Nick watched. Every movement engulfed his senses. He hadn't noticed when it had become this strong. There had always been something about him, something that drew him to Zak. But now it was almost as if it had become a full blown addiction. Through the lens of the camera it was okay. At least that's what he had convinced himself. Now… now even just sitting here across from him at dinner, he noticed it. Every movement had a musical score punctuated by his heartbeat. Zak would look up and smile at him and the tempo picked up. Aaron barely registered in his periphery and he hated that. He wasn't sure which part of it he hated though- that Aaron even registered at all, or that one of his best friends was now on the fringe of his thoughts when they were together. He knew Aaron before he met Zak, but that didn't even matter now.
Zak's leg bumped his under the table sending jolts of electricity through his leg straight to his groin. He scowled. "Sorry, dude. Damn friggin small tables," Zak mumbled between bites. Nick just shrugged and tore into his ribs. Aaron started in on what they discovered that day about their investigation location for the next night. Their chatter became background noise as Nick picked up a rib, cleaning the meat off with his teeth and sucking on the bone.
Zak looked up and stared quizzically at him. "Good ribs?" He hadn't noticed the loudness of his sucking the meat off the bone, nor that he was staring at Zak while he did it.
He coughed. "Yeah, sorry." He laughed uncomfortably.
Walking back to the hotel from the restaurant, Nick shoved his hands in his pockets. This evening was weird. Something was off. Something was off about him and he thought Zak had noticed. Aaron grinned at him. "Time to go call the wife?"
Nick scowled again. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Too bad," Zak said, pointing down the street. "Aaron and I were thinking about hitting up that bar down there. If she lets you off the phone you should join us." Nick nodded. He wanted to. Really wanted to. But he had to call Roni and check in first. He sighed. He always had to check in.
They walked him to the front of the hotel before wandering off down the street, calling back at him to hurry up with the phone sex and come to the bar. Nick watched them walk off. The pit of his stomach burned. He wasn't sure if it was because he knew they were going to go have a good time, dance with random strangers and drink the night away or if it was because Zak was walking away from him. But that didn't even make sense.
He walked back to his room, sliding the keycard in and pulling out his cell phone. Flopping back on the bed, he hit the speed dial to his home number. When Roni answered, he didn't understand the feeling of anger that welled up in him. When she asked what was wrong, he honestly answered that he didn't know. Maybe he had just been on the road too much lately. That had to be it. He missed being home. He missed being with his wife. The alternative was just too odd. Not him at all. Not something he wanted to think about either. So instead, Nick listened to his wife's voice as she talked about something that happened when she went out with their neighbors earlier that night.
Half an hour later, he hung up the phone, plugged it into charge, and went to take a shower. When he got out, he checked the time and saw he had a text message from Zak. It was a picture of a beer stein with the words "BAR!"
Nick sighed, smiled, and put his clothes back on. Zak wanted him and who was he to say no?