Chapter 6
It turned out that Gadiel’s idea of “celebrating” their truce was a lunch at his favorite restaurant.
That caused another argument that lasted all the way there.
“We can’t sit together,” Will stated again, opening the door of the restaurant for him. “I’m your bodyguard. I’ll be over there by the wall.”
Scoffing, Gadiel grabbed his hand and all but dragged him to the table in the corner, away from the other patrons of the restaurant. “Don’t be silly. We can’t celebrate our truce if you stand by the wall and watch me eat.”
“Eating with you would be unprofessional,” Will said, pulling his hand out of his grip.
Looking at him over his shoulder, Gadiel smiled. “You can guard me more effectively when you’re close to me, right?”
Will heaved a sigh but nodded, giving in once again. It was becoming a pattern. A bad one.
But the food was surprisingly good.
In the past half a year in this country, Will had struggled to find local food that he actually liked and ended up resorting to fast food and pizza. When he’d told Gadiel that, he’dseemed to take it as a personal challenge and ordered for both of them, completely ignoring Will’s protests. Spoiled little thing.
“You like it, admit it,” Gadiel said, with his chin propped on his hand, blue eyes fixed on Will intently.
“Stop watching me eat,” Will said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “Don’t you have any manners?”
Gadiel shook his head, all wide-eyed innocence.
“So,” Will said pushing his plate away and studying the kid. “You promised to tell me more once you secured my loyalty.”
Gadiel cleared his throat. “Right. The thing is, there’s this guy I like. Like, really, really like.” He shot Will a quick look, as if evaluating his reaction. “His name is Scott. It’s kind of new, but I think I might be in love. He’s perfect. The man of my dreams.”
Will barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. If Gadiel started spouting foolishness about The One too, he was walking out. He’d had enough of that nonsense.
“Does your brother know about him?” Will said, frowning a little when the thought occurred to him. Sheikh Zain had run a background check on him; he knew he had a gay cousin. Why would he hire Scott’s cousin to guard Gadiel from Scott?
Gadiel shook his head. “He saw him only for a moment outside my building and it was pretty dark. I don’t think Zain got a good look at his face. I never introduced them.”
Ah. That explained it.
“So you’re bribing me to let you hook up with him,” Will said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. Privately, he was far more amused than he let show on his face. Scott had needled him into accepting this job so he could see Gadiel, Gadiel’s brother was paying Will a small fortune to keep men like Scott away from Gadiel, and now Gadiel wanted to pay him even more to let him see Scott. It was beyond ridiculous at this point.
“Hey, I resent that you’re reducing my feelings to a hookup,” Gadiel said, pouting.
Will huffed.
“Oh,” Gadiel said, gasping. “It was almost a laugh!”
“Very funny.”
Gadiel reached over the table and brushed his thumb against the corner of Will’s mouth. “Is that a hint of a smile I see?” he cooed exaggeratedly, grinning. “Can my perfect, emotionless bodyguard actually crack a real smile?”
This time Will did roll his eyes.“I hardly claim to be perfect,” he said. “And no wonder your brother hired me to babysit you if you feel men up in public.”
Gadiel’s wide smile disappeared as if it’d never existed. He opened his mouth and closed it, looking at his own hand with something like bewilderment before a faint blush appeared on his high cheekbones. He snatched his hand away. “I wasn’t feeling you up!” he hissed, glancing around before glaring at him. “I was making fun of you for your emotionless behavior! You’re like a—like Spock! You never smile!”
“I’m surprised kids your age even know who Spock is.”
The outraged look on Gadiel’s face almost made him laugh, but Will kept a blank face just to ruffle his feathers further.
“Don’t call me kid,” Gadiel said. “You’re so condescending! You aren’t that much older than me!”
“That’s simply not true unless nine years is nothing to you.”
Gadiel pouted. “Fine. You aren’t much older than the man I’m in love with. He’s around your age and he definitely doesn’t consider me a kid .”
“He should,” Will said grimly. Having gotten to know Gadiel, the idea of his cousin having fun with him and then moving on to another so-called The One made him... a little uneasy. Gadiel was young. And fragile. There was a softness to him, a vulnerability that lurked behind his pretty eyes. He should stay very far from men like Scott. Will loved Scott like a brother, but he wasn’t blind to his faults.
