Marcus closed his eyes and shoved his fingers in his ears. “Jesus, Jack, can’t you control your hag?”
Two sharp slaps on Marcus’s arm and Jack finally started to laugh. Before she could hit him a third time, Jack grabbed her hand. “Easy. He’s not used to you like I am.”
“Anyways.” She exhaled loudly. “You asked Ed to the dance yet?”
Jack’s stomach twisted. “Not yet.”
Brittany grinned. “Well, don’t leave it to the last minute. There’s so much to organize. You have to make the night special for him. Something he’d never forget.”
Jack gave her a wan smile before looking at his half-empty cup.
“Well you’re boring.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to find the ladies’ room.”
Marcus twisted his empty cup using his index finger. “Speaking of Ed.” He lifted his head. “When do I get to meet him?”
* * *
Jack climbed in the passenger side of the pickup. “I’ve been wracking my brain where we can go tonight, and—”
Ed made a sound in the back of his throat.
Jack raised a brow.
“Sorry, I thought I was on organizing tonight….”
What a relief. He’d only come up with taking Ed to Olive Garden or Applebee’s. “Sounds great. Where are we going?”
Ed bit his lip and smiled. “You’ll see.”
Twenty minutes later, they came to a small airport.
“A puddle jumper?”
“Give it and me a chance, okay?”
Ed pulled something from behind his seat and carried it to the side of the truck bed. Jack got out to investigate.
On the grooved metal of the open truck bed lay a slowly inflating mattress.
“Um… it’s not what you think.” Ed stopped pumping and walked around to Jack’s side of the pickup. “Here’s the deal. A while ago I was working in those buildings over there.”
Jack followed his outstretched arm to a small office park across the road.
“When I left work, it was already dark and the airstrip was lit up with these green and blue lights. They started flashing, running down the rows. That’s when I heard the plane’s engine. A minute later, this little prop plane flies overhead, all lit up. It was exhilarating.
“I checked with the tower, and there are two planes scheduled to take off tonight in the next half an hour. The first one leaves in about ten. I figured we could sit together over a picnic and watch.”
Jack drummed his fingers over Ed’s forearm. He stepped forward, pulled Ed teasingly close. Instead of kissing him, he whispered over Ed’s lips. “What’s with the air mattress?”
Ed laughed, and soft puffs of air tickled Jack’s nose. “The back of the truck is uncomfortable. This is for cushioning.”
With a cute nudge of his nose against Jack’s, Ed moved away.
As soon as the truck bed was ready, Ed put the pump in the cab, and Jack used the tire as a step to hop on.
“This is really comfortable,” Jack said as Ed returned with a blanket, picnic basket, and coy shrug.
Lying back, Jack stared at the nearly cloudless night sky while Ed unfolded the blanket, positioning it and the picnic basket at their feet.
Ed mirrored him, his lips ticking up as he looked from the stars dotting the sky to Jack.
Jack shifted his arm until the backs of their hands touched. At once he was hit with a shock of electricity. He took hold of Ed’s hand, slowly sliding their fingers together. Ed gulped, and warmth filled Jack’s chest. This was nice. Romantic.
At least it appeared so. There was always the possibility taking Jack here had been because Ed didn’t want to be seen in a restaurant. That this was his way of playing it safe.
Jack frowned up at the sky, wishing the thought had never occurred to him.
Lights flashed. He and Ed scooted into a sitting position, resting back against the cab. Blues and greens lit up the runway. He looked at Ed, who was staring at him softly. Like he wanted to lean in and kiss him.
Jack raised a brow, daring him to go for it.
Ed darted a tongue over his bottom lip and closed the gap between them. The soft kiss trembled against Jack’s lips. Ed tasted like coffee and uncertainty.
Jack looked into his eyes, trying to read what was going through Ed’s head. Trying to figure out what the hell was going through his own.
Something about this guy tugged at Jack, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this intense attraction was going to get him in trouble.
An airplane engine roared, shifting their attention to the runway.
“This is the fun part,” Ed said and tugged Jack back down to the mattress.
Ed pulled the blanket over them and stared skyward, body tingling with apprehension: the roots of his hair, the curve of his neck and shoulders, his stomach, thighs, and toes.
The plane rushed toward them, heading for the truck, making Jack’s heart hammer. He shifted nervously, and Ed squeezed his hand, rubbing a callused thumb over the base of his palm. Down the runway the plane charged faster, faster—they were well back from the runway, but still.