Trade Deadline - Avon Gale Page 0,49
and he seemed to be leaning a little closer.
“Well, Danny, the shark’s a machine. Like, you know it’s not real, right?”
Daniel grinned. “You’re the fish expert, Micah. Not me.”
“Fish, he says. Fish.” Micah pretended to punch Daniel on his very nicely defined biceps muscle. “Guess someone needs another tour.”
As the mechanical great white terrorized Amity, Daniel and Micah shifted on the blanket to find a more comfortable way to sit. Neither seemed willing to give up the closeness to retreat to the chairs, and eventually Daniel sat up, widened his legs, and said, “You could come sit here. Keep the wind off me.”
“Told you to wear a jacket, Mr. Oh No Not Sixty Degrees,” Micah groused, but he had a feeling the offer had nothing to do with the temperature. He paused. “Are you worried someone might see you?” Asking felt a little gross, because there were other queer couples there too, but Micah didn’t really know how to navigate these particular waters and he figured he should ask.
“Nope,” Daniel said, immediately. “But it’s okay, if you are.”
Micah was out and had been for years, but he wasn’t a pro athlete. Luckily it was dark and not super crowded, and Micah didn’t know for sure but he’d never heard of hockey players in Miami being a focus of media attention to the level of, say, Miami Heat players. Despite all the attempts to entice fans, hockey wasn’t a big deal down here at all. Maybe it was for the best, because it meant Micah could slide over and sit with his back to Daniel’s chest and not worry they’d be on a tabloid. Not that he’d mind everyone knowing he was dating Daniel Bellamy, but he hated the idea of anyone being outed before they were ready or when it wasn’t their choice.
What he definitely didn’t hate was being surrounded by Daniel, who was large and solid and warm—so much that Micah eventually tugged off his hoodie and tossed it aside. They watched the movie with the occasional quip or remembered in-joke, but as the inevitable confrontation between man and great white neared, the quips and comments fell by the wayside as their hands started to wander.
“I definitely don’t need a jacket,” Daniel murmured, hands stroking lightly up and down Micah’s arms. Micah had ditched the hoodie but he was still wearing a long-sleeve shirt, although it didn’t keep him from feeling Daniel’s fingers like there was nothing between his skin and Daniel’s hands. “You’re keeping me pretty warm.”
By all rights that was a cheesy thing to say, and Micah should have laughed. But Daniel’s voice was earnest, low and a little husky, and it just made Micah shiver. He tilted his head to smile, though before he could, Daniel lowered his head and kissed him. He got a little bolder with his hands, too—moving from Micah’s arms and down to his thighs, then lightly over his stomach.
Micah felt Daniel’s hand slide up under his shirt and had to pull back from their kiss. It was amazing how fast he was getting hard, and while he didn’t think they were being inappropriate—given the movie was almost over and it was close to nine thirty on a beach in December—his head was swimming and his body buzzing from the closeness, the kisses, the fact that this was Daniel behind him.
“I’m kinda in a hurry for this movie to be over.” Daniel must have arrived at the same conclusion because while he didn’t stop with the touches, he moved them back up to Micah’s arms and just rested his chin on the top of Micah’s head. “I think I might want them to blow up that shark more than they do.”
The word blow coming out of Daniel’s mouth, with Daniel so warmly wrapped around him and his body still tingling from the touches and making out—yeah, that wasn’t helping Micah calm down. But he wasn’t necessarily willing to move away, and he definitely didn’t want to stop. “Part two of this date involves less people and, uh. Less sharks.”
Daniel nodded, but then he started to smile. It turned quickly into a grin. “But maybe can it still have the—”
“If you say man eating,” Micah interrupted, and they both started laughing.
It broke the tension a little, but that was probably a good thing. The movie was nearing the end, the shark had been taken out by explosions and Brody and Hooper were making their way back to shore between two floating barrels.
“Would be