“We are never using condoms again,” Snow muttered.
“Never,” Jude agreed. He squeezed his arms tighter, then maneuvered Snow down so their mouths were at the same height. He kissed him softly and Snow chuckled against his mouth because they’d kissed so hard and for so long, the beard burn around his lips actually hurt. He didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything but feeling this man’s heart beating against his chest and his breath on his face.
“Do you really want to spend the whole weekend here?” Jude asked. “Without clothes?”
“We could run home and pack a bag.”
Jude stroked his hand down Snow’s back. “Or we could order some robes, put them on your busybody friend’s tab.”
Snow pulled back and stared down at Jude, amusement making his eyes sparkle. “We can order lots of things and put them on the busybody’s tab.”
“I suggest more tequila first, because damn, General.”LunchSnow tightened his grip on his tray and took a deep breath. He felt like an idiot. His stomach muscles clenched and a cold sweat broke out across his back. This whole thing felt too much like school, and all his years of middle school and high school had been a fucking nightmare. Except for Lucas. He’d at least made it bearable.
But Lucas wasn’t here now and this wasn’t school.
Lifting his head, Snow took a step forward into the big, brightly lit dining hall, his eyes scanning the wide scattering of round and rectangular tables. It was just after one and the hospital cafeteria was crowded with patient families as well as hospital staff. A low murmur of conversation rippled through the room, but it still managed to be overwhelming. He’d passed through the cafeteria plenty of times over the years, grabbing a quick bite to eat on his way to checking on a patient or prepping for surgery. But he’d never actually sat down for a meal in this room. He preferred to eat on the go or sitting at his desk, catching up on paperwork.
Of course, that’s what brought him to the cafeteria in the first place. Jude had been teasing him relentlessly about how unapproachable he was. Fucking dared him to come out of his office and have a meal with other people.
But he didn’t want to eat with anyone else in the hospital. Yes, he had a great team that worked with him in the operating room and there were some amazing doctors and nurses around, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to converse with them on any kind of personal level. Just the idea of trying to make small talk with them made his skin crawl and squeezed his lungs in his chest until he could barely draw a breath.
Loud laughter rose above the din of conversation, instantly easing the pressure in his chest. He knew that laugh like it had been inscribed on his brain, on his soul. Jude.
Taking another step forward, he scanned the room until he spotted the familiar dark head. The sexy paramedic was seated at one of the small rectangular tables across from his partner Rebecca. The woman was…strange but nice. If his friends were anything to go by, he could handle strange.
He crossed the cafeteria, deftly dodging a couple of people carrying empty trays. He tried to smooth the scowl from his expression. Jude didn’t need to know exactly how uncomfortable he was. Or the fact that the volume of conversation had taken a nose dive since he’d started to cross the room. He watched as Rebecca noticed as well, her head popping up from where she’d been bent forward talking to Jude. He could also read her lips when she very slowly said, “Holy shit!”
Fabulous. The world was coming to a fucking halt because he decided to have lunch with his boyfriend in the cafeteria.
Then Jude twisted around in his seat, looking for what had surprised Rebecca…and he smiled. Hell, that man had a heart-stopping smile. Even as clichéd as it sounded, the world just disappeared when Jude looked at him like that. He suddenly didn’t give a fuck about the fact that half of the hospital staff in the cafeteria was now watching him in stunned silence. He just wanted to sit next to Jude and bask in that expression.
“Hey, General,” Jude said as Snow set his tray down next to Jude’s place and dropped into the seat. He glared at the nickname, but he didn’t say anything because he was suddenly afraid something horribly sappy would come out of his mouth like the fact that he hadn’t wanted to crawl out of Jude’s bed that morning after Jude had given him a spine-melting orgasm just to start the day off on the right foot. After a brisk shower and dressing in the dim light of the bathroom, he’d stood over the bed for several minutes, watching Jude sleep. He’d pulled Snow’s pillow under him so that it was clutched against his chest before wrapping himself up in all the blankets. The man had blanket hogging down to a science.