As if reading his mind, Kit patted his arm. “It’s okay, sweetie. You can just sit on the mat and do breathing exercises. It’s yoga. They don’t actually force you to do anything.”
Zep met Frost’s stare.
He must have looked as dejected as he felt, because Frost visibly tried biting back a smile. “He’s not wrong. Some people just stay in shavasana to de-stress.”
“Great.” Zep sounded every bit as miserable as he felt. He had no idea what Frost was talking about since he had never done yoga a day in his life, but it sounded a lot like he would get to be the bored one for half an hour.
For a moment, Frost held his stare. Once again, Zep was back to feeling swept away by Frost’s seemingly peaceful presence. An understanding smile touched Frost’s lips. “I’ll do it with you the first time, so you don’t feel awkward.”
A breath of fresh air filled Zep’s lungs. That was... nice. Zep was used to Kit roping him into uncomfortable things. Frost’s offer was a pleasant change. “Thank you.”
Something unnamed but oddly sweet passed over Frost’s features before he went back to filling in Zep’s information. Zep had no clue what happened to his life in the last fifteen minutes, but he felt strangely hopeful. It had been a long time since he’d met anyone nice. He looked forward to seeing if this new thing went anywhere. It was possible they would have an uncomfortable dinner and then would never speak again. If so, that was fine. Zep didn’t have a lot of time to waste. He wasn’t getting any younger and he wanted a family. The idea of that scared a lot of guys away. Zep couldn’t afford to care. He was looking for his unicorn. The one guy out there for him. Likely, Frost wouldn’t be the one, but Zep wouldn’t pass up his chance to find out.
Two
To Zep’s surprise, at exactly eight, Frost showed. It was as if he stared at his watch and waited to ring the bell until the designated time. With a nervous flutter in his gut, Zep opened the door to find Frost holding an insulated pan.
“This is from my mom.”
Zep bit his bottom lip, trying not to smile like an idiot. “That’s very nice of her.” He took a step back so Frost could pass. The scent of delicious food overcame him as Frost brushed by him. “What is it?”
“Low carb lasagna.”
So the smell was deceiving. “Wow.” Even Zep heard the question in his tone.
A sexy rumble of laughter fell from Frost’s lips to caress Zep’s ears. “I promise that you’ll love it.” Zep motioned for Frost to follow him to the kitchen, and Frost kept up his end of the conversation. “After you left this afternoon, she called, and I told her about you moving into my neighborhood and us getting together tonight. She was adamant that I bring you this and that we stay in and relax.”
Since Frost had been setting the pan on the counter while dropping that last bit, Zep didn’t get a look at his expression to see how Frost felt about staying in. Zep decided to be honest in hopes that Frost would be as well. “I’m grateful for her. To be honest, between work, unpacking, and spending time with Kit, I’m exhausted.” They worked together seamlessly as they spoke, gathering plates, silverware, and drinks.
“I can imagine Kit is exhausting as hell.”
A laugh burst from Zep as he chose a seat at the kitchen table. “You have no idea. He’s a tiny ball of endless energy. Neither of us work nine-to-five jobs, so I guess we kind of gravitate toward doing things together, except he’s—”
“I’m sorry,” Frost said, cutting him off. “I’ll let you finish that thought in just a second, but while I have you sitting down. You’re ridiculously tall, so it makes it impossible for me to do the one thing I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.” That was all the warning Zep got before Frost swooped in and kissed him. There was no warming up or sweetness to Frost’s kiss. He went all in, leaving no room for doubt of his intentions. His tongue was in Zep’s mouth, stroking and seeking. Zep’s breath disappeared as heat blasted him, making him grateful to be sitting. Frost bit Zep’s bottom lip and then sucked it in apology. Zep gripped the edge of the kitchen table and held on for dear life. His dick was hard. His body was on fire. He had no clue how he ended up in this position, but goddamn. Zep wanted Frost.
Frost pulled away and sat—like nothing happened. “I know what Kit does, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard what you do for a living.”
Zep dropped his gaze to his food for a second and unnecessarily rearranged his silverware to hide the way he felt. If Zep were being honest with himself, he never expected Frost would have any genuine interest in him beyond being friends. He felt like they didn’t match. Like they were a before and after picture. Zep looked like what happened to a person after forty-two years of not having enough time to take care of himself. Frost looked the exact opposite. That reminder had Zep mentally shrugging off their kiss. There was no way Frost was doing more than playing with him. He would play along for now.
“I’m a doula.” Zep wanted to pat himself on the back for sounding so unaffected until he met Frost’s stare. Frost did not look unmoved. His face was flushed, and his eyes burned with lust. Zep’s self-preservation melted away. Frost wanted him. Zep couldn’t look away.
“I don’t know what that is, but it must pay really well,” Frost said, motioning at their surroundings.
Zep tried desperately to pull coherent thoughts together into words. “The house is simply good planning on my part. I bought a great house in an up-and-coming neighborhood fifteen years ago on a fifteen-year mortgage. By the time I paid off that house this year, it was worth four times what I paid for it, which covered the cost of this house. Most of my clients are in this area, so I wanted to be on this side of town for convenience’s sake. A doula delivers babies in a nontraditional setting. Mostly home births.”
Frost’s eyebrows raised. “Wow. That’s amazing. Does that mean you like kids?” Frost took a bite of his food while waiting for Zep’s response.
For a moment, Zep couldn’t focus on anything but the way Frost’s jaw moved as he chewed. He was such a beautiful man. Zep had to force himself to stay on topic. Thankfully, Frost had given him the perfect opening to let Frost know he had no plans to fuck around with a player. “I adore kids. My entire life, I’ve had plans of owning an enormous house, getting married, and filling the place with kids. Kids are great.” Zep got carried away, losing himself in the dream he hadn’t achieved. “They’re just these miniature people with tremendous personalities that haven’t been squashed by reality yet. They still think the world is massive and beautiful. Truthfully, the world is brighter around children.” Zep’s smile slipped away. “That dream just never happened for me. I have the house now, but that’s about it.” Zep shoved a bite of food in his mouth to hide the bitterness of his confession. He really, really wanted that dream. It stung to know it likely wouldn’t happen at his age. Surprise jarred him from his depressing thoughts. “Holy crap. That’s delicious. I wasn’t expecting anything low carb to be this good.”
Frost chuckled at his reaction. “Mom has diabetes and has gotten really good at making meals that don’t lose flavor for carbs’ sake.”