“That guy...” Zack waved his hand uncertainly. Then big bad SEAL took over, shoulders going stiffer than the ironing board attached the the laundry room wall, mouth narrowing to a thin, hard line. “Never mind.”
Oh Pike was so not dropping this. “Did Chris and I hook up later? Is that what you’re asking?”
Zack tugged his ear, the only crack in his formidable expression.
“Is there a planet where that’s your business?” Finished with the cats, Pike stood, pulling himself to his full height—not that it did much to make him equal to Zack, but he tried to make up for that with a killer glare. “Look. I’m beyond grateful for the place to stay. But who I sleep with, that’s my business—”
“Not here.” Zack met him glare for glare.
“Zack. I’m gay. G-A-Y,” he spelled out. Anger gave his words a bite, but at least part of that edge was frustration that no, he had not taken Chris up on his invitation to text. He hadn’t been able to think of him without Zack creeping into his thoughts, and it was Zack’s warm body and scent that dominated Pike’s memories. “I have gay sex. Whether I do it here or go back to someone else’s place, I’m still gay. And I’m not looking to hide that. Or have you vet my hookups. Not even for a sweet housing deal.”
If anything, seeing Zack again, all imposing, even in faded blue jeans and a T-shirt, made Pike more determined to get laid soon. He couldn’t keep mooning over Zack and his muscles and his glower.
“I know.” Zack grimaced, not backing down from the lethal expression. “And I’m not asking you to sign a celibacy promise. Just...be discreet.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Pike said honestly. He’d grown up in Berkeley to an uber-liberal single mom who greeted his ten-year-old crush on a Disney Channel hero with blanket acceptance. Unlike whatever game Zack was playing, Pike hadn’t even glimpsed a closet door his whole life.
“Try,” Zack growled. “I need—”
“Hey, guys,” Josiah called, “some people are here.”
Zack gave Pike one last censuring look before heading out of the room. Pike carefully shut the cats up—one of them getting out in a strange neighborhood was all this day needed. And fuck, why did even arguing with a guy who wanted him to “be discreet” twist him in knots? He should be angry, not mooning over the impossible.
* * *
Zack hurried back to the empty living room, Pike behind him, to find Josiah standing with Senior Chief Weber...and oh fuck. He’d brought his tweenage kid along. And Harper. Fuck. Harper might be his friend, but that didn’t mean Zack was ready for him to meet Pike.
“Nelson,” the senior chief greeted him. “Thought you guys could use some extra hands to make fast work of the unloading. I ran into Harper at the gym, and he offered to tag along.”
Ha. A SEAL did not “offer” with the senior chief, although he had a talent for making a guy think that a direct order was really one’s own idea.
“Happy to help, bro. So is this the new roomie?” Harper asked. He was tall and built like one of Zack’s sister’s Ken dolls—gleaming golden hair and skin with perfectly proportioned muscles. Zack didn’t have to look back over his shoulder to know that Pike was unashamedly checking him out. Because of course he was. It was what Pike did.
And if Zack had been unable to resist doing the same more than once, then Pike was sure to be powerless under the spell of Harper’s charm. Introductions were made all around and sure enough Pike’s gaze lingered just a bit too long on Harper. Pike’s eyes slid to Zack, and Zack gave what he hoped was a subtle shake of his head. Do not flirt. That was all they needed.
“Let’s get this done.” Introductions done, the senior chief rubbed his hands together. “Dorrell can handle the light stuff.”
“Plenty of that.” Pike laughed in a way that made a warning prickle go up Zack’s back. What exactly did Pike have in there? Zack approached the back of the truck like it might be an IED, but Pike’s stuff was stored in perfectly ordinary brown boxes, most of which seemed to have held organic food or Prime purchases in past lives.
Idiot. Were you really expecting rainbow boxes? Loose sex toys? Stacks of go-go shorts?
Wait. He could not be thinking of Pike owning shorts like the guys had worn at the gay bar. And he really couldn’t be thinking about Pike and sex toys in the same sentence. Or getting curious about which ones Pike might own—
“Here.” Josiah interrupted Zack’s internal flailing by unloading a stack of electronic equipment into his arms.
