Higher Ground

by Becky Black

  * * * *

  “Adam, wake up.”

  Adam jerked as his elbow slipped off the arm of the chair. He righted himself, looking around at a dark, unfamiliar room, not sure where he was for a second. Zach stood at his side. Ah, Zach’s lab. He rubbed his eyes.

  “What’s the time?”

  “Almost midnight. I’m sorry, I didn’t even see that you’d fallen asleep or I’d have sent you home.”

  Adam straightened up and winced as pain lanced through his neck. Sleeping in an office chair—not a good idea.

  “Are you all right?” Zach asked, voice tinged with concern.

  “A bit stiff.”

  Zach moved behind him and began to massage his neck, his hands tentative, untutored, but warm and soothing anyway. Adam sighed and leaned back against him. Thrills tingled down his spine and into his groin.

  “Oh man, that feels good. Thank you.”

  So good. But almost midnight. Damn. There went his plans for the evening. They could have had a much nicer night than this. Now it was so late, and they both had to work in the morning. They had time for a quickie, but he didn’t want the first time with Zach to be like that. And he didn’t want to be so tired even before they started that he’d be asleep five seconds after his climax.

  “I guess we should get home,” Zach said, though he made no move to stop his massage, moving on to knead Adam’s shoulders. “It’s so late. I lost track of time.”

  And it was much too late for the transport link between the campus and the town, Adam knew. He’d “borrow” the department truck to get home. If he brought it back early enough in the morning, they’d never know. Zach had his electric bike, of course. He could give Adam a ride with it, but Adam didn’t much feel like riding pillion, even if it meant holding tight to Zach. Too cold at this time of night.

  He stood, reluctantly ending the massage with a smile of thanks, and they gathered up their belongings and headed out of the lab. As they walked through the dark corridors with only dim emergency lighting to show them the way, Adam slipped his hand into Zach’s.

  The stand where people kept the electric bikes stood by the exit. Only Zach’s bike remained. Adam strolled over to it with him, in no hurry to take his leave yet, looking forward to a kiss good night.

  “Damn,” Zach said as he looked at the bike.

  “What?”

  “I forgot to plug it into the charging point. And it already had the low-battery warning when I arrived this morning. I’m such an idiot.”

  “Think you’ve got enough juice to get you home?”

  Zach shrugged and shook his head. “I guess if not, then I pedal.”

  “Not at this time of night. You need to get to bed. I’ll give you a ride.”

  “You have a bike?”

  “No, we’ll use the botany department’s truck. Come on. Bring the bike; it can go in the bed.”

  “Are you allowed to use the truck to give people lifts?” Zach asked as he followed Adam, wheeling the bike.

  “Not strictly speaking, no. But we’ve been working unpaid overtime. They can’t complain.” They still would, though. His professor had chewed him out before about using the truck for personal errands.

  Zach yawned hugely when they reached the truck and heaved the bike into the bed. Adam smiled at him.

  “You really need some rest.”

  “Yes, sorry.”

  “No apologies needed. Hop in.”

  It took only fifteen minutes to arrive at the A dome. Few lights showed from the apartments there or any of the houses in the town. All the sensible people were in bed. Zach had been quiet on the short trip, and Adam looked at him a couple of times to see if he’d fallen asleep. He hadn’t, though his eyes were half closed.

  “Here we are,” he said, parking the truck. Zach’s eyes opened wider, and he sat up straighter in his seat, then turned to Adam.

  “Thank you for coming to help me tonight. The food and just having you there… It helped. Though you’re a little distracting too.”

  “I live to distract you.” Adam hoped his smile would entice Zach closer, and it did. He leaned in, filling Adam’s arms, kissing him. He had coffee breath, but Adam supposed he did too. They exchanged coffee kisses, mouths open, tongues touching quite gently, both too tired for a wrestling match. Zach pulled back after a second but only far enough to speak, his lips centimeters away, breath warm, mingling with Adam’s. He was so close that when he tried to look at Adam, his eyes almost crossed.

