The image of Zach impaled on his dick still fresh in his imagination, Sam leered at Zach. “I know.”
“Idiot.” He spoke into the phone. “Julian, what’s up?”
Not wanting to eavesdrop in case the conversation was personal, Sam stood, but Zach grabbed him by the arm.
“You’re WHAT?” His voice rose in excitement. “When? Just now? Was it planned?”
What happened?mouthed Sam.
“Nick and Julian got engaged.” Zach’s face shone with happiness, and he nodded while listening. “Yeah, of course I’ll be there.” Flashing a quick look at Sam, he bit his lip. “I’ll ask him.”
“Ask me what?”
“Julian and Nick are having a party to celebrate at their loft tomorrow night. It seems Nick planned everything as a surprise for Julian.”
“That’s great, but what do you need to ask me?” Sam couldn’t imagine.
“They want to know if you’ll come. To the party with me, I mean.”
Completely taken by surprise, Sam gaped at Zach. “Me? I didn’t think Julian even liked me, are you sure he meant to invite me to his engagement party?”
Zach said something inaudible into the phone and shut it off. “One thing you need to know is Julian never says what he doesn’t mean; he doesn’t lie or hide the truth. They want you there, and I’d really like it if you’d come with me.” The hopeful smile made him impossible to resist.
Sam shared Zach’s smile. “I’d love to.” He tugged Zach close, resting his hands lightly on Zach’s slim hips. Nestled close together, their bodies fit, settling into place like it was meant to be. Zach rested his head against Sam’s shoulder and that felt perfect as well. Scary perfect. “So we have the whole rest of the afternoon and tonight together. You know what I think we should do?”
“I can only imagine,” said Zach, the sarcasm evident in his voice. “Do I have three guesses and the first two don’t count?”
This teasing and joking was nice. Normal, relationship-nice to be with Zach and make plans like a real couple. He trailed his hands down Zach’s back to cup his ass. “Well, you do owe me.”
“Mmm?” Zach hummed against the curve of his neck. “I owe you?”
The man was driving him wild, planting tiny kisses along his collarbone, licking up his neck. It took an incredible strength of will for Sam to not simply fling Zach over his shoulder and take him to bed, but having begun to tell his story, he had a sudden desire to free himself of his past. Sam wanted Zach to know Andy had been exorcised from his life and he was ready to move forward. Together.
“Yeah. You promised me a walk on the beach in Atlantic City. Now, I’m not driving to the Jersey Shore tonight, but how about the boardwalk on Coney Island? We can walk on the beach there and have a hot dog at Nathan’s or some fried clams.”
When Zach didn’t answer right away, Sam grew nervous. “It’s nothing fancy like the Hamptons where your friends probably go but—”
Zach cut him off with a kiss, wrapping his arms tight around him. “I can’t think of a more perfect way to spend the day.”
Chapter Seventeen
WhenSammentioned going to Coney Island, Zach wasn’t prepared for what that meant. It had been years since he’d been there; as a child he’d go with his parents and they’d spend the entire day there. His mom would stay under the umbrella reading, and he and his father would hold hands to jump the waves or walk down to the rocks, swinging pails, looking for shells.
As an adult, his usual beach visits involved nothing more than solitary walks along the shoreline, his pants rolled up while the water lapped around his feet. He’d spend his time staring out at the endless horizon or into the depths of the water, wishing he had someone there with him.
Now he did and Zach couldn’t help the excitement trickling through him. He and Sam had packed up Sam’s car with a blanket, a cooler of beer and water, bags of chips and fruit, and headed out. Sam’s hands looked strong and sure on the wheel, and Zach lost himself a bit staring at his fingers. He wanted them on his body, stroking him, touching him, penetrating him.
Conversation flowed easily between them; Zach relayed the story of Nick and Julian finding love after all their years apart and the company Julian had started, creating beautiful bandages for burn victims.
“Those are amazing stories; both Nick and Julian finding each other again and Julian creating such a meaningful business. Most people in that industry don’t care about anything except for pretty faces and perfection. Julian must be a very special man.”
“He is; they both are.” They rode in silence for a while before he spoke again. “People spend so much time worrying about what might happen or could happen, they forget to live in the present, in the now, and they miss so much.”
“How about you?” Sam shot him a quick look when he switched lanes on the Belt Parkway. “Do you think about what might happen in the future too much?”
Staring out of the car window, Zach pondered Sam’s question. The future. Up until now his future mirrored his past: time stretching endlessly, one day to the next, with him vicariously enjoying his friends’ successes. “No,” said Zach. “That wasn’t my problem. I never thought or planned for the future because I didn’t think I had one worth a second thought. It was always going to be my mother and myself.”
A muscle in Sam’s jaw tightened and his brows drew together as if in anger, but he remained silent, continuing the drive along the parkway, passing under the Verrazano Bridge. The afternoon sun glinted along the water, seagulls diving down to skim the surface. Multicolored kites soared in the sky, and Zach watched in wonder as their handlers deftly controlled the strings, their flashy tails swooping high against the backdrop of the clear blue sky.