“Whoa. You’ve got Xbox, PS4 and one sick-looking gaming machine.” Harper paused from his own stack of boxes to inspect the goodies Josiah and Zack were carrying. Even Zack had to admit that Pike had a pretty sweet setup.
“Hey, Mountain Boy, do you like pizza?” Harper called to Pike. Zack was glad he had a quasi-normal name—like most of the guys on the team, Harper was totally the type to latch on to a name’s nickname potential.
“Yup.” Pike grinned way too brightly at Harper.
“Good. I’m going to be over. A lot. No one in the barracks has a setup this sick.”
“I love a great gaming night,” Pike said, clearly intent on ignoring the death glare Zack was sending him. “Anytime. And bring your friends.”
No. No. No. Zack did not need Pike spending more time around Harper—or God help him, the rest of the team. “We’ll probably be too busy doing the work around here,” Zack groused.
“No, you won’t.” The senior chief gave him a stern look. “The work will get done. Make sure you get your R and R in too. I don’t want you dragging in drills because you’re killing yourself here.”
“That’s why he has me,” Pike said a bit too brightly. “This place has decent bones. It’ll be fun work.”
Zack did not “have” Pike, but he knew that any protesting was only going to make him look more suspicious, so he settled for a noncommittal noise.
“Which room is Pike’s?” Dorrell called.
“First open door on the left.” Finally, a question Zack could answer. He’d given Pike the larger of the bedrooms, not that any of the rooms were particularly huge. He took his stack into the house, figuring that Pike would want his gaming stuff in the living room, like he’d had it at his apartment.
“No couch?” Harper set the boxes labeled Games in the living room, next to the electronics Zack unloaded. “That’s shitty for gaming.”
“No couch,” Zack said. See, you don’t want to hang out here. All we’ve got is musty carpet that needs pulling.
“I can fix that.” The senior chief passed through, carrying a desk with Josiah. “Dorrell, call your mama. Tell her I’ve got a taker for the couch in the back garage.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Take him up on it.” Harper slapped his back. “Doesn’t matter how crappy—no offense, Senior Chief—free is better than sitting our asses on the floor.”
Damn. Harper seemed pretty serious about making himself right at home.
“I’m down with a free couch.” Pike came through with an office chair that looked like it was made out of spare rocket parts. “All I’ve got is the bed, and we could all squeeze in—”
Zack made a warning growl, a low sound that escaped entirely of its own impulse.
“—but a couch would be way more comfortable,” Pike finished with a grin.
“We could use the truck to pick it up before I head back,” Josiah offered.
Fine. Zack figured he was getting a couch whether he wanted it or not. Might as well save his energy for the next battle.
Pike really didn’t have that much stuff, and it didn’t take too many trips until Harper and Zack unloaded the mattress from the back of the truck. They wrestled it into the house, pausing to dog-leg it into the bedroom.
Pike came up behind them, box labeled Shirts in h
is arms. “Need a hand?” he asked, setting the box down.
“We’ve got it,” Harper answered before Zack could. “Say, Mountain Boy, what part of LA did you live in? I’ve got some friends up there.”
“West Hollywood.”
“WeHo?” Harper snorted. “Dude, that is so gay.”
Zack knew what Pike’s answer was going to be, even as he tried to beam him a cease-and-desist order with his eyes. But Pike being Pike simply gave Harper a bland smile. “Yup. So am I.”
“Dude. Seriously? You fucking with me? You’re a—”
“Harper. You will watch your language around my kid,” the senior chief cut in. And fuck, that meant he had heard Pike’s announcement too. Talk about the opposite of discreet.
“Sorry, Senior Chief.” Harper didn’t sound particularly sorry. They finally got the mattress into the room, onto the frame. Harper dusted off his hands and turned back to Pike. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” Pike set his box next to a dresser whose last good decade was probably before Zack was born. “That going to be a problem?”
