Page 60 of Fear of Flying
“Oh, um, no. It’s—he’s Milo. I kind of, uh, accidentally adopted him? I mean, on purpose adopted him, but not—not planned, exactly. I... Maybe I should have waited until I got home. I just wasn’t sure when that would be, and I didn’t want to take the chance that Milo would be gone when I got back.”
“God, you’re killing me, Drew. Next thing you know, you’ll be telling me you’re some huge fan of Superman or something.”
“Zach didn’t tell you?”
“Seriously? You’re serious?” she asked, and when he nodded, her eyes widened and she let out a breath. “Fuck me. Gay or taken. It’s true. It’s fucking true. Got a brother?”
“Married.”
“Fuck.”
Jen’s phone chimed again. “Is—is that him?”
“Most likely.” She finally picked her phone up to read the texts and then put it down again. Her lips twisted in half a frown.
The anxiety and anticipation were churning inside his chest. What had she said to him? “D-did you tell him I’m here? Does he—does he not want to see me?”
Jen gave him a soft smile. “I didn’t tell him, just let him know to stay put for a few. He was, um, about to head out somewhere, but now you can—uh, he’ll be home when you get there.”
Drew let out a shaky breath.
“Look, Drew,” she started, her tone serious as she rested her arms on the counter again, her hands clasped, “your leaving did a real number on him. I’m not sure why you did it—and I don’t need to know, not right now—but I hope you’ve got whatever it is figured out because I don’t think he could handle it again.”
His heart tightened, guilt and anguish tearing at him with the knowledge that he’d caused Zach so much pain. Before he realized what was happening, Jen had moved from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around him. It was all he could do not to cry, especially as she spoke quietly, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.
“It’s not my place to share more, but it’ll be okay. You’ll both be okay.” She pulled back, and he saw her eyes glistening, her face scrunched like she was fighting to keep the tears from falling. “Just love him, you hear me? Love him. And stay.”
He nodded, feeling his chin trembling as he worked hard to keep his own tears at bay. Then he felt a bump against his legs that made him and Jen sway slightly, and they both glanced down to find Milo’s pitiful-looking hound face staring up at them. He bumped into them again and let out a low howl, setting off another chorus of dogs barking.
Jen laughed as she stepped back. “I think Milo is ready to leave,” she said, putting a hand on Drew’s upper arm. “Good god, your arms! I mean, shit. I’m sorry. I was trying to be comforting. But damn.”
Drew chuckled awkwardly, not sure how to handle what seemed to be a compliment.
Jen was shaking her head as she stepped a bit farther away and then stuck her hand out expectantly. “Phone,” she demanded.
Drew unlocked his phone, handed it over, and then waited as she made sure both her and Zach’s contact information were in his phone. Then she texted herself from his phone for good measure.
Hopeful, but still nervous as hell, he took a trembling breath and listened as Jen gave him directions to Zach’s house. Then she was literally pushing him out the door with a wink and an “I’ll see you later” that made his heart hitch, barely able to believe how easy and uncomplicated her acceptance of him was.
The drive to Zach’s modest single-story house was incredibly too short, even after more than ten hours on the road. But as the moment approached, every uncertainty he had was angling to be heard. Milo whimpered and chuffed next to him from the passenger’s seat and nudged his big head under Drew’s wrist, demanding pets. Milo couldn’t possibly know what was going on, but he’d always been good at picking up on people’s emotions.
Drew stroked Milo’s head and gave him a quick scratch behind the ear. Then he looked up at Zach’s house and took a deep, shuddering breath.
“Ready to go change our lives, boy?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Zach
Zach was running on anxiety- and excitement-fueled adrenaline right now. So as much as he loved Jen and was truly indebted to her—especially after all of her unconditional support this past week and then her pushing him to make this trip—he was really, really annoyed with her right now. All he wanted to do was finish packing so he could get on the road. Yet she was adamant that he needed to sign this service contract in person. She hadn’t even told him they’d found a new low-cost vaccination vendor. Then again, he’d been spending more time in the kennels than in the office this week.
God, he was antsy. He still needed to check his list again, though, so he tried to make himself focus on that instead while he waited for her to show up. He wasn’t entirely sure how many days to pack for because... fuck, what if he got there and Drew didn’t want to see him? Wouldn’t talk to him? Hell, what if he couldn’t find Drew to begin with? He only remembered one of the three names in the law firm Drew had mentioned. But what if that wasn’t even where Drew worked? What if he’d made that up? But he wouldn’t have. Would he?
Maybe he should wait, actually plan this trip out, do a little research first. For all Zach knew, Drew would be out of town for business again, and then how much would he have to spend on hotels? God, he would have to spend money on hotels anyway, right? He couldn’t just... Even if Drew wanted to see him, it didn’t mean... Zach couldn’t just presume to stay the night.
Shit. This was a terrible idea. Too risky. Zach wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment kind of guy, at least not with stuff that didn’t have a predictable outcome that he didn’t have to overthink or stress about.
But then his eyes landed back on the bright red swim trunks he’d bought with Drew at the clothing store outlet in the airport, and his mind flashed back to their time in the pool.