ELEVEN
Keith addedhis contribution to Spike’s kitchen table. Earlier in the week, Spike had invited everyone over to watch tonight’s football game. The last he’d heard, Neil, Salty, and Matt planned to come while everyone else on the team were maybes except for Maddie and Alex. They’d both turned down the invitation, claiming they’d rather watch paint dry than a football game.
“I thought I’d be the last one here.” After leaving work, Keith stopped at Shooter’s and grabbed his takeout order. Unfortunately, after his detour, he’d gotten stuck behind a three-car accident.
Although the game started in about twenty minutes, only Matt’s car was in the driveway.
“Salty needed to stop by Kenzie’s and let her dog out. Neil just said he was running late when he called. Christian let me know yesterday that he’s not coming. His sister and her family made an unexpected stop in town, and he’s spending the night with them. I haven’t heard from anyone else,” Spike answered. “But I don’t expect to see Connor tonight. Becca’s mom is visiting.”
“I’d think that would make it more likely that Connor would be here instead of at home.”
He’d never met Deanna Buchanan, Becca’s mother, but he knew Connor was glad his girlfriend’s mom lived five hours away in Connecticut.
Turning off the oven timer, Spike removed a casserole dish. Cheese and red peppers covered the top of whatever it was. “He’s trying to get on his future mother-in-law’s good side.”
Connor and his girlfriend had been living together for months. So Keith, along with everyone on the team, suspected it was just a matter of time before he proposed. As far as Keith knew, Connor hadn’t even bought a ring yet. But maybe he’d missed the announcement. He had been somewhat preoccupied lately.
“Did Becca take pity on Connor and say yes?” Unable to resist, Keith grabbed a buffalo wing from the container he’d brought. Although not as good as the ones Maddie made, the wings from Shooter’s were excellent, and he’d spent the ride here smelling them.
Matt didn’t waste any time adding a scoop of whatever Spike pulled from the oven to his plate, along with a handful of crackers. “Connor hasn’t asked her yet. But he told me he’s got the ring.”
Spike left his front door unlocked when he expected company, and friends knew to let themselves in. Tonight, Neil entered the kitchen in time to catch only the last part of Matt’s sentence. “Are we talking about Salty or Connor?”
It was a fair question, and one Keith would’ve asked if he’d walked in on the same conversation, because they all knew it was only a matter of time before both guys proposed.
“Connor,” Spike answered. “Salty is waiting until the end of December. Kenzie has always wanted to see the ball drop on New Year’s Eve in New York. So, he booked them a room within walking distance of Times Square that’s costing him a small fortune. He’s planning to ask her then.”
Even in the middle of June, the cost of hotel rooms in New York City was ridiculous. He could only imagine the price tag on New Year’s Eve.
“But Connor won’t wait much longer,” Spike said before opening the box Neil had brought and pulling out a beer bottle. “Experimenting again, or is this the same one you brought last time?”
Keith didn’t get the appeal, because it seemed like far too much work for something you could buy on your way home, but Neil enjoyed brewing his own beer. And his coworkers benefited from his hobby.
“Something new. I played with the recipe for the porter Lyle brews. What he makes is good, but I like this one better.”
Porters weren’t his favorite type of beer, but he’d yet to dislike anything Neil brewed. Keith expected the same to be true of what he’d brought tonight.
“Hey, I forgot to ask. Was Lyle able to help you out?” Spike asked as he walked toward the living room.
When Keith had asked for his help, Lyle agreed without any hesitation. And since the employees in the cyber division rarely failed to get the information they were after, Keith expected to have a lead on the mystery woman. But, unfortunately, he was no closer to an answer now than before enlisting Lyle’s help.
“He tried. But he couldn’t get anything from the company. Something about her using a VPN when she set up her account, so her data is masked; you know how technical Lyle gets when he explains stuff. I only understood about half of what he said.”
If Lyle was passionate about anything, it was technology. But unfortunately, he sometimes forgot that not everyone understood it as well as he did or cared how it worked as long as it did.
Matt added another slice of pizza to his plate before following Spike to the other room. “Who are you looking for?”
Outside of Spike, Maddie, and now Lyle, he had told no one about the little mystery he couldn’t solve.
“Keith has a secret admirer,” Spike said, switching off the music and turning on the television. “She likes to send him erotic text messages.”
He had received nothing since Tuesday night. This time, though, he deleted the attached video rather than hit play. However, it was only a matter of time before he heard from her again. “More like a stalker. And she’s graduated to also sending me pornographic videos of herself.”
Neil grinned. “How do I get a woman to do that?”
Keith would’ve made a similar joke if he was single. But tonight, he didn’t find the comment amusing. “You’d have to pay them.”
“Back to your mystery woman. She sent you videos, and you still don’t know who she is?” Matt asked.