Sonoran Heat by Katrina Strauss

Author:Katrina Strauss [Strauss, Katrina]
Language: nld
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: erotic MM, Romance MM
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Monkeys screeched; children laughed. The call of birds, both free and captive, filled the air. The spring breeze briefly carried with it the smell of animals and dust, giving way to the more welcome aroma of fresh-buttered popcorn, creating the mixed-bag scent unique to the zoo.

Tony made sure no one was watching, then tossed a handful of popcorn to the ground. He watched, amused, as a trio of black-tailed prairie dogs scurried around, scavenging what they could before sitting up on their hind legs and nibbling the food from between their paws. Park policy stated Do Not Feed the Animals, but the pint-size critters that eagerly devoured Tony’s offering didn’t belong to the Phoenix Zoo. Their colony had dug its way into the park years before and freely roamed the area by the 91

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concession stand. Ironically, their larger white-tailed cousins lived on display nearby, housed in tunnels visible through a Plexiglas barrier, while an underground layer of concrete prevented them from digging free. Regardless of the black-tail’s free status, Tony made sure no employees were watching before he rummaged in the bag and scattered more popcorn.

“This is awesome,” Josh muttered. “Keep feeding them.”

“Sure thing.” Tony chuckled and did as told. He and Josh sat side by side, backward on the picnic table bench. Tony slouched down, right foot propped on his knee, left arm casually stretched across the tabletop behind his date. He’d learned long ago how to show affection in public without drawing attention.

Josh, who’d grown up in a slightly more accepting time, but still not accepting enough, knew how to play the game. He sat with his legs drawn up, a sketchpad balanced on his knees. He picked up the lemonade he’d conveniently set on the bench by the popcorn between Tony’s thighs. He sipped his drink through the straw, then set the cup back down. His knuckles slid across Tony’s leg near the crease of his crotch, leaving a pleasant tingle of friction behind. He resumed drawing.

Tony peered at the page of thumbnail sketches that captured prairie dogs in various poses. It was an excuse to lean his head closer to Josh, although he was genuinely curious to see what his date was drawing. “A study of squirrels without tails,” he said.

“They’re rodents, basically, but they’re cute,” Josh said.

“Excuse me, I mean cool. They’re so cool. We’re dudes. We don’t say things are cute.”

Tony deepened his voice. “Yes, we are manly men.”

“Ooh, that was kind of sexy.” Josh noticeably shivered in the heat, the March temperature already in the high eighties. He 92

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nudged his brow against Tony’s, then nodded toward a pair of prairie dogs chasing each other in and out of two closely-spaced holes. “They’re having a good time.”

“They’ve got an easy life here,” Tony said. “Prime location.”

“Yeah. No predators, and all the popcorn you can eat. I wonder if they go up to the zoo’s prairie dogs and poke fun at them through the glass?”

“I bet they do, just to be assholes.” Tony laughed and threw more popcorn.

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