4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Zach
Zach felt his heart still racing in his chest, though it was starting to gradually slow, and his breathing... well, his breathing hadn’t quite felt normal ever since Drew had sat down next to him.
“See? Safe and sound on the ground. That... wasn’t so bad... was it?” Drew said, clearly aware that “not so bad” was epically inaccurate given the slick runway and high winds as the plane had landed.
“Uh-huh. Sure,” Zach replied sardonically.
The plane’s taxiing was a slow crawl across the tarmac, which prolonged their time stuck on board, but honestly, Zach was just relieved to be on the ground again instead of in the air. And it was also insanely, insanely wonderful to still be holding Drew’s hand.
Zach’s breath hitched slightly at the feel of Drew’s thumb stroking lightly across Zach’s hand where he held it, and Zach wondered if Drew even realized what he was doing. God, his skin, his hand, his whole arm and body were afire with tendrils of a tingling sensation, all originating from where Drew was touching him.
Drew looked over at him again and caught his gaze. “Did you, uh, hear the captain say there would likely be some delays because of the severe winter storm moving through? So we’ll be stuck in the airport for at least a few hours, I’m guessing.”
“Ah, I thought I’d heard something about that.”
This small talk was killing him—he longed for the banter and the adorable rambling—but at least Drew was still holding his hand.
“We should have dinner,” Zach blurted out. “I mean, can I buy you dinner? I... this... shoot. What I meant to say was that I want to repay you for the kindness you showed by rescuing me.” Zach moved their joined hands slightly to indicate, then he let out a puff of air as he felt the heat rising in his cheeks. He cleared his throat nervously. “So... can I, uh, buy you dinner?”
There was a pause, and when he finally risked a glance over at Drew, he saw that Drew’s cheeks were a deep hue of pink. God, he was gorgeous, and that smile he was giving Zach right now—the one that seemed as full of nervous energy as Zach—was incredibly sexy.
“Yeah,” Drew said on a breath. “I mean, no—wait!—I don’t think you need to repay me. I’m... really glad I could help you. And god yes, I’d love to go to dinner with you.”
“Okay,” Zach murmured, his heart doing somersaults in his chest. And when he looked up at Drew again, he had the strongest urge to reach right over and kiss him, but god, that—that would be too soon. Way too soon. And just slightly terrifying in the most wonderful way.
Never in his life had he wanted to stay longer on a plane than was absolutely necessary, but right now, sitting next to Drew and still holding his hand, he wasn’t in a hurry to disembark. Even when the plane came to a stop and he heard the ding of the captain turning off the seat belt sign and dozens of seat belts clacking open, Zach didn’t jump up out of his seat in an attempt to be one of the first off the plane. In fact, he seemed unable to move, stuck in his spot, still feeling the warmth of Drew’s hand holding his, still staring, lost in the depths of Drew’s gorgeous gray-blue eyes.
A rumbling cough from the row in front of them startled Zach, pulling him out of his daze. Sal! God, had the older man slept through everything? Zach glanced up briefly and saw the old man straightening and then standing to get his carry-on from the overhead bin. If Sal had been awake for the horrific turbulence and just fallen back asleep, Zach hadn’t noticed.
Zach turned back to Drew and finally, awkwardly released Drew’s hand, smiling at him just as awkwardly. Zach’s hand was warm and a bit damp and feeling slightly cramped from being in the same position for so long. But Drew and his hand and his sexy, adorable rambling had been a godsend... or whatever you called it when you were agnostic and had such amazing, serendipitous luck.
His mind was reeling as they waited for the flight attendants to open the doors and get the jetway secured. God, he was nearly thirty-two years old and he’d never had feelings quite like this before. Attraction, sure. But this intense? Enough for it to have overshadowed his anxiety for half the flight? And enough to make him want to lean right over and kiss a stranger when he’d never kissed anyone in his life? Hell.
Zach took a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm himself, and then Drew’s hand was on his knee again.
