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Yeah, he should have known the subject would linger for a while.
“Well…” Tripp said, hoping his rather unspectacular list wouldn’t leave Zakk with the impression that he was too dull of a guy to want to spend time with.
That had been the only nice thing about the distance between them for the past two years. They were never in close enough proximity to one another for Zakk to learn that Tripp was perfectly content spending all his free time with his feet on firm, geologically interesting ground.
“I’ve kind of always wanted to spend three months or so traveling from one rockhounding site to another,” Tripp admitted sheepishly. “There’s this garnet mine in Idaho I’ve been dying to spend time at. Oh, and this place in Oregon where people have come across all kinds of rocks and minerals. I have got to try and find a fairy cross the next time I make it to Virginia, and there are a ton of places in Colorado, California, Utah, and Arkansas that I’ve been reading about, but when we’re touring, we never have the chance to do things like that. Plus, pretty much everyone else in the band finds it boring as hell, so I’m on my own when I do have the chance to visit somewhere.”
“Well, you won’t be on your own from now on. I think we should plan that trip out for after the tour. That way we can work the spa into it and get some much-needed us time without the rest of our bands around.”
“You’re serious?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’d really be good with three months of digging for rocks?”
“Three months of you and me together with no one else, digging for rocks, fucking under the stars, skinny dipping in every pond possible and hitting some haunted places along the way sounds like the perfect way to spend a vacation if you ask me.”
“In that case, I’d love to start planning it out with you.”
“Perfect.”
“Now you have me curious to know what else is on your list.”
“Nope, not yet. You have to tell me one of yours now.”
“You’re in it.”
“Doesn’t count. I mean one I don’t know about.”
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Dude, you didn’t laugh at me about the whole rockhound vacation, which most people would find lame as hell. I doubt anything you say is going to warrant laughter.”
“Okay. You asked for it,” Zakk said as a gorgeous platter of seafood appetizers was placed on the table between them.
The moment Zakk laid eyes on them, Tripp could practically see him drooling, and yet, he picked up a lobster-topped crostini and held it to Tripp’s lips for him to taste first. Not that he could resist licking a lingering bit of creamy cheese off Zakk’s finger. With food in his mouth, it wasn’t like he’d be able to laugh if he wanted to, which, in hindsight, might have been Zakk’s plan, not that he had any intention of laughing, no matter what it was.
“So, I saw this video a few years back, of this guy who went naked skydiving while playing his violin. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to do it but instead of a violin, I’d be playing a keytar.”
For a moment, Tripp just stared at him, blinking as all sorts of naked images of Zakk flooded his head, and holy shit, did he have one hell of a mental spank bank to pull from. He must have stared too long though because Zakk’s cheeks grew a little blotchy and he ducked his head, busying himself with studying the platter like the fate of the world rested on what hors d’oeuvre he chose.
Well, that wouldn’t do. Tripp covered his hand when he reached for one of the bacon and jalapeno-wrapped scallops, plucking it from beneath his fingers and holding it to his lips for him to eat.
“That’s pretty badass is what that is,” Tripp said as Zakk bit into it, a dribble of juice spilling from his lips that Tripp leaned in and licked away. “You have to forgive me for staring. I was just enjoying a mental filmstrip of you naked and wondering how quickly I could get you that way when we got back to the spa.”
“I can leave a trail of clothes from the front door to your room,” Zakk replied. “All you have to do is say the word.”
“The word.”
Grinning, Zakk raised an eyebrow at him, licked his lips, then leaned in to suck the other half of his scallop off Tripp’s fingers. Chuckling, Tripp stared into his eyes, wondering why he’d never noticed the silvery blue flecks in the deeper blue of Zakk’s eyes. Little sparkles, like glitter whenever the light of the lanterns struck them.
“It’s your turn you know,” Zakk said, though Tripp wasn’t sure if he meant the food, or the bucket list. The crab-stuffed mushroom Zakk slid past his lips practically melted on his tongue. Buttery and earthy, with a soft, mellow garlicky cheese that only enhanced the sweetness of the crab meat. Tripp savored it while he considered which other bucket list item to share.
“So this one has nothing to do with rocks,” Tripp said once he’d swallowed the delicious morsel.
“Okay,” Zakk replied before popping a mushroom in his mouth and moaning obscenely.
This was such a different feel from a restaurant where they jammed all the courses out one after the other without giving you enough time to enjoy them. With a three-hour flight, they had plenty of time to talk, enjoy one another, and savor the excellent dishes that were gracing their table. Once he’d recovered from pinning Zakk to the bed and fucking him stupid, he was going to make it a point to track Dez down and thank him for the suggestion, as this was proving to be one of the most amazing dates he’d ever been on.
