Higher Ground by Becky Black (notion reading list txt) 📗

dog that had woken up from sleeping by the fire. When the sleepy man came back and passed them on the way to his tent, Adam waved at him.

“Good night, Mark.”

“Night,” the man said.

Zach turned to Adam, shaking his head. “Do you know everybody in Arius?”

“I have a good memory for faces and names.” He looked around, watching Mark vanish back into his tent. As soon as he did, Adam grabbed Zach and kissed him back into a state of delicious confusion.

A similar thing happened a couple more times, with people moving around and Zach and Adam pretending they were paying full attention to every sound and movement around them, until eventually Simon came to relieve them. While Adam went off to the latrine, Zach made a fresh pot of coffee for the next watch.

“How’s Amina managing?” he asked, handing a mug to Simon.

“She got a bit cranky today. The novelty’s worn off, and she’s missing her routine. Kids like their routine.”

Zach could relate. He liked his routine too, and he’d been out of it for days.

“So, are you and Adam planning on having kids?” Simon asked.

Zach stared. “Me and Adam?” Was he teasing? No, he looked entirely serious.

“You know, adopting or whatever.”

“Adam and I have only known each other a few days.”

“What? Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you guys had been together for a while.” He sipped his coffee, not meeting Zach’s eyes. “I guess I misunderstood. You two seem to work so well together I figured you were partners, you know.”

Torres arrived to join Simon on the watch, and he looked relieved to be rescued from the embarrassing conversation.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Zach said, heading back to the tent. Their tent, his and Adam’s. He sat down in front of it and thought about what Simon had said. Had Simon misunderstood something someone—his wife maybe—had told him? He’d heard husbands listened selectively to their wives. Or had he concluded it from watching them together? Watching them working so well together.

But Zach worked well with Simon too and with Korrie and Dr. Howie. So was there something different about Adam? Because they were sleeping together? That gave them an extra intimacy clear to others. And Adam was quite demonstrative. Some of the people moving around during tonight’s watch must have seen them kissing, and Adam had kissed Zach publicly before he fled the meeting with Korrie. He held hands, touched Zach’s face or hair, put his arm around him, even when there were other people around. The gestures made Zach blush—not from embarrassment but from pleasure. He’d never been involved with someone so affectionate.

“Hey, big guy, you look far away there.”

Adam strolled up and stood with the firelight behind him turning his hair into a golden halo and casting his face into soft shadows. His pose was easy and casual, a man at home in his skin. A man both exciting and restful to the more nervy Zach.

“Adam, do you want to have children one day?”

Adam stared. “Wow. Where did that come from?”

“You don’t have to answer.” Too abrupt. Too personal. Too soon. But tomorrow might be too late. They might die. He wanted to know what Adam felt about this because he wanted to know everything about Adam.

Adam sat beside him. “You’re an odd guy, you know?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I like it.”

Adam sat with his knees up, elbows resting on them, one hand holding the opposite wrist. Such good hands he had. Strong and calloused from his work.

“It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought to yet,” he said. “But yes, I do. One day. With the right person in my life to share that with.”

Person? Interesting choice of words. He wondered if Adam could be interested in women as well as men. He flirted with women, but those women included Professor Korrie, and he probably didn’t harbor a secret lust for her. If Adam were out here alone, he would probably flirt with the trees.

“I have a great family,” Adam went on. “I’d like to bring my kids into it one day.” He smiled at Zach. “And not only my kids.”

Heat burned Zach’s cheeks, as he felt sure he’d just been paid a high compliment. He wondered what Adam’s family was like. Livelier and louder than Zach’s more sedate family, he suspected.

“What about you?” Adam asked. “Do you want children?”

“I’m an only child. So there is some slight pressure from my parents to provide grandchildren.”

“I’ll bet,” Adam said with a chuckle. “They aren’t chasing you to find a wife, are they?” he asked, going more serious.

“No, nothing like that. They’ll be happy with however I arrange things—as long as I eventually do.”

“Your mom can’t wait to start knitting bootees, huh?”

“My mother’s a professor of pediatric clinical psychology. She’s more likely to chart every phase of the child’s development. You should see the journal she kept about me as a baby.”

Adam laughed. “I would think that beats baby pictures in the embarrassment stakes when you take people home.”

“It’s more embarrassing for her. The politest way to put it would be to say it lacks scientific objectivity. Unless I was, in fact, the most brilliant and beautiful baby ever born.”

“Oh, I have gotta see this journal one day.” Adam scrambled up and swatted his ass, brushing away leaves and grass. “Come on, we can’t stay up all night talking about babies.”

“You’re right, we should get some sleep.” Zach stood, coming into Adam’s waiting arms.

“I never said anything about sleeping.”

* * * *

“Turn out the light,” Zach said when they got inside their tent and sealed up the door.

With a sigh, Adam turned the lamp down low, just enough light to see what they were doing. If they didn’t want to provide a shadow-picture show for the rest of the camp, they’d have to make do with the small amount of light. A shame. He wanted to see Zach in the light. Wanted Zach to see him. Wanted their eyes to lock.

The lack of space made wriggling