Free Snowed In by Teodora Kostova

voice on the radio.
    “Yes, sir,” Nate replied, and Quinn could hear the grin in his voice. “I wanted to be a pilot when I was a kid.”
    “Is that so?”
    “Yeah. Never got around to doing it, though.”
    “You’re young. You have all the time in the world,” said the pilot. After a short pause Nate asked,
    “Do you like it? Being a pilot?”
    “I love it. Makes me feel invincible.”
    Quinn huffed, shaking his head. The last thing Nate needed was encouragement to feel invincible. Quinn would probably get a heart attack every time he saw Nate climb into a plane and take off.
    Unless...
    Unless he didn’t see any of that because Nate didn't want him in his life anymore.
    The thought hit him so unexpectedly and so hard that, for a second, his reality shifted and he saw himself in a world without Nate. His heart ached as he rubbed his chest, sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the ground.
    “You wanna do something special, kid?” The pilot’s mischievous voice brought Quinn back to the present and he clutched the radio even harder.
    “Hell, yeah!” Came Nate’s excited response.
    Oh, god.
    Quinn could do nothing but watch as the plane flew straight up like an arrow, doing a loop high in the sky, then dropping down like a stone. Quinn couldn't breathe. He could hear Nate’s excited shouts on the radio and the pilot’s laughter before he straightened the airplane again and cruised above Quinn's head.
    How anyone could enjoy this was beyond him. Quinn was sweating, his heart was thumping as if he’d run for miles, when in fact he hadn’t moved in the past hour.
    “Quinn?” Nate’s voice crackled from the radio. “You there?”
    Quinn managed to get a hold of himself and reply, his voice only slightly shaky. “Yeah. I’m here.”
    “Did you see that?” Nate wasn’t even trying to conceal his excitement. The pilot laughed and Quinn felt the urge to punch him.
    “Yeah.”
    “It was awesome!”
    Quinn could picture Nate in his mind, beaming from ear to ear, his eyes shining with childish joy, his body thrumming with adrenalin. Despite his fear, Quinn smiled. “You’re insane,” he told Nate, and heard both him and the pilot laugh.
     
    *    *    *    *    *
     
    After landing the plane and shaking the pilot’s hand, Nate hurried towards Quinn, a dazzling smile still plastered on his face.
    “That was incredible,” he said when he reached Quinn. “I’ll have to check where I can get flying lessons in LA and what I’m going to need to get a license.”
    The fire in Nate’s green eyes, the way his smile transformed his whole face, the animated body language – everything about Nate at that very moment – made Quinn's heart soar with the love he felt for this man. He nearly blurted the three dangerous words out loud. Stuffing his hands in his pockets to stop himself from reaching out and pulling Nate into his arms, Quinn tried to sound more enthusiastic than he felt when he said,
    “Great.”
    Nate cocked his head. “You look pale. Are you sure you’re OK?”
    “I’m fine,” Quinn replied, hating that he couldn’t share Nate’s excitement about this, but flying scared him shitless. “Come on, let’s go find something for dinner.”
    Without thinking he swung an arm around Nate’s shoulders and pulled him closer, leading him towards the door.
    Nate didn’t pull away.

Chapter ten
     
    “NATE,” Quinn whispered, shaking Nate’s shoulder “Wake up. Nate!”
    Nate startled, opening his eyes sharply, trying to focus them on something. “What?” He said groggily, rubbing a hand over his face.
    “We need to go.” Quinn moved to switch the light on, momentarily blinding them both.
    “What? Why?” He squinted, sitting up on the bed, the duvet falling off his body to reveal his naked chest. Quinn's eyes slid down Nate’s body, then back to his face. His hair was out of control, sticking in every which way, and Quinn couldn’t help but find it sexy.
    Then