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THE CALL TO Dr. Willoughby at headquarters went well. Ariel wanted to make sure the suggestion of transferring to Great Britain wasn’t merely speculative.
“What made you decide so fast?” His soon-to-be boss’ question was tinged with wry amusement in his voice. “Did the spectacle of polluted water in Bath truly entice you to move across the pond?”
“I never even made it to Bath,” Ariel admitted, and gave Dr. Willoughby an abbreviated version of his navigational adventure. He left out the naked yoga part. “But the countryside is lovely, the people are kind, and I love working here.”
Dr. Willoughby cleared his throat in a knowing way. “I see. Well. I’m glad you’re enjoying your holiday. Please do let me know if I can do anything to expedite your relocation.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up.
“That’s quite a smile on your face,” Wade said as he walked in from the kitchen with a pot of tea and a small French press of coffee. The question in his voice was unspoken. He wasn’t going to poke his nose into Ariel’s business, and that precisely made it a lot easier to simply confide.
“I’ll have to fill out an official application to transfer here, and I still have to talk to my division leader in Atlanta. But yeah, Dr. Willoughby thinks I should get it. He wants me on the team in any case.”
“You called your boss on a Sunday morning? And he took your call?” Wade’s surprise made Ariel pause.
“Well... I suppose it could’ve waited. I’ll leave him alone next time, but when he found I’d be going on a driving adventure, he encouraged me to call if anything came up.”
Wade sat on the ancient sofa next to him and set down their respective drinks. “Of course you didn’t bother to call him from Avebury,” he said, teasing.
“I knew where I was by then. I felt like an idiot, getting lost like that or getting all claustrophobic from the hedges. No sense advertising that kind of incompetence.”
As Wade opened his laptop and clicked on a few icons to get the files he needed, he hummed as though to himself. “So stripping naked in the middle of a henge was just a cherry on top, I suppose.”
“It was a spiritual experience. Until you showed up.”
Wade’s face fell. “Well then. I’ll have to make sure we have a proper re-do someday, and we can both have a spiritual experience in the stone circle!” Yet the twinkle of mischief gave him away.
“You would never,” Ariel said as he leaned into him, feeling a flush of fondness. “You’re entirely too proper.”
“We could do it inside the barrow, if you want some privacy,” Wade said in an entirely reasonable tone, as though he was arranging for a hotel room. “It’s not as though the ghosts had never seen anything like that before. It would make their whole year!”
“There’s space inside the barrow? You can get up there? What about the cattle?”
A discussion ensued.
“But there is no bull,” Wade said sensibly. “The kissing gates are everywhere. That’s just in case. The hill has winter wheat on it right now and cattle would destroy it. Although... as the weather improves, you can be sure we won’t be the only couple with that idea in mind.”
They both froze.
A couple.
“If... if you stay, that is,” Wade corrected himself. “And if we work out.”
“If I won’t stay, I’ll be visiting a lot, because we will work out,” Ariel said as he leaned over and brushed his lips over the smooth part of Wade’s neck. He didn’t know where this confidence came from. It was sudden and welcome and wonderful, as though his life had a purpose aside from just getting work done and ducking Noreen’s well-intentioned efforts to set him up with a date.
He would call her tomorrow. Or late tonight, if he could catch her early on Monday morning. For now, he wanted to see those images Wade had thought were so exceptional.
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SHOWING ARIEL THE PHOTOS was worse than having his first-ever art opening. Was there anything more intrusive that taking a photo of a nude person without their knowledge? By then, Wade had known Ariel was not an apparition from the distant past, and he could blame his artistic drive for only so much.
“I have to reiterate that I do apologize,” he said once again. “And I’ll be happy to erase them. Your good opinion is worth a thousand award-winning images!”
Ariel’s eyebrows rose. “Award-winning? Let’s see. I’m truly curious now.”
Wade had the photo gallery all set up, and he showed Ariel the controls. Then he left him to it. As he leaned back, he could see which image Ariel was viewing, but more importantly he saw Ariel’s reactions.
Some of the photos were blah, or something was out of focus, or they badly needed to be cropped. Others, though... he noticed Ariel leaning back too, as though he could better evaluate the compilations of gray tones from afar. Then he leaned closer again, and turned to Wade. “This one’s awesome.”
“Thank you.” Wade voice was barely a whisper.
“You can’t tell it’s me unless you know me really well,” Ariel mused. “And maybe not even then.” He turned to Wade. “Is this one of the ones you wanted to submit?”
“Yes.” How could a whisper turn into a croak?
“Show me your model release form. I’m generally in favor.” He smiled. “I’m not really close to my family. They disapprove of my ‘lifestyle,’ so I don’t have to worry about their reactions anymore.”
“What, they didn’t want you to be a chemist?” Wade quipped as incredible warmth spread through him. Ariel didn’t hate him. He even appreciated the dratted photos, and now Wade would have to submit at least one, and share Ariel with the world. He wanted to hoard Ariel all to himself, but considering Ariel’s family situation, unresolved issues still weighed on this lovely man.
Issues which Wade’s photography could, quite possibly, address.
“Whatever you want,” Wade said. “Really, it’s either offer it to the world, or ditch it. There’s no middle way. Not with social media.”
“They’re great,” Ariel said. “I’ve never photographed well. And I never knew I looked like that. Not that appearance is hugely important, but it sure doesn’t hurt.” He made space for Wade to lean in, so they could view the photos together. “I love the big stone, and I love the way the sun comes out over it. I really do look like a wraith!”
“The only sexy wraith in the world,” Wade said with a laugh. “If we can set this aside for a while, we could enjoy a Sunday walk.”
“It’s raining,” Ariel pointed out. “Do we have umbrellas?”
Bubbles of laughter, most of it a product of intense relief, welled up from Wade’s chest. “Is that even a serious question? You’re in England, my lad. Of course we have umbrellas. In every foyer, in every car, by every door. And that’s not counting the special, favorite ones people keep hidden away.”