GABRIEL #11
I pull my clothes back on without looking at Blue, but then I suddenly hear him say,
"I don’t have any meetings for the next two hours, Gabriel."
"I know. I just wanted him to leave."
A brief pause.
"And why’s that? Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to solve the v-card problem that’s been bothering you so much?" Blue asks dryly.
His eyes stay fixed on the monitor, but I know his attention is completely on me.
"The thing is that I’m not interested in him."
"He’s an attractive omega. And you clearly have chemistry."
"Yeah, we’re Half Mates. Maybe even Half Mates plus, but… he’s… he’s not…"
I stop myself as I realize what I was about to say, because I absolutely cannot say that out loud.
I walk over to Blue’s desk and, right in front of him, toss Benny’s business card into the trash even though I feel kind of guilty doing it, because Benny didn’t do anything wrong. He’s probably a perfectly great omega.
He’s just not…
Blue.
Is that really what this is about?
Fuck, I just don’t understand myself anymore. Maybe I’m simply an idiot. Blue doesn’t want me! He set a very clear boundary. And I’m throwing away an actually good chance at building a real life with someone nice.
But there’s this huge part of me buried deep inside that’s completely convinced Benny isn’t meant for me at all.
That it’s someone else.
"Benny’s going to be disappointed," Blue says, finally looking up at me. "It was a good match."
I hold his gaze for a second.
And I realize that Blue’s entire reaction, despite mostly being irritated, is subconsciously expressing exactly what he seems to feel.
He wasn’t happy that another omega found me attractive.
Why? Good question. Does that mean this small opening leading to him, which I keep sensing in his energy, is actually workable? Even if he would never admit it, but today… Blue was simply jealous of Benny.
Speaking quietly, I answer him, "I do feel bad about that, but I already told you before that I imagine my first time happening with the perfect person at the perfect moment, and I just know he’s not the right guy for me."
A moment of silence passes while our eyes stay locked.
"Sometimes lowering your standards a little is the only way to get something out of life."
"Is that how you live?"
Blue blinks like the question genuinely caught him off guard.
Slowly, he looks away.
"No. That’s not how I live."
"Then you understand me."
Blue leans down and pulls Benny’s card back out of the trash.
"I think you should text him. It’s the decent thing to do. There’s no reason to hurt people who haven’t done anything wrong to us."
I bite my lip again.
Wow.
That's surprising.
Even though Blue clearly hated the entire situation, he still wants to be fair to the other omega? I honestly don’t know if I’d be capable of that in his place.
For a moment, we look into each other’s eyes, and there’s something unusual in this exchange of energy.
The way he behaves… that speaks well of Blue’s character, and, paradoxically, it makes me like him even more. He’s not petty and he doesn’t want to harm other people.
"You’re right. I’ll tell him the truth. That I’m interested in someone else."
Another silence falls between us.
I pull out my phone, type a short text, then turn the screen toward Blue.
"Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I shouldn’t have acted like that, and I crossed a line. You seem like a really great person, and in any other situation I probably would’ve texted you back, but there’s someone else."
Blue says nothing.
I hit send, and the message goes to Benny.
About fifteen seconds later, a reply comes in.
"It’s okay. Thanks for being honest. If things don’t work out, you know where to find me."
I show the reply to Blue. He glances at it before saying,
"See? It’s always worth leaving doors open behind you, because unfortunately not every situation in life ends with the perfect result, Gabriel."
"It’s still too early for me to give up," I say quietly.
Then I turn and walk toward the window where I usually stand, to stare up at the sky.
It’s… blue and far away. Yeah. But people still learned how to fly through it.
Everything takes time.
We don’t bring the conversation up again for the rest of the day.
◆◆◆
The upside is that the next day, the tailor himself finally shows up, Mr. Fredrick, looking a little pale from the food poisoning, but he’s an older beta, which probably means he’s immune to my so-called charms, if you can even call them that.
The tux is honestly incredible, and it fits me perfectly.
I’ve never worn anything that felt this much like a second skin, like it was made to move with me instead of just sit on me, but Mr. Fredrick somehow pulled that off like it was nothing.
"Please send me the invoice," I tell him, but Fredrick just waves a hand.
"Mr. Lowen already took care of it," he says with the faintest little smile, and I frown a bit.
