Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
GAbrIEL
At the end of the day I knock on Charley’s office door.
Not that we keep strict and regular working hours, we can’t with the restaurant and the horses, and I’m aware everyone works more hours than they should, but the centre office is officially open nine to five so I figure Charley should be finishing up around now.
“Hey,” I say after he calls me in. I see a bright smile break out on his face when he sees me, and my heart skips a beat.
“Hi, good day?” he asks.
“Yes, I have something to show you if you’re done.”
“Give me two minutes.” He flicks his eyes back to his laptop and I take a seat to wait for him.
“Did Felix accept the job? I’m looking forward to meeting him.”
“Yes, he did, and how about tomorrow?” Charley gives me a quick grin. “He understands that the opening tournament is in a couple of weeks and wants to start straight away, which is good for us.”
It is, and I’m already impressed by his enthusiasm. After a couple more minutes Charley closes his laptop, ready to leave. As we exit the building I take his hand.
“What do you want to show me?” he asks.
“You’ll see. But don’t get too excited as it’s not there yet.
” His face creases into an adorable frown and I want to kiss his freckles, but I don’t.
Instead, I walk us along the track towards the horse barn.
We reach a little rise where we can see the barn, and beyond it the riding arena and practice polo field.
I stop walking and Charley stands beside me.
He looks at me, his frown still in place.
“I wanted to tell you first since you asked for it. I met with Duncan today, to go through the plans I asked him to draw up last week. I’m not ready to develop the spa at the centre yet, but I wanted to keep a space for us—as in the staff—separate.
With Andrés bringing his horses, and assuming you’ll be needing a couple more horses too, I realised we needed more space.
So I’m having a second barn built and also another riding arena, a larger one.
This will accommodate the extra horses and also visiting horses if needed.
But in between them there’ll be a small complex with a gym, showers, swimming pool, and sauna. ”
“That’s fantastic, thank you. It’s really going to help with my fitness. Truly, thank you.” He pulls me into a hug and a kiss.
“I have more plans if you want to hear them?” I ask as we pull apart.
“Of course, you know I’ve always wanted to hear everything you plan. Not that I ever got a choice,” he teases gently. But it’s true, I always shared them with him at every opportunity.
“Who else would I tell all my ambitious schemes to if not my best friend?” I say quietly and his smile deepens. He still is and will always remain my best friend.
“I’m going to add an equine swimming pool as well. Initially for our horses to help with fitness and no-impact exercise if they get injured, but I know there aren’t many in this part of the country, so maybe it could become a rehabilitation centre. I’ll ask Cole about it when he next visits.”
“I like that. You are full of ideas, aren’t you?”
“You inspire me.” I squeeze his hand and he leans into me, so I kiss him again.
“Can we walk to the paddocks? I haven’t seen Arrow since Saturday and he played so well for me.”
We carry on walking, still hand in hand, and after a few minutes, Charley takes a deep breath as if he’s preparing to say something. I remain silent, waiting for him to be ready.
“Last night was lovely, wonderful. But I think we should take things slowly between us. I don’t want to rush it.”
His words are a relief to me, and I was planning to bring it up later as well. I have a confession, which I hinted at last night, and now, as we’re walking, seems as good a time as any, though I am still nervous.
“I was going to ask the same thing,” I reply, and I see him smile, glad we’re in agreement. “When I said I wasn’t very experienced I was telling the truth.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, and his kind, reassuring smile helps me to relax.
“Yes, as long as you can bear to hear it.” Saying that is my last act of self-defence, of allowing Charley an out, but I should know better as he squeezes my hand.
“I can cope with anything you tell me, Gabby, unless you no longer love me.”
I pull him to a stop, cupping his cheek and looking him in the eyes.
“That will never happen,” I say fiercely and seal my words with a kiss that lasts several minutes as he attacks my mouth with the same fervour and I nearly forget what I was going to tell him. We continue on walking as we catch our breath.
“What is it, honey?” he asks after a few minutes, and a warmth fills me at his endearment. I love this man so much I could burst.
“Apart from yesterday, I’ve only had sex with another guy twice before, and neither were great experiences. I have no clue what I’m doing.”
“Did anyone hurt you?” His eyes flash grey and his face looks stony.
“No, nothing like that. They were both in clubs, and well, I guess I just felt cheap and dirty afterwards.”
“Was this in the Rainbow Room?”
“One time, yes. The other was at a club in Soho.”
“Casual hookups in clubs aren’t supposed to be deep and meaningful.” He gives a little laugh.
“That’s just it. In a weird way, I thought that was kinda just how gay sex was. And I was resigned to that. But last night you showed me that I was very wrong, that it could be an incredible experience, and now I feel daft and very na?ve. I’m sorry if that puts you off.”
“Oh, Gabby, my darling.” He turns to face me. “It doesn’t matter to me that you haven’t had much experience, though it pains me to think you only had bad ones and thought that was normal for so long. We’ll go at your pace, okay?”
“Thank you,” I say, though if I have Charley in my lap again like I did last night, it won’t be a slow pace.
“How about we go find the local clinic tomorrow? I got checked out after Miles.” He pulls a face when he says his name. “But it won’t hurt to get tested again and know where the clinic is.”
“Okay, the walk-in clinic is in Oxford, so if we have time, how about I buy you lunch?”
“Or I could buy you lunch.” Charley smiles as we continue our way to the paddocks. Another thought springs to mind, and I voice it without thinking it through first.
“Am I supposed to know what I like? You know. Top or bottom? What do you prefer?” Thankfully, Charley doesn’t seem to mind my clumsy question.
“Unless you have really strong opinions either way, you should try everything first. As for me, I’m vers.
” We reach the paddock gate and Charley faces me with a small, coy grin.
He leans forward and places his lips close to my ear.
“The thought of me fucking you or you fucking me are equally pleasurable.”
His breath across my ear and neck and the way he says fucking has my blood draining south and my cock starts to thicken.
It doesn’t feel dirty. It feels good, I feel desirable.
I desire him. I grab his hips and push him back against the gate, grinding into him so he can feel the effect he just had on me.
He chuckles just before I mash my mouth onto his.
Slowly be damned. I want him. I kiss him hard and he responds with just as much force.
His tongue swirls against mine and he grabs the back of my head, pulling me deeper into the kiss.
I’m lost in him, savouring every second until I feel a large waft of hot breath across my cheek.
“Eww!” Charley exclaims pulling back. I open my eyes and start laughing. Arrow is standing right behind Charley, nuzzling his hair. The horses must have approached while we weren’t looking.
“Your timing sucks, my friend,” Charley laughs and moves out of the way of Arrow’s inquisitive muzzle.
But he turns and greets him anyway, stroking Arrow’s neck and face, murmuring words softly to him while I rearrange myself in my jeans.
Then I lean on the gate next to Charley, my shoulder up against his but content to be close.