Page 59 of Due Dilligence (Takeover)
Chapter Thirteen
Fazil inhaled wet pine–scented air and trod up the path toward what Todd said was a ridgeline. The woods were dense, damp, cool, and green. Ferns everywhere and moss growing on trees like out of some documentary about the primordial era. Beautiful. So different from the forests in Pennsylvania.
He touched the bark of a tree as they passed. They hadn’t talked much after breakfast, and apprehension bit into Fazil like the teeth of a trap. He tried to shake it off. Maybe he needed to let go of the fear and just enjoy being here. Todd was right—they could figure it all out. If nothing else, he had his best friend back.
“Can we take a break?”
“Sure.” Todd slowed his pace and they stopped near a fallen tree.
Todd shrugged off his backpack, opened it, and offered Fazil a water. “Old bones?” The foliage swallowed his quiet voice, but there had been a touch of humor there.
Fazil cracked the bottle open. “Not yet. This place is amazing. I wanted to take it in.” Mist settled near the forest floor despite the brightness of the day. They were working up a sweat even in the cooler temperatures. “Never been in a forest like this.”
“Yeah, it’s different from home.” Todd stood and stretched. “And from California.”
“Is this the rainforest people talk about?”
“Not this part. That’s on the Olympic Peninsula. We should try to see it while you’re here.”
He nodded. “I’d like that. Though I don’t know if we’ll have time...”
Todd finished his water, crushed his bottle, and threw it into his backpack. “Incentive to come back.” A gentle smile, soft like the woods around them.
The thought of leaving Todd was sharp and painful. Fazil handed Todd his empty bottle, then touched some moss on one of the trees, and it wasn’t as soft as he thought it should be, nor crunchy. Squishy? He breathed in the dark, loamy air. “I want to come back. The best times of my life have been with you.”
A whisper of boots on leaves and bark, and Todd wrapped him in his arms. “Same. Despite everything. When we’re good... we’re damn good.”
And when they were horrible, they were really fucking horrible. He hiccupped a laugh. “I’m so afraid I’m going to fuck this up. Sometimes I think a part of me wants to skip ahead and save both of us the heartache.” He shook his head. “Stupid, huh?”
“Oh, God. You.” Warm breath against his neck. “Okay. Let’s pretend.” Todd brushed his lips against Fazil’s skin with each word. “We’ve had some big fight, and we’ve broken up, like we always do.” He slid his hands down to Fazil’s hips and pulled him back. “We move on, right? Either to make-up sex when we realize breaking up was stupid, or to a nice round of revenge fucking.”
Every nerve tingled and he shuddered in Todd’s arms. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.” But damn, did that sound good.
“It’s us.” He snaked his hand under Fazil’s t-shirt, hot fingers pressing against his abs. “Never could keep our hands off each other.”
This whole trip had been proof of that. “Point.”
“We could just be friends with benefits while you’re here.” He slid his hand out and turned Fazil around. They were both very hard. “No harm in that, is there?”
A calm, as thick as the forest air, settled into Fazil. “No.” Not at all. His shoulders loosened.
“I want you in my life. Lover or friend, as long as I canfindyou, Z. Talk to you. Here or across the world, doesn’t matter.” His brow crinkled. “Don’t leave me alone. That’s all I ask.”
Fazil gripped Todd’s shirt and pressed his face against his chest, savoring the warm comfort he found there. “Okay.”
Todd held him. Smoothed his hair—and something splattered on Fazil’s shoulder. Then the back of his neck. On the ground all around them. The whole forest came alive with patters of rainfall. “Look what you’ve done,” Todd murmured.
Fazil choked on laughter. “See? I’m a fuckup.”
“Yes, but you’re my best fuckup.” Todd lifted Fazil’s chin. “Can I kiss you, Z?”
“Please.” Todd’s best fuckup. When those lips pressed against his, he opened himself to Todd.
He’d be happy with that, as long as he wasTodd’s.
***
Todd kissed Fazil while cool rain splattered against them, and for a moment, he considered peeling off Fazil’s clothes and fucking him right where they stood.