“You okay? We’re almost off the plane. Then you won’t have to worry about flying for another”—he glanced at his watch—“well, until whenever the storm blows over.” When Zach looked up, Drew smiled at him encouragingly, completely clueless to the fact that Zach didn’t have much anxiety to speak of right this minute—no, his body was a bundle of excitement and nerves. All about Drew.
“Thanks.” Zach smiled in return, trying to rein in the wild racing of his heart and the tingling in his knee where Drew was still touching him.
The queue of passengers looked like it was clearing ahead, so he nodded to Drew and motioned for him to stand, which he did, and... Damn, Zach had forgotten how tall Drew was—he had to be over six feet—but at least he wouldn’t tower over Zach. Just the perfect height for resting his head on Drew’s shoulder. For stretching up to kiss him. For slipping his hands up around the back of Drew’s neck and staring into his eyes while they slow danced to some sappy love song and—
God, the images needed to stop popping into his head if he had any hope of surviving the next few hours.
Especially... especially since he’d asked the man out on a date. Was it a date? It suddenly really, really felt like a date. His first date. Ever. Would be in an airport. With a stranger.
Zach felt dizzy as he tried to stand, but Drew’s hands were quick to catch and steady him, because of course they were—one hand on his chest making his heart race and another at the small of his back that just... Damn, it was... arousing.
“Whoa, there. I got you,” Drew said, like some swoony hero in a romantic comedy.
Drew couldn’t be real. Actually, Zach must have passed out from anxiety during the flight, and this was some fever dream playing out because Jen had been all up in his head about finding romance with Mr. Great Ass.
Mr. Great Ass named Drew, who was currently staring at Zach with concern, one hand holding the short handle of his messenger bag and the other... god, the other still wonderfully, amazingly touching Zach’s lower back.
“Ah, uh... you ready?” Drew said gently, then cleared his throat and let his hand drop. “You can go first. ”
Zach glanced at the completely empty aisle ahead toward the front of the plane and then back at the packed plane behind them. The people standing and waiting didn’t look too annoyed.
Drew slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and then reached up into the overhead bin and pulled out his winter coat. “Which is yours?” Drew asked.
Zach eyed the line of passengers looming and swallowed back the anxiety as it started creeping in again, then he moved into the aisle ahead of Drew. “Uh... navy blue duffle, and, um, my coat is black—should be right on top?”
Nodding, Drew gathered Zach’s things and held them out for him to grab. Zach might have mumbled a thanks, but he couldn’t be sure, his focus narrowing in on the people behind them who now had to be annoyed. He could feel it in the stale air of the cabin.
Zach hugged his duffle and coat against his chest and then hurried off the plane, giving a quick nod of thanks to the flight attendants on the way out. He practically speed-walked up the jetway, slinging his bag over his head and shoulder and cramming his coat under his arm as he went, so as not to hold up anyone longer than he had already.
When he emerged from the jetway and into the gate area, he glanced around to try and find a clear spot where he could step aside and catch his breath, but there was nothing. The seats for this gate and the surrounding gates were all full, and the airport looked... stuffed with people. So many people. All the people from arriving flights and those whose flights would not be leaving until the winter storm was clear, or whatever metrics the FAA used to make sure things were safe for flying.
God, there were so many people. And it was warm. And the air in the terminal was so thick or something.
He hadn’t even realized that he’d stopped in his tracks until a solid hand grabbed his and a newly familiar voice said, “C’mon, follow me.”
And so Zach did. Through the throngs of people jostling their luggage and in a hurry to get somewhere in the airport, even though the flights were surely all delayed. Drew seemed to be in a hurry too, leading Zach by the hand at a fast clip. Zach’s duffle bag shifted against his hip and side rhythmically as they went, and he tried to focus on that sound and that feeling, putting one foot in front of the other and holding onto Drew’s hand instead of letting the cacophony of other sounds in the airport overwhelm him.
