Page 85 of Valor on the Move
Rafa’s palms were sweaty, and he jammed his hands in his pockets. “No. I mean, yes. I am on my way to Australia.”
“Packing light.” Shane nodded to the duffel.
“The rest of my stuff’s at Adriana’s in LA. I just…I needed to find you. I have to say this, and I don’t expect anything from you.” He’d planned it all so perfectly, but now his mind was buzzing, and Shane was right there in front of him, waiting and watching with an unreadable expression.
Fuck it.
“I wanted to say that I’m totally in love with you. And that might be crazy, and I know I’m young and that you’re older than me and you have a life here, but I want to be with you.” The words tumbled out, and Rafa figured he might as well say them all now that he’d started.
He forced himself to keep Shane’s gaze and went on. “What I really want more than anything is for you to come to Australia with me. And I’m sure that’s not possible with your job, and you probably wouldn’t even want to anyway, but I can’t stop thinking about you. Missing you. And you’re probably so over me anyway, and—”
Shane’s wet lips were salty, and his scruff rasped against Rafa’s skin as he held Rafa’s face and kissed him deeply, the slushee abandoned. Rafa opened his mouth under Shane’s, moaning into the kiss as he yanked Shane against him, not caring if he got wet. His fingers dug into the thick neoprene wetsuit as their tongues met.
Breathing hard when he broke away, Shane pressed his forehead against Rafa’s. “Are you sure?”
“About which part? Yes. All of it. Are you…? Do you…?” Rafa could hardly breathe.
With a smile that creased his cheeks and lit up his face, Shane leaned back to look at him. “I love you, Rafa. I knew it then, but when I moved back here, it became clearer and clearer. I want to be with you. In Australia, or Timbuktu. I don’t care. Anywhere. I want to surf with you and eat everything you want to cook. Want to wake up with you every morning.”
“You do?” Rafa thought he might have floated away, rocketing right up into the California sky if not for Shane’s hands on his shoulders. He wanted to laugh and shout and sing. “But what about your job?”
“My last day was a week ago. Working in the field office here was fine. Pretty much nine to five, investigating local counterfeiting. All the treasury department stuff the Secret Service does that no one really pays attention to. I was going to finish my twenty-five years and get my pension, and then do private contracting. Security consulting; that kind of thing. But I’d have to wait six and a half years, and I decided that’s too damn long. Not when I could have that time with you.”
Rafa was pretty sure his heart was going to explode in a spray of red goo. “You want that? You really want me?”
Shane cupped his cheek with one hand, his blue eyes steely. “Yes. I want you, Rafa. Maybe we’re nuts, but I’ve been miserable without you.” He shook his head, laughing softly. “I quit my job and lined up a security contract with a firm in Sydney. I was going to find you down there. Go knock on the door of the Cordon Bleu if I had to. Hope you still wanted me.” He exhaled. “I was afraid you wouldn’t, but I had to try. My friend said I was sleepwalking through my life, and he was right. You woke me up. I’m all in, Rafa.”
Grinning, Rafa hugged him tightly, burying his face against Shane’s damp neck. He wants me. We love each other. It’s real.
“I’m getting you wet,” Shane murmured.
Rafa pulled back. “Then you’d better get me out of these clothes. Your house isn’t far, right?”
“How did you know? I’m subletting from an old friend.”
“I got your address from Brent Harris. Told him I really wanted to thank you again in person for saving my life.” His happiness dimmed. “I heard Alan pleaded guilty.”
Shane nodded. “Let’s talk about that later.” He smiled softly. “We’ve got time, right?”
Excitement rippled through Rafa, and he licked his lips. “As long as we want. No one to tell us we can’t.”
Shane’s gaze flicked between Rafa’s mouth and his eyes. “Then what are we waiting for?”
“Wow. This house is great. Right on the water.” Rafa kicked off his sandy sneakers and walked through the bungalow’s little living room to the sliding glass doors leading to a deck on the beach.
He peered at the waves glittering in the sunshine. It hadn’t been a long drive from Brooks Street, and Shane had just thrown down a towel on the seat and driven the truck in his wetsuit. Rafa had asked meaningless questions about the area to fill the thick silence and calm his nerves.