“Nope,” the senior chief said firmly before Harper could answer. “Let’s bring in the last few things so we can get that couch.”
Well, that was that. Well, other than the searching look Harper was giving him. “Dude. Nelson. Are you...”
“Nope.” Zack looked away, afraid Harper might see the lie in his eyes.
“Let’s go.” The senior chief motioned them out of the room. “And let’s see if we can tear Dorrell away from your stack of games.” He clapped Pike on the shoulder.
It was a nice gesture, but Zack had a feeling that any chance of Harper coming over to play video games had died a quick death. And why that made him sad, he couldn’t say.
* * *
Pike really liked Zack’s senior chief and his large, active family. Dorrell was a great helper and Pike counted three more kids at the sprawling, newer Southwestern ranch where they picked up the couch. Harper, whose first name Pike never got, had taken off as soon as the truck was unloaded, not staying for the couch run. Pike supposed it was understandable—four guys for one couch was a bit overkill. But still, the guy had been so fun and friendly right up until Pike said he was gay.
And he didn’t care what Zack said about being discreet—Pike wasn’t the type to let a gay joke slide or to lie about who he was. Did he want to hang more with Harper, who looked like he could easily play a Greek god while bench-pressing Pike? Absolutely. But not if it meant hiding who he was. Zack was just going to have to deal.
But Zack really wasn’t saying much at all, especially once Josiah helped them get the couch into the living room and left with the truck, leaving him and Zack like the world’s most awkward newlyweds standing apart in the living room, neither sitting on the misshapen blue plaid couch, neither looking at each other.
“So,” Pike said, trying for some cheer. “Dinner? Want to order a pizza?” Josiah had declined the traditional post-move pizza-and-beer fest because he wanted to get home to Ryan, but Pike was getting hungry and willing to grasp at anything that might help defuse the tension.
“Sure. I’ve got a menu in my room.”
Pike could have looked up the menu on his phone, but he hadn’t seen Zack’s room yet and was beyond curious so he followed along.
Not waiting for an invitation, he peered in the room—the very, very bare room. Neat stacks of clothes in boxes around the edge of the room, precise stacks of what looked to be true-crime and history novels along with a collection of atlases and—
“Holy crap. You just have a sleeping bag for a bed?”
“What the hell, man?” Zack whirled on him. “You can’t knock?”
Pike waved away the complaint. “No. Seriously. Does Senior Chief Weber know that you have no bed?”
“Nah. Not his business.” Zack’s voice was gruff. “Told him I’d buy something. I just haven’t yet.”
“You’ve been here weeks. And you’re out there defending our country and shit. Sleeping bag—”
“Where exactly do you think we sleep on missions? The Hilton?” Zack put his hands on his hips, looming over Pike, who was not going to be intimidated.
“That’s in the field. At home, you deserve a bed. A real bed.” Pike’s pulse sped up. It was a stupid thing to get worked up over, but it was totally making him angry that Zack was coming home after twelve or more hours on duty and sleeping on the fucking floor. Zack was a SEAL, not some homeless guy. And maybe that was the root of Pike’s issue—it reminded him too much of his perennial couch-surfing uncle and his ever-present sleeping bag that accompanied him from relative’s house to relative’s house as he overstayed his welcome. Zack wasn’t some vagabond. He deserved a real bed. “We’re going to get you a bed. Tonight.”
“We are not.” Zack’s stare would be worth a thousand ammunition points in War Elf.
“You are not sleeping on the floor. It’s either we get you a bed, or you’re sharing mine.”
“No, I’m not.” Zack swallowed hard. Bingo. Pike had known the bed comment would get him.
“Then buy a freaking bed.”
“I don’t want something off craigslist—” Zack gave a little shudder.
“I’m with you on that. Nah, we’ll head to IKEA. That’s where I got mine. And I need to buy something to put the gaming stuff on downstairs. I’ll even treat you to meatballs.” This time he didn’t leer about sharing balls with Zack, lest he spook what he was pretty sure was about to be a win. “And you can get a dresser and some cheap shelves too.”
