Chapter Twenty
“I can’t believe that afterpromisingme you’d be naked you’re actually wearing more clothes than when I left,” Zach complained as he collapsed onto the couch, looking up at Flynn appreciatively. The deep purple shirt he was wearing lookedincredibleon him, like every shirt he owned seemed to.
He knew how to dress.
Unfortunately.
“I said maybe,” Flynn defended, moving to sit down beside him. “I had to do a video call with a client. But there’s always the chance I’ll be nakedlater, if you play your cards right.”
Zach snorted. “Okay, fine, I’ll be on good behavior for potential nudity.”
“How was class?” Flynn asked, spreading his arms along the top of the sofa cushions. Zach decided to take that as an invitation, kicking his shoes off and curling up beside him, resting his head against Flynn’s shoulder.
His heart swelled as Flynn’s arm dropped, landing on his neck, thumb stroking idly. Simple, gentle contact.
This wasnice.
The quiet intimacy was everything Zach wanted from a relationship. He couldn’t wait to get over this one last hurdle and then justbewith Flynn. Then they could have this all the time.
“Good. Interesting. I feel like I’m… learning. For once. Like it’s finallyusefulto hear things about theory and technique and all that. I dunno if that makes any kind of sense to you.”
“No, I get it,” Flynn said. “You need experience for information to be useful.”
“Exactly, yeah.” Zach snuggled a little closer, happily breathing in Flynn’s familiar cologne and the scent of clean skin under it. “So… howdidwe meet?”
Flynn chuckled. “I could ask you the same question,” he said.
“Let’s think about what we have in common?” Zach suggested, though he realized as he said it that he wasn’t really sure of the answer.
“You meanasidefrom my asshole brother?” Flynn asked. “I dunno. Wheredopeople meet, anyway?”
Zach paused to think about that, unsure what the answer was. “I, uh… met Aiden through a hookup app, so…”
“Oh,” Flynn said.
He sounded… disappointed?
Zach’s stomach tightened up. He wasn’t ashamed of it, but he could see why Flynn might not like it.
It suddenly seemed weird that they’d spent so many hours talking, like they were the oldest of friends, but they didn’t even know the basics about each other like where they could realistically have met.
The only thing theydidhave in common was being hurt by Aiden.
“Sorry,” Zach murmured. “I know that’s not helpful.”
The urge to apologize made his stomach tighten up even more, because what he wanted to hear was…
“No need to apologize,” Flynn said. “I know hookup apps exist. I’m not a baby.”
That wasn’t what he’d intended to apologizefor, but it was good to hear all the same. It was what hewantedto hear. Reassurance that this wouldn’t be the thing that was too much for Flynn.
Crap, Aiden really had broken him. He was afraid to tell Flynn what he was really like because he expected to hear that it wasn’t good enough, or to be ignored, or to be dumped for being too complicated or needy or… something.
All he could think about when he looked at a man he liked was how to win their approval. Which wasn’t exactly a great starting point for a serious, fulfilling relationship.
“I guess you don’t need them,” Zach said, trying to push aside the creeping dread that Flynn would break up with him if he was any more difficult than he was already being.
Flynn laughed, which went some of the way to soothing the worst of Zach’s worries. “Not so much that I don’t need them, I just can’t imagine having sex with a stranger,” he said. “I mean, it’s totally fine thatyoucan, I just… don’t get it.”
