Page 39 of Fear of Flying

“Of course,” Drew said. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a variety, plus mimosas—if you don’t mind that with your coffee.” He laughed lightly and then listed off the items he’d gotten as he finished preparing Zach’s coffee to order.

By the time Drew was done, Zach had settled in a chair and started uncovering everything, making sounds of delight that were all too reminiscent of the sounds he’d been making last night during their other activities. “Oh my god—quiche! I’m in love!”

Drew knew he was talking about the quiche, but his heart went on and pretended Zach had meant something else anyway, a pleasant tingle fluttering through his body. “Is that so?” he asked. He set Zach’s coffee mug in front of him and leaned down for a kiss, their lips meeting briefly before he took the seat next to Zach.

“Mm-hmm.” Zach pulled the plate closer to him, hungrily eyeing the two generous slices of quiche lorraine atop a bed of crisp lettuce, and then took a sip of his coffee. “You know, quiche has been in my top five favorite foods for, like, at least two decades, yet my mom never remembers. We even have monthly brunches at her house—and she actually can make a mean quiche—but still no monthly quiche for Zach.” He said the last part pouting, and he looked over at Drew with those sparkling blue eyes of his.

Drew gave him a sympathetic frown. “Noted. Keep Zach adequately supplied with quiche.”

Zach scrunched up his face. “Hmm, adequate might not be... adequate.”

“No?” Drew chuckled. “Abundantly supplied?”

“Now we’re talking.” Zach grinned, his eyes dancing.

Drew’s pulse started racing slightly. God, he was gorgeous. Drew cleared his throat and picked up his fork to spear a halved strawberry from the bowl of fresh-cut fruit. “So, what are the other four in your top five list?” he asked, then ate the strawberry.

“Let’s see...” Zach put his fork down and made as though he was thinking really hard. “Stuffing. Strawberries. Ice cream, especially mint chocolate chip. And New Mexican food.”

Drew couldn’t keep the laugh in. “New Mexican food is a type of cuisine, a whole entire classification of several food items, not a single favorite food!”

“Were you born and raised in New Mexico?”

Drew shook his head and bit his lip to keep from laughing.

“Then you have no vote on this topic.” Zach’s expression was all business, but Drew didn’t miss the twinkling in his eyes or the minute twitch at the corners of his mouth that looked like a smile trying to break free.

“Is that so?” Drew challenged.

Zach gave him a decisive nod, his arms crossed.

“So if I look up the definition of cuisine—”

“Are you trying to lawyer me?” Zach huffed with mock-indignance.

Drew sputtered with laughter. “Having an accurate definition of something is not equivalent to a winning legal defense.”

Zach was having trouble holding on to his serious face, and it was fucking adorable. Drew was so distracted, looking forward to whatever Zach came up with next, that he was wholly unprepared for Zach’s lips to collide with his own. It only took him a second, however, to fall into the kiss. Drew had to work to fight back his smile, though, because, as they’d found out yesterday, it was really hard to kiss sitting next to each other like this.

Ultimately, he lost the battle anyway when Zach pulled back, gave Drew what was maybe supposed to be a forlorn look, and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“You,” he said softly. “You’re silly and adorable and smart and gorgeous.”

“Oh.” Zach blushed, which only made him more attractive. “You are too. All of those things. But also maybe wrong about New Mexican food.”

Drew laughed again and just decided to pull Zach back in for another kiss instead of trying to defend himself any further. The distraction was short-lived, though. Given their positions in the chairs, they couldn’t get too carried away, which was probably a good thing. They still had to eat, after all.

So he gave Zach one more quick brush against his lips and then grabbed the bottle of champagne to pour them each half a glass. As he reached for the carafe of orange juice to complete their mimosas, he smiled warmly at Zach. “So tell me more about your family.”

Chapter Eighteen

Zach

For at least the third time since they’d arrived at the hotel’s indoor heated pool, Zach was grateful for the curious but distinct lack of other people. He knew it couldn’t last forever—not with the hotel full and everyone still stranded from the snowstorm—but god, he was going to enjoy it while they had the place to themselves. Drew’s hands were on Zach’s ass cheeks again, cupping and squeezing them as he pulled Zach’s hips close and got lost exploring that one spot on his neck. Zach moaned, low and quiet, his heart racing and his erection far too hard for such a public location.

“God, you’d think solid bright red swim trunks would maybe be a turn off,” Zach said, his voice thready.

“Mmm... nuh-uh,” Drew managed between wet, open-mouthed kisses against Zach’s neck. “Lifeguards are sexy. Baywatch was a whole thing.” His kisses moved up to Zach’s jawline.