Zack shrugged. “I’ve been so busy with the list of stuff Senior Chief made—”
“And that’s why you’ve got me here now. Really.” Pike couldn’t resist reaching out and rubbing Zack’s muscled shoulder. Jesus, he was tight. “We’re going to make a good team.”
Pike’s stomach clenched. Wow. He really wanted Zack to believe him. He wanted this makeshift partnership to work in a way he hadn’t really expected.
Why are you so reluctant to make this a home, Zack? That was what he really wanted to know. He’d never seen a guy so hesitant to have a place to put his crap. And Zack was so ordered and neat with the rest of his life—he deserved to have a home that reflected that.
“You’re really not going to let up, are you?” Zack sighed. “I’ll grab my truck keys.”
Pike waited until Zack was headed back down the hallway before he fist pumped. He might never win the war with Zack, but he’d take the little victories where he could.
Chapter Six
Zack was really good with maps and directions—his ability to estimate time needed to reach targets was something his teammates relied on. He was proud of his ability to gather intelligence for his team. But even with all those scouting skills, navigating IKEA’s maze of displays and showroom areas was like trying to make headway in a dust storm. Pike, who claimed to love the store in LA, led the way to the cafeteria with confidence. They loaded up their trays with food, and at the cashier stand, Pike got his wallet out to pay.
“I’ve got mine.” Zack dug his own wallet out.
“I promised you meatballs,” Pike said with a wink. “And I always deliver.”
God, this was not the time to call Pike on his promise to not flirt, but that wink and that inflection were doing things to Zack’s insides that he’d rather not think about. Letting Pike pay felt vaguely datelike, which was not how Zack wanted things.
The cashier, a bored girl around his age, ran Pike’s card before Zack could protest again.
“It okay if we sit together? Or is that going to offend your het pride?” Pike laughed as they stepped into the dining area full of crowed white tables, like he had a direct line to Zack’s thoughts.
“We can sit together,” Zack mumbled. Then because it needed saying, he a
dded, “I’m sorry Harper was an ass. He doesn’t mean to be—”
“But he kind of is.” Pike grabbed a seat at a two-chair table and motioned for Zack to do the same. “The senior chief was cool though. At least your whole team isn’t homophobic idiots.”
The careful look Pike gave him made his skin crawl like there were fire ants on it. “They’re not,” Zack said firmly.
“You know Ryan said his team was cool—”
“That’s great for Ryan.” Zack stabbed a meatball far harder than he needed to. A few tables over, a younger Asian guy and an older dark-haired white guy were having an animated discussion over throw pillows matching lighting or some fool thing. Pike tossed a fond look their direction, confirming Zack’s suspicion that they were a couple.
God, he’d gone twenty-plus years not knowing a single gay person, but lately it felt like he was surrounded. Ryan. Pike. The bar. Here in the apparent Mecca of lingonberries and happy domestic couples. He was never ever going to have a stupid public argument with his...whoever.
Of course, not twenty minutes after resolving that, he found himself arguing with Pike in the bedding display area.
“I only need a twin bed.” He pointed at a perfectly serviceable white number.
“Zack. That’s for kids. See the trucks on the blankets? Get a double like what I have—”
“The rooms at the rental are small.”
“My bed fit just fine. Here. Look at this simple wood one.” Pike grabbed his arm and dragged him to another display area, one with a basic pine bed that was probably just a queen but looked like an aircraft carrier compared to the twin. “That would match the trim in the room. And there’s a matching dresser too.”
What? He needed stuff to match now too? That was so... Okay, yeah. He was better than Harper, so no he wasn’t going to think like that anymore. But still. He made a huffing noise instead of saying something regrettable.
“What’s the real deal, man? Don’t want to shell out for bedding? I’ve got extra sheets you can have. And probably a blanket.”
Oh yes, a blanket that smelled like Pike. That was all his evening needed. And Pike being nice was almost worse than Pike being flirty. “I’ve only ever had a twin,” he admitted. “At home, then college and the barracks. I wouldn’t know what to do with the extra room.”
Off Base Page 5