake enough.
Finally, Ernest pulled away and blinked down at Toby who couldn’t do more than smile. Vaguely, the sound of voices and footsteps reminded him that they were outside a very popular restaurant in full view of the world. He said, “Two more minutes and they might not have let us come back to Crystal Cove.”
Ernest’s expression morphed between pulled-down eyebrows and turned-up lips. He finally said, “I thought I saw Victoria and Justin coming out of the restaurant.”
Toby glanced around.
“They’re gone now.” Ernest took Toby’s hand and started toward the car.
Toby walked, but his penis wasn’t the only thing confused. Hearing Ernest say the kiss was to impress Toby’s colleagues both made sense and felt like a lie. That kiss just didn’t add up to performance art. But why else would Ernest have kissed him in the middle of a public place? Because he was overcome by throbbing, consuming lust for Toby? Oh right. He should get over himself.
Right in the middle of the parking lot, Toby’s feet just stopped. “Hang on. What about that guy? The one who’s everywhere that we are? The one who’s following you? Or me? Or us?”
Ernest shrugged. “Yeah, I saw him. He was pretty obviously there on a date with the woman next to him. Face it, both Z and Caliente are only about ten minutes apart and they’re both really popular. It’s just a coincidence that the same man was in both places.”
“And the vet too?”
“So he’s got a dog.” Ernest grinned but looked a little uneasy.
“That’s the point. He didn’t have any kind of pet.” His voice rose, and Ernest ran his hands across Toby’s sweater-clad arms soothingly.
“Come on, we decided that guy was probably a salesman, right?” He leaned down and kissed Toby on the nose, which might have made it worth getting hysterical for. “Why would somebody be following us?”
“I-I don’t know.”
Ernest started walking again, leading Toby with him. “I don’t think anyone from your school would go that far.”
Toby chewed the inside of his cheek. “I don’t think that guy could be following us since the first time I saw him at the clinic, there was no us. I hadn’t asked you to coffee. And for the same reason, I don’t think he’s following me. No one knew I’d be at the vet at that time, but you had an appointment. If anyone, he’s following you.”
“Then he must be bored.”
Toby glanced up at Ernest. “Oh I don’t know. Not if he was watching that kiss in the parking lot.”
Ernest gave a crooked smirk. “I hope I didn’t ruin your reputation.”
“If anything, you made it.”
They arrived at the car and Ernest asked, “Do you need me to drive?”
“No. That one margarita has been soaked up by a lot of enchilada and chips. I’m good.” He started the car and said, “Where to?”
“You can drop me the same place you picked me up.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Then no GPS is needed.” Ernest leaned forward and turned on the radio.
Hmmm. Toby pulled out of the parking lot onto the Pacific Coast Highway heading north. The fact was that nowhere that was walking distance of the vet was so complicated to get to that it would tax his phone’s GPS, which basically meant Ernest didn’t want Toby taking him home. Interesting. Why? Was he ashamed of where he lived? Maybe more critically, did he have a wife and kiddies—or a husband and kiddies? Toby wanted to ask, but he couldn’t get the words past his lips. No matter what Ernest was hiding, he’d done so much for Toby that day, no doubt rendering him a true contender for the teaching position. Toby couldn’t repay him. Full stop. Much less by being suspicious of his motives. Ernest had effectively said he had ulterior motives for wanting to appear to be Toby’s boyfriend. Hopefully, Toby wasn’t going to find himself named a correspondent