Chapter 02 ZEKE
Some days, sitting on a stool in the middle of Maura Solomon’s kitchen could be almost as good as a therapy session. As soon as she swung the salon cape around my shoulders and started trimming, she would get quiet and let me vent. I’d chase verbal circles around both of us until I talked myself into a solution for whatever problem was foremost on my mind, and when I left to go back across the hall, it was with newfound peace and a fresh haircut.
Today wasn’t one of those days.
Though, in her defense, even I found myself insufferable when I got so mired in misery borrowed from things that hadn’t even happened yet.
“So, your parents want you to fly to Boston with whatever of your shit you can carry, and wait for the rest?“
She tipped my head a little to the left and made a sweeping gesture with her scissors at the lop-eared rabbit sprawled in the dog bed tucked between the fridge and the wall. “Just you and Murph in a pile of blankets on the floor in an unfurnished apartment?”
“They want me to stay in a hotel. Hire movers and have them come in and pack everything and ship it across the country. Probably want me to let them unpack it all for me, too.”
“Oh, the horror,“
she teased, “to have someone do manual labor for you.“
Her hazel eyes narrowed, and she tapped the tip of my nose with the end of her comb. “Rich people problems, bro.”
“No, that’s not what I—”
Her snort and pinched lips gave her humor away, and I rolled my eyes.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. You want to do it yourself. Weird, but okay, you do you.”
“I don’t want people I don’t know pawing through my things. I want to pack myself. Use it as a chance to purge and donate so I’m not dragging extra baggage with me.“
Not to mention, I liked the idea of driving cross-country, just me and Murph and twenty-some-odd hours to clear our heads.
“And you don’t want to slum it in a hotel for a few days waiting for the movers,“
Maura supplied with a smirk.
“All the moving will already be stressful enough for Murph. A hotel would only add to it. Not to mention, it’s a stupid waste when I can move myself.“
My nose scrunched when she trimmed a bit of hair off at the front and it tickled on its tumble down my face. “I just haven’t had the time.”
Maura’s expression turned thoughtful—eyes narrowed, lips pursed, cheeks puffed out—while she tugged down two locks of hair to check the length. When she was satisfied they were even, she combed it back away from my face.
“There’s a simple solution to all of this, you know, but you won’t like it.“
She dipped her head so we were eye to eye. “Resume’s full. Residency has been offered and accepted. So, drop the volunteering until you’re settled in Boston.”
“Maura—”
“Your apartment isn’t that big, and you don’t have that much shit. Just stop stuffing your calendar so full, and let me help, and we’ll have you ready to go with plenty of time to spare. And you don’t even have to do it all at once, either. Little by little, Z.”
She made an excellent point, but she was right: I didn’t like her solution. I spent as much time as possible volunteering at the animal shelter walking dogs or taking them on outings or socializing new arrivals. They were always appreciative of the attention, and reminded me time and again why, in my opinion, animals were better than people.
“But I like volunteering. The fraternity was for padding my resume, but the shelter was always more for me.”
She tapped my nose with her comb again. “God, you’re such a goody-two-shoes. How are you even real?“
She tossed the comb and scissors onto the counter and grabbed the hair dryer to blow the last bits of loose hair from my neck and the cape. Once that was done, she undid the snaps at the back of the cape and swung it free.
“You only have a few free weeks before your residency starts, Zeke. Why are you wasting them stressing about a self-created issue instead of letting loose? No classes, no homework, no finals, no grueling hours at the clinic, and no real obligations. So.“
She slapped a palm on either side of my face and squished. “Have some fun for once. Zero expectations.”
I pulled free of her grip. “I happen to find volunteering plenty fun. Who wouldn’t want to snuggle all the dogs and cats? We even had an escaped goat that animal control brought in last week.”
She groaned and scrubbed her hands over her face. “Zeke,“
she whined, drawing the single syllable out longer than should have been humanly possible. “That’s not the kind of fun I mean, and you know it.“
Her hands dropped and she leveled a meaningful look at me. “I mean fun,“
she said with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows.
“I don’t have time for that kind of fun. Besides, I’m too stressed for that.”
“We’re talking in circles now,“
she huffed, throwing her hands up. “Your lack of time is artificial, and you’re always stressed because you don’t have fun. You’re a perpetual wet blanket. I love you, man, but sometimes I just want to shake you until you find some sense.”
“I mean, I burn off stress at the pool, too,“
I muttered.
“Boy, you need stress relief that isn’t a pool. Unless you’re skinny dipping with a hottie and doing things other than swimming.”
