9. Gregory
CHAPTER 9
GREGORY
Merry Christmas, Gregory!
What was he doing? With everything in life, he was risk averse, and always weighed up the options before deciding. This was something completely different. He was getting married to his high-school bully, the same guy he’d now had sex with three times. Not only that, but it had been the best sex of his life. His cock was rock hard, and he had to press down on it to get some relief.
He heard someone coming up his stairs, and based on the speed it could only be one person. Gregory quickly grabbed a pillow and made it look like he was cuddling it as Jason barrelled into his room without knocking.
“Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!”
He jumped on the bed and tackled Gregory into a hug. It was a battle to fend off the hug without upsetting Jason, whilst not letting him know Gregory was hard. Jason would have a lot to say about that. Thankfully, Jason’s attempts to cuddle him were causing things to subside, because although Jason was an adorable cutie, he did nothing for Gregory in that way. The only one of their group he’d ever had a mild crush on was Langdon, but their friendship was too important to risk. Besides, from what he could hear from their bedroom, Eric was the one being regularly pounded, so he doubted he and Langdon would be compatible.
“Why are you attacking me?” asked Gregory.
“Daddy Langdon has made breakfast, and your presence is required.”
“I thought we were going to KC’s for breakfast?”
“We are. This is a pre-breakfast breakfast.”
“Well, if you get off me, I can get dressed and join you.”
“You’re no fun,” he said, giving an adorable pout.
Gregory laughed and then flipped Jason onto his back so he could get out of bed. Things had softened, so it was safe.
“What the fuck was that?” asked Jason. “The way you just manhandled me? You’ve given me a stiffy.”
“Stiffy? What are you, twelve?”
Gregory stood up and pulled on his jogging bottoms. He didn’t want to talk about erections with Jason. A conversation like that could only end one way – with Gregory being embarrassed.
“Just when I think I know you, Gregory, you have another surprise for me.”
“Not sure what you’re talking about,” he said, looking away. He knew he was blushing.
“You’ve got two minutes, or I’m sending Langdon up to retrieve you.”
“Just let me go to the bathroom and I’ll be there.”
Jason smirked, but said nothing else as he left, and Gregory walked into his bathroom, had a quick piss, and brushed his teeth. He didn’t have time for much else. This was the first Christmas Day they’d all be spending together. Paolo usually went to his parents’, but wasn’t this year, and Gregory had declined his own parents’ invitation, which was a first for him. There would be twelve of them for Christmas dinner – which Charlie and Sebastian were hosting – but there would be no airs and graces, just a group of friends having a wonderful day together. No family drama. It sounded like heaven.
He walked down the stairs, and Jason was laughing at something with Paolo’s sister, Lori. Langdon was in his domain – the kitchen – but no sign yet of Paolo, Max, or Eric.
“Where is everyone?” he asked.
“Merry Christmas, Gregory.”
“Oh, sorry. Merry Christmas.”
“To answer your question, they’re all still in bed.”
“Jason. You said everyone was waiting for me.”
“Did I? Must have been mistaken.”
He grumbled under his breath and made a beeline for the coffee machine. It was going to be a long day, and far too much socialising for his introverted brain, but there was no other place he’d rather be.
It was time for their second breakfast at KC’s. Thankfully Langdon had kept it modest earlier, but Gregory could never say no to pastries, so he would eat lighter here. Sebastian’s friend Patrick would not be joining them today. Something had happened between him and Jason. Gregory didn’t know what was going on there, but they just needed to fuck and get it out of the way. Even he had worked that one out.
Everyone was chattering amongst themselves, which suited Gregory. It was peaceful to just zone out and think about nothing, although Oscar kept invading his mind. He didn’t know what his fake boyfriend was doing today, which wasn’t good for the believability of their relationship. There was a loud knock on the door. He looked over and his stomach sank.
“We’re closed,” shouted KC.
“What the fuck does he want?” said Langdon.
It was Grant Kincaid.
“It’s okay, KC, you can let him in,” said Sebastian.
She opened the door, and the man himself walked in.
“Merry Christmas!”
There were some grumbled responses.
“Oh no, that won’t do at all. Merry Christmas!” he said again, with more cheer.
They all responded this time, although with only a bit more enthusiasm. Gregory wanted the floor to open up so he could disappear. What was he doing here? Oscar said he’d paid him a quarter of a million, and that he’d pay the same on New Year’s Eve after their engagement was official and the balance after the wedding. As far as Gregory knew, Grant had agreed to those terms.
