Page 18 of Dare to be Different

Stretching out in bed to the sound of Zahn stomping around the house like he owns it, hard dick in my hand, and a bit of a hangover making my head hurt, I blink at the dark room. Sun isn’t even up yet and my cock’s already hard thinking about last night.

Yeah, Riley was hot, and it was a fun time. I got off. Sure. But it wasn’t anything special. Or maybe it just wasn’t what I’d been expecting after talking to Zahn at the restaurant. I felt a little pathetic about it, but like usual, Zahn didn’t even blink at it. So what, right? I don’t like going to stranger’s places on my own. What’s so weird about that?

“Rem!” Zahn yells from the living room; he stayed in the spare room last night. “We gotta be at the airfield in forty minutes, and it takes at least forty to drive there. Let’s go!”

He’s not usually a slave driver, but damn, something got into him this morning.

I sling my sock feet over the side of the bed and feel the chill come through the floor. My house is always cold. The main heating source is a wood stove, and when I work long hours, it burns down to embers during the day and overnight, so the bedrooms get especially cold. That’s why no one ever shuts a door when they stay here.

“Remy!”

“I’m up, you dick,” I groan at him.

Zahn walks right up to my door with an impatient look on his face. “You want the fire going before we leave or you letting it burn out?”

“Keep it going. Make me coffee, too.”

He walks away without answering, so I hop in the shower and think about how much easier life would be if I had someone else living here with me. If I had a girlfriend, she’d appreciate keeping the fire going while I was gone, and it’d be nice to come home to warmth rather than dark cold sometimes. Is that a terrible reason to get a girlfriend? My profile would say, “seeking fire tender”, and that’s about it. Probably a shitty reason to get a girlfriend, yeah.

Dressed in layers and carrying more, I head into the kitchen. Zahn’s throwing wood into the fire like a good little house boy. “You make coffee?”

“Yeah, you bitch.” He nods at the cup on the counter. “Get your ass up earlier next time. We’re late.”

He’s always been the early riser between the two of us, but come on. It’s not even 5 am. Even in high school, he was up at the ass crack of dawn, even if we didn’t get in from a party until 4 am. I’ve just come to learn he’s incapable of sleeping past the sun, and most of the time, even before the sun gets up.

I pour him a travel mug, make sure the damper on the fire is closed, and rush him out the door like he’s the one who made us late.

Zahn drives us to the airfield as we both drink coffee and try to get over our hangovers. The winter is relentless this year, but it’s made for a lot of fresh powder conditions. Which just reminds me how long it’s been since I’ve been boarding.

“We gotta get backcountry, man,” I tell him, staring up at the mountains with longing. “Now that we’ve got a little more free time.”

“What? You don’t want to spend all our free time fucking up our new arrangement?”

“Well, most of it.” I laugh. “But we haven’t done a heli-trip in a while. We gotta get Lakes back up there.” Shit, Laken on a board isn’t helping my boner situation.

Zahn notices. “Ulterior motives?” He grins.

Jed and Kade would never let that happen, not that I’m interested. I’m fine to admire her body on a snowboard and leave it at that. I can admire Gar on a snowboard just as much. Gar on pretty much anything. Gar just standing there. God.

“What’s up for tonight? We’re both on day runs, right?”

I nod and sip. “Yeah, what’re you thinking? Sick of me yet?” I’m not used to having time to make plans. Typically, I leave early in the morning and get back late in the evening, too tired to do much else.

“Always fucking sick of you,” Zahn says. “But that chick from last night invited us back. If you want.” He looks over at me.

I make a sound that sort of comes out like a groan, but it’s actually just dread. “She wasn’t…”

“Not that one. The one I was with. Taylor. Just her.”

“Oh, well yeah, go for it, man. Have fun.” I wave him off.

Zahn laughs again. “She wants both of us. Together.” He raises a brow at me from the driver’s seat.

“Both?”

He smirks, nodding.

“Yeah, maybe.” Why not? Could be fun, and if I’m going to bang a chick with another dude, I’d rather it be with Zahn than anyone else. “Sure.”

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