Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

He smiled into the kiss, giving Zane more points for the ability to kindle that low-grade heat of anticipation with just a single look or kiss. Ty didn’t have a smart-ass reply for that.
    The languorous kiss went on for long minutes, and when Zane finally pulled back, he ran his thumb along the corner of Ty’s lips. “Ready to honky-tonk, baby?” he drawled, voice husky with arousal.
    “Depends on what that’s code for in Texas,” Ty replied, voice just as thick.
    Zane’s laugh sent a shiver up Ty’s spine. “Every little dirty thing you’re thinking and more.”
    “Then let’s get started.” Ty grinned crookedly; he enjoyed nothing more than when Zane was in this kind of mood. It usually ended up messy. With bruises. And holes in the drywall. It was a good thing they had somewhere private to return to tonight.
    Zane slid the bullrider on and pulled it down low over his eyes. His hair was long enough that it curled under the brim. Ty couldn’t keep his eyes off him as they climbed out of the truck. He would stay in Texas forever, as long as Zane promised to wear a hat all the time.
    Their boots crunched on the gravel. Zane reached out and slid his fingers into the palm of Ty’s hand. Ty looked over at him, finding it suddenly hard to breathe. He squeezed Zane’s hand and Zane smiled as he sauntered toward the door.
    There were fifty or more people sitting out on the patio, waiting to get a table inside. Where the hell had they all came from?
    “Z! Over here!”
    Zane stopped on the rough wooden steps to find the origin of the voice, and then he smiled and waved. He turned to Ty and took his elbow. “They’re waiting for us,” he said, nodding to the door as the others disappeared inside.
    Ty grunted, gesturing for Zane to lead on. It was fascinating to see Zane with people who’d known him before, like watching a wildlife show—prairie dogs in their natural habitat.
    In short order, they arrived at a set of tables with three other couples, one of them Annie and Mark, who gave Ty a bright smile and a sardonic salute, respectively. Annie threw him off his game by introducing him as Zane’s boyfriend. Word had gotten around, because no one even blinked at that. They merely shook his hand and told him their names.
    “Okay, who’s driving?” one of the women asked, raising her voice over the music. She jingled her keys in front of her.
    “That’s me.” Zane doffed the bullrider and held it out over the table, waggling it.
    “I don’t want to see any scratches on my baby, Z,” Joe said in a slow drawl that seemed as stereotypically cowboy as his handlebar mustache and lanky, bow-legged frame.
    “You drive a puke-green Chevy, Joe,” Cody said. He was Joe’s exact opposite: dark hair, dark eyes, clean-shaven, and beefy shoulders. “1980 with the floorboards rusted out.”
    “But the engine is cherry!” Everyone laughed, and Zane waved the hat, now weighted down with other sets of keys, in front of him.
    Ty’s eyes were stuck on Zane, on the crow’s feet that formed when he smiled and the light in his eyes. It was so rare to see him relaxed and having fun.
    Keys stashed in his pockets, Zane sat down next to Ty and sprawled back in his chair as the ladies started suggesting drinks. Ty settled his hand on Zane’s knee, something he’d rarely been able to do in Baltimore.
    “How about margaritas?” one woman suggested. Jill, maybe? He hadn’t quite been able to hear.
    “Beer,” Cody said.
    “Mojitos?” That one was Marissa. Or Melissa.
    “Beer,” Joe said, voice flat.
    “Jack Daniels!” Annie cried.
    “Beer,” Mark insisted.
    Then six sets of eyes turned on him and Zane.
    Ty looked around the table with a raised eyebrow. “I hear beer is good.”
    The guys all crowed in agreement, and Zane gave him a tolerant look of amusement. “Sure you don’t want a peach bellini?” Zane teased.
    “Hey, those things were pretty good. And they kicked my ass.”
    The laughter carried around the table as Zane related the peach bellini story to the others. It was an odd feeling, being able to share experiences like that with other people. Ty was determined to enjoy it while he could.
    No sooner had Zane ordered a pitcher of iced tea, than Jill jumped up and pulled on Zane’s arm.
    “C’mon! No one else will line dance with me.”
    Ty shook his head and reached for the basket of peanuts in the center of the table. Zane could line dance all he wanted as long as they didn’t drag him