“The water is not helping.”
Lake smiled. “Excuse me.”
Zach waved him off; he had the answer he needed. He hobbled down the hall and jumped at a familiar bang behind him: bodies meeting the wall. “You’re unbelievable. God. I can’t get enough of you.”
He grinned.
Love.
He’d recognise it anywhere.
“We should see some penguins, Brandy.”
“Isn’t it a bit late?”
Zach peered out the windshield. It was getting dark. And dammit, it was Friday night. Georgie had probably quit work hours ago. Why couldn’t everyone behave according to his schemes?
Brandy drove past the bach.
“Brandy?”
“It’s quiz night. We’re doing dinner at the pub.”
“This wasn’t the plan.”
“You don’t like plans.”
Zach fanned his face. “I sincerely apologise.”
“What for?”
“You’re turning me on.”
Brandy almost crashed the car. He corrected quickly, gripping the wheel, ten and two, gaze rooted to the road.
Zach surrendered, arms up. “It won’t happen again. Promise. Apparently our lives depend on it.”
A soft laugh. “Zachary . . .”
“Jack!”
“It’s Brandy.”
“No, I mean, there, on the motorbike. Shit, he’s coming to quiz-night too. This is amazing.” He groaned. “This is a disaster.”
Brandy steered the car into a park out back. “Disaster?”
Zach pressed himself against the passenger window, gazing at Jack as he locked away his helmet and strutted towards the pub. “Serious disaster.”
He crumpled against the seat and plucked at the waistband of his briefs. There was a hole on one side the size of a laugh and growing.
Brandy’s gaze dropped to the problem.
“That’s right,” Zach said. “These are the back-up to my back-ups. Stop looking at me like that. It’s not that I don’t, like, wash my undies. I do. Noah has drummed that into me. It’s just that I wait until I’ve used every pair first.”
“A problem in general to be sure, but I don’t see how it’s a problem tonight in particular.”
Zach gaped at him. “I can’t go in there knowing this is what’s under my jeans! What if I bend over and he spots these uglies? He’ll be put off for certain.”
“He’s not worth getting googly-eyed over if he cares about holey underwear.”
“I care, Brandy. Me. This is about confidence. About being my best self.”
Brandy opened his mouth and shut it again. His eyes were dark in the shadows of the car, but enough light reached the bonnet to cast a golden glimmer over his expression. Which looked far too amused.
“Are you happy that I’m about to make a fool of myself?”
“My emotions on the topic are rather complex, but I’m not unhappy about it.”
“Brandy!”
“Look, it adds to your charm, okay?”
Zach snapped his elastic waistband again. “These?”
“Uh huh.”
“That’s . . . strangely sweet—I am not taking fashion advice from you.” Zach gazed down Brandy’s shirt to the waist of his suit pants. “Although you do have fabulous undies on today.”
A flush darkened Brandy’s cheeks. “How do you—”
“Your bach has windows. You enjoy eating breakfast in your boxers.”
“You were watching me?”
“I was hanging out laundry and got a wee glimpse. I love bold colours and the pineapples are fun. You’re quite something else under the suit.”
Brandy cocked a brow. “I’ve got layers.”
Zach laughed and clicked open both their belts. “Swap undies with me.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Please?”
“Not with all the pretties before it.”
“Okay.” Zach sighed and popped open his top button. The zip sounded sharp in the sudden quiet between them.
Brandy grabbed the wheel again, like he had to straighten their trajectory, but they were well parked. “What are you doing?” His voice sounded all kinds of off.
Zach arched his ass off the seat and shoved his jeans and undies to his knees. “Taking off my underwear.”
Brandy kept his gaze glued to the brick side wall of the pub. “W-why?”
“Well, I can’t wear these.”
“You’re going in without?”
“Well I can’t wear yours.” Zach untangled the material from his ankles. “At least now if I bend over—”
Brandy snapped his fingers to his pants and made swift work of undressing. He shimmied awkwardly out of his cute boxer briefs and handed them over.
Zach should probably be grabbing them, not staring at how well-endowed his friend was, but . . . “Dude, it’ll be no problem finding you someone.”
“Eyes up here, Zach.”
Zach flushed and ripped his gaze upwards. “Sorry. You just have a very pretty . . .”
“I honestly have no idea how to respond to that.”
“Just some random suggestions here, but you could say that mine is—”
“Not when you’re about to flirt with another man.”
Did that mean . . . he might another time?
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“Do you . . .” his voice dropped to an incredulous whisper, “do you like me?”
Brandy laughed hard and long. He ran fingers through his hair. “I’d scare you out of my life if I said I did.”
“So you . . . don’t?”
Brandy swallowed. “Uh, no. Let’s get inside.”
Brandy’s underwear felt good on him. The mood that cloaked him as he entered the pub, however . . . Like, it was a seriously good thing Brandy didn’t like him. Brandy was a whole decade older, and they were forging something meaningful that Zach wanted to preserve.
