And Call Me in the Morning by Willa Okati Read Free Book Online Page A

shaved, leaving a shadow's worth of fine stubble on his cheeks. The man would look good with a beard, Eli thought. Unlike himself. Eli looked like a horse with a mold problem when he tried facial hair. Then again, Zane made almost everything look good.
     
    Yeah, Eli had noticed these things before. He'd thought everyone had. Now he guessed not.
     
    “Sometimes,” Zane said, choosing his words with obvious care, “the way I see it, a person needs to get out and live some. Try new things. Find out who they are and what they really want.”
     
    “I recognize a segue when I hear one.” Eli sat forward on the couch and mirrored Zane's pose. “So we're going to do this, huh?”
     
    “I think we might,” Zane replied. He watched Eli with the same curious intensity of focus as he had in the bistro. This time, Eli recognized it. This time, the shudder of sensation wasn't fear. Well. Not all fear. Something Eli couldn't quite put a name to. “I think we have to.”

Chapter Six
     
     
     
    Eli waited.
     
    Zane waited.
     
    Eli kept his lips zipped.
     
    “I can outlast you, you know,” Zane said.
     
    Eli sighed. “Fine, I give.”
     
    “About time.” Zane's posture eased. His drying hair fell over his face again. “So I was thinking, uh… Damn.” He bit his lip. “Okay, having a little trouble with the words, now of all times.”
     
    “You, speechless? I should have brought my camera to get a picture.” Eli took a second look at Zane. The man had a tremendous sense of self-presence. Handsome and he knew it, and a sharp dresser within the limits he set himself. Even his lounging-around clothes were chosen to fit and present his best side.
     
    Soft, touchable sweater. Come-hither-and-tap-this jeans. Stubble. Hair in disarray that invited smoothing. Bare feet. Nothing anyone could truly point to as a come-on, but only an idiot wouldn't be able to read between the lines.
     
    Looked like Eli wasn't the only one seeing things in a new light after the kiss at the bistro. Or maybe…
     
    “Can't hide anything from you, can I?” Zane asked with the wry twist of his lips that indicated he knew he'd been made.
     
    “Subtlety is not your middle name.”
     
    “Where'd I lose you?”
     
    Eli waved at the general area of Zane's neckline. “Right around the part when you flashed your tits.” Over Zane's laughter, Eli sighed and made himself lean back on the couch. “I'd just like to go on the record as saying this is nuts.”
     
    “You're not telling me anything I don't already know.” Zane stretched his arms over his head. “Anyway, the outfit. Consider it an experiment on my part. Worked too.”
     
    “How so?”
     
    “You looked.”
     
    “That I did.” And he wanted to look again.
     
    “Shows you have good taste, if you ask me.” Zane eased down next to Eli. He almost seemed to crackle with the kind of energy that meant he was cooking up something interesting. “Here's what I figure. We try it again.”
     
    Eli froze.
     
    Zane jostled Eli. “Hey. This is me here. Stay with me. It's just a kiss. Maybe it will be awful this time. Too much saliva, too much tongue, too much stubble, whatever. We'll know it was a fluke. We write it off to outside influence and get on with our lives.”
     
    “Or…?”
     
    Zane shrugged. Eli envied him his casual acceptance. Or was that a facade? Maybe so. Interesting. The man had balls. Now more of a consideration than ever. “Or we'll have a hell of a lot more to figure out. Are you with me?”
     
    “Zane…” Eli hesitated, one foot off the ledge. “I don't think this is me.”
     
    Zane laid one hand on Eli's knee. “Hey. Don't go and start thinking you're in this by yourself. I've got the other oar, and I'm rowing, brother. I'm rowing hard because these are fucking deep waters.”
     
    “But…?”
     
    Zane slid his hand higher, slowly enough to be stopped. “You're not into guys. But I'm starting to think you're into