John smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Zack forced himself to stir the eggs to fluffy perfection, as opposed to staring at John. When they were finished, John hopped off his stool, pulled two plates out of a cabinet, and held them dutifully out while Zack piled eggs and bacon onto them. He placed the hot pan in the sink. “Want me to clean up?”

John waved him off. “Leave it. I’ll do them later.”

Zack pretended to protest, but secretly he was pleased John was willing to share the chores. He sat on the unoccupied stool. John put his plate in front of him and then handed him a fork.

Zack dug in with voraciousness. Dinner seemed like it had been . . . well, hours ago, and considering how much sex they’d had between then and now, it was a wonder he hadn’t already tried to eat his own hand.

John ate with equal exuberance. He paused long enough to mumble something polite to Zack about how good the eggs were before he tucked back in. It was almost comical to watch, and strangely endearing after their formal dinner the night before. Zack found himself grinning and watching John out of the corner of his eye while he ate.

When they’d both finished, John grabbed the plates and took them to the sink. He started to walk back but stopped in the middle of the kitchen. Zack avoided looking at him for as long as he could. Silence stretched between them. Finally, Zack looked up. John had a pained expression on his face, halfway between guilt and apprehension.

Ice water suffused Zack’s veins. He’d seen that look before on the faces of men he’d spent the night with. It always came the next morning. It was the I-want-to-ask-you-to-leave-now-but-I-don’t-want-to-be-rude face. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but after weeks of foreplay and a fantastic night of sex, he really hadn’t expected John to kick him out. He scrambled to think of a way to spare his dignity.

John beat him to the punch, however. He gave Zack a wary look. “There’s something I want to ask you.”

Zack cleared his throat roughly. “Yeah?”

“I didn’t really know how to say this before, so sorry if I’ve made this awkward.”

Zack interrupted, “It’s okay, I was just planning on leaving, so—”

“Would you spend the day with me?”

They both stopped.

“Pardon?” John said, blinking.

“Nothing!” Zack yelped, waving his hands. “Sorry, what did you say?”

John repeated, “I wanted to know if you’d spend the day with me.”