“You’ll see.” Linc gave him an arch look, one that worked like a patch over Jacob’s wounded hope. Maybe all wasn’t lost. “Go on, now. Make your goodbyes. No more shots. You drunk isn’t part of my plans.”
“What is?” He resisted the urge to lean forward, close the gap between them. His minor buzz made it that much harder to not flirt or touch.
“That’s for me to know. Meet me at the truck.” With that, Linc stood, giving a little salute in the direction of the others, leaving Jacob to go make excuses for leaving.
“I could give you a ride.” Kelley pouted.
“You’re not driving either,” McKenna said firmly, using her jumper-in-charge voice, which made Kelley nod meekly. Interesting. The two of them had been getting along better since the end of training, but Jacob couldn’t get a read on what exactly was going on there. “Go on, Hartman. Glad to hear you’ve got a ride.”
There. He’d practically been ordered to leave with Linc. And if he wished they didn’t need to dance around the truth so much, be so darn careful to not rouse suspicion, he quickly pushed that aside. He got to see him. That was what mattered right now. Bad idea or not, there was no drink, no drug as powerful or addictive as Linc’s pride, as his praise, as the feeling he got in his embrace, and he wasn’t giving it up.
And that delicious curl of anticipation about what Linc might have planned didn’t deserve to be extinguished by pointless thoughts about what could be. What it was was plenty.
Linc was waiting in the truck, some country station on the radio, female singer crooning about hard-to-love men. His slow smile when Jacob opened the door though had the polar opposite effect on Jacob—this man was too damn easy to like. Too easy to fall for, too hard to get over.
“So, what’s the plan?” he asked as he buckled up.
“You’ll see.” Linc headed toward Jacob’s place but then turned before they reached it, taking one of the rural roads out of town. Because it was June with its long days, it wasn’t all the way dark yet, but getting there, a pretty pink twilight settling over the craggy rocks lining the curving road that led toward one of the nearby state parks.
“Bit late for hiking,” Jacob joked.
“And you’re not sober enough for that either.” Linc’s voice was stern, but there was an affection there that warmed Jacob even as the outside temperatures dipped. “I’m not letting you slip down one of the rocks.”
Linc left the rural highway for increasingly smaller roads until they were truly in the middle of nowhere as the last of the late evening light fled, but not before they got a spectacular view of a rocky canyon with mountains in the distance, not a trace of civilization outside of the gravel path that had led them here.
“Well, if night hiking’s out, you must have brought me here to get up to no good. And since I don’t think you’re a serial killer, I’m betting I get a birthday kiss.” Already anticipating, he turned in his seat as soon as Linc parked.
“Maybe. If you behave.” But Linc didn’t offer a kiss right away, instead getting out of the truck, leaving Jacob to do the same. Linc went around to the bed of the truck, sitting on the tailgate, dragging a bag close. “Come here.”
“What’s all this?” he asked as Linc shook out a thick blanket.
“Nothing much.” Linc finished making a little nest of blankets, then withdrew a six pack of Jacob’s favorite beer. “I owe you a drink. That’s all.”
Jacob’s chest grew painfully tight as he hefted himself up next to Linc. Six years now, give or take some, he’d tried to get Linc to give in to what was between them. And now he had, weeks of perfect memories capped by this moment right here, gorgeous vista, sunset, twinkling planets starting to come out. The stars would be a while, but this far out of town, the sky was likely to be spectacular and he couldn’t wait. The man might claim to have no use for romance, but this was possibly the most romantic moment of Jacob’s life. He was almost nervous to speak, to ruin this magic.
Linc pulled a plastic container from the bag. “And I know your mom’s probably doing a better cake this weekend for you—”
“Sunday. Brunch. I’m supposed to be reminding you. She said she left you a message.”
“Yeah. I’ll try. Anyway, it’s not a birthday without some cake. This is just something from the grocery.” He offered Jacob the container that had one of those mini-cakes in it. Exactly enough for two. Jacob had to swallow hard. He wasn’t ever going to deserve this man.
“Thanks.” He took the container and one of the plastic forks Linc held out. “This is...maybe my favorite birthday ever.”