14. Gabriel
GAbrIEL
It was March; the weather was still shit, his family still weren’t speaking to him, but he didn’t feel his usual pre-Easter blues, and he knew why.
After the whole “you’re really married to Bobby” shock had settled, he was relaxed about it.
They were getting it annulled . . . well, Bobby was dealing with that, and it would be like it never happened.
In his fantasy, Gabriel imagined Bobby not wanting the annulment and for them to stay married, but he was also a realist. He was more than happy to have Bobby as a friend, and that’s what they’d become over the last month.
He no longer saw Bobby as his sister’s ex-fiancé.
Bobby had insisted on paying rent, and wanting to give him some stability, Gabriel had offered to arrange a tenancy contract or whatever the equivalent was for a lodger.
Gabriel didn’t like referring to him that way, and Bobby said it wasn’t necessary, as he trusted his husband!
When Gabriel had bought the place, he hadn’t imagined having a flatmate, although getting a two-bed meant it was always a possibility if he needed the money.
Now, he couldn’t imagine Bobby not living here.
That he spent most of his time in the flat in just his boxers was a bonus, and offset the man being messy as fuck.
Gabriel didn’t mind . . . most of the time.
He enjoyed cleaning up after Bobby, which was something he would not be sharing with his friends.
They would judge him; Gabriel judged himself for it.
Bobby was also still being flirty, which Gabriel had no objections to either.
In his heart, he knew he and Bobby could never be like that, so he didn’t get his hopes up or anything.
Jason was in a committed relationship and still flirted with everyone, although Gabriel suspected it was to push Patrick into “punishing” him when they got home.
Not something Gabriel wanted to imagine about his boss.
The flirting was all harmless fun, so Gabriel did it right back.
It was fun to see the confident Bobby Kavanagh blush occasionally.
They’d been spending all their spare time together, which had not gone unnoticed by his friends.
It was also the reason he was at Knights Corner on a Wednesday evening. Jason and Dexter had summoned him.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” he said, sitting opposite them. “Should I be worried that Dexter looks like the Irish mafia, and Jason is giving twink sidekick vibes?”
They both laughed, but their frowns were back quickly. Gabriel stood up.
“Where are you going?” asked Dexter.
“I need a drink for this.”
“You can order from here.”
“I know,” he replied before walking away and not giving them a chance to say anything.
He headed to the bar and was greeted by Langdon.
He ordered a double shot of whiskey and a large glass of wine.
If his friends were going to give him a hard time about living with Bobby, he needed to be buzzed.
He was working at home tomorrow, so he could sleep in.
Gabriel kept offering to schedule with Bobby so he could work from home sometimes, but he seemed to enjoy being in the office every day.
Langdon put the drinks in front of him. Gabriel picked up the whiskey and downed it before tapping his card to pay.
“Is everything okay?” asked Langdon.
He gestured over to the booth Dexter and Jason were sitting at. They were watching him, so he shared his description of them, which had Langdon in stitches. Not able to put it off any longer, he picked up his wine and went back over to the booth.
“What was he laughing at?” asked Jason.
“The twink sidekick description.”
Jason looked over at Langdon and scowled, which made the man laugh even more. They really were like siblings.
“Let’s get this over with, then,” Gabriel sighed.
“Get what over with?” asked Dexter.
“No. Not doing that. Say what you want to say, and then we can order food. I’m starving.”
“We have someone we’d like you to meet,” said Jason.
“Who?”
“His name is Sergio.”
“Okay.”
He had an inkling where this was going, but he wouldn’t make it easy for his friends to interfere.
He’d never done this when they got together with their guys and they’d both been messy as fuck.
Not that Bobby was his guy, but he suspected Sergio would be a big-dicked top who earned six figures or something.
Which sounded kind of hot, but he wasn’t interested, and they would want to know why.
“He’s a lawyer, because we know you like that,” said Jason, unable to suppress a grin.
“Carry on,” said Gabriel, taking a large mouthful of wine.
“He’s a senior associate and on two hundred a year.”
“Good for him.”
“He works at Harper and Co.”
Gabriel almost choked on his wine. These fuckers had to be winding him up.
“And do you have a picture of this mystery man?”
Jason smiled and took out his phone. After tapping it a few times, he slid it over to Gabriel.
“I advise you not to swipe either way.”
Gabriel snorted, but he would follow that advice.
He already knew more about his boss than he should.
Sergio was hot as fuck. Different from Bobby in that he had dark hair, dark eyes, a beard, and an intense stare that said you wouldn’t be able to walk for a few days after he was done with you.
Under normal circumstances, he might be interested, but he wasn’t going there.
“He’d like to take you out for dinner on Saturday night.”
“I’m busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Or who?” Dexter added.
“Are you two being serious? You’re trying to set me up with one of Bobby’s colleagues?”
“Oh . . .” said Jason, trying to look innocent. “I hadn’t realised it was the same firm.”
“Patrick might fall for your innocent act, but I don’t.”
“Neither does Patrick,” said Jason, making them all laugh.
“I’m not interested in dating anyone right now,” said Gabriel.
“And why not?” asked Dexter.
“I only wanted a date for my sister’s wedding, which didn’t happen, so I’m not up against a time limit now. If I meet someone, great, I’ll see what happens, but I’m not going out hunting. That was enough of a disaster in January.”
“I think you’d like Sergio,” said Jason.
“Why? Because he’s a nine-inch top?”
“Eight, but girthy.”
“And how do you know that? I’m not going out with one of your ex-fucks.”
“Nothing like that. I just asked him during the interview process.”
Gabriel was sure his jaw was hanging open in shock. Had Jason actually interviewed people to date him?
“He’s very into aftercare and likes to cuddle afterwards.”
“He sounds like a Dom,” said Gabriel.
“No, I asked him that. Apart from the choking thing, he’s fairly vanilla. He does like the dirty talk, but that’s a big turn-on for you as well, so I think you’d be a brilliant match. He’s older than you. Only three years, but someone with a bit more experience would be good for you.”
“Hmmm.”
“What?” asked Jason.
“It’s a lot of effort to go to for someone else. How many men did you interview on my behalf?”
Dexter snorted.
“And don’t think your role in this has gone unnoticed.”
Dexter’