  “I want to invite you up, but—”

  “But you’re already almost asleep. I know. Me too.”

  “I have to work in the morning.”

  “Me too.”

  “I wish—”

  “Me too.” Adam said it for the third time and smiled at himself. “Let’s just say we’re on the same page. Tomorrow. Well, tonight now. Don’t work late. Come over to my place. I’ll make dinner.”

  “Can you cook?”

  “We’ll find out. Get there for about twenty hundred, and I’ll show you a much more enjoyable way to spend an evening. Though I admit I enjoyed tonight.”

  “You slept through most of it.”

  “I enjoy sleeping. It’s my second favorite thing to do in bed.” He kissed Zach again as Zach laughed, and it was as though he could taste the laugh, taste Zach’s amusement and pleasure. He slid his hands around Zach’s waist, under his jacket, feeling the warmth of his skin through his shirt. Tomorrow it would be skin he caressed. Zach had a slender waist and hips, and Adam longed to caress them, kiss them, wrap his legs around them as Zach took him. Despite his tiredness, his cock gave a little stir of interest, and he wondered just how many hours of sleep he really needed.

  Too late. Zach broke the kiss. “I should go. It’s so late. Thank you for the ride.”

  “Anytime.” Oh yeah. Anytime.

  He helped Zach lift the bike out and wheel it over to the shelter by the door.

  “This time, remember to charge it,” Adam said.

  “I will. Good night, Adam.”

  A last kiss, long, lingering, ending only when a sheriff’s department car cruised by, its lights touching them and startling them into moving apart. It slowed for a moment, perhaps to make a note of who was lurking about beside the bike shed, then moved on slowly. Adam looked at the truck standing conspicuously beside them. He grimaced. That was sure to get back to Professor Wilson.

  “See you tomorrow,” Zach said. “Can we have lunch together? I should get out of the lab, I know. Meet you in the cafeteria.”

  “That would be nice. See you then.” He left without claiming another kiss, because one more, just one more, and he’d decide he didn’t need to sleep at all.

  Chapter Four

  “Gray!”

  Adam flinched as Professor Wilson’s voice exploded behind him. Jan, seated beside him at the bench, gave him a wide-eyed look that said you’re in trouble, boy.

  “Professor?” Adam said, turning around and putting on his most wide-eyed, innocent expression. It never failed to work on his mother.

  “Tell me, Gray,” Wilson said, “have you started to run a taxi service with the department truck? It’s not enough that you use it to go shopping and run personal errands, now you’re giving other people rides home?”

  “Sir, Dr. Benesh had been working late on his quarterly reports. His bike was low on charge, and—”

  “What were you still doing here at that time of night? I didn’t authorize any overtime.”

  “I was just helping Dr. Benesh out.”

  Wilson’s eyebrows shot up. “And what do you know about geology?”

  “He’s a geophysicist, in fact, but, ah… I was just making sure he had something to eat. We’re friends, sir.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  Of course. You could no more keep a secret around this place than you could grow oranges in the arctic. Adam tried a charming, even sexy smile. He suspected he’d seen Wilson snatch a look at his ass a couple of times—th
ough, to his credit, the professor had never made a move on him.

  “I apologize, Professor. I did have the truck back here by seven thirty this morning. Just with the quarterly reports due in the next few days, I thought I could help another department out.”

  “Yes, well…” Wilson shook his head. “Don’t make a habit of it. The truck is for department business, first and foremost. You’re taking it out this afternoon, I believe.”

  “I have a couple more test farms to complete the reports on.”

  “I want it back here by seventeen hundred. One minute later and I’m going to start charging you vehicle-hire rates.”

  “I’ll have it back by then without fail.”

  “See that you do.” Wilson strode out of the lab.

  Adam turned back to the bench and grinned at Jan. “Putty in my hands.”

