Off Base (Out of Uniform 1)

God, the idea of a planned announcement with him standing in front of everyone gave Zack feverish shivers. He needed a drink. Right there in the middle of the day, he needed a drink.

Wait.

A drink. Maybe there was some middle ground. “Casually, but I think I might have a plan there.”

“Glad to hear it.” The commander had a smile a lot like Apollo—feral and dangerous, something they must teach in officer training.

“If there’s any retaliation or pushback when you tell, you call my office,” Lieutenant Hernandez said. “And that’s an order.”

They wrapped up the meeting with a lot more from Lieutenant Hernandez about how the disciplinary process would work. Once they were walking back to the senior chief’s truck, he said to Zack, “You work things out with Pike? Be a damned shame if all this tore you two apart.”

“I’m working on it.” Zack smiled, because for the first time he really believed deep down that things would work out for him. “I might have a plan in that regard too.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Can you eat real food yet?” Pike pulled off his tie as he came into the house. Predictably, Zack was playing a game on the TV. His color was even better today, and he’d had physical therapy in the morning to help him start working his way back into shape. Knowing Zack, he’d probably pushed the therapist to let him run. “We’re out of the stuff from the senior chief’s wife, and I’m in the mood for pizza or the sandwich place that delivers.”

“Actually...” Zack’s voice was unsteady, but his grin disarmed Pike. “Would you like to go out?”

“Out?”

“Out. It’s a Friday night. I believe you’re familiar with the concept. Couple of beers, maybe late dinner after grabbing drinks?”

“Out like you and me? Together?” Pike peered down at Zack, looking to see if someone had swapped him out for a robot. In all their months living here, they’d never once gone out, and certainly not as a couple, and even if things had changed in the past week, Zack had seemed perfectly content to stay holed up here at home.

“Yeah. I think it’s time.” Zack pulled Pike down next to him on the couch. “Stop looking at me like I’m proposing public fucking. Just some drinks. I’m about to go nuts, almost a week of nothing but these walls.”

“Okay.” Pike pulled out his phone and called up his entertainment recommendation app. No way did he want Zack’s first time out as a couple to come with a hassle. “Let me look up some gay-friendly bars or better yet text Ryan—”

Zack stilled him with a hand over his phone. “I’ve kind of got a place in mind. We can go someplace else after if you want.”

Okay, this was just spooky. Pike wrapped a hand around Zack’s neck, looking for that robot switch. Zack had plans? And if he wasn’t a robot dupe, the real Zack with a plan was a dangerous man. “Should I change clothes?”

“You’re fine like that, but jeans and a T-shirt would be okay too.”

“No club wear?” Pike guessed, mainly to watch Zack blush.

“Whatever you want, but uh...”

“It’s okay.” Pike gave him a fast kiss before standing. “Not going to torture you. You going to tell me where this place is?” Pike stripped off his dress shirt on his way to his room, Zack following behind him. Lately, all his room was good for was the closet and as a place to do his grading. Zack’s bed had the better mattress. And Zack. Pike could sleep on gravel if it meant Zack was next to him. “God, I hope they give me tenure here eventually so I can start teaching in jeans like half the permanent faculty.”

“You applied for the permanent faculty job?” Zack’s tone was wary.

“Yeah.” Pike found a plain black T-shirt in his drawer. He still hadn’t talked to Zack about the job offer, hadn’t wanted to disturb their little pod of happiness, hadn’t wanted to dump one more thing in Zack’s lap as he worked with the officer on the harassment case. He’d planned to just quietly call Hector on Monday—

“You weren’t going to tell me, were you?” Zack’s voice had gone from teasing about the mystery outing to deadly serious.

“About the faculty job? These things take months to resolve. I’ll be lucky to hear by January.” Pike could play dumb with the best of them.

“No.” Zack swiveled Pike to face him. Uh-oh. Somebody had his strength back and was inexplicably pissed. “About Palo Alto and the War Elf job. Ryan told me you went for an interview.”

“I did. I’ve decided not to take it—”

“Without talking to me?” Zack’s tone was a stone wall masking a deeper hurt that Pike could almost feel. “What the hell, Pike? I thought we were a couple now.”

“We are.” Pike pulled him close, not wanting to risk Zack walking away.