“That will have to do. Get us a brew to go, will ya, love,” he said to KC. “Three sugars.”
She glared at him, then looked at Sebastian, who nodded.
“I come bearing gifts,” he said, pulling up a seat. “Langdon, my boy.”
“What?” he barked, causing Grant to chuckle.
“Is he always a grumpy bitch, Eric? Are you giving him enough orgasms?”
Eric went bright red. Grant tossed an envelope towards Langdon.
“You mentioned you wanted to see the northern lights, so that’s a cruise around Iceland and the Norwegian fjords. You’re in a suite.”
“What’s the catch?” asked Langdon.
“So untrusting.” He tutted with a smile. “Call it a Christmas and engagement present rolled into one.”
“Sebastian, you have more money than God, so there’s nothing I could buy you.”
There was laughter from everyone except for Gregory and Jason. His friend looked like he wanted to run for the hills. What was wrong?
Grant continued to give out his gifts to people, thankfully keeping Gregory out of it.
“Right, presents are over. Just got a bit of business to deal with. Jason!”
Gregory looked up. Jason looked terrified.
“You can quit trying to make yourself look invisible. You can’t keep ignoring me forever, but you can wait. Gregory, Mr Montgomery has made the initial payment. I trust the rest will be taken care of by the deadline?”
Oh God. How was he going to explain this to his brothers?
“Oscar... I mean, Mr Montgomery will be taking care of things.”
“Excellent, well, that’s it then. Merry Christmas!”
Grant stood up and took his tea from KC, thanking her with a kiss on the cheek, before he left without another word.
There was a stunned silence before the dam broke and he was barraged with questions. He felt like his brain was going to explode, and for some inexplicable reason, the only person he wanted to talk to right now was Oscar.
Once they arrived back at the flat, he made a beeline for the stairs but was yanked back by Langdon.
“Can we talk about this later?” He couldn’t do this now.
“No,” replied Langdon. “If you go upstairs, I’ll talk to Grant myself.”
Gregory turned and saw Charlie.
“Where are your men,” he asked Langdon and Charlie.
“Paolo’s keeping them occupied,” said Charlie.
“What about Jason?”
“He took off somewhere.”
“Where?”
“You’re deflecting,” said Langdon. “If it’s the same thing we already talked about, you need to tell Charlie as well.”
Gregory was feeling completely overwhelmed, like his brain was going to explode.
“Barty owes Grant a million quid and I have to pay it, but I don’t have the money so Oscar is going to pay it, but I have to marry him to get the money.”
Charlie’s jaw dropped, and he watched Langdon getting red in the face until Charlie put a hand on his shoulder. Although Langdon already knew, Gregory knew he was still angry about it, especially because he’d asked him not to speak to Grant.
“Let’s sit down and talk it out,” he said.
Gregory nodded.
“Langdon, you can make tea and calm down,” said Charlie with a smirk.
Gregory could see his hands shaking, but he wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. None of this was his doing. His friends just wanted to help him, that was all, and they might even have a better suggestion for him. The one thing Gregory would not share with them was about hooking up with Oscar. They wouldn’t judge him for it, but it added a layer of complexity to their arrangement, which his brothers didn’t need to know about.
He hoped Jason was okay wherever he was. It was clear Grant had freaked him out, and Gregory was curious what their history was, because they definitely knew each other somehow.
“Take it from the beginning,” said Langdon, putting the tea down. “I know some of it, but Charlie doesn’t, and I know you’ve not told me everything.”
He sighed and then explained how he’d given Barty a quarter of a million a few months back after his parents had demanded he pay it. He didn’t mention how Sebastian had helped by investing in Knights Corner. Gregory didn’t want to cause any issues between Charlie and his fiancé.
Langdon was getting red again when Gregory told them about Barty being beaten up, but he was incredulous when he explained what his father had done in getting the debt moved over to Gregory. He’d kept that part from Langdon before, but they knew everything now.
“Make sure I’m never in the same room as your dad,” he said.
Gregory was taken aback for a second, but knew Langdon was deadly serious.
“Maybe don’t beat my father up at the wedding.”
“Are you seriously going to go through with that?” asked Charlie.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice, Gregory.”
“Sebastian would lend you the money,” said Charlie.
“No. I have to do this myself.”
