There it was. The manly man’s code.

Elvira roped him in and Hawk wasted no time telling on me.

Joker paused, muttered, “Uh-huh.” Another pause before he said, “I’ll tell her.” One final pause before, “Yeah, later.” Then he shoved his phone back in his pocket and declared, “Gwen likes you. Had a good time helpin’ you move. We’re invited over for dinner with our only requirement being bringing Travis. Gwen will sort that shit direct with you.”

“That’ll be nice,” I said carefully. Then went on just as carefully, “Though, before we move on, I just wanted to point out I didn’t actually confess to being a goof.”

He just lifted his brows.

I let that go.

“And I’ll add that was uncanny in an eerie way, Hawk calling you right when we started talking about him.”

“Lee Nightingale is a supreme badass. Hawk’s a bona fide superhero who doesn’t wear a ridiculous suit. This is no joke. He probably sensed our discussion through powers he got when his mom was pushin’ him out and got struck by lightning or something. I don’t ask. He’s an ally. He’s also a brother of Tack’s. I’m just happy he isn’t an enemy.”

“I kinda wanna meet him now,” I shared.

“That’s good, seein’ as we’re goin’ to dinner at his pad.”

“Right,” I murmured.

“Speakin’ a’ dinner, as sweet as it is havin’ you in my arms, your man needs to get fed.”

My man.

I grinned.

He was so totally my boyfriend.

Carson Steele and Carissa Teodoro, boyfriend/girlfriend.

This made me happy.

We even had names that matched!

Joker watched me smile, watched me continue doing it without moving, so he shook me and said, “Dinner, Carrie.”

It was then it occurred to me I was the one who had to let him go and get my behind in gear.

And it occurred to me I had to do that because he didn’t want to let me go.

So that was when it occurred to me I hadn’t kissed my man since I got home from work.

Therefore, I rolled up on my toes in my Converse and did that.

He took over, as he was wont to do.

But I didn’t mind.

Then I got ready and my man took me out for a mountain pie.

* * *

In the dark, in my bed, I lay on top, straddling Joker’s naked body.

It wasn’t late. It wasn’t early. I had a belly full of mountain pie and a body that just sustained two remarkable orgasms. And I’d managed to get the last without causing Joker bodily injury.

I was feeling a strange feeling that was ecstatically happy in a peaceful way I didn’t quite understand. I’d never felt it.

But I had a feeling it was content.

Never having felt that feeling, I wouldn’t have said it was one of the more profound feelings in the myriad you could experience.

But it really, really was.