Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

arrived at one of
    their favorite restaurants to find Zane waiting for him in the parking lot.
    The lot was full to the brim and overflowing into the lot of the
    bank next door. A crowd of people waited outside in the cold February
    night, some holding little buzzers to alert them when their table was
    ready, some clutching their coats around them and huddling with their
    sweethearts.
    Ty hadn‟t even been able to find a spot to park his Bronco. He‟d
    driven up to Zane as he sat on his motorcycle—Ty still couldn‟t believe
    he rode the damn thing in the dry winter cold—and was met with a
    sardonic smile. “Valentine‟s Day” was all the explanation Ty had
    needed.
    Both had completely forgotten about the date and the holiday
    weekend. They‟d just wanted a nice quiet dinner after a stressful few
    weeks of barely seeing each other. They were still laughing at each
    other when Ty let them into his row house on North Ann Street. Some
    romantic couple they were, forgetting about Valentine‟s Day and being
    surprised by the crowd.
    “We‟ll just have to make do with what‟s in the fridge,” Ty told
    Zane as he shut the door against the freezing Baltimore winter.
    Zane stopped dead, beaten-up black leather jacket partway
    unzipped, and turned around. “You think I‟d better go to Whole
    Foods?” he asked. He was probably serious. Ty didn‟t cook much, and
    they both knew how he kept his kitchen stocked.
    “Give me a little credit, huh?” Ty told him, borderline insulted.
    “I‟ve got… stuff in there.”
    Zane raised an eyebrow. “Bacon, eggs, cheese, milk, lunch meat,
    bread, Dr Pepper, Mike‟s Hard Lemonade you pretend isn‟t there,
    chocolate chip cookie dough….”
    Divide & Conquer | 33

    Ty tried desperately not to smile, pressing his lips together hard
    despite knowing it caused his dimples to make an appearance. Zane
    knew him a little too well. Except for the chocolate chip cookie dough.
    Zane had bought that for himself and left it here for a snack. He knew
    full well Ty didn‟t like chocolate and that it would be safe. “There‟s
    also pork chops in there. And there‟s some emergency canned veggies
    in the basement,” he told Zane with a mischievous smirk. “Next to the
    bottled water and zombie-piercing rounds.”
    “Good to know we won‟t starve when the zombies attack,” Zane
    said as he shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on the hook next to the
    door, giving Ty a lazy wink over his shoulder.
    “Everyone‟s a critic,” Ty muttered as he watched Zane
    appreciatively.
    Since the awkwardness of New Year‟s, they‟d fallen into a
    comfortable groove, one Ty was happy to stay in. He‟d taken the
    plunge, literally, and told Zane he loved him. Zane had never said it in
    so many words, but not long after they‟d returned from the cruise ship
    after Christmas, Ty had noticed Zane hadn‟t put his real wedding band
    back on. That was enough for him.
    That simple gesture had spoken volumes. Ty knew how much
    Zane‟s wife had meant to him and how he‟d gone through hell after she
    died. Zane had still been wearing that ring more than six years after she
    was gone. Seeing Zane‟s finger bare warmed Ty in a way few things
    could. He‟d never mentioned it, and they‟d never talked about what Ty
    had said that night in lockup on the ship. They were probably better off
    keeping it all under wraps, anyway. Zane was happy and relaxed. Ty
    was happy and… well, still twitchy, but that wasn‟t Zane‟s fault. They
    were happy.
    “So, cook me dinner, and I‟ll repay you with sexual favors.”
    “Sounds good to me,” Zane said as he arched his back and rolled
    his shoulders to stretch. “Any idea what you want?”
    Ty simply smiled. Zane surely knew if Ty had his way he‟d skip
    dinner altogether.
    Zane chuckled. “Food, Grady, food. Or you‟ll have no energy for
    sex later.”
    34 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    “Well, then, get to it,” Ty grunted at him, ushering him through
    the length of the narrow row house.
    In short order, they were both in casual clothes and Ty‟s kitchen
    was lit up and warm with activity. Zane didn‟t cook often, but at some
    point he‟d picked up better than run-of-the-mill cooking skills and was
    generally willing to fix up a quick dinner if they were too wiped after
    work to go out. After foraging through Ty‟s refrigerator, cabinets, and
    pantry, he‟d come up with barbecue pork chops, green beans, a piece of
    a loaf of