10. Gabriel
GAbrIEL
He’d buzzed Bobby into the building and then opened his flat door, waiting for the lift.
After a time, Bobby appeared, having walked up the stairs, because of course he had.
There was no sign that he was out of breath either.
Gabriel worked out, but he rarely did those stairs himself.
As soon as Bobby saw him, a big smile appeared on his face, and he pulled Gabriel into a hug.
Why did everything always feel so much better with a hug from Bobby?
“Thanks for letting me come over. I thought it would be best if we talked in private.”
“Yeah, you said that on the phone. What’s wrong?” asked Gabriel, closing the door once Bobby was inside the flat.
Bobby was looking at his place, which made Gabriel feel self-conscious.
The living and dining area was painted in something between a brown and honey colour, which he really liked.
He hadn’t gone for a feature wall as he knew colour drenching was the thing to do now.
His sister was into colour drenching, as long as that colour was white.
That was a bitchy thing to think, but his sister was plain in her taste.
He wasn’t sure where she got it from, as even their dad loved a lairy colour.
“Your place is stunning, Gabriel. It’s full of heart. Very you.”
Gabriel spluttered, lost for words. He hadn’t expected him to say that, and Bobby smiled at him, which made him even more flustered. Gabriel was usually well put together, but around Bobby and those smiles, he was like a teenage girl with a pop-star crush.
“What did you want to talk about?” asked Gabriel, wanting to get the conversation back to the reason he was here.
He noticed Bobby’s shoulders were tense and up by his ears. He wanted to reach out and massage them, so he’d relax. Okay . . . that was something he’d definitely be keeping to himself.
“Aren’t you going to offer me a drink first?”
“Bobby, just tell me.”
“I got back to the flat last night and Alex was already there. Dillon’s back as well. I spoke to him just before I called you. Before I tell you the rest, I’d suggest getting that drink.”
“Tea or coffee?”
“Yeah. That’s not gonna do it.”
“For fuck’s sake, Bobby, just tell me.”
“Alex thinks we’re having an affair,” he said, gesturing between the two of them.
“What?” His voice sounded like someone else was talking.
“It’s obvious she and Dillon have done this so it takes the heat off them. Dillon doesn’t want anyone to know about him and Alex so they can make out they got together after we broke up.”
“And they’re going to say you split up because you had an affair with me?”
Gabriel thought he was going to be sick. Why would his sister do this to him? He’d been nothing but supportive of her.
“I don’t think she’s going to do that. It’s probably just a threat to make sure we don’t say anything to anyone about what really happened.”
“How is she going to explain that the wedding isn’t going to happen? I mean, if that’s what . . .” He trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence.
“The wedding is definitely off,” said Bobby. “She slapped me and booted me out.”
“She did what? When did she kick you out?”
“When I got back, she’d already changed the locks, and all my stuff was packed up. She must have headed back to the UK as soon as she knew I’d found out.”
“Where did you go last night?”
“I stayed in a hotel.”
“Why didn’t you go to one of your brothers?”
“They both rent and have flatmates. It would be a massive pain in the arse for them, even if they could do it.”
“Where’s the hotel?”
“In Holloway, near the storage place.”
Gabriel’s heart sank, and he felt awful.
He panicked that his sister was going to blame him for her relationship ending to their parents, but it was all bullshit.
Bobby was homeless, and that was a fact.
How could his sister just kick him out when she’d been the one cheating?
Now all his stuff was in storage, and he was staying in a hotel. Gabriel wasn’t having that.
“How long have you got the hotel for?”
“Another two nights while I work out what I’m gonna do.”
“You can stay here.”
“Are you serious?”
The hopeful sound in Bobby’s voice confirmed Gabriel was doing the right thing.
“You’re not staying in a hotel, Bobby. I’ve got a spare room.”
“Don’t you use that as an office?”
“How do you know that?”
“You said it one time. I can sleep on the sofa, if that’s okay.”
“There’s a bed in there. I can move the desk out here, or we’ll share it for when you work at home, and just make it work between us.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Thank you is usually a good start.”
Bobby laughed before he pulled Gabriel into one of his softer hugs. He tried not to relax into it too much, but he couldn’t help himself. When they pulled apart, Gabriel saw Bobby’s eyes were wet, but he said nothing.
“Shall we get your stuff?” asked Gabriel.
“I’ve got the hotel for another two nights.”
“And you’re back at work soon. Wouldn’t it be better to just get settled?”
“I suppose . . .” He hesitated.
“Is everything okay?”
“What’s your sister gonna say about me staying here?”
“That I stole you off her and ruined her life,” he said, deadpan.
Yes, Gabriel had feelings for Bobby, and they were definitely in charge of this ridiculous thing he had just suggested, but nothing had happened between them.
