Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

I smacked my forehead. “Right. I forgot. Well, she was hardly going to fly all the way over just to spot a few UFOs. You know she’s not into all this stuff as much as we are.”

“At least her flight wouldn’t have been as long as my drive. It took me the guts of a day to get down here,” he said, and his attention finally fell on Neil. I glanced at my friend and found him staring at Adam as though he was trying to figure something out.

“And who’s this?” Adam asked.

“This is my friend, Neil. I think I’ve mentioned him to you a few times. Neil, this is Adam.”

Adam nodded as he stepped forward, holding his hand out to Neil in a friendly manner. A beat of silence fell before Neil took it, and they shook hands, both eyeing one another as though trying to get the other man’s measure. “It’s good to meet you, Neil.”

“And you,” Neil replied, his demeanour a little stiff.

Adam stepped back. “Well, come on inside and say hello to the others. You two are the last to arrive, so we’ll head out to set up camp soon.”

Neil fell into step beside me while Adam led us inside. “He fancies you,” Neil murmured with his hand at my elbow.

“What makes you say that?” I asked. I’d suspected Adam’s crush for a while, but I’d always considered it harmless, mostly because I never expected to meet him in real life. But now, well, now we had met. I wasn’t sure what made Neil spot that he fancied me, though. Aside from scooping me into a hug, Adam had behaved perfectly ordinary.

“I can just tell,” Neil replied, a slight rumble in his voice that I hadn’t heard before. I couldn’t say I hated it. A thrill went through me at the thought of him being jealous.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if he makes a move,” I said, testing the waters of his possible jealousy.

He frowned hard. “He better not.”

“Why? It’s been a while, and I deserve some action.”

Something ticked in Neil’s jaw. My God, he had to be jealous. This was priceless. I loved how intense and broody he’d suddenly become. “Because we’re sharing a tent,” he grunted. “And I don’t wish my sleep to be interrupted.”

I reached out to touch his arm. “Relax, darling man. Your beauty sleep won’t be interrupted. Whatever Adam feels for me, it isn’t reciprocated. I only see him as a friend. If he makes a move, I’ll kindly inform him of that.”

Neil’s gaze fell on me, and I tried to read his thoughts, but his expression was too hard to decipher. His only response was, “Good.”

We entered the farmhouse, and Adam introduced us to the rest of the group. Some of them I knew from the internet, while others were new to me. There were twelve of us in all. After the introductions were made, we lugged our camping gear across several fields to the spot where we’d supposedly have the best view if any UFOs were to make an appearance.

Neil carried our tent, his backpack, and the rest of our belongings, only allowing me to carry the sleeping bags, which weren’t very heavy. When we arrived at the camping spot, he spread a blanket out on the grass before handing me a water bottle from the cooler box and instructing me to sit and take a load off. He was treating me all special, and I was quite overcome. If he wasn’t careful, I might swoon.

I watched as he read the instructions before going about erecting our tent. He’d taken his jumper off, leaving him in a plain navy T-shirt that gave me a good view of his biceps and forearms. The way they flexed as he held a metal pole in each hand before inserting one into the other. Oh, no, a swoon was upon me. It was happening!

Neil was completely oblivious as he finished putting up the tent before placing our backpacks and sleeping bags inside.

Several yards away, everyone else was still setting up their tents when Neil had finished. I was impressed. He came and sat down next to me, his breathing a little laboured as he grabbed the water bottle from my hand and took a long gulp.

Um, okay.

I was momentarily transfixed by the fact that his lips were pressed where my lips had been seconds ago. A pleasant shiver trickled down my spine as I watched his throat bob while he swallowed.

“Thirsty work?” I asked as he placed the empty bottle on the ground.

“Yes. It wouldn’t have been if I were a little more fit.”

I disagreed with his statement since Neil was fit as a fiddle from what I could see. There didn’t seem to be an ounce of fat on him. Granted, I’d never seen him topless, but from the few brief times we’d hugged or been physically close, I could feel that he was muscular. Not in an overt way, but he was definitely in good shape.

“Do you ever work out at the gym with the cast of Running on Air?” I asked him.

“I do. Michaela and I often use the treadmills and the weights, but we don’t go anywhere near the ramps or jumping walls.”

“If you work out, then you must be fit enough. You certainly look it,” I said, my gaze wandering over his chest and down to his trim waist.

“Thanks,” he said then, seeming pleased with the compliment. “What about you?”

“If you’re asking if I work out, the answer is no, but I do go on lots of long walks. And since I don’t drive, I typically have to carry my groceries all the way home, so that kind of counts as lifting weights, right?”