Somehow, blindly following a stranger through the airport felt less anxiety-inducing than just being inside the airport with all its thousands of people and thousands of different noises all happening at once.
“Watch your step here,” Drew said as he paused their movement.
Zach looked down to find they were at an escalator, and without a word, he stepped on. Then they were moving up and up. Once they reached the next floor and stepped off the escalator, Drew led Zach over to a set of vinyl-covered benches and chairs along the wall and sat down, tugging on Zach’s hand to encourage him to sit as well.
“There,” Drew said, and Zach realized he could still hear Drew clearly, even though he was speaking softly now. “Better, yeah?”
Drew let go of Zach’s hand, lifted his messenger bag off his shoulder, and set it and his jacket beside them as he turned to face Zach, one leg hitching up underneath him. Zach took a moment to look around and let his nerves settle, breathing deeply as his eyes wandered the space—some half-level that was open to the other floors and stretching up to the ceiling, making it feel bigger and less claustrophobic. It was less crowded up here, too, and the chaotic din of the airport had faded significantly.
After another deep breath, Zach turned to look at Drew, who seemed to be regarding him with an expression that was part concern and part... amusement, maybe? “How did you know about this place?” Zach asked.
Drew grimaced slightly and nodded his head over his shoulder toward the far wall where there were several sets of glass doors with the name of what looked to be an exclusive club of some sort etched into the surface. “I’ve traveled before with some of the partners at my firm, and they’re pretty big fans of utilizing the club. We, um... you and I, we can actually go in if you—if you want. My corporate card gives me privileges.”
“Doesn’t seem like your kind of place—oh god, that came out wrong. I mean, I’m sure you’re, um... qualified? Or... ah, fancy enough—no, okay, you gotta help me out here because I one hundred percent meant that, um...”
“That I don’t like it?” Drew was most definitely amused now.
“Yeah. That, um, would have been the easier, more succinct way of putting it. Yup.”
Drew’s smile was wide and bright just before he burst into laughter, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Zach’s breath caught as he got his first good, full look at Drew and his dazzling gray-blue eyes and perfect smile. Damn, he was insanely attractive.
Drew’s laughter subsided, and he took a breath before he spoke, his expression sobering a bit. “And you’re right. I feel like it’s pretentious. It’s not really my kind of place. Though it’s entirely possible it was the people, not the place.”
Zach couldn’t help but keep staring. “God, you’re gorgeous.”
Drew’s eyes went wide for half a second before he dropped his gaze, his cheeks flushing .
“Shhhhiiit. I... said that out loud.” Oh god. Zach felt warm everywhere, and he wasn’t sure if he was scared to breathe or he just... couldn’t. And when Drew looked back up at him, Zach could only stutter. “I-I-I’m s-sorry, I j-just—”
“So are you,” Drew seemed to blurt out, his voice low and husky and a little bit shaky.
Zach was still warm everywhere and still couldn’t quite breathe, and now he had no idea what to do or say. “Th-thank you? I, um... I’m—I’m not good at this.”
“At what?”
“At—at”—Zach gestured vaguely—“I don’t even know what.” Flirting? Dating? He was scared to name it in case he was way off base somehow. “Just...” Change the subject. He needed to change the subject. “Um, I guess we should pick a restaurant? S-so I-I can buy you dinner for saving me?”
Some mysterious emotion flitted across Drew’s expression before he smiled warmly and nodded. “Yeah, we should probably pick a restaurant. There’s gonna be a wait everywhere with the weather delays, I’m sure, so we might as well get our name on a list. Um, if there actually are any lists.” Drew pulled out his phone and brought up some app or website, presumably to look up restaurants in the airport.
“Oh, crap! I never took my phone out of airplane mode, and Jen is probably freaking out right now,” Zach said as he fumbled with the flap on his cargo pants to get at his phone. Once it was out, he toggled airplane mode off again.
Drew looked over at him and grimaced sympathetically.