Nothing was going to happen either, and Gabriel couldn’t help but feel responsible for the whole situation.
He was the one who’d discovered the affair, and this was probably why his sister was trying to blame him for everything.
She might manipulate their dad, but he knew their mum would always have his back, and she was the one in charge.
He would deal with Alex when he saw her.
Right now, he was too angry with her for what she’d done to Bobby.
Now was not the time to speak to her. Hopefully, she’d keep her distance for the time being.
“Gabriel, I don’t want you to fall out with your family because of me.”
“Let me deal with my family. Let’s get your stuff.”
“I took the van back this morning.”
“I’ve got a car, so let’s just get your stuff out of the hotel. We can look at what’s in storage later.”
“I had to pay for three months anyway, so there’s no rush.”
“Three months?”
“Oh . . . I will not stay here that long, I promise.”
Bobby smiled at him, which made Gabríel feel flustered.
He could stay forever as far as he was concerned, but thankfully he didn’t vocalise that and come across as deranged.
Gabriel knew Bobby well enough to know he’d get himself sorted quickly.
His concern was that he’d had to fork out for three months of storage.
Bobby had explained what he’d had to go through to get his stuff out of Alex’s flat too, and she was the one who’d cheated, for fuck’s sake.
All that did was make Gabriel even more certain that he’d made the right decision.
The least he could do was give Bobby a place to call home so he could take his time deciding what to do next.
It was eight o’clock at night when they had everything moved in.
They’d done two trips – one to get everything from the hotel, and the other to get some essentials out of the storage unit so Bobby wouldn’t need to keep schlepping to North London when he needed something.
Bobby was in the spare room, putting his stuff away, and Gabriel was lying on the sofa.
He was tired after another day of drama.
Lying down, he wondered if he’d have regrets about his offer to Bobby, but he didn’t.
This was the right thing to do. For once, his gut had been right.
“That’s most of it packed away, and I can sort the rest tomorrow.”
Bobby flopped down onto the sofa next to him.
Gabriel got a whiff of his aftershave, mixed with sweat, probably from lugging all the boxes in and out after insisting on doing all the heavy lifting.
Even sweaty, the man smelt like heaven, and Gabriel wanted to lick it all off him.
He jumped up, not wanting to be too close with his inappropriate thoughts.
He was wearing tracksuit bottoms, and they would hide nothing if he got hard.
“I’ll make us something to eat,” he said, giving himself an excuse to go into another room.
“Fuck that. I’ll order us a takeaway.”
“Oh . . . I’ve eaten a lot of crap the past few days. I can just make us a stir-fry or something.”
His shopping had arrived earlier, although he would need to arrange a top-up if he was feeding two people. Gabriel didn’t know if Bobby could cook, but that didn’t matter. He liked the idea of cooking for both of them.
“I think you’re good with another night off. I’ve seen your body and you’re ripped to fuck. We’ve earned a treat.”
Gabriel couldn’t think of any argument for that, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself smiling when Bobby complimented his body.
It was something he’d worked hard at over the years.
He didn’t have the size Bobby did, and had never built that much additional muscle, but he was proud of how he looked.
The guys he slept with always seemed to enjoy touching his body and his dick.
The only problem was that he attracted a lot of “vers” guys who were bigger bottoms than him.
Not something he should think about now, though, when his crotch was in Bobby’s eyeline.
“Takeaway sounds good. What do you fancy?”
“You know the best places around here. What’s good?”
“There’s a kebab shop, a Thai, and a burger place, which are the ones I use the most.”
“Thai sounds perfect.”
Gabriel helped Bobby add the flat address to his food delivery account and showed him the restaurant he was referring to. They then ordered far too much food. Once that was done, Bobby left to get a shower, leaving Gabriel on his own to think about what his sister was up to.
It was clear she was doing some form of damage control, as he knew what their parents would say if they found out she’d cheated on someone again.
That was something Gabriel hadn’t shared with Bobby, and it wasn’t his business to do that.
He had no idea what they’d shared with each other as a couple.
Bobby could have cheated on someone before as well, although he doubted it.
A man like that was too considerate of others.
Hearing the shower running was not helping, as it made Gabriel realise Bobby was currently naked and wet in his flat.
That was an image he wouldn’t be able to get out of his head.
The next few weeks were going to be torture for him, but he stood by his decision that he’d done the right thing, and there was absolutely no personal motive why he wanted the man he’d secretly been in love with for two years to sleep in his spare bedroom.
Now he just had to convince his parents he wasn’t having an affair with Bobby and reassure his best friends that he hadn’t taken leave of his senses by asking the man to move in with him.
That seemed like a problem for later. Tonight he could enjoy the company of a handsome man and eat a takeaway, with no strings attached, no matter how much he wanted there to be.