“Look,” Zac said with a deep sigh. “I’m not in the most talkative mood, so let’s leave it alone for now, ok?”
Todd eyed him from head to toe, making Zac feel like another project to be renovated. But he was already working on it himself. And he didn’t need someone else’s help.
Zac continued, “But I’m happy to hear how things have been with you. How’s the show been? Any new men in your life? Lay it on me. I’m a great listener.”
Todd beamed. His dark brown eyes glimmering at the request.
They finished dinner and then moved to the spare room or the “nursery chalet” as Todd called it, all the while Zac listened as the other man recounted his latest drag performances, including an embarrassing moment involving an eye full of glitter and a rogue breast plate.
Zac didn’t mind the chatter. In fact, he enjoyed it, feeling grateful to have something to focus on other than regrets from the past.
Chapter twenty-one
Wednesday: Tabitha
“What’sthisplacecalledagain?” Lark asked as she walked arm in arm with Tabitha along an alley off Front Street.
“Okay Poke,” Frankie called over her shoulder, leading the way to supposedly the best sushi in town for an early dinner.
“Cuz that’s not ominous,” Tabitha muttered under her breath.
The rest of the bouldering excursion the day before had been fine, if a little awkward. After Zac dove into the water, insisted on carrying her out, then played doctor by checking her for injuries, they’d eaten lunch and climbed at a different boulder field along HWY 2. There were a few tricky routes Tabitha hadn’t been able to send, but she wasn’t too worried about it. To be honest, bouldering wasn’t her favorite variety of climbing, but the excursion did what it had needed to and she had plenty of material to include it in her article.
But what she wouldn’t be writing about was the way Zac looked after pulling her out of the water. His shirt wet and clinging to his bulky shoulders and chest. She was a sucker for a climber’s body. Always had been, and Zac was an absolutely perfect specimen. But besides his soaked attire, the wild panic in his eyes when she had fallen off the boulder was . . . intense. She’d been fine. Almost enjoyed the little rush of adrenaline she felt from the tumble. And that icy splash as the river engulfed her. She wasn’t in any danger, even as she floundered around to get her feet under her. The water was shallow and there was barely a current to speak of in the area below the route. She imagined that earlier in the summer the river would have been higher and possibly swifter from the spring snow melt.
The only risk to speak of was the risk of all out combustion she barely contained as Zac ran his calloused hands all over her body. While firm and exploratory, he’d run the tips of his fingers over every inch of exposed skin. Not to mention a few inches of unexposed skin.
Tabitha shuddered at the memory of his fingers pressing divots into her hip as he’d pinned her to the crash pad, insisting on making sure she wasn’t broken. And thank god for Lark being there. She’d never been so grateful to have someone playing chaperone in her life. Who knows what would have happened had it been just her and Zac.
Wet and riled.
And alone.
“You cold, babe?” Lark asked when Tabitha shivered. “We could run back and snag a sweater for you.”
“I’m fine.” Tabitha chuckled and warmed because of Lark’s concern. She hadn’t anticipated getting close with the woman, but she welcomed the developing friendship.
“Here we are,” Frankie said. She pulled open the door in one of the random alleys. A couple bags of garbage sat outside the entrance in a puddle of standing water while a cat sniffed at its contents.
“Oh yeah. This place seems entirely on the up and up,” Tabitha grumbled, failing to keep it positive.
Lark waved her hand. “It’s fine. Remember? It’s what's on the inside that counts.”
The three women entered the long and narrow establishment. There were only six tables, each with four chairs of varying colors and shapes, and every single one was full. A line of customers trailed behind the register, chattering excitedly over the almost too loud R&B music playing overhead.
“Busy place,” Tabitha observed. The crowd comforted her nerves about the quality of the food. People wouldn’t keep showing up if the health was questionable.
“Another good sign,” Lark added. She released Tabitha’s arm and wove to the back of the restaurant to grab menus and read the specials board.
“How’d bouldering go?” Frankie asked, casually, keeping her eyes open for the rustle of diners preparing to leave one of the tables.
Even as the back of Tabitha’s neck heated at the memories of the eventful outing, she shrugged, aiming for a nonchalance she wasn’t accustomed to. “It was good. Mellow and fun.”
Frankie flicked her eyes from the departing customers to Tabitha. “I’m not convinced.”
“What? Why not?”
“It’s all right,” she teased and hurried to the emptying table like a little blonde vulture. She began stacking bowls and silverware neatly at the edge for the server to snag as they passed. “I’ll get the straight shit from Lark.”
