Without Reservations

actually—and cows and even dolphins. There are even—what? Why are you laughing?”
    “I had no idea you were such a nerd.”
    “What?”
    Keaton grinned. Oh Lord, how geeky did a person have to be to know about gay animals? Of course, it could be common vet knowledge, but he doubted it. More than likely it was because Chay watched way too much Discovery Channel. Or maybe it was just in the magazine he was reading. “Did you just read that?”
    “No. I was reading an article about new egg incubators and it made me think of the penguins. They actually tried to hatch rocks.”
    Keaton smiled. This was too good. Mr. Popularity was a geek in disguise. “Chay, who invented the printing press?”
    “Huh?”
    “Just answer the question.”
    “Uh…Johann Gutenberg?”
    He suppressed a snicker. “Who invented the sleeping railroad car?”
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    “George Pullman.”
    Damn, this was getting better and better. Keaton smiled so big his face hurt. “How about the cotton gin?”
    “Eli Whitney. Why are you asking me these stupid questions?”
    “How many bones in the human body?”
    “Two hundred and six. There are approximately three hundred and twenty in a canine. About two hundred and fifty in felines and one hundred and seventy-five in equines.”
    This was great! No wonder they got along so well. “You, Dr. Winston, are a geek.”
    Chay rolled his eyes, picked his magazine up and started reading again. “Takes one to know one,” he mumbled under his breath.
    Keaton put the bookmark in his Apache history book and set it on the side table. He grinned like an idiot, but he couldn’t help it. Chay tried hard to hide the fact that he was brainy. Keaton had known he was a smart man, he’d have to be to have gotten into vet school, but he never showed just how smart he was.
    Keaton cackled. “I never said I wasn’t. Hell, I’m the king of geeks! If I wore shirts with pockets, I’d have a pocket protector.”
    Chay groaned and put the magazine over his face. “A pocket protector does not a geek make. Nor does tape on the glasses.”
    “ You have a pocket protector, don’t you?”
    “In my lab coat.”
    Keaton took off the wire-rimmed frames, set them on top of his book and slinked to the couch. He removed the magazine from Chay’s face as he sat next to him.
    Chay pulled him forward and kissed his nose. “All right, Goldilocks.
    Why is it funny that I am not some brainless jock?”
    Keaton blinked, opened his mouth then snapped it shut. He was not going to respond to that nickname. He wasn’t. Chay called him by these ridiculous nicknames to get a reaction out of him. If he ignored the 108 www.samhainpublishing.com

    Without Reservations
    name, it would go away. The only ones that stuck were the ones he complained about. But damn, that was a bad one.
    “Well, Goldy?”
    “No! Absolutely not. No way. You can not call me that.”
    “Or?” Chay had a wicked gleam in his eye.
    “Or I’m going to kick your ass.” Keaton glared, trying to look fierce.
    Chay chuckled. Damn him.
    Maybe if he started thinking up equally obnoxious nicknames to call Chay, he’d stop? Nah, probably not, the man had a perverse sense of humor, he’d probably like it. Keaton sighed.
    Chay dug his fingers into Keaton’s ribs, tickling.
    Keaton squeaked and halfheartedly fended him off. They fell on the floor in a tangle of arms and legs. He tried to tickle Chay back, but Chay had a longer reach and outweighed him by about fifty or sixty pounds.
    He ended up on his back with Chay sitting on top of him. They both laughed. It didn’t take long before Pita got in on the action. He ran around in circles barking his fool head off, licking Keaton’s face every time he ran by it.
    Keaton got a hold of one of Chay’s hands and Pita nipped him on the nose. “Oww!” He stopped struggling against Chay long enough to swat at Pita.
    The puppy dropped his chest to the floor, leaving his butt sticking up in the air, tail wagging, and growled at him.
    Chay laughed harder. “I guess this means we aren’t allowed to play without him.”
    “I guess not. Little shithead bit my nose. Those puppy teeth hurt.”
    Chay stopped tickling him and kissed his nose. “Tell me about it. The little brat got my ear the other night, remember?”
    Keaton chuckled. “Yup, I remember.”
    “It wasn’t funny.”
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    “Yes, it was. The big bad wolf brought down by a