Page 13 of The Mission

“On the phone with me?”

“Yes.”

“Are you naked?” Arlo asked in a husky voice.

Conrad groaned. “No.”

“Not out for a walk then. Sure you’re not naked?”

“I don’t want to give David any ideas.”

“Do you usually sleep naked?”

Conrad hesitated.

“Could I persuade you to?”

A choked cough escaped from Conrad’s mouth and Arlo moaned.

“Yes,” Conrad said while his brain was still functioning.

“How would you like to ski with me tomorrow?” Arlo asked.

Yes!“I’d love to. Did you notice I avoided the use ofokay?”

“I was hoping you would. I might have taken the offer back otherwise. Meet you at the foot of the Hahnenkammbahn cable car at nine? Look for Rudoph.”

“What?”

“You’ll see.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait. Night, Conrad.”

“Night, Arlo.”

“Sleep tight.”

Conrad actually contemplated locking himself in the bathroom and taking care of the issue in his shorts, but resisted.I’m not that desperate.

Actually, he was.

A depressingly short time later, he was back in bed, but he was fairly sure he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next thing he knew, it was morning. David was gently snoring and Conrad slipped into the bathroom, showered and dressed. When he emerged, David was just stirring but Conrad wasn’t going to wait for him. He headed down to breakfast on his own. He was delighted to find no one he knew in the dining room, though he wouldn’t be that lucky every day.

The others came in as he was finishing. Conrad said “Good morning,” as brightly as he could, then went upstairs to change into his ski gear.

He caught the shuttle bus to the ski rental shop where he’d prepaid for his skis, then made his way to the cable car. Early as usual. He didn’t think he’d ever been late for anything in his entire life, and yet strangely, he didn’t feel proud of that.I’m too uptight.But being on time was ingrained into him.Thank you, shitty parents.

As nine came and went, his disappointment slid further down the scale from mildly upset to deeply distressed. He’d really wanted Arlo to be on time. How long was he supposed to wait?Call him!But he didn’t. He waited. At nine thirty he gave up and made the call except Arlo didn’t answer.Ten more minutes.By then the lines were growing, and he spotted Mark and the rest heading towards him.Shit.

“Waiting for us?” Mark asked.

“No, he’s waiting for me.” Arlo stepped into Conrad’s space and kissed him.

Whoa!A bolt of heat erupted between them and while Conrad had thought maybe it would just be a sweet, short kiss, it was anything but. They were kissing properly, open-mouthed, arms snaking around each other and the world caught fire. Conrad could hear someone whistling, but he didn’t want to stop. Ever. It was Arlo who pulled back, his eyes wide, his mouth curved in a smile.

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