Authors: Cassandra Gold
Quinn's face lit up. "That sounds great."
"Good. We should have time to catch the shuttle, if we hurry." Josh hopped out of his chair, energized. Everything was going perfectly. If he could just manage to avoid the screw-ups of the previous days, anyway...
Quinn hummed under his breath as he stepped out of the shower. He dried off and rubbed at the fogged mirror with his towel. The man who stared back at him from the misty glass didn't look like him. This man was smiling, happy, at ease with the world and his place in it. Quinn didn't know who the guy in the mirror was, but he liked him. Who knew taking a few tiny risks and spending a day having fun could make such a difference?
The day really had been fun. He'd never been on a waterslide before, but the experience had been thrilling--especially the one in which he and Josh had shared a raft. Having Josh close to him like that had been well worth any nerves and discomfort involved.
He closed his eyes and remembered putting sunscreen on Josh's back at the beach. His mind conjured up the image of Josh's skin, warm from the sun and silky-smooth. He couldn't help but enjoy touching Josh, and from the other man's reaction he'd liked it as well. He hadn't tensed up, and when Quinn had given him a massage he'd groaned. Then again, a lot of people probably groaned when they were getting massages. Quinn needed to keep that in mind and not read too much into anything. Josh wanted to have dinner with him, which was wonderful in and of itself. He would take anything else as icing on the cake.
"We are Family" blared from the nightstand, but Quinn didn't answer the summons. If he answered, Stephanie would pump him for information about his day, and Josh. A childish fear of jinxing himself made him not want to discuss anything just yet. He'd learned not to count his chickens before they hatched, so to speak. He also didn't want to be late, and Stephanie was notorious for being difficult to end a conversation with. She let people off the phone if and when she felt like it, and not a moment before.
The phone rang a few more times before it fell silent. The chime for a new voice message went off a couple of minutes later. He threw an apologetic look toward the nightstand. "Sorry, Stephie. I promise I'll fill you in later."
He needed to get moving. He pulled on a pair of boxers and the nicest khakis he'd brought. Deciding what shirt to wear took more time than he wanted to spend, but he wanted to look good. The deep blue polo shirt he selected brought out his eyes, or so Stephanie claimed.
A quick search revealed his wallet, which he stuffed into his pocket. He didn't bother looking for his watch. He was on vacation.
Satisfied, he stepped into the hallway. The sound of a nearby door closing drew his attention to the room next door, where Josh had just come out of his room. Josh wore khakis, too, and a brown long-sleeved dress shirt with lighter pinstripes, managing to be casual and pulled-together at the same time. Quinn smiled. "Good timing."
Josh grinned, looking genuinely pleased to see him. "Yeah. I'd like to say I planned it, but I'm not that smooth."
"I don't know, you got me to go to dinner with you." Were those words coming out of
his
mouth? Quinn was astonished at both the words, and his flirtatious tone. He had never been good at flirting.
Josh pretended to buff his fingernails on his shirt. "And that took some doing, too. You're right. I am that smooth."
Quinn laughed. "And so modest, too. I'm impressed."
"You haven't seen anything yet." Josh's sexy smile and hot stare promised much more to come.
Quinn's heart raced. He could hardly wait.
They arrived at the restaurant early enough to get seated right away. The hostess led them to a small, secluded table off in a corner by itself. After handing them menus and promising their server would be with them soon, she left.
Quinn glanced around at the simple décor of cream and green, with dark wood trim and some nice paintings in gold frames. Well, Quinn liked them, but he wasn't an art connoisseur. For all he knew they could be terrible quality.
Each table had a forest green tablecloth and an unlit candle in a hurricane holder. The place was nice, but not fancy or intimidating. The menu proved to be the same way, full of food Quinn could identify rather than overpriced, unpronounceable items.
A nice-looking young man wearing the traditional waiter's uniform of a white shirt and black pants appeared at their table. "Hi, I'm Miguel. I'll be your server tonight. Can I get you something to drink?"
Quinn ordered an iced tea.
Josh gave Miguel a charming grin. "That sounds good. I'll have one, too."
The waiter nodded. "I'll have those for you in a few minutes." He smiled and left.