Blue is there during the fitting too, and every now and then I catch him glancing at me.
Once again, he’s not super focused on his emails the way he probably should be.
"You look very elegant, and in my humble opinion, it fits you exceptionally well."
Fredrick’s face says there’s absolutely nothing humble about that opinion.
"Don’t you think, Mr. Lowen?" he asks, turning suddenly toward Blue.
To my complete and absolute shock, Blue answers without even pausing.
"On him, even a potato sack would look great."
Wait, what? Wow.
He actually said that!
Fredrick’s smile falters a little, because what Blue basically suggests is that the tux doesn’t matter, that it’s not the clothing that looks good, it’s just… me. The way I’m built.
So while Fredrick seems a little less pleased than he did a second ago, I can feel my face heating up.
That’s such an unexpected compliment that for a second I genuinely don’t know what to do with it.
Then I glance at Blue shyly and meet his eyes.
His expression is calm, unreadable, almost blank, but I’m nearly certain that’s just the mask he puts on when he doesn’t want anything to show.
And there’s one thing I’m sure of now.
Blue isn’t just jealous.
He finds me attractive too, and the realization sends something warm straight through my chest.
The rest of the day passes in those small stolen moments, catching Blue looking at me during meetings, while he works, when he thinks I’m not paying attention.
Every one of those looks lands like a soft, sweet tingling, and if I’m being honest, it affects me a hell of a lot more than Benny’s hand brushing against my arm ever could.
◆◆◆
Wednesday finally comes. I put on my tux and wait for Blue in the living room.
Blue walks into the lounge, adjusting the cuff near his wrist, and I literally short-circuit for a second.
I just stand there staring like an idiot because I did not expect Blue’s usual minimalist thing to somehow turn into this level of elegance and swag.
From a distance, his outfit doesn’t even look that different from what he normally wears, although the tailored coat reaches mid-thigh and fits much tighter around his waist, flaring out slightly at the hips.
But it’s still dark. Still simple, with no unnecessary details anywhere.
Yet everything just looks like somebody took his normal style and pushed it several levels higher using nothing but tiny refinements.
The fabric catches the light when he moves, deep navy almost fading into black, and the long tailored jacket makes him look slimmer and more ethereal than usual. Combined with his pale skin and those bright sapphire eyes, he seems almost unreal.
His hair is styled in a way that makes it seem like it falls loosely over one shoulder in soft dark waves, but I can tell it definitely isn’t random.
One ear is exposed, and I notice something strange there.
Some kind of piercing… or maybe not. A thin silver line runs along the curve of his ear, disappearing slightly into the lobe, and it almost looks like…
part of his body. But I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen it there before.
Some kind of bizarre decoration fused directly into the skin?
Under the ceiling lights, the dark navy color of his hair with that weird sapphire sheen matches perfectly with the color of his jacket. Even his glasses somehow look more elegant tonight instead of overly technical.
There’s also something pinned to his lapel, a thin decorative needle tipped with a sapphire. On his hand I notice a narrow ring, probably platinum, with a very minimalist design. His nails, which is rare for him, are painted a translucent pale blue.
He’s wearing a collarless shirt made from some holographic material that catches the light in a strange way, creating an almost glowing effect beneath the jacket.
Blue finishes adjusting his sleeve and finally notices me near the window. His eyes move over my tux quickly.
"Gerard is already waiting with the limousine," he says calmly. "We should go."
For a second I’m completely stunned.
Geez, Gabriel. Say something normal.
"Yeah. Right." I clear my throat quietly. "You look… stunning tonight."
The second it leaves my mouth, I start regretting it.
Blue looks at me for a few seconds without giving anything away. No smile. No thank you. But he heard it, and I somehow know he low-key reacted positively. Phew…
Then he simply turns and walks toward the elevator like nothing happened, and of course I follow him immediately.
The elevator ride feels intense.
Blue stands beside me perfectly still, with his hands behind his back. Meanwhile, I keep looking at him every few seconds.
He’s turned slightly so the side where his hair is brushed back faces me, and my attention keeps drifting back to that small ear of his and the silver line running along it.
"Interesting piercing," I finally manage to say.
"It’s not a piercing."
"Um… some kind of communication device?"
"No. Those are my bionanobots," he replies without looking at me, his eyes fixed on the elevator doors.
I blink.