Page 18 of All's Fair in Love and Pizza
I’d had some hot and uninhibited sexy times, but I’d always been in control. Neither of us was now. The only saving grace was that I knew without a doubt that Mateo felt it too.
I held his face still in an attempt to resurface, licking his jawline and biting his earlobe. “Stop. We’re not doing this here.”
Mateo went perfectly still before pulling away and glancing toward the door. “My cousins are probably debating which one of us is walking out of here alive.”
I didn’t know what to say to that or what should happen next. Talk about awkward.
“Right,” I panted, dragging my erection alongside his.
Our noses brushed and our gazes held steady.
“We’re gonna do this, aren’t we?” he rasped.
“Yeah.”
If he were anyone else, I’d ask for his number so we could meet up later and maybe grab dinner and talk, but…Mateo? I didn’t know what to do with him.
So I pushed away and headed for the door.
Noise from the kitchen and the pizza parlor came rushing in, effectively breaking the spell. What the hell were we doing? This was a disaster in the making.
8
MATEO
Finding out Rob was queer blew my mind.
In theory, I knew I wasn’t the only gay former pro football player out there, but I was still gobsmacked. And thrilled that this was a case of mutual horny attraction. He wanted me.
I didn’t know what to think of this twist, but life went on as usual the following day in a nonstop parade of customers, taking orders, schmoozing, sweeping, and teasing Vanni about bathing in his cologne.
In the midst of everyday chaos, I hoped I’d forget about Rob and quit hoping he’d show up for a repeat…with less clothes.
No sign of Rob. However Amber popped in to chat with Sal and me about her idea for a football fund raiser. She was nothing if not relentless.
“We have to get the local paper involved and of course, start a social media campaign. I can handle all that. All you need to do is say go,” she’d cajoled. “It should be a no-brainer. It’s easy, community-friendly publicity.”
It seemed like more effort than necessary, but then again, Boardwalk Pizza was woefully behind the times when it came to marketing.
My dad and Uncle Sal used to advertise in the yellow pages and in the church bulletin once a month. We always donated and gave back to the community, but not on a grand scale. And we’d certainly never had an ad campaign or done anything out of the box. Christ, we hadn’t changed our logo in sixty-plus years.
So yes, I was intrigued by Amber’s proposal.
Sal was too. “We’ll talk about it and let you know, okay?”
“Wonderful. Let’s chat ASAP!”
Sal furrowed his brow and stared after her, wringing his hands on a dish towel. “It’s not a terrible idea.”
“Yeah, if Mateo doesn’t mind getting his ass handed to him,” Vanni snarked, plucking the dishtowel from his brother and snapping it at my butt.
I scoffed. “Are you nuts? We’d kill ’em.”
“Not in the bagel category, cuz. Your last batch looked like donut holes.”
Sal chuckled. “He’s right. If we’re doing this, you better practice.”
“Hey, ask Rob for a lesson,” Jimmy piped in.