“She’s my best friend,” he explained, even though Drew hadn’t asked for an explanation. But when the phone buzzed what had to be at least a dozen times, the network loading all the notifications that had come in while the phone had had no signal, Zach was sure glad he’d warned Drew.
“Ah, checking up on you?”
“Yeah. She, ah... well, you experienced what it’s like flying with me. Heh. She gives me a hard time, but she loves me.”
Drew’s brow crinkled slightly as if he was trying to recall something. “She’s... the Superman fan, right?”
Zach wasn’t sure why his heart did a little flip at the fact that Drew had remembered that detail, and he was about to ponder it more when his phone buzzed again, this time the longer buzzing of a phone call. Zach looked down at the screen. Jen.
“Ah, it’s her,” he said to Drew, holding up his phone. “I should take this.”
“Of course,” Drew replied. He lifted his own phone. “I’ll, uh, keep looking in the meantime.”
“Hello,” Zach said into the phone, holding it up to his ear.
“OH MY GOD, ZACH. I thought you’d died of a panic attack or something. Jesus, I was worried. I saw about the storm on the news.”
Zach winced and pulled the phone away from his ear briefly as Jen’s voice bellowed through the line. He stood and started moving away from the bench, giving Drew a cringing smile in apology. Drew just waved him off with a smile in return, indicating it was no big deal.
“Zach? Are you there??”
“I’m here, I’m here. I just...” He glanced back at Drew. “I, um, needed to step away to... talk—”
“OH MY GOD ARE YOU WITH HIM?!”
“Oh my god, Jen!” Zach whisper-yelled into the phone. “How the hell did you know that? I didn’t even say anything!”
“Your voice, dude. It got sexy-flirty. And cagey.”
“What does that even mean? I did not change my voice.”
“Oh yes, you did. Sexy-flirty. It sounded exactly like you get when you’re talking about daydream fantasies with Chris Hemsworth. Plus, I know when you’re trying to hide something from me.”
“I—”
“Don’t even deny it, dude. Voice. Changed. Why would you even try to hide this from me? Now SPILL!”
“I... don’t even know what to say,” Zach whispered into the phone, his eyes wandering back to Drew, who looked up and gave Zach a brief smile that set his heart racing again. “It can’t be real life, Jen. God... he held my hand more than half the plane ride, and—”
“EEEEE!! Are you serious right now?”
Zach held the phone away from his ear, wincing again, then moved it back to his ear and whispered furiously, “You’re gonna make me go deaf, I swear.”
“Sorry, sorry. I’ll be good,” she promised. “So was it all, like, romantic and shit?”
“No! I thought I was going to die, Jen. The turbulence was, ugh, so bad. But he talked me through it. And held my hand.”
Zach heard a muffled noise on the other end of the line.
“Did you just scream into your pillow?”
“Yes.”
“My ears thank you.” Zach grinned. “But, um, look, I gotta go. And, yes, before you yell at me, of course I’ll give you ALL the details as soon as I get home. But god... I have another flight ahead of me, and I want to not think about it for a while, especially since all the flights are delayed. Meanwhile, I’m going to go enjoy my kinda-but-probably-not-really-a-date-but-he-did-call-me-gorgeous dinner. Love you, bye!”
Zach hit the end button just as the next squeal was coming through the phone, and he couldn’t help the grin from taking over his face. Jen would kill him later for that, but he didn’t care right now. His heart was still racing as he turned and walked back to where Drew was sitting. Zach sat down, this time facing Drew, one leg hitched up underneath him just like Drew.
“Everything good?” Drew asked, looking up at Zach.
“Yeah. Yep. I’ll just have to remember to text her later when I finally have flight information. She’s my ride from the airport,” he said, sliding his phone into his pocket and then nodding in the direction of Drew’s phone. “Uh, anyway... find anything good?”
Drew’s eyes were sparkling again and staring straight at him. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I did.”