Chapter 19 Gabriel
GAbrIEL
On Tuesday morning, as I was walking into work, Taylor texted to ask what my favorite part of the botanical gardens was.
That was a hard question to answer; each exhibit had its own charm, and I felt like I was choosing between my children.
But I always came back to this one grassy hill near the butterfly garden.
I loved to lie there on my breaks, staring up at the clouds.
One day, I wanted to bring him here for a picnic. I knew it was strange to want to spend my time off at my job, but I’d loved coming to the gardens long before I started working here. Every time I scanned my employee ID to walk through the back office, I had to pinch myself.
Today, I was working in one of the small greenhouses where we cultivated annuals in preparation for summer installations I knew would become the backdrop for so many people’s special moments.
Proposals, weddings, graduation photos, and families with their kids.
It was the best thing I could have dreamed of when I was getting my degree.
I was lost in my task when my phone buzzed. My heart leaped into my throat when I saw that Taylor texted a photo: a view of his feet in the brown oxfords he liked to wear, laid out on a blanket in the grass.
On a hill, with a view of the butterfly garden.
Taylor was here.
Glancing up at the clock, I saw that my break was supposed to start in ten minutes. I stuck my head into my boss’s office to let her know I was taking an early lunch and practically ran out into the gardens.
I saw Taylor before he saw me. He wore light grey dress pants and a green checkered shirt. His jacket was folded on the blanket behind him, and there was a paper bag containing what I guessed was takeout.
The bigger surprise, though, was that there was a woman with him. She had bright purple hair, piercings up the shell of her ear, a silk dress, a knit sweater, and combat boots. They couldn’t have had more different aesthetics. This had to be his sister, Margo.
My pulse quickened, and for a moment, I considered texting Taylor with an excuse. Then his eyes met mine, a smile split his face, and his hair glowed in the sun. Damn, he was stunning.
Taylor gave me a small wave, and the woman beside him turned to follow his gaze. At least I’d washed the dirt from under my fingernails—no time to panic now.
“You know, I was just thinking this morning how much I wanted to bring you here for a picnic. Now you’ve gone and done all the work for me,” I teased Taylor as I plopped down on the blanket next to him, on the opposite side of his sister. “Hi, I’m Gabriel.”
“Margo. It’s so wonderful to meet you.” Her smile was bright and genuine. She kept looking between Taylor and me with barely contained enthusiasm.
“We got Thai food,” Taylor said, giving me a quick kiss. “I hope that’s ok. I have a few different options, and you can pick whatever you like.”
“Sounds great to me,” I said. “My lunch is only thirty minutes, but I can stretch it to forty-five if I skip my afternoon break. Sorry you drove all this way for such a quick visit.”
Taylor pulled out an assortment of containers: pork dumplings, chicken satay, spicy drunken noodles, and green curry with rice. “I’m just happy to see you. I probably should have checked with your schedule before surprising you at your job.”
“It was my idea,” Margo cut in. “It’s been eons since my brother had a boyfriend, and I was not about to let him hide you away.”
“I’m not hiding him anywhere.” Taylor looked at his sister with such affection, even though I could tell he was frustrated with her antics.
We were going to get along splendidly.
“Whatever you say. Anyway, I had to meet you as soon as possible so I could personally invite you to be Taylor’s plus one at my wedding.”
I almost dropped the dumpling I had lifted halfway to my mouth, and Taylor choked on air.
“Margo!” Taylor groaned as I chuckled. “I just convinced him to date me like ten minutes ago. Please don’t scare him off already.”
“You told me you were going to invite him,” Margo said. “I’m cutting out the middle man. I can’t wait to have you at the wedding. It’s going to be such fun!”
I tangled one of my legs with his and bumped his elbow to draw his attention. “I’d love to be your date.”
Taylor got that blush I liked so much across his freckled cheeks. I’d made a big deal about the boyfriend thing at first, but even if he wanted to keep pretending this was casual, I was all in. He was not about to scare me away with a little wedding date.
Oh, who was I kidding? I was terrified of being his wedding date.
Weddings were significant events. Serious events. Even though Margo seemed like a blast, and I knew we’d enjoy getting to know each other, what if it didn’t work out? All Taylor’s memories of his sister’s wedding would be tainted forever.
We’d only been doing this exclusive thing for a few weeks, and I was way out of my depth.
I focused on scooping the spicy noodles onto a small paper plate to gather my thoughts and hoped my face didn’t betray my nerves.
I promised myself I’d be the best boyfriend he’d ever had, and I was not going to let either of us down.
“I feel underdressed for this date,” I said, eyeing Taylor’s tie.
Taylor shrugged sheepishly. “It’s weird to be back in the office every day.”
“You have life in your eyes again,” Margo said, smiling. “And I bet it has nothing at all to do with this handsome guy and all the fun he’s forcing on you.”
“I do what I can,” I replied.
Margo and I chatted as Taylor quietly ate his noodles, his eyes flitting back and forth. Turns out we were both extroverted bisexuals with an allergy to boredom, and I was relieved to discover we had so much in common.
Taylor didn’t seem like the kind of person who let many into his inner circle.