  “He won’t be if you don’t get that truck back here on time. And it won’t matter how charmingly you smile at him.”

  “You’re not suggesting I was using my sexual wiles on Dr. Wilson, are you?”

  “You’d use your wiles on anybody if it got you what you want.”

  She had a point. Maybe he could consider it warming up his engines. He intended to work some sexual wiles on Zach tonight.

  * * * *

  “You’re going to miss the deadline,” Phillips said, scowling at Zach.

  “No, sir, I’m sure I can get the rest of my reports done in time. I’ll work late.” Damn, but he was supposed to spend this evening with Adam. Could he maybe come back here afterward? If he could stay awake. He hadn’t gone to bed right after Adam dropped him off the night before but had spent a few hours designing more tests and computer models. He needed sleep.

  “You were here until midnight last night. Were you working on these?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “And anything else? Only I hear you had a guest in the lab most of the evening.”

  Oh hell, did he think Adam and Zach had been up to…shenanigans? Chance would be a fine thing.

  “Mr. Gray brought me some dinner and stayed to do some work of his own. I hope that’s not a problem.”

  Phillips looked at him narrowly. Zach hoped his expression conveyed the idea he couldn’t imagine what else Phillips might be talking about.

  “No, I suppose not. But this work needs to be finished, Benesh. Get on with it.”

  “I will, sir. Right away.” Phillips started to turn away. “Ah, sir, I wondered if you’d had a chance to look at those scan results I gave you?” Even just a glance. Surely if he took even a glance he’d see the implications.

  “I’ll look at them once we get the reports out of the way.”

  “But, sir, I think there is some urgency. If I’m right, then—”

  “After the reports.” Phillips left. Zach turned back to his desk, snatched up a piece of paper, and crushed it into a ball before tossing it across the room, hoping to knock over something expensive.

  He didn’t, and then he had to go and retrieve the balled-up paper and smooth it out, realizing he’d made some important notes on it. He slapped it back down on the bench and gripped the edge with arms spread wide, leaning in, head down.

  Damn. If only someone else would see the importance. He’d tried every other member of the geology and geophysics department, but everyone was too busy, promising they’d get to his scan results in a few days. These damn quarterly reports. Urgent yet not important was the bane of Zach’s life. So what if the Terraforming Authority had to wait a few more days for reports on mineral surveys? They had a hundred-year-long plan for Ethris. A few days here and there meant nothing.

  And if his scans meant what he thought they meant, that hundred-year plan might be about to change radically.

  Did he dare go over Phillips’s head? Could he go right to Dr. Morrison, the head of the Institute? It went against every protocol in the book and could damage Zach’s reputation and career severely if he turned out to be wrong. Would Morrison even listen to him if he came without backing from Phillips?

  How the hell did he get someone to listen to him?

  A soft chime from his Link reminded him of lunchtime and his promise to meet Adam in the cafeteria. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, head pounding. He wanted to meet Adam for sure, but he should really work through his lunch to have any chance of getting those reports done.

  Screw the reports. He had to eat. He’d go for half an hour.

  * * * *

  Adam smiled when Zach came into the cafeteria. He’d feared he wouldn’t show, that he would be too busy again. He waved, and Zach returned the wave before heading to the counter to grab some food. A few minutes later, he joined Adam at the table, carrying a plate of sandwiches and a glass of juice. Not nearly enough, Adam thought. He’d feed Zach up good tonight.

  “I can’t stay long,” Zach said. “I have to get back to the lab.”

  “Okay. I have to get out on my visits to the test farms too. Damn quarterly reports, huh?”

  “Yes. Reports. Dammit! There are more important things. More urgent things, and I can’t get anyone to see that!”

  Adam looked at him with alarm. His face had flushed, his brow furrowed in a deep V. And there were dark shadows under his eyes.

  “Are you okay, Zach? Didn’t you get any sleep last night? Is this about that personal project?”

