Chuckling, he leaned down to give Francis another kiss.
Chapter Sixteen
Watching all six of his friends file out of a minibus in the yard felt like a miracle. Francis hadn’tactuallyrealized how much he’d missed them before an exhausted Zinnia with her dark pink hair sticking in every which direction stumbled out of the car and into his arms.
“Hey, Fran-fran, we missed you,” she murmured, squeezing him.
“Missed you too, Zin.” He felt tears well up and then roll onto his cheeks as he hugged each and every one of his little band of misfits.
As he let go of Aiden after their hug, he heard chatter and turned to see the Minnie and Zinnia talking to Mark who seemed a bit shell-shocked at their tired enthusiasm.
“That your guy?” Aiden asked, nudging his shoulder. “Hot.”
Francis looked at his lover objectively. Jeans and a flannel shirt over a T-shirt to keep himself warm on the summer night. Mark had that sort of strong but not gym-bunny build that spoke of keeping himself fit for his job rather than for appearances’ sake. His hair was a bit redder than usual, which he’d said was a reaction to all the sunlight they’d been getting. Yes, Mark was gorgeous.
“Yes, yes he is,” Francis murmured.
Mark lifted his gaze from Zinnia and saw him watching. He smiled at Francis, and then returned his attention to the girls.
Once everyone had introduced themselves to Mark and vice versa, they grabbed the luggage and Francis and Mark showed them to their rooms as quietly as possible, as Henrietta and Charles were already asleep.
Francis and Mark went downstairs to lay out the late night meal they’d prepared. There were sandwiches, some tacos, salads, and several kinds of non-caffeinated drinks.
One by one, the guests made their way into the kitchen, picked up something to eat and went into the dining room so they could chat without being too noisy.
“How was the flight?” Francis asked, sipping his herbal brew.
“A bit of turbulence, but nothing too bad,” Joel said, patting Aiden’s thigh.
“Aiden doesn’t like flying,” Francis explained to Mark who sat kitty-corner to him. He looked at Aiden. “Which is why I’m even more grateful you two came along.”
“Even if it’s only for the weekend.” Aiden sighed. “I wish we had the whole week too.”
“Let’s not start this vacation like that,” Rita piped up. “Let’s try to be positive. It’s not often we get to hang out together like this.”
“Yeah, my gorgeous wife is right. We should make the most of it and just enjoy the time we have together.” Jack squeezed Rita’s fingers before going back to stuffing his face with tacos.
Rita smiled at him in a way that spoke of years together, of love and knowing her significant other well enough to see past the little things—like jumping from being sweet to pigging out on food in the middle of a semi-serious conversation.
Zinnia was nodding off in her chair, and Minnie didn’t exactly look energetic, either.
“We’ll head up. Sleep in tomorrow. Then see what we’re going to do,” Minnie said as she nudged Zinnia fully awake.
One by one, or rather two by two, the couples withdrew for the night, and Francis and Mark cleaned up after everyone, then went to Francis’s room to sleep.
* * * *
By late afternoon the next day, Mark seemed amused as hell.
“What?” Francis from his spot on a picnic blanket on the backyard.
“Did you know,” Mark started and handed him a bottle of water. “That each of your friends has given me the shovel talk.”
Francis’s jaw dropped. “All of them?”
“Yup. Each one, separately. I’ve gotten six people telling me they’d bury me if I ever hurt you. All this in the last, oh, eight hours.” Mark’s eyes twinkled with obvious humor, before he got serious and leaned in to kiss Francis. “They love you very much. I’m so happy you have them.”
Francis groaned and flopped onto his back in a dramatic fashion.
