Christmas Travel Advisory, page 7
“Yes, please!” Megan bounced excitedly. “And Zach can come with us, can’t he?”
“I want to see the penguins too,” Zach said, sliding his hand into Megan’s and working his way a little deeper into Tim’s heart.
They ate lunch beside the forty-foot-tall Christmas tree in the Walnut Room, and Zach told Megan about the tree the scouts had decorated on Christmas Eve with garlands of popcorn and cranberries and paper snowflakes. Megan immediately wanted to make her own snowflakes, and Tim had to promise to show her how when they had some paper and scissors.
WHEN THEY finished lunch, Zach arranged an Uber to the zoo while Tim took Megan to wash her hands. And if he melted a little more on the inside at the sight of Tim leading Megan toward the restroom, her little hand engulfed in his as she chattered away, that was no one’s business but his own. He didn’t know how much more time Tim would get to spend with Megan over the next few days, but Tim’s question about seeing more of each other and the peck Tim had given him when Zach had replied answered a few of Zach’s questions and gave him hope that he might steal a few more hours with Tim before they returned to Dallas.
And if he was wrong and Tim had every minute booked with Megan, that would be okay too. Because they would be returning to Dallas, and they would have time there.
“Penguins now?” Megan asked when she and Tim returned.
“The car should be here any minute,” Zach replied, showing her the car icon on the app so she could watch it approach. She bounced eagerly on the balls of her feet while they waited, but she settled immediately when they got in the car and Tim buckled her in.
She spent the entire ten-minute drive telling their driver about what they’d done so far and what they were going to do next, much to Zach’s amusement. He made sure to give the driver a generous tip when they got to the zoo, because that kind of patience deserved a reward.
“Where first?” Tim asked.
“Penguins!” Megan said.
“Like she was going to say anything else,” Zach murmured as she grabbed both their hands and pulled them into the zoo.
“I had to ask, just in case,” Tim replied equally softly. Zach grinned and let Megan lead them through the exhibits and light displays.
The penguins in the zoo habitat had a slightly different coloration than the ones in the Macy’s window. Zach had to read the placard to explain that these were African penguins, which were a different species than the ones in the store display.
“It’s like how you have brown hair and Zach has blond hair. Different kinds of penguins look different too,” Tim said. It wasn’t the most accurate explanation, but Megan accepted it, happily watching the penguins hop around the rocks and hurtle through the water.
Tim was finally able to convince Megan to visit some of the other animals. She enjoyed the chimpanzees and zebras and giraffes, and laughed at the antics of a family of lemurs, but not even the offer of a ride on the zoo train could keep her from dragging them back to the penguin exhibit again.
“Just as well. I wasn’t especially impressed with my first train ride,” Tim murmured to Zach.
“If I can get us a private car on the way back, you might change your mind,” Zach said, though they hadn’t actually discussed how they were going to get back to Dallas yet. He’d do his best to convince Tim to travel back with him.
Megan wandered back to them from her vantage point for the penguins and held her arms up for Tim to carry her. “Tired, peanut?” he asked.
“Not a peanut,” she grumbled as he settled her on his hip, but she’d already lowered her head to Tim’s shoulder and her eyes had closed.
“We’ve had a busy day. Let’s get you back to Gramma and Grampa’s so you can get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow afternoon we can go to the aquarium and see the penguins there,” Tim said.
“Penguins,” Megan agreed without opening her eyes.
“I’ll get an Uber,” Zach said. “You have your hands full.”
“Thanks,” Tim replied and gave Zach the address for Megan’s grandparents’ house.
Zach typed it in, including a request for a car seat for Megan, and added a second stop at his hotel. No reason to wait there for another car, after all. And maybe, if he was lucky, he wouldn’t be going to the hotel alone. “Are you staying with Megan again tonight?” he asked as they walked toward the entrance of the zoo to meet the Uber driver.
“God, no,” Tim said. “One night was enough. I hated missing Christmas morning, but at least I didn’t have to stay there two nights. Even when Melissa and I were married, I hated staying over with her parents. The only good thing I’ve ever done in their eyes is give them Megan.”
“Then in that case, if I’m not being presumptuous, maybe you’d like to come back to my hotel tonight?” Zach asked.
The Uber arrived before Tim could answer, and it took a moment to get Megan inside and buckled into the car seat, where she promptly fell back asleep. Tim climbed in beside her. Rather than taking the front seat next to the driver, Zach nudged Tim to slide over. It was a bit cramped, but anything that got Zach closer to Tim was fine with him. And he didn’t want to continue their conversation twisting around to face the back seat.
“I have a reservation at the Hilton, but I could cancel it,” Tim said quietly. “If you’re sure.”