I’d always believed that if an introvert adopted you, it was one of life’s great honors.
Like being chosen by a cat. Everyone knew you canceled all your other plans if a cat sat on your lap.
Taylor hadn’t sat on my lap yet, exactly, but the heat in his eyes as he watched me lick satay sauce from my lips told me he wanted to.
And you better believe I wanted it, too.
Lunch passed far too quickly, and soon, Margo was kissing my cheek goodbye like we’d been getting brunch together for years.
She rushed off in a flurry. I’m not sure if that was her general pace in life or if she was trying to make sure Tay and I got a moment alone.
I could feel Taylor’s reluctance to leave, and I didn’t want to release my arms from around his waist.
I tucked my mouth by his ear and whispered, “I wish I had a few more minutes so I could take you somewhere and suck you off real quick.”
Taylor swatted at my arm. “You can’t say stuff like that when you can’t follow through.” I could feel him starting to get hard against my leg, and I chuckled.
“This was a wonderful surprise, baby.” I reached up to brush his hair behind his ear. “Thanks for introducing me to Margo. I know how important she is to you.”
“She cannot be stopped once she has an idea in her head.” Taylor rushed to clarify. “Not that I didn’t want you to meet her.”
I kissed him softly. “I didn’t think that, Tay.”
“You know, you’re the only person who calls me Tay. I normally hate it, but for some reason, it works when it’s you.”
“Boyfriend privileges.” I teased my fingers along the length of him through his pants, and he groaned. I gripped his cock and pressed my body in close; I couldn’t resist teasing him a little more.
“I’ll call you when I get home tonight and apologize for getting you all riled up in the middle of a work day.” I released him and stepped back.
“You are a menace,” Taylor said as he moved the jacket he had draped over his arm to cover his erection.
“A very cute one.” I winked.
Taylor leaned in to kiss me briefly once more before he turned to make his way out of the gardens. “I’ll be looking forward to tonight.”
En route to my desk, I swung by the bathroom to continue the torment. I stepped into a stall and unbuckled my work pants, pulling them down my thighs, just under my ass. After stroking myself a few times through my underwear, I snapped a photo and sent it to Taylor’s phone.
Miss you already, I said. A string of swearing emojis followed, then the fire emoji. I sent him back a little purple heart.
Every so often, when I could step away from my task, I’d send Taylor another teasing, flirty, or downright racy text. He was getting progressively more growly in response, and I knew it would all be worth it by the time we were able to chat.
Taylor might have been back at work, but this was in no way a ploy to ensure he kept a little work-life balance and clocked out at a reasonable hour. I was not at all doing this for my boyfriend’s mental health; I was doing it for my own purely selfish, physical motivations.
Wink, wink.
As soon as I got home, all bets were off. I no longer had to worry about getting myself too horny to be presentable at work.
Gabriel
Want to know what I’m thinking about?
Taylor
No. You’ve been torturing me all afternoon, and I still have an hour of work left. I feel like I’ve been hard for three years.
Mmm. Well, I’m home now. I need you to send me a photo so I can look at it while I finger myself.
Goddammit, Gabriel.
*Angel emoji* Of course, you’re always welcome to watch.
There was a longer pause in our texting, and I resumed cooking my dinner.
I wasn’t in any hurry. I still had to eat and shower before I was ready to get naked in my bed.
My dinner was a simple frozen gnocchi to which I’d added homemade pesto and roast chicken.
I didn’t have much energy for cooking on work nights, so I relied heavily on frozen and prepared foods, but I tried to make them my own by adding herbs or veggies I’d grown in my little apartment garden.
With past hookups, I would get itchy if someone wanted to see me more than once a week.
I had more than one former sexual partner, both men and women, call me unavailable.
I hadn’t seen it as such at the time, especially since I was always upfront with people about keeping things low-key.
I liked my life to be busy with lots of friends, social events, and activities.
Now that I felt this connection with Taylor, I knew what they meant. I’d always been holding a part of myself back. Since we’d crossed this threshold together, I found myself wanting to make space for him. I was greedy for Taylor’s time and attention, and it was a wild, new sensation.
I didn’t bother getting dressed after my shower, sprawling out on the bed underneath the fairy lights. I had them hung all over the apartment; the harsh overhead lights stressed me out. When you had the option for fairy lights, why choose anything else?
When my phone finally rang, I scrambled to the nightstand to reach it. I answered the video call breathlessly when I saw Taylor’s name on the screen. “Hi.”
“Gabriel.” Taylor’s eyes roamed over the screen, taking in my damp hair and lack of clothing. “You’ve been driving me crazy.”
I stroked myself just beyond the camera, but I could tell by the way his pupils dilated that he could guess what I was doing.
“I told you I’d apologize, didn’t I? I know we’re not together, but I want to make you feel good.
To thank you for bringing me such a sweet picnic. I’d never leave you hanging.”
Taylor visibly shuddered while he tracked the slow, steady movement of my bicep. It was finally time to make good on the torture I’d been inflicting.
“Can you take your clothes off, baby?” I asked. “Set the phone somewhere I can see you. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”