Love Is Always Write Volume 4

sorry."
    "Yeah, sure you are." Chad's hands were fiddling at his shirt and Zeb looked down. "Hey, what are you doing?"
    "Taking the damned thing off! Then I want you in that bedroom, stripped. If I only get a week I better make good use of it."
    "Chad, stop. We don't have to do this now. You just said 'no' like ten seconds ago, and I want you to be sure this is what you want."
    Chad rolled his eyes. "I wasn't saying I didn't want sex. I just didn't want to jump into it too fast. Or jump you in the kitchen! Waiting until we get to the bedroom seems reasonable enough to me." Okay, so that sounded ridiculous when he said it out loud, but it did make sense to him. Jumping Zeb in the kitchen twenty minutes after walking in? Too easy. Waiting till they can take their time in the bedroom, thirty minutes after Zeb walks in? Just right. After all, it had been three fucking years .
    Zeb laughed, low and throaty, and Chad smiled. He redoubled his efforts on the shirt and slid it down Zeb's shoulders, letting his palms skim all that soft skin on the way. "Missed your tat's too."
    "Really?"
    "Yeah. Tracing them – licking them. They're hours of pleasure," Chad joked, enjoying himself and relaxing now that he had Zeb smiling. He started to do exactly what he described and trace the bright colors, but something caught his eye.
    "What's this?" He asked, tracing the small golden tattoo. It was a stupid question, technically he knew what it was – a padlock, right over Zeb's heart. It hadn't been there the last time he'd seen his lover naked.
    Zeb's voice was quiet. "I got it about five months after getting to California." Chad nodded with understanding, continued to trace around the edge of the lock and swallowed. "You don't need to worry about that though," Zeb said softly. Chad looked back up into Zeb's face, expecting to see a frown at the bad memories, but instead finding a soft smile. "You see, when it was put there you were already inside. You're stuck in there forever, and no one else will ever get the key," Zeb explained, so solemn and heartfelt. Then he leaned and gave Chad a sweet kiss on the cheek.
    "I love you, Zeb." Chad couldn't believe he'd ever been afraid of saying those words.
    Zeb gave him another soft kiss and pulled back. "I love you, too." He took Chad's hand and walked backwards, leading him to the bedroom with a smile on his face that couldn't possibly be any bigger than Chad's.
    ****
    Work sucked. There was no other way to describe it. And here the day had started out so wonderful. Chad had gotten a phone call that morning that made him so excited he would have done a happy dance right there in the lobby if it wouldn't have looked completely undignified.
    Oh God. He couldn't wait to tell Zeb.
    Then he'd gotten into the office and Amy, the office whiner, was complaining her printer wouldn't work. This wouldn't be so bad, except that since the company he worked for wasn't big – and downsizing monthly it seemed – there was no IT department and someone had gotten it into their head that Chad was the best with computers.
    Hence, Amy's problem was now his problem. He'd finally taken care of it, or at least he thought, only to find out when he got to his office that his fax/printer wouldn't read or print either. Turns out it was a network problem with communication and shit, but it took him until almost one p.m. to figure that out. Man, he could not wait to be out of here next week! With any luck, the phone call from this morning would mean he wouldn't have to come back at all.
    He was grouchy and irritable and hadn't even gotten to his 'real' job yet. To top it off he missed Zeb like crazy and the more they talked on the phone the antsier he became to see his lover.
    Five days, he reminded himself. Only five more days and he'd get to see him, touch him. About a week or so ago he'd started to count down the days, and that day's number would become a mantra for him. Anytime something reminded him of Zeb, anytime a memory left him longing or something about his life here left him feeling like shit, he'd repeat it. Five days.
    Right now it had been just over four weeks since Zeb had to pack up and go back on tour. Four very long, excruciating weeks. At first the memories of their week together, fresh and lustful, helped him through.
    And the phone calls… Zeb hadn't been kidding about talking every day. Chad loved that they'd started their relationship back up this way, even if he did miss being able to hold and