He wasn’t taking the risk of anything affecting Charlie’s relationship with Sebastian, and money always did that.
“What about borrowing money against the flat, then? It’s still an option, isn’t it?”
“Too late for that. Oscar already paid a quarter of a million, and you saw how Jason reacted. I’m not doing that to him. He needs stability.”
They all nodded, knowing how awful Jason’s childhood had been.
“Why would you marry that man after what he did to you?” asked Charlie.
“He’s apologised for that, more than once,” said Gregory, feeling compelled to defend Oscar. Where had that come from?
“Let me talk to Grant. There has to be another way,” said Langdon.
“No. You’ve just started to build a relationship with him. Don’t get involved in his business.”
“Hmmm.”
“Please, Langdon.”
“I’ll drop it for now, but there has to be a way other than marrying Oscar Montgomery. Although I would pay to see your mum’s face when she finds out.”
Gregory groaned. He wasn’t looking forward to that. She’d made her feelings very clear when they attended the Christmas ball together. His father had just looked at him with disgust, but that was nothing new.
“I’m going to stay here for the rest of the day. I need to think.”
“It’s Christmas Day. Sebastian’s cooking,” said Charlie, looking hurt. He was hosting Christmas in their new home.
“Someone needs to be here in case Jason comes home, and you should all be with your men. I’ll be fine.”
“I call bullshit,” said Langdon.
“Please. I just need some thinking time. I’m supposed to be getting engaged in six days.”
They both reluctantly agreed, and after a few more minutes, they left. Gregory had never spent Christmas Day alone. His mother always made a big deal out of it. He’d already spoken to her this morning, so his obligation was out of the way. As if on autopilot, he went to his gaming room. Getting lost in another world was just what he needed.
It was eight o’clock at night, and still no sign of Jason. Calls and texts had been ignored. Gregory had gamed for a few hours, and mindlessly scrolled through all his streaming services, but couldn’t find anything he wanted to watch. He was restless and needed a distraction. Without thinking about it too much, he texted Oscar.
Gregory: Are you free to talk?
Oscar: I’ll be home in 10 mins. Call you then.
Gregory: Can I meet you at your place?
There was a long pause as the three dots bounced around, then disappeared, then bounced around again. Was he writing an essay?
Oscar: Sure.
That was it? He took that long just to say “sure.” Gregory wondered if going round to see Oscar in person was a mistake, but he had it in his head now. He ordered an Uber, which was double the price given it was Christmas Day, but it would take too long for him to walk and he might change his mind.
Twenty minutes later, Oscar was opening his front door. He smiled at Gregory, but there was a hesitancy to it like he was bracing himself for something.
Gregory gripped Oscar by the face and pulled him into a bruising kiss. After a few seconds, Oscar pulled away.
“What are you doing?”
“Take your pants off and bend over.”
There was a flash of heat in Oscar’s eyes before it was replaced with a scowl.
“You were clear the other day that this couldn’t happen between us again. What’s changed your mind?”
“Does it matter? I know you love my cock inside you.”
“Jesus, Gregory, I don’t know where I stand with you. First you hate me, then you fuck me, then you hate me again, and you come on my face in your parents’ back garden, then back to the hate, more fucking, and now we’re getting married, and you want to fuck again. You were absolutely adamant the other day. What’s happened?”
Gregory was still rock hard, and his brain wasn’t thinking logically. All he could picture was driving his cock into Oscar’s hole as hard as he could, taking him apart, making him come his brains out, and then leaving and going to sleep. Did that make him a bad person? No. Did it make him a selfish twat? Absolutely. But he wasn’t about to vocalise any of that. Gregory wanted Oscar more than he’d ever wanted anyone else. Perhaps they could come to an agreement to just hook up once a week. Once they were married, neither of them could fuck anyone else. What if people found out? He was sure Oscar would negotiate.
“You need to leave, Gregory.”
He wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly and knew he must look confused.
“You need to leave,” said Oscar, opening the front door.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think this is a good idea. You were right before. We should keep things simple between us and not muddy the water.”
“Er... okay.”
Gregory wasn’t sure what to say. He’d always been confident with sex, but he knew he’d crossed a line here and upset Oscar. He wasn’t sure what he’d done. When trying to understand other people’s feelings, he was always at a loss; he could barely get his head round his own. He felt embarrassed, so before he said something he couldn’t take back, he said goodbye and left.