At my disgusted look, she cackled so loud that Murph sat bolt upright in his bed. One ear flopped, inside-out, across the top of his head, and he thumped his back feet in irritation at having his nap cut short.
“That’s unsanitary,“
I said to Maura, then dangled a hand down to invite the rabbit over for scratches. “And would get me banned from the gym pool. And probably the whole gym. And maybe arrested for indecent exposure.”
“Ugh,“
she huffed, “how am I even friends with someone so lame?”
I scooped Murph up off the floor and held him to my face to rub my nose against his.
“You were swayed by the bunny.”
She fixed his ear and scrubbed her fingertips over the top of his head. “That must be it.”
She spun away to grab the broom from where it was propped against the wall. While she swept up the hair trimmings, I stayed perched on the stool until she shooed me out of the way.
“Did you at least look at the thing I sent you earlier?“
she asked.
I kept my eyes on Murph to avoid the annoyance I knew she would throw my way when I said, “No, I was too busy to check my messages.”
I flinched away when she smacked me upside the head. “Boy, pull out your phone and look, would you? God.”
With Murph tucked safely in the crook of my left elbow, I dug my phone out of my back pocket and clicked the link in her message. It brought up an ad for Sadie’s Strangers, a couple’s photo session with a randomly assigned partner, specifically for queer folks.
At least I knew what got her started down the “go have a mindless fling” road.
Maura tossed the gathered hair, then pressed herself up against my right side so she could see my phone. When I didn’t move beyond the initial info slide, she reached over and flicked through the sample images. They were well-shot, and the heat between the couples was palpable even through a phone screen. They looked happy, unburdened, and I wanted that, too.
“You should apply,“
Maura said. Her head dropped onto my shoulder, and she tucked her arm around mine. “It would be a good way to have a fun afternoon. Maybe you’ll even get a happy ending out of it if you play your cards right.”
She snickered at my annoyed sigh.
“You just spent the last hour telling me how bad I am at managing my time, and now you want me to essentially go on a blind date?“
My protest sounded weak, even to me. “How do you also expect me to juggle someone wanting more from me than I have to give right now?”
“Oh my god, it’s not an arranged marriage, Z!“
She tipped her head back to look up at me. “There’s no guarantee you’ll get picked, and even if you do, it’s just a photo shoot.”
When I didn’t argue, a slow smile spread across her lips.
“And you want to do it, don’t you?”
The truth was, I didn’t remember the last time I’d done anything frivolous. Between undergrad, med school, volunteering, and internships, there’d been no time for fun for the last eight years. It made for a killer resume, which was a big part of how I landed my residency in Boston in the fall, but it left my social life… vacant. Lonely.
Maybe spending a few hours with a stranger and a photographer wouldn’t be the most practical use of my time, but I was more than overdue.
“You know, I think I do,” I said.
She squealed so loud I went momentarily deaf in my right ear, and she dragged me to the couch.
“Fuck yes. Open up that application, and let’s get this bitch filled out.“
She plopped down and patted the seat beside her. “We’ll make sure you sound irresistible, Dr. Harrington.”
Summer had run itself out in the time since I’d filled out Sadie’s application, and the air blowing in Maura’s open car windows was crisp. It played havoc with my hair, undoing all the effort she’d put into making it perfect before we left her apartment. Which just meant even more fussing when we parked.
The closer we got to the pin Sadie dropped on the map for us, the easier it got to put thoughts of my impending move out of my head. Mostly because nerves were gnawing at the pit of my stomach and making me increasingly queasy as the miles ticked down, and I was too busy focusing on staying calm to think about anything else.
I’d been looking forward to this since I got the email from Sadie a week ago telling me I was one of the two she’d selected for her visit to KC. She’d been patient with all of my questions, and assured me my inexperience with modeling wouldn’t be an issue.
“It’s about being yourself,“
she’d said, “and seeing where the day leads you. And I’ll be there to guide you when you need me to.”
But it had been a long time since I’d made any connections that weren’t professional, and I was out of practice socializing rather than networking. Maura promised me it was like riding a bike, and I would surprise myself. I hoped she was right.
We pulled into the parking lot of Cave Spring Park—empty but for an old Ford pickup and a little red Camry parked in front of the Interpretive Center building—and rolled to a stop at the curb. Maura killed the engine and twisted in her seat.
“Oof, your hair,“
she mumbled.
“You wanted the windows open,“
I reminded her, earning a pinch on the back of my hand for my sass.
“Let me fix this.“
She popped her seat belt off and leaned over the console to rake her fingers through my hair. “How are you feeling about today?”
