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“I’m not a soldier,” Will said. He smiled up at Quinn as Quinn wrapped his arms around Will’s waist from behind.
“He’s not a soldier,” Lake parroted.
“Yeah, we work for a living,” Will drawled.
“Oh, shots fired, youass. I’m telling Peyton you said that.”
“That threat stopped working years ago, dork.”
“Yeah? Then why do you behave after I say it?”
Will just stuck his tongue out at Lake, and Lake laughed. Peyton had been in the middle of them for years; he was used to it. Lake was still sending him a text message later to make fun of him, though. He’d let Peyton cut off communication for too long; it was time to get pushy on his ass. Besides, he hadn’t yet had a chance to tell him “I told you so,” and it was a missed opportunity. He’d always known that the two of them were more than just fuck buddies. It made his heart flutter that he’d been right, and they were getting their happily ever after together. Not only that, but they’d found two other men to share it with. Lake didn’t see any problem with that. The heart was a big organ, and the fact that both Peyton and Will had found so many people to love them could only ever be considered a good thing.
“Besides,” Lake said, returning to the conversation. “I usually have a view from above.” And navigating in the bush or unfamiliar terrain was different than a zoo full of screaming children, frazzled parents, and teenagers that were trying to find new and exciting ways to fall into enclosures while they looked for the best selfie angle. He and Will knew better than to put themselves in danger to get a good shot. Whatamateurs.Lake hadn’t been to the zoo since he’d been a teenager himself, and it had grown exponentially. They’d been walking forhours,and they weren’t even halfway around it yet.
Part of that was Grady and Quinn’s fault. They were not “check it out and move on” zoo-goers. They stopped at each enclosure, actuallyreadthe information they put out the front, took painstaking pictures, and then Googled obscure facts about the animal. Lake now knew more about all the animals than he had ever thought he would. Will and Lake kept themselves entertained by taking less glamorous pictures. They’d made a bet to see who could get a picture of an animal in the weirdest position. The one Will had taken with the monkey looking at him upside down and picking its nose had been good, but Lake still thought his picture of the alpaca posing for him was the real winner. Quinn had said something about asserting dominance and scaring away potential challengers for his place in the herd, but Lake was certain that he’d wanted Lake to take a picture for his Grindr profile.
“How did we get lost?” Quinn asked with amusement. “Don’t tell Sebastian.”
“Or Gideon,” Grady muttered. “Besides, we’re not lost,” Grady said. “It’s that way.” He pointed left. He folded the map and refused to give it back to Lake or Will, which was rude. They were good navigators and had gotten them that far.
“Have you ever been in the air?” Lake asked as they walked towards the elephant enclosure.
“I’ve been on a commercial plane,” Grady said. “Short flights to Melbourne for police conferences sometimes.”
“If we’re going to Canberra,” Quinn said, picking up where Grady had left off, “we just drive.”
“Who gets to drive?” Will asked curiously. Quinn took his hand as they walked, and Lake looked on enviously.
Would Grady let him if he wanted to hold hands? Lake glanced at him, but he was busy looking around, likely making sure they were actually going the right way.
“Me,” they said in unison.
Quinn chuckled. “We take it in turns.”
“You guys been partners long?” Lake asked, wanting to know everything about Grady.
Grady glanced at Quinn, both of them with questions in their eyes. “About five or six years now?” Grady said.
“Yeah, something like that.”
That was roughly the same length of time that Peyton had been enlisted. Strong bonds formed over that length of time. Lake was glad that Grady had someone who cared about him watching his back. He knew that Grady had a dangerous job. Different kind of danger than what Lake dealt with on deployments, or even what Will dealt with every day, but it was dangerous nonetheless.
“Well, if you ever want to know what it’s like to ride in a helicopter, I know a guy,” Lake said as he moved around a mum and her double-wide pram as they headed for the seals enclosure where they’d booked to see a presentation. Grady crowded against his side, his chest warm against Lake’s arm. Lake ran a hand down Grady’s back, settling it above the slight curve of his ass. He inhaled deeply, loving the way that Grady smelled.
“Are you allowed to do that?” Grady asked. He went to keep walking, and Lake stopped him for a second, lacing their fingers together, giving Grady a small smile and hoping that Grady wouldn’t pull away from him.
Grady glanced down but didn’t say anything as they continued on. Lake’s heart burst with happiness, and he couldn’t have stopped smiling if his life depended on it.
“We bring family and friends on base all the time,” Lake said, waving him off with his free hand. Grady hadn’t let go of his hand, and Lake was acutely aware of where their fingers were tangled together. The intimacy of it was even more profound than when they were naked and sweaty together. They were in public here, in front of someone that Grady considered family, with other people that could see them, knew exactly what them holding hands meant.
“Peyton and his guys have taken me up a time or two,” Will said. “It’s fun. And scary.”
The corner of Quinn’s mouth quirked up. “William, you travel in helicopters all the time for your day job.”
“Yeah, but notmilitaryhelicopters.”
“Is there a difference?” Grady wanted to know.
