26. Mik

CHAPTER 26

MIK

As soon as the plane has reached altitude and the pilot turns off the fasten seatbelt light, Jason raises the armrest between us and pulls me against his side. I lean back on him, reading a rather spicy book about a supervillain and his sexy superhero nemesis, smiling whenever Jason drops a soft kiss against my temple. He's reading through a list of questions for his rescheduled magazine interview and typing out responses for the printed portion of the magazine article. The photo shoot will be early tomorrow morning. I'm excited to see him in his element, although I suppose being photographed in a staged environment isn't the norm for him. He seems rather uncomfortable with the idea of being paraded around as a sex symbol, but all the proceeds go to a national fund for LGBTQ+ youth. He also recognizes the importance of positive attention on out players in professional sports, especially when they've been as popular as Jason has in his career playing for the Wales Rugby League.

A gorgeous young flight attendant comes to stand next to our row of seats. "Well, if it isn't Mr. Reinier. Good to see you again, sir." Her teeth are perfectly straight and pearly white. She's the kind of attractive that would probably make me feel territorial if Jason were into women at all .

"Sara!" He greets her like an old friend, reaching over my shoulder to shake her hand. "Good to see you as well. How's your brother?"

"You made his day, maybe his year, with the kind gifts you gave me for him," she says kindly in her thick accent. "He's quite smitten now, if I'm being honest."

Jason barks out a laugh, his cheeks pinking up a bit. I don't know what they're talking about, but the sight of him blushing always makes me hot under the collar.

I can't help but crack a smile. "Just wait until the next issue of The Scene comes out," I tell her.

Jason's agent sent over a list of possible scenarios for the photoshoot, and I'm officially questioning whether I should be allowed to be in attendance because the mere thought of Jason naked on a wet, muddy field with nothing but a ball covering his dick makes me squirm.

Jason groans and rubs a hand over his face. Sara's eyes twinkle down at me. She cuts her eyes from me to Jason's arm around me, then back to Jason. She rolls her lips to avoid laughing at his obvious embarrassment and changes the subject by raising a questioning eyebrow to the way he links our fingers together over my chest.

"Sara, this is my…" He shifts, causing me to sit up and face him. His head quirks to the side, considering. I suppose we haven't actually put an official label on things.

What are we? Boyfriends? That sounds strange. Juvenile, almost, considering we're almost forty-year-old men who have been in love with each other since we were teenagers.

He doesn't take his eyes off mine when he says, "This is the love of my life."

"Is it now? Rather fast turnaround from seeing you a few weeks ago. "

"No," he says. "It's been a lifetime."

"Ah, I understand," she says, her accent making her sound wise beyond her years. "I suppose the things we're running from catch up to us, eventually."