Air
by Rachel
Carter watched as Luka breathed in the sticky, thick air of the jungle, his face mere inches from Carter’s. If Carter really wanted to, he could reach up and brush back a lock of that thick, dark hair that always fell across Luka’s forehead.
He didn’t really want to; at least not at the moment. The thought of wasting energy on touching Luka’s hair – thick, sweaty, dark hair – was absurd especially since that hair would just fall again as soon as Carter’s hand moved away.
Luka’s eyes opened and Carter turned away, rolling onto his side so his back was to Luka. Carter waited, his breathing shallow in the hot air. A few moments later, he felt the warmth of an arm slide across his waist and another hot body touch his own.
The jungle air made Luka’s breath on the back of his neck feel like a furnace and Carter wondered if it would freeze in the Chicago air back home. Gritty, warm lips touched the wing of his shoulder and Carter shivered. Chicago air was so far away – Chicago, Abby, and propriety were another world altogether.
All Carter could fathom at the moment was Luka’s breath on the back of his neck and the mosquito netting around them, separating the jungle from their sweaty bodies. All he had to do was roll over and welcome the world with open arms.