Eggs and Kisses

Chapter 1-3

Dom left Kiko alone after that, getting his own coffee refills and generally staying out of his way. He seemed to be able to pull up his standard smile and bubbly persona when it came to his customers, but Dom wasn’t fooled—he’d been around Kiko long enough now to notice when he was faking it, and Kiko was definitely faking it.

He didn’t think it was the s*x. Kiko had been completely satisfied last night and in a decent enough mood this morning, until they’d gotten to Yolks on You and started considering the Eggs and Kisses event Kiko was having on Friday. But it didn’t make sense for Kiko to hate his own promotional evening. And if he didn’t need to get laid…

“Hey,” said a voice as he was dumping waxy sticker papers into a small trashcan Kiko had been prepared enough to bring over for him. He looked up to see a mother, maybe a couple years younger than him, around thirty. She tossed her shoulder-length brown hair over her scarf and let her child run off to see whatever had captured his interest.

“Yolks on You, can I help you?” asked Dom, picking a paper off his palm. She blinked.

“Oh, you work here?”

Dom bit back a comment about how it looked like it, knowing Kiko didn’t like him antagonizing the customers. He forced a smile.

“Yes, and I’m happy to help with any and all of your egg-related needs.”

The woman let out an awkward giggle but cut it short.

“Any?” she asked, then, “I’m Mandy. Is the handsome face part of the uniform?”

Dom hesitated, unsure how he was supposed to handle this. He generally didn’t have to deal with women trying to get his number, and he was hyper aware of Kiko nearby, then next to him. Kiko put a hand on the small of Dom’s back, briefly, and he watched Mandy blink.

“Oh,” she said, offered an awkward grin, and rushed off to find her kid.

“Flirting with the customers isn’t allowed, Dom,” said Kiko.

“Then why’d you do it with me?” asked Dom, grinning back at him. Kiko rolled his eyes and followed Mandy off to see if he could help her; when Dom looked over at them, he saw her smiling and nodding. Not embarrassed at all. Kiko was good at his job, putting people at ease, selling his stock. She bought several items for her son and then left.

“More coffee, Romeo?” asked Kiko when he made his way back over. “It’s the last of it.”

“No thanks, Romeo,” said Dom, and Kiko cringed. Dom didn’t know why it didn’t occur to him until just now. “You really do hate Valentine’s Day. Wow.”

“It’s a polarizing holiday,” said Kiko. “And what I don’t need right now is rumors all around town about how you’re cheating on me with a soccer mom.”

“I was fine. You didn’t have to come over here.”

“Just get back to work. There are two more boxes downstairs still,” said Kiko.

When he left, Dom pressed stickers to canvas, turning everything over in his mind. Kiko had definitely had a shitty experience some Valentine’s Day, bad enough to go against his nature and be crabby. He normally didn’t care whether anyone tried to flirt with Dom, completely trusted him. No, this was personal for Kiko. And if Dom wanted to get laid again anytime this week, he’d have to do better than gripe about how terrible the day was.

He’d have to plan something. Dom almost laughed at that; Valentine’s Day was a bit of a joke to him, something celebrated only by desperate people. But maybe he could lighten the whole mood for Kiko, make it just ridiculous enough to be special.

“I got it,” he said, stopping by the counter after he’d pulled up another box of canvases. “You need to be treated to something on the fourteenth. When we get home I’ll call and make reservations at Sander’s restaurant.”

“What?” asked Kiko. Sander was his ex and an all-around s**t. He owned a fancy restaurant in Madison and generally only stopped by to insult Kiko or try to hook up with him again. Dom had felt threatened by it over the summer, but it was now well into winter and he’d cooled down, even found it funny.

Dom couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on Kiko’s face.

“What, don’t want to show me off to him? Flaunt it a bit?”

“This is the wrong way to romance me, Dom.”

Dom grinned largely. Kiko’s eyes were narrowed; he crossed his arms.

“We could feed each other over the table. I bet it’d be fun to spite him on Valentine’s Day. Don’t tell me you never thought about it.”

“I don’t want to do anything next Saturday but have a normal evening,” said Kiko. “Which should be fine with you, considering how making plans is not your talent.”

“Ouch,” said Dom and went back to his table. He worked a little more quickly now, mind working out how to next tease Kiko about his aversion to a holiday. He was still mulling over whether he should send an actual card through the actual mail when the main door opened and let in a cold burst of winter air for longer than normal.

Dom looked up and blinked at the sight. Buddy Miller, owner of the Mount Angus Brewing Company, was attempting to coax a black and white goat through the Yolks on You doors. He pulled on its lead and pushed on its rump, talking to it, while the wind blew chill air inside. Dom stared until Buddy had gotten the goat inside and the door closed, then stood.

Whatever this was, it would be good.