Chapter Six
Zach grinned over at Flynn as he saw him enter the coffee shop, waving cheerfully. It’d been a couple of weeks since the wedding, and now he was two days out from starting back at school, and he was glad to see a friendly face.
Mostly, he’d been scrambling to prepare himself, so having a moment to sit down and catch up with the man who’d made it all possible seemed like the best kind of break.
Flynn turned out to be a man who believed in long-sleeved shirts even in summer, although summer in Boston was difficult to describe that way. Zach was wearing a thin sweater himself. He’d been a desert dweller up until a few years ago, and he wasn’t used to the weather here yet. He wasn’t sure he everwouldbe.
Flynn’s eyes sparkled as he saw Zach, a broad grin lighting up his entire face, and yeah, he really hadn’t gotten less attractive since the last time Zach saw him. That was… a little awkward.
Or at least, it was awkward for Zach. As long as he didn’t say anything, it’d be fine for Flynn, and he meant to keep it that way.
“What’re you drinking?” Flynn asked, hovering on the other side of the table Zach had claimed for them.
“Oh, don’t order yet, hold on,” he said, grabbing his bag and going through it until he found the tissue paper-wrapped bundle he was looking for. “I have a gift for you.”
“For me?” Flynn asked as he accepted what probably seemed like a very heavy wad of paper.
Zachreallyhoped he liked it. He’d gotten the impression that it was the kind of thing Flynn would enjoy, but...
“It’s no big deal. It’s actually something I’m experimenting with, so you’re kind of a guinea pig,” Zach said, trying to force himself not to ramble nervously and only half-succeeding. “You’ll have to tell me whether or not you like it.”
Flynn paused, then unwrapped the gift to reveal a ceramic cup in the same blue-and-white dipped glaze he’d admired on the bowls he’d seen. Zach was pleased with the way it’d come out aesthetically, but he wasn’t sure if it functioned quite the way he wanted it to yet.
“It’s a reusable coffee cup,” Zach said, though that was probably obvious. “The top is obviously silicone, but I made the cup part myself. I thought, uh… I thought I might save the world, one cup at a time?”
Flynn turned the cup over in his hands, touching it exactly the way Zach had imagined he would, feeling out the curves with infinite care.
Zach’s neck was suddenly warm, and he scratched it absentmindedly as he watched Flynn check his work. The look on his face said everything he needed to know about whether or not Flynn appreciated it.
“I amdefinitelygetting a lot of use out of this. I drink three or four coffees a day in here,” he said. “But you really didn’t have to give me anything.”
“I wanted to.” Zach shrugged. “You’ve been so good to me. Besides, like I said, you’re testing it for me. This is a prototype. You have to tell me whether or not you like it.”
“I already love it,” Flynn said. “But I will test it out, starting now. How do you take your coffee?”
“With a lot of milk and sugar,” Zach said.
Flynn chuckled. “You’re not sweet enough without it?”
Zach could feel his neck getting hot all over again. His budding crush on Flynn was obviously not going anywhere anytime soon.
“I have to get the sweetness somewhere,” Zach responded, which earned him another smile in response.
“I’ll be back in a second,” Flynn promised, heading to the counter.
Zach definitely didn’t watch him smile and laugh with the barista, who he clearly knew, and he definitely didn’t feel a little flutter in his stomach. Flynn was just a shockingly kind friend, and they barely knew each other, marriage notwithstanding.
Lots of people who didn’t know each other got married in Vegas. It was traditional. They’d even done it onpurpose, instead of by accident.
The point was, it didn’tmeananything. Other than that Flynn was a ridiculously kind man who’d been happy to help Zach out of a tough spot.
Besides, he was straight. And gorgeous. Zach didn’t stand a chance with him.
Flynn passed him a coffee when he came back, sitting down opposite with his own coffee in the reusable cup he’d been given.
“The barista likes this,” he said, nodding to the cup. “I think you’re in with a shot.”
Zach glanced automatically at the barista, who he could admit had a certain appeal about him, but…
