Page 13 of Here & Now

Four

The next morning, Marco greeted Zane with a scowl. “What the hell happened last night?”

Zane had just walked into the shop with a travel mug of coffee in hand. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. Callie was upset when she came back to the room.”

Zane averted his eyes. “Sorry to ruin your evening.”

“Gina and I still managed to… Anyway, what went wrong?”

“Nothing.” Everything. “I just wasn’t into it.”

Marco eyed him with disbelief. “You weren’t attracted to her?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You couldn’t perform?”

Zane scowled. “I didn’t say that, either.”

“What’s going on with you?”

He sighed, knowing his friend wouldn’t give up until he gave him something. “It’s the same old thing—different Friday night, different woman, but the same old thing.”

Marco’s eyebrows shot up. “Most guys wouldn’t complain about that.”

“Maybe I’m not most guys.”

“Since when?”

Zane turned away and straightened the things on the counter, though they didn’t need straightening. “Never mind. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

He stopped what he was doing and faced his friend. “We’re getting older.”

“We’re not that old.”

“But we still act like teenagers.”

“Gina would probably disagree. I was never that good in my teens.”

Zane shook his head. “Never mind,” he repeated.

“Sorry. I’ll be serious.”

“My parents were married and had me by the time they were our age.”

“They’re from a different generation.”

“Still, life is short.”

“Is that what this is about, your mortality?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“You’re young, and you’re in great shape. You’re going to be around a long time.”