Chapter 6 Gabriel
GAbrIEL
“Speaking of my sister, would you mind taking a photo of me?” Taylor asked as Kat dropped off our burgers. “She apparently needs daily proof of life now.”
Kat jumped in to offer, as she reached for Taylor’s phone. “I can take one of both of you.”
He hesitantly gave it to her, and my hand rested on his forearm across the table as we leaned in for the photo.
I was in so much fucking trouble with this guy. I should have been terrified that he was already hinting at more dates when we hadn’t even made it one drink into the first one. And yet…
I was the perfect person to help Taylor let loose a little bit, and I was already brainstorming ideas in the back of my mind for places I could drag him.
“Text it to me, too?” I asked Taylor when he got his phone back from Kat.
It was our first photo together, and I was not being sentimental or cute about it in any way.
When Kat remained at the table, hovering, I cleared my throat. “I think we’re good here, Kat.”
“Ok,” she chirped. “Just holler if you need anything else!”
Alex eyed us from behind the bar.
I didn’t know what I was thinking, inviting Taylor to volleyball. These hoes were going to be all up in our business. For now, I had him to myself, and I directed all my attention his way.
“I’m trying so hard not to be nosy,” I said at last, picking up my burger. “But I overheard Fiona talking about the hospital, and now you mentioned medical leave. You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but I’m also here to listen if you need it.”
“I don’t know why everyone is making a big deal out of this. I passed out Tuesday night, and Margo took me to the ER for a bunch of tests. Now, even my boss is treating me like I’m made of glass. But I feel normal!” Taylor took a deep breath.
I hummed. It seemed like he had more to get off his chest.
He sighed. “I don’t want to be off work on some kind of corporately sanctioned bed rest, especially during our busiest time of year. My clients deserve better.”
“You don’t have to worry about any of that from me.” I smirked. “I’m planning on handling you as roughly as you’ll let me.”
The tension drained from his posture as he laughed. That was my gift, keeping it light, and I could tell Taylor needed it.
The conversation wove from there through the usual first date suspects: favorite movies, where we’d grown up and gone to college, and the best concert we’d ever attended.
“Ok.” I gained confidence now that I was on drink number two. “What do you think is the most dateable type of cookie?”
Taylor tilted his head to the side. “Hmm. I want to say chocolate chip because that feels like the obvious answer. But honestly, my favorite cookie has always been a gingersnap.”
I could appreciate a man who took my ridiculousness in stride.
“Ooh, a little spicy, I like it.” I wiggled my eyebrows at him over my drink, and that pretty blush returned to his face. “In my opinion, it’s those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey’s candy on top. They’re dependable and classic, but also an excellent kisser.”
Taylor chuckled at that, and I couldn’t resist taking the questions in a little more PG-13 direction. “Tell me about your first kiss.”
Taylor glanced to the side before answering, clearly hesitating. I was about to retract my question when he finally answered.
“Will Chan, backstage after a dress rehearsal for the school play when I was fifteen. We were both on the stage crew. It was awkward, as I guess most first kisses are, but it definitely confirmed that I was gay.” Taylor shook his head and a little bit of the light left his eyes.
“I had to drop out of theater not long after that, so it never went anywhere,” he said. “You?”
I wanted to ask why he quit theater, but I should answer his question first.
“My first kiss with a girl was my neighbor, Sara, when we were both thirteen. We were playing a game of truth or dare, but we ended up making out in her backyard again after everyone else went home. The first guy I kissed was my college roommate, Henry. It happened kind of spur of the moment during a threesome with him and this girl he was seeing.”
I looked across at Taylor, his cheeks stained pink. He cleared his throat. “Is that something you’re into?”
I started to feel a little defensive, worried that maybe he’d have an issue with my being bi, until he clarified.
“Threesomes, I mean.”
“It’s not something I seek out, but it’s happened a few times over the years when the circumstances felt right.” I winked. “Honestly, I prefer to focus my attention on one person at a time.”
His shoulders relaxed, though the flush in his cheeks didn’t fade. “Good, ok, yeah.”
I waited to see if he’d elaborate, but he stayed quiet, those pensive blue eyes scanning my face.
Finishing off the rest of my drink, I assessed the bar. Since I’d be competing in a volleyball tournament, I didn’t want to keep drinking, but I wasn’t ready for the night to end.
Maybe the first step in encouraging Taylor to have more fun was spending a little time on the dance floor.
It was now around ten, and while it was not as crowded as it would get, there were enough people on the dance floor that I could risk the invite.
“Want to close out here and dance for a little bit?”
“As long as you don’t take it personally when I turn into a pumpkin soon. At the risk of sounding like an old man, it is past my bedtime. But a dance before we go sounds fun.”
Taylor insisted on paying, and I promised that next time it would be my turn. We both scooted out of the booth, and I took his hand, dragging him into the crowd of moving bodies.
