Liam’s tone was droll, and on cue, the other dog—Dave—stepped clumsily onto the sofa and trod on Zac’s balls.
“Shit!” Zac sucked in a breath and tried to gently push Dave off. He didn’t budge. It was like pushing a horse.
Liam took pity on him and tugged Dave away by his collar. “Sorry. Shoulda warned she’s a stamper. It’s her favourite way to wake me up.”
“She?”
Liam cringed. “Yeah. Don’t ever choose a puppy’s name when you’re stoned. You won’t be as funny as you thought you were the next day.”
“You smoke weed?” Zac didn’t know why that surprised him so much. He’d seen Liam smoke fags, and he hadn’t blinked when he’d caught Zac, joint in hand.
“Not really. Cory used to, though. I like the smell.”
That made sense. Zac’s efforts to quit had been hampered by his fondness of the comforting scent. “Well, Dave weighs a ton,” Zac said. “Surprised your dick still works.”
“Oh, it works.”
Zac grinned. “Oh, I know.”
For a moment, they stared at each other, heat rising, and Zac debated whether to ask Liam for a guided tour of the upstairs, or jump him right here, then his stomach rumbled so loud Jazz barked, and the spell was broken.
Liam reached for the plate. “Eat.”
Zac didn’t need telling twice. He picked up one of the huge sandwiches. “I can see chicken. What’s the green stuff?”
“Avocado.”
Fair enough. It looked like jade-green clay, but Zac wasn’t about to argue, and anyway, he was too hungry to much care what he shoved in his mouth.
Lucky for him, the sandwich was fucking delicious, avocado and all. It disappeared in ten seconds flat. Liam pressed another into his hand. “Eat up. You’re gonna need your energy.”
“Yeah?” Zac was entranced by the glint in Liam’s gaze. He made short work of his second sandwich and inhaled the can of weird fizzy herbal drink Liam passed his way, and then waited for Liam to finish.
The moment he was done, Zac grabbed his arm. “Show me upstairs.”
“Upstairs?” Liam wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Tired already?”
“Very funny. Let’s go.”
Liam let Zac drag him to the staircase, then stepped in front of Zac, guiding him up the stairs to a landing the size of Zac’s entire flat. “Where do you want to see first?”
“Don’t care. Show me what you got.”
Liam appeared to deliberate, then he spun around and pushed Zac up against a nearby wall. The air between them shifted, grew heavier, thicker, and suddenly they were right back where they’d started all those weeks ago. “I had so many plans,” Liam said. “I was gonna throw you down and have my way with you the moment you arrived.”
Zac licked his lips. “Why didn’t you?”
“It didn’t seem so important once you were actually here. I mean, I still want to do that, but then I just needed to . . . I don’t know, be with you?”
Liam’s shy grin was unsure, but Zac understood him perfectly. There was almost nothing he wanted more than to physically reconnect with Liam right now, but the quiet half hour they’d spent downstairs meant the world to him. Zac stretched up and kissed Liam lightly on the lips. “Show me around?”
The landing was huge, but there weren’t as many doors as Zac had imagined, only three, and the closest one was ajar. Liam led Zac to it and pushed it open. “This is my room.”
It wasn’t as gigantic as Zac had expected, but every bit as lovely, and with its cosy blankets, piles of books, and distinct lack of TV—so, so, so Liam. The bed was odd, though, and it took Zac a moment to work out why. “Is that made of trees?”
“Yup. Made it myself.”
“Wow. That’s pretty cool.”
