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Keith and Holly's sex life to know that woman might be serene and sweet on the surface, but she liked her whips and chains at home. Nothing against it, just very much not his style.
     
    Eli smirked. Hell of a world when considering a gay hookup with his straight friend was the lesser of two kinks, wasn't it?
     
    What about Taye ? Less surety there. Eli guessed Taye was a cute little twerp, but he was taken, and it didn't feel right considering even he had been able to see how nauseatingly in love Taye and Richie were. Even so… no. Taye didn't do it for Eli. Interesting.
     
    Eli pulled open the Starbucks' door and stepped into a world of steam, java saturation, and consumer-conscious appeal. Worked too. Like others around him, Eli stopped and sighed with satisfaction and appreciation.
     
    “Can I help you?” The barista behind the register managed to stay chirpy after who knew how many customers in a given hour. Cute little thing, her red ponytail pulled through her hat and her shape svelte without being stick-figure skinny. She had a great smile.
     
    Beyond that, she only brought one word to Eli's mind: jailbait . “Caramel frappuccino,” he said, naming Zane's favorite. Crazy bastard. Even in the dead of winter, he loved his sweet, creamy-cold drinks. “Venti.”
     
    The barista called his order to the man working the bar. Older, with a little more age and experience worn into his face, he was maybe thirty, and he'd seen some life. Eli thought he spotted a tattoo mostly hidden by the guy's dark hair. He had a crooked smile, friendly brown eyes, and strong hands.
     
    Nice guy, but in this case he did less for Eli than Taye did. Interesting-er and interesting-er . He tipped the guy outrageously in silent apology for eyeballing him and headed back out with gift in hand. On his way back to the clinic, he considered stopping at a news kiosk to pick up a pack of Zane's favorite cigarettes, but on second thought, he didn't want to make peace that badly. Heh! Maybe this would be a way to finally coax Zane off the smokes. Who wanted to kiss an ashtray?
     
    Eli slowed in front of the door to the free clinic, midreach for the handle. He could see Zane inside, almost done with his stack of charts. Mostly alone, the clinic briefly quiet. Great timing, then. He rapped on the door and waved the plastic cup.
     
    Zane sat back, his grin bright and broad, and waved Eli in. And Eli felt it again, same as before, only maybe stronger now. Something he couldn't so much define as he could break down into its component elements: warmth. Eagerness. Relief. A feeling like opening your eyes on the first day of summer vacation. Sinking into a soft bed at the end of a long day. The anticipation of waiting for your prom date to come down the stairs.
     
    Eli appreciated that Zane kept his seat as he approached, letting Eli take the lead. Zane did know him well. And with each step, the anticipation and eagerness that both scared the hell out of Eli and spurred him on grew. Might be a short trek from the door to where Zane sat, but by the time Eli reached Zane he was equal parts wreck and as calm as the eye of a storm.
     
    “That for me?” Zane reached for the frappuccino. He kept his calm gaze on Eli, weighing him in the balance but not with judgment. Eli knew he could go either way and Zane would accept that.
     
    Gave him a boost of courage. “Yours.” Eli held onto the cup just long enough to give him a reason for his fingers to brush Zane's. The slight inhale told him Zane knew exactly what he was doing and what he was really saying. All of it. “Just so you know, I have no idea what I'm doing here.”
     
    “Idiot,” Zane said around the lip of the cup. His eyes sparkled with gentle mischief. “That's the whole point to doing this with me. We figure it out together.”
     
    For that, Eli almost wanted to kiss him again. Not yet. But soon.

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    Funny thing was, the aftermath of their big emotional moment