Scott was a good guy at heart, but he was also careless. He’d had countless relationships in the past and he’d gotten over them quickly. He didn’t have a responsible bone in his body. He wouldn’t know what to do with Gadiel once his infatuation passed. On the surface they might seem alike—both rich, spoiled, good-looking, and gay—but they were completely wrong for each other. Will wasn’t sure why he was so certain of it, but he could tell that Gadiel was looking for something steady; Scott wasn’t. Frankly, Will had always thought that Scott needed a firm man who would take him in hand and make him less frivolous. Gadiel wasn’t that man.
But it was none of his business, was it? He was here to help them get together, not to make them see how wrong they were for each other.
“Oh, please,” Gadiel said, rolling his eyes with a smile. “I don’t get this strange obsession with age difference. If a couple has more than five years of age difference, people in the West start side-eyeing them and accuse the older person of grooming and being gross. I think it’s a bit ridiculous when they’re both consenting adults. As long as the partner isn’t old enough to be my father and didn’t actually groom me as a child, there’s nothing wrong with some age difference. Let people be. A relationship can be toxic even when people are the same age.”
“That’s true,” Will conceded, looking at him curiously. From the way Gadiel talked about the West, it was obvious he considered it something foreign.“Do you think of yourself as Arab?” Had he met Gadiel in the US, he wouldn’t have been able to identify him as an Arab. His features were almost Caucasian, only something about the shape of his blue eyes suggesting a Middle Eastern heritage.
Gadiel shrugged, dropping his gaze. His long dark eyelashes hid his expression as his lips twisted into a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Sort of? I am what I am. Too Western to fit in my home country and a bit too exotic to pass as one of you.” He laughed a little. “It would have been easier for me if I weren’t cursed with such a white face. I could never fit in, not even when I was a little kid. I’ve always felt like a bit of a changeling in my family. I almost wasn’t surprised when I realized that I liked boys. I’ve always been... other.”
Will felt a pang of pity.“I’m sorry. It must have sucked growing up.”
Gadiel gave an awkward shrug, clearly feigning his air of nonchalance. “It’s fine. I’m over it. I know better now and stopped trying to fit in. It’ll never work, considering what I am.”
Will studied him. There was something he didn’t understand... “Why don’t you leave this country? Move somewhere you can be yourself?”
Gadiel played with his food, his gaze distant as he chewed on his lip. “I’ve always dreamed about it,” he said quietly. “But it wasn’t realistic while I was underage. And even now... When my father finds me, he’ll drag me back home. Ifhe finds out about my sexuality, he’ll kill me.”
A chill ran down Will’s spine from the matter-of-fact way he spoke of it.
“Then do you have a death wish?” Will said, frowning. “You’re not subtle at all. If you and Scott get together, you won’t be able to keep your boyfriend secret long.”
Gadiel just looked at him for a long moment, his eyes unusually solemn. “I don’t have a death wish, but I know I’ll die young. I’d like to experience love and some happiness before that happens.”
A heavy weight settled in the pit of Will’s stomach. “Now you’re being too pessimistic,” he said, his voice rough.
Gadiel shook his head, smiling wryly. “It’s not pessimism. I’ve been betrothed to the daughter of the president of the UAE since I was a baby. My life was never mine. I’m supposed to marry her in a few months. The clock is ticking. Either I get out now and be happy for a while until they catch me or I stay and live the lie for the rest of my life. I know what I’ll choose.” He laughed a little, the sound lacking any mirth. “It’s death either way. One of them is just faster. Even if I marry her, I’ll slip, sooner or later. Or even if I somehow don’t, I can’t live like that. I just can’t. That life would slowly kill me.”
Christ. It was the twenty-first century. This fucked-up situation shouldn’t exist in the modern world. Things weren’t great for LGBT people back home, either, but there were a lot of people supporting them, too—even though there were narrow-minded assholes everywhere. A nineteen-year-old boy shouldn’t be resigned to death just because of the fact that he liked men. It was fucking barbaric.
But there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t change these people’s way of life, no matter how backward their laws were.
What he could do was grant Gadiel’s wish and help him get together with Scott—no matter how ill-suited they were for each other. Scott might be ill-suited for the kid, but at least he wasn’t an asshole. He was very romantic when he was at the height of his infatuation. He was capable of giving Gadiel a few months of happiness before the honeymoon period ended and they inevitably crashed and burned.
He could help them.
“All right,” Will said with a sigh, pushing his misgivings away. “I’ll help you with Scott.”
The smile that lit up Gadiel’s face was incandescent.