  Zach sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be snapping at you. It’s not your fault. And I’m probably wrong, but if someone would just check my results, I could know that for sure. Because if I’m not…” He trailed off into silence, looking into the distance.

  “If you’re not?” Adam prompted. Zach turned back to him and shook his head.

  “Forget it. I don’t want to worry you if it’s not necessary, which it might not be. I hope it’s not.”

  “But it might be something for me to worry about?”

  “It’s something for everyone to worry about, but only if I’m right. And I…I might be wrong.”

  Adam saw hope in Zach’s eyes. What kind of scientist hoped he was wrong?

  One who’d discovered something frightening. He leaned in and spoke quietly.

  “Zach. Tell me.”

  Zach glanced around. “I can’t. My results are still preliminary and haven’t been peer checked. I don’t want to spread panic. But it might be a good idea for you to pack a bag and be ready to leave at short notice.” He looked across the room. “I have to go.”

  “What?” Adam glanced around to see Professor Phillips giving them a glare from a table full of senior faculty members. When he turned back, Zach had wrapped the rest of his sandwich into a napkin and stood up. “Wait. What do you mean, panic? You can’t just tell me that and run off.”

  Zach finished his glass of juice. “Can you bus my tray, please?”

  “What? I, yeah, sure, but…will I still see you tonight?” He started to founder in the wake of this conversation.

  “Yes.” Zach looked torn for a moment, then suddenly resolute. “Yes, definitely. Your place at twenty hundred. I remember. I’ll talk to you later.” Before Adam could answer, he turned and hurried from the cafeteria. Adam leaned back in his chair, feeling like he’d been caught up in Hurricane Benesh.

  Pack a bag? What the hell had Zach discovered?

  * * * *

  Adam would have gone to Zach’s lab to question him about his mysterious warning, but after the reprimand from Wilson that morning, he figured he’d better get out on his farm visits, so he could return the truck on time. He’d see Zach later and get it out of him then.

  Meanwhile, he headed out. The sun shone brightly that afternoon, the sky a light violet, clouds scudding over it. Being out in that, gossiping and chatting to the farmers, it should have been close to a perfect day, but his mind kept wandering between what Zach had said and his plans for later. If something bad was going on, then the perfect evening he had planned might not be so perfect after all.

  Zach could be
crazy, of course. The really smart ones often were, in Adam’s experience. God, he hoped not. As he drove back toward town after the last of the visits—he had just enough time to run to the store to buy some things for tonight and still get the truck back by 17:00—he considered the last few days. Zach had become increasingly distracted by his quarterly reports and his mysterious personal project. But despite that, Adam liked him. Liked him more every day. He wanted to see where this relationship could go. It would be a terrible shame if Zach turned out to be crazy.

  He shook his head at himself as he got out at the store. Zach wasn’t crazy. Not crazy crazy. A little odd, maybe. Obsessive. But academics got bees in their bonnets about some new result all the time. Adam’s own bonnet had housed enough bees to know this from firsthand experience. Zach might be rather high-maintenance, though, even if not crazy, something which had made Adam break up with too-demanding boyfriends in the past. But he might be worth the maintenance.

  He came back out of the store a few minutes later and loaded the bag into the passenger seat.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Gray.”

  Adam started guiltily, wondering if Wilson was actively tracking the vehicle and had caught him in the middle of another personal errand. But when he turned, he saw only an old man on a bench by the store, leaning on a cane, chin resting on his hands.

  “Dr. Johnson,” Adam said, with a respectful nod. “Nice day, sir.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Adam wondered for a second if the old man had misheard him, but maybe not. Dr. Johnson wasn’t just a founder, he was the founder. The head of mission for the first stage of the colony forty years ago. Dome dwellers, starting the terraforming and atmosphere processing. He’d raised a family here, and his daughter, Colleen Johnson, was currently head of the Colony Council. So he had every right to take credit for the nice day. Adam smiled and went over to sit on the bench beside him.

  “Busy at the Institute, then, lad?”