“Nervous,“
I admitted. “But excited. Thank you for suggesting it.”
“You know I got you, boo, even when you fight me on it sometimes.“
She tucked a last rogue strand back into place, then patted my cheek. “Now go have fun. Maybe make out in the woods a little. And give me all the deets when I pick you up.”
I chuckled. “This is why you wanted to drive me, isn’t it? So you’d get the tea piping hot and have me as your captive until you can wring every last detail out of me?”
“You know me too well.“
She leaned forward to peck me on the cheek, then reached past me to open the door and wave me out. “Text me when you’re ready for me to come get you.”
Out in the fresh air, I took a steeling breath while Maura pulled away and disappeared down the road. I checked my phone to confirm where Sadie asked me to meet her, and headed for the shelter to the right of the Interpretive Center.
I wondered—too late—if I was overdressed in a button-up and jeans. Sadie said to dress casually, but I hadn’t thought to clarify what level of casual.
I momentarily considered texting Maura to beg her to come back and save me from myself. But only momentarily.
Sadie was impossible to miss. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and she stood alone in the shade of the shelter with a camera bag slung over her shoulder and her camera around her neck.
She spotted me about the same time I saw her, and we both waved.
“Zeke, right?“
she asked as I got close enough for her to offer a hand that I took to shake. At my nod, her smile grew impossibly brighter. “I’m Sadie. It’s good to meet you in person.“
She gestured behind her at the path leading into the woods. “Your partner for the day got here a few minutes ago, and I’ve already got him waiting at our first location. Do you have any questions for me before we get started?”
“No, not that I can think of.”
“Perfect. Follow me!”
We set out down the trail, and as we walked, she reiterated what we’d talked about over email: consent was king here, and both I and the other participant were expected to respect each other’s boundaries. If at any point either of us were uncomfortable with a suggested pose or with the progression of the shoot, we would stop. Otherwise, she was there as an observer, and the other participant and I were free to explore whatever chemistry we found between us.
“Just keep it safe for work until after I leave,“
she said with a smirk.
We came to a bend in the trail, and she held out a hand to stop me.
“Okay, from here on, you’ll need to cover your eyes. I want to catch the first look, so no peeking.“
She gestured to my arm. “May I? I’ll make sure you stay on the path.”
I nodded and covered my eyes with my hand, willing my pounding heart to calm down.
She took my arm and started us moving again. Before we turned, she called ahead.
“That means you too, Jericho. Eyes covered.”
A bright laugh met her words, and a voice called back, “Yes, ma’am.”
The nerves returned, fluttering around my stomach and up my throat, and it was all I could do to not trip over the ruts in the trail until we stepped into a patch of grass.
“All right, bear with me while I get you both into position,“
Sadie said as she turned me to face her and inched me along until my back pressed up against someone else’s. Then her hands were gone, and the man behind me shifted as she adjusted him next.
“You can drop your hands, but don’t turn around yet. Let me get set up first.”
She’d positioned us in front of an old freestanding stone fireplace, and the sprawl of golden-leafed trees beyond it made for a striking backdrop to the dark hearth. On my other side, Sadie snapped a couple of test shots and adjusted camera settings and framing.
“I’m Jericho,“
the man behind me said.
“Zeke.”
“Cute,“
he said, and I could hear his grin in his tone. “Should we hold hands for this?”
His hand brushed mine, and my heart hammered even harder. “Sure,“
I croaked, and reached back to link our fingers together, palm to palm. I was acutely aware of how clammy mine were.
Sadie watched us with a smile. “All right, I think I’m all set. You ready to turn around and meet for real?”
No, I wanted to say. Because this was already nice, and I wasn’t sure my heart could handle holding this man’s hand face to face. It already felt fit to climb up my throat and tap dance right out of my mouth.
God, Maura was right, and it had been much too long since I’d had human interaction outside of her.
I took a steeling breath and turned.
I was definitely overdressed.
Jericho’s head barely came up to my shoulder. There was a shock of teal hair peeking out from beneath the hood of his black sleeveless sweatshirt, which was cropped so it only barely covered his ribs and left his midriff bare. An emerald green, scale-shaped pendant hung from a silver chain around his neck and rested just below his collarbone. Ripped jeans clung to his legs all the way down to where they were cuffed above a pair of battered rainbow Chuck Taylor high-tops. He was wiry and petite, and when I finally took in the soft curve of his jaw and his full lips and large chocolate brown eyes, my breath caught. He was one of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen.
The corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled up at me, and all I could manage to say was a quiet, “Hi.”