“I’ve gotten used to sleeping next to you,” Zach said. “It felt strange not to have you there last night.” He kept his tone light, but he hoped Tim could sense his sincerity. “I’d like to spend the rest of the time we’re in Chicago with you.” And afterward too, but it was too soon to go there yet.
“You’ll have to share me with Megan,” Tim warned. “I’ve already promised her the aquarium tomorrow.”
“I already figured you were a package deal—and to be honest, if you weren’t, I’d have a lot less respect for you—so no problem there,” Zach replied. “And hey, more penguins. That’s a win-win.”
Tim flashed him a rueful grin, making Zach chuckle. “Seriously, I couldn’t date a guy who wasn’t committed to any kids he had. I’ll never complain about the time you spend with Megan, whether that includes me or not.”
Since Tim’s in-laws’ building was only on the other side of Lincoln Park, the driver was already pulling under the porte cochere. “Megan, wake up, sweetie. We have to go up to Gramma and Grampa’s so you can sleep in bed.” Megan snuggled against Tim’s shoulder when he lifted her out of the car seat. “Say good night to Zach, Meggie.”
“G’night, Mr. Zach,” Megan echoed sleepily.
“Good night, Megan. Thank you for sharing your daddy with me today.”
“You’re welcome,” she mumbled.
“I’ll be right back,” Tim told Zach and the driver.
In a matter of minutes, Tim returned with his bags and climbed back in. “Thanks for waiting,” he said to the driver.
The drive to the Pendry wasn’t much longer than the drive from Lincoln Park had been. Zach reached for Tim’s hand, anticipation singing pleasantly in his veins. Words crowded his brain, but none of them were things he wanted to say with an audience, so he let the silence stretch between them until they reached the hotel and were safely in his room.
“Do you want dinner?” he forced himself to ask, because no matter how much he wanted to kiss Tim—and keep right on kissing him until neither of them knew which way was up—his mama had instilled some manners in him.
Tim reached up to touch his cheek. “We probably should. Once we get back here, I’m not going to want to leave again until morning.” Something in Zach’s expression must have given him away, because Tim leaned forward to brush his lips in an all-too-brief kiss. “We don’t have to rush. This isn’t a one-time thing, not for me.” He grinned. “Besides, I’d like to try this wonderful hotel restaurant I’ve heard about. Just because I want dinner doesn’t mean I want to risk my travel curse kicking in again to get there.”
“It’s not much of a curse since it brought us together,” Zach said, threading his fingers in Tim’s as they headed back toward the elevators.
He couldn’t even regret Tim’s decision once they entered the restaurant. They enjoyed another excellent meal, Tim ordering the braised short ribs while Zach tried the duck breast in sauce rouennaise. Their server, who remembered Zach from the night before, recommended the chocolate and rye dessert, so they split the rich brownie topped with ice cream and a decadent chocolate sauce.
“That definitely beats snacking in the car,” Tim said on the way back to the room, “though having you feed me bites while I was driving was kind of hot.”
Zach grinned. “If I’d known that, I would have offered to feed you bites in the restaurant tonight.”
As soon as the door to the room shut behind them, he pulled Tim into his arms, determined to finally get a real kiss instead of the quick busses they’d shared up until now. Tim’s lips were warm against his, a little rough from the day spent outside in the cold, but if anything, that made the kiss better because it made it real. He took his time, nibbling on Tim’s lower lip to listen to him sigh and feel him lean deeper into the kiss.
When Tim parted his lips, Zach swept in, his tongue chasing down the flavors of chocolate and cream until all he could taste was Tim. He groaned and Tim took his turn, exploring Zach’s mouth as if he were memorizing its contours. Tim slowly maneuvered them into the room until the backs of Zach’s knees bumped against the bed.
“Not used to so much skating and walking in one day,” Tim murmured, turning them until he could stretch out on the mattress. He toed off his shoes, and Zach followed suit. “I could stand to rest my legs for a bit.”
“Oh, is that what they’re calling it these days?” Zach teased as he followed Tim down onto the bed. In all honesty, he was feeling the exercise they’d gotten in his legs and feet too, but teasing Tim was far too much fun. He settled his weight half on Tim, half on the duvet and propped himself up on his elbow so he could look down into Tim’s eyes. “Not that I’m complaining about anything that gets us in bed together.”
“We’ve slept together for three of the past four nights, even if only one of those was in a bed,” Tim reminded him. He slid a hand beneath Zach’s sweater, his palm warm against the skin of Zach’s back, and Zach suddenly needed more of that heat. He reached behind himself to pull the sweater over his head, tossed it somewhere on the floor—he couldn’t be bothered to care where it landed—and sighed when Tim ran both hands down his spine. “Though this is definitely worth the wait.”