Even though we began in our own space, it wasn’t long before we were pressed against each other, his front to my back.
Taylor seemed shy with words, but it was clear he had confidence in his body.
He held my hips in a solid grip as we moved together, and I leaned my head back onto his shoulder, nuzzling my face into his neck.
Taylor smelled amazing, like spiced vanilla.
He was a couple of inches taller than me, the perfect height to tuck myself against.
His hands moved across my chest, and I could tell the moment he felt the bars through my nipples.
“I was wondering if you had any other piercings.” Taylor toyed with the jewelry through my shirt, and I held back a moan as I pushed back against him.
When the music transitioned to something with more bass, he spun me around so we were face to face, our thighs interlocking. We moved so well together, like waves against the shore, totally in sync. Now that I could see his face, I wanted to kiss him badly.
We were inches apart, and I thought he was going to move in and meet my lips. My breath hitched as he hovered near my mouth. His attention moved down to my lips.
But at the last minute, he diverted to my ear instead.
“You make it difficult to be responsible,” he whispered.
I could feel him getting hard against my leg as we ground against each other, and there was no way he couldn’t tell how turned on I was with as tight as these jeans were.
“Responsible is overrated.” I ran my finger across his skin, tracing the chains he had around his neck.
Taylor shivered.
After another few songs, he grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the front of the bar. As we emerged into the relative quiet of the night, he pulled me against him again.
“Thank you for the dance.” Taylor looked into my eyes as he spoke, and I believed each word. “It was just what I needed.”
I was caught in his tractor beam, waiting for him to make a move. Our faces were inches apart, and I closed my eyes as he leaned forward, my lips parting.
He pressed a light kiss to my cheek, near where my jaw met my ear, and pulled away. “I’m going to call it a night. Text me when you get home?”
“Yeah, of course,” I said, flustered. “I’m gonna run back inside for a minute to say bye to my friends, but I’ll text you the tournament details before I go to bed.”
“Goodnight,” Taylor said as I leaned my back up against the brick wall of the bar. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He was really leaving without kissing me?
I’m sure my surprise showed on my face. I hadn’t read things that wrong tonight, had I?
I’d talked a big game to myself about blowing him in the bathroom, and now I was letting him walk away.
Maybe I knew once we hooked up, my excuses to see him again would run out, and I wasn’t quite ready for that.
“Night.” I blew him a kiss with a playful smile, and he caught it in his hand before turning away and disappearing down the street toward his car.
When I walked back inside and squeezed into a seat at the bar, Alex and Kat were already hovering, waiting for the post-date analysis.
I put my elbows on the bar and groaned into my hands. “Damn it, he’s so hot.”
“Hun, we have eyes,” Kat said. “Tell us something we don’t know. How was the kiss?”
“He, uh…we didn’t kiss.” I glanced away. The rejection was still fresh.
As much as I wanted to shake Taylor for ghosting me and teasing me, I could see the desire in his eyes tonight. I had a hunch it wasn’t personal—or maybe I needed to believe that.
“You didn’t kiss?” Kat shrieked. “You were practically humping his leg out on the dance floor! I assumed he’d dragged you outside to make out.”
Alex had stepped away to help another customer, but she gave us both side eye at Kat’s outburst.
“Shhhhh, Jesus. I don’t need the whole bar in my business,” I hissed.
“That’s your fault for bringing him here when you knew we’d be working,” Kat said.
I shrugged. “Taylor suggested it, and he’d sounded excited. I couldn’t say no.”
Alex and Kat exchanged a look.
“Hey, hey, what was that about?” I pointed at them accusingly.
“Just not like you to move so slowly,” Alex said. “So, are you seeing him again?”
“I invited him to the tournament tomorrow. Hopefully he’ll show, but we’re definitely going to see each other again. I’ve appointed myself his shenanigans instigator.”
They glanced at each other again, and I narrowed my eyes.
“His… what?” Kat asked.
“Shenanigans instigator. It’s like the opposite of the fun police. He said he needed to have more fun, and you know how fun I am.” This seemed perfectly logical to me, but both Kat and Alex were staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
Well, it was clearly time to leave my annoying friends behind. “Anyway, I just came to say bye before I head out. See you tomorrow, babes.”
I couldn’t get our almost-kiss out of my head for the rest of the night. It was impossible to deny the spark I felt with Taylor. And I was sure it was mutual. So, what was holding him back?
There were so many things I liked about him, but the moment that made this feel like something extraordinary was when he was so quick to support my hobby. Aside from my Ace of Baes crew, no one believed in me like that. Especially not so quickly.
Taylor hardly knew me, yet he’d known exactly what to say.
Fuck waiting for him to make the first move. The next time I saw him, I was going to kiss him.