Quinn considered Josh's drink order. Had Josh wanted something alcoholic, and been too considerate to order it? Worries like that were one reason Quinn rarely told anyone about his past. He also didn't want to deal with pity, or too many questions. His childhood wasn't something he enjoyed discussing.
There wasn't any point in stressing over Josh's drink choice. He had enough other things to stress himself over. Like what to say.
Fortunately Josh saved him from that particular worry. The other man leaned forward. "So, you're an engineer? What kind?"
His job was safe and familiar ground. He seized on the topic. "I'm an environmental engineer. I work for a firm in St. Louis. We do consulting, samples and testing, and remediation of polluted sites."
Unlike some people he'd told about his job, Josh appeared very interested. "How long have you been in the field?"
"Fourteen years. I enjoy it, even the sample taking and paperwork."
Josh grinned. "You're a better man than I. I hate paperwork."
Totally at ease now, Quinn chuckled. "You're in the wrong line of work, then. Don't doctors have a ton of paperwork?"
Josh nodded. "And how. I try to pass it off to the nurses or my receptionist as often as I can, but I have to do a lot of it myself." He shrugged. "It's worth it, I suppose. I love working with kids."
Quinn liked kids, too, but he was always a little nervous around them. They seemed so tiny and fragile. He of all people knew kids were tougher than they looked, but still.
Before he could come up with a reply, Miguel returned to take their orders. Josh asked for a steak and a baked potato. Quinn ordered the same, with a salad.
When Josh raised an eyebrow, he smiled. "One of us has to eat something healthy, Dr. Hart."
Josh rolled his eyes.
Their food came quickly. While they ate, they made small talk about television shows, books, and movies they liked or didn't like. Neither of them watched a lot of TV due to their busy schedules, but what they did watch was mostly different. Josh enjoyed watching baseball and true crime shows. Quinn preferred basketball and nature programs. They were both addicted to a show that took urban legends and tested them to see if they were true.
Their reading and movie tastes were also different. Josh liked action books and movies. As he put it, "The more ridiculous they are, the better." Quinn stuck mainly to nonfiction and documentaries.
On the surface they had almost nothing in common, other than being gay and male. What about his shy, boring, over analytical self could a guy like Josh find appealing? Unable to ask that question, he ventured, "We don't seem to have much in common."
Josh didn't laugh or blow off his comment. Instead, he looked like he was really considering it. "Maybe on the surface. But that's not such a bad thing. The old saying 'opposites attract' exists for a reason." He paused, smiled. "I'm definitely attracted to you, in case you couldn't tell."
Okay, that was blunt. And arousing. Quinn's heartbeat sped up. "I'm glad. I'm attracted to you, too. Very much."
Josh's smile widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but a loud ring cut him off. He gave Quinn an apologetic look and reached into his pocket. "That's the ringtone for the work calls I had forwarded. I have to take this."
"Of course. No problem."
Josh stood and left the table. Quinn heard him answer the phone, and then he was too far away to hear. Quinn pushed what was left of his food around on his plate, his mind wandering. Josh was interested in him, and had come right out and said so. He wasn't used to such boldness, but he liked it. He wished he could be a bit bolder himself. Then again, he had been more at ease with Josh than he had been with anyone in a long time. He liked that, too.
A few minutes later, Josh returned to the table, his face drawn and anxious. "I hate to do this, Quinn, but I have to cut our evening short. One of my patients is sick and his mom's terrified. I have to call her back in a few minutes to try to calm her down and figure out what she needs to do."
Disappointment filled Quinn, but he managed a smile. "Of course you have to take care of your patients. Are you going back to your room?"
Josh nodded.
"Well, if you have a minute I'll charge this to my room and walk you up." Quinn waited, hopeful.
"That'd be great." Josh's anxious frown softened into a smile.
Flagging down Miguel and charging the dinner to his room took almost no time. Quinn signed the bill and stood. Josh followed suit, and they left the restaurant.
They made their way to the elevator. Quinn pushed the button for their floor. Next to him, Josh stood quiet and tense. Quinn felt as if their roles had been reversed. Up until this moment, he had been the one to be tense and silent while Josh was calm and at ease.