Tim pulled Zach completely atop him, his hands tracing patterns over his bare back while his lips nuzzled across Zach’s chin and down his throat. Zach shivered, and Tim spread his legs, cradling Zach between them. “Cold?” he asked, his eyes dancing with humor.
“No, turned on,” Zach replied, shifting so Tim could feel the line of his erection through his pants. “You have that effect on me. And why I am the only one half-dressed?” Loath though he was to pull away from Tim’s kisses, he wanted skin on skin even more, so he reared up onto his knees to strip Tim to the waist as well. He settled back onto Tim’s chest and wriggled until their bodies lined up to his satisfaction. “Much better.”
He leaned down to kiss Tim again while he explored the newly bared skin with his hands. Tim arched beneath him and murmured encouragements, which Zach ate up like honey.
When Zach shivered again, Tim flipped them over, covering Zach’s body with his own. “Guess that Southern blood of yours isn’t used to winter weather. Let’s see what I can do to warm you up.” His kisses drifted lower, smoothing across Zach’s chest and down his abdomen.
Zach clutched at Tim’s denim-clad rear, but when Tim’s tongue traced along the waistline of his jeans, he fumbled for Tim’s belt until he worked it open. As soon as he’d got Tim’s zipper down enough to make some space, he slid his hands inside to grasp Tim’s ass with both hands. Tim’s gasp was music to his ears.
Zach mentally ransacked his dopp kit, but he’d been going to Mexico to hike and kayak and sit on the beach, not get laid, so he hadn’t stocked up on lube and condoms. They’d have to take care of each other some other way. He kneaded at the globes of Tim’s ass until Tim was rocking against him urgently. “Want a hand?” he asked. “Or we can just rub off on each other. Either’s good for me.” He trailed off with a moan when Tim bent down and nipped at his earlobe.
“Let’s lose these first.” Tim kicked off his jeans and boxers, then stripped Zach with equal efficiency. He rolled them onto their sides and ran gentle fingers over Zach’s erection. “As beautiful as I imagined,” he whispered, taking them both in one hand.
It was Zach’s turn to gasp, but Tim swallowed the breath when he covered Zach’s mouth with his own, stroking them to the rhythm of Zach’s pounding heartbeat.
Needing to touch Tim as well, Zach added his hand to Tim’s, twining their fingers so they worked in tandem to bring each other pleasure. He lost himself then in the rhythm of their hands and the kiss, the give and take of their tongues sliding from Zach’s mouth to Tim’s and back into Zach’s as their hands kept time, the slick of their growing arousal easing the way. A minute or an hour later, Zach couldn’t have said, his control started to falter. “Close,” he gasped against Tim’s lips.
“I’m right with you.” Tim’s voice sounded as breathless as Zach felt. The cadence of their strokes faltered as Tim stiffened and then shuddered against him, the heat of his release enough to trigger Zach’s own climax. He nuzzled his head against Tim’s shoulder, drowsy and sated, listening to the slowly settling beat of Tim’s pulse beneath his ear.
He wasn’t sure how long he drifted before Tim’s warmth disappeared, replaced a few moments later with a damp washcloth to clean them up. Tim pulled aside the duvet and tucked Zach under it before crawling in himself and wrapping back around him. Zach felt his lips against his shoulder before sleep overtook him.
TIM CAME awake slowly the next morning and let the contentment from the night before wash through him. They’d shifted while they slept, Zach on his back now with Tim’s head resting on his shoulder. That suited Tim just fine. All the better to press kisses to the line of Zach’s throat. Zach stirred beneath him and tightened his arms around Tim.
“Mmm, that’s the perfect way to wake up,” Zach murmured around a huge yawn.
Tim couldn’t argue with that. In fact, he hoped it was something they’d be sharing a lot more often in the future. “You know,” he said, angling his head so he could watch Zach’s expression, “we talked about the consequences if you weren’t able to get me to Chicago by Christmas, but we never discussed your reward if you won the bet.”
“Seeing you with Megan is all the reward I need,” Zach replied. “Seriously, the bet was a way to get you to let me help. I don’t need any additional thanks.”
“Oh no,” Tim insisted. “A bet’s a bet, and you won fair and square.” He twisted until he could frame Zach’s face in his hands. “I think I should have you plan a trip for me anyway. One for me, Megan—and you.” He drew Zach into a kiss before he could reply, though he hoped he wouldn’t offer much of an argument.
When Tim pulled back from the kiss finally, Zach gave him a slow, sweet smile. “I hear Baja’s nice this time of year.”
Author’s Note
All the travel disasters in this story have actually happened to me or members of my immediate family, though not necessarily under the same circumstances, and certainly not all in the same trip!
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