Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

into his shoulder, holding him close. "Sorry, I'm so hungry. It's been too long since we had anything. I shouldn't be so wimpy about this, but I'm dogging today."
    "I know. We've been through a lot, but this is bad. Let's go."
    Usually they had MREs or something else available to eat when they were on a case. This was the first time in years they'd been stuck without any food or any way to catch fish or hunt down an animal. Worse, no water was available. The heat of the semi-arid desert would do them in today if they didn't find liquid of some type.
    "Come on, let's get moving," Mac said.
    They cut loose the dude from the back of the truck, but before they let him go completely, they twisted a length of barbed wire around the guy's leg, holding him in place and forcing him to work to get free, delaying his escape a bit.
    The monastery sat at least thirty minutes away. The desolate roads spooked Mac, leaving an unpleasant sensation winding through him. They hadn't seen a soul and no vehicles had passed them. After fifteen minutes he spied a house off in the distance. Trees sat in rows, like an orchard. He prayed the place was a fruit orchard.
    Mac stopped the truck, both of them getting out and heading towards the rows of trees. "Avocados?"
    "Looks like it. At least it's food."
    "Hope they are ripe enough."
    Grayson pulled one of the fruits from the tree and used his razor blade to cut open the skin, plucking the huge seed from the center before taking a bite of the green fruit. Mac smiled when Grayson's lips curved up, pleasure evident on his face.
    "So good. Take the other half."
    "Na, you finish that one."
    "I insist. We may not find another one this good. We share."
    Mac took the other half from his lover, biting into the soft fruit, closing his eyes as he swallowed. "Good. Wish we had something else like some chips, maybe some salsa and a beer, but this is good."
    "Mmm." Grayson tested more fruit, touching five or ten more before pulling one from the tree. He cut the avocado open, halving the fruit before handing part over to Mac. They ate in silence, devouring three more avocados before prowling closer to the house.
    The place looked deserted. He only hoped the water would be clean. Mac spied a spigot on the side of the house. "You go in first and get the water, I'll stand guard."
    "No man, you need the water as much as I do," Grayson said.
    "Babe, don't argue with me on this. Please get some water. I need you to stay alert and you're starting to slip."
    A dark cloud passed over Grayson's face. Fuck, he'd said the wrong thing. "Wait, don't get mad. You're dizzy, disoriented and you need the water. Please don't take this the wrong way."
    The darkness disappeared as Gray's body relaxed. "Sorry, I don't like being weak. It sucks."
    "I've never seen you as weak, and you needing this water isn't a sign of weakness, it's just how our bodies work."
    "I'm freaking out a bit about our being together. God, this is hard. We're best friends, and I never want to lose that. You mean the world to me. Everything. I can't– I don't want to fuck up and have you walk away."
    It was like all the air had been sucked from his lungs in one second. That Grayson even thought he would leave cut him to the core. Then again, the guy had admitted to being attracted to him for a long time. They'd shared too much to not be real.
    "Gray, I'm not leaving you. I promise we'll talk about everything. We may fight, argue and disagree, but I want you in my life."
    "I'm sorry, I'm– hell, I'm not myself. You're right, I need water."
    With that settled they drank their fill of water, both of them rejuvenated. Mac was a bit surprised no one came out of the house. They were being bold, probably stupid, but at least they were full and their thirst quenched.
    "Let's get out of here, find somewhere to plan, and go rescue those kids."
    "I think we should wait till darkness." Grayson clasped onto Mac's hand as they headed back to the truck. The heat radiated off the ground, leaving sweat trailing down their faces. "No doubt if we went into a restaurant around here together we'd be spotted."
    "Agreed," Mac had been thinking the same thing.
    "One of us needs to sneak into town, find a grocery and buy something to get us through the day."
    "No money."
    "Fuck," Grayson cursed.
    "Stealing down here would be stupid."
    "We can't wait till night to rescue those kids. We need to act now."
    Mac stopped walking, hating that Grayson was right. "More dangerous."
    "Yep,