He hated seeing Josh unhappy. Taking another chance, he reached over and took Josh's hand in his. Rather than pulling away or tensing up, Josh laced their fingers together and squeezed. Quinn risked a glance at him. Their eyes met, and Josh's lips turned up into a small smile.
Quinn smiled back, delighted. Then he leaned against the elevator wall and savored the warm pressure of Josh's hand in his. He couldn't remember the last time he'd held hands with anyone. Josh's hand was slim, long-fingered, and strong. It was smaller than Quinn's, but not tiny or fragile in any way.
The elevator dinged, signaling their floor, and the doors opened. They stepped out and walked the short distance to their rooms. At Quinn's door, they stopped.
Josh gazed up at him, his brown eyes regretful and worried. "Thanks for everything. I'm sorry about this."
"It's no problem." Quinn gave Josh a rueful smile. "We seem to have bad luck."
That made Josh laugh. "We do, don't we?" He squeezed Quinn's hand again. "Want to try again tomorrow?"
Of course Quinn wanted to try again. Anytime, anywhere. He nodded.
"Good. How about I come get you for breakfast tomorrow, at about eight?"
"That sounds good to me." Quinn released Josh's hand, expecting the other man to head straight for his room. To his surprise, Josh leaned up and pressed a quick, soft kiss to his lips.
"Night, Quinn." With a last smile, Josh turned and walked the short distance to his room.
Quinn opened his door and went inside. His hand went to his mouth of its own accord. Josh had kissed him. He wanted to run after Josh and kiss him back, to freeze the moment in his memory.
That wasn't going to happen tonight. Josh had a patient to take care of. Quinn sighed and looked for his cell phone. At least he could call Stephanie back before she got mad at him. Preparing himself for loud, excited squealing, he dialed her number.
Gritty, half-closed eyes greeted Josh as he peered into the mirror. The harsh light of the bathroom confirmed what he'd suspected: he looked like hell. He'd been on the phone half the night with Amanda O'Connell, talking her through what to do about little Jimmy's fever and keeping her calm. With her husband in Afghanistan on a fifteen month combat tour and her family hundreds of miles away, she didn't have anyone else. She'd apologized several times for interrupting his vacation. He'd assured her it was fine, and it was. He didn't regret helping her. He couldn't help his disappointment about having to leave Quinn, but he'd done what he had to do.
This morning, what he had to do was be at Quinn's room by eight. He had less than fifteen minutes to make himself presentable, a daunting task. He turned the water in the shower to cool and stepped in, hoping a quick shower would wake him up.
As he scrubbed himself with the citrus-scented soap, his thoughts turned to the night before. The way Quinn had taken his hand in the elevator had been sweet. He'd never been much of a hand holder in the past, but he couldn't deny how warm and good Quinn's large hand had felt covering his.
His mind tried to wander to other places Quinn's hand would feel good on, but he stifled the wayward thought. He didn't have time to jerk off right now, and he didn't want to show up at Quinn's door with a hard-on. He rinsed the shampoo out of his hair, turned off the water, and got out of the shower.
After a quick rubdown with a towel, he brushed his teeth and went back into the bedroom. He dressed in boxer briefs, khaki cargo shorts, and a maroon T-shirt with the logo of the medical center that housed his practice on the chest. He found his wallet, shoved his feet into a pair of sandals, and stuck his sunglasses on his head. Once he found his sunscreen and stuck it in one of the pockets of his shorts, he was ready. The clock on the bedside table read seven fifty-nine.
He hurried next door to Quinn's room, pausing when he got there to take a deep breath and try to look like he hadn't been hurrying. He raised his fist and knocked. The door opened immediately.
"Good morning." Josh tilted his head up to meet Quinn's gaze. The taller man's blue eyes were bright with pleasure.
"It is now," Quinn said, and blushed.
The blush was adorable, especially on such a big guy. Josh grinned. "I agree. Ready for breakfast?"
Quinn nodded and stepped into the hallway, letting the door shut behind him. "How did it go with the little boy last night? Is everything okay?"
Sexy and thoughtful. The man was too good to be true. "Yeah, I'm sure Jimmy's going to be fine. I gave his mom instructions on what to do for him, and when she should take him to the hospital if things got worse. I don't think that will happen, though. She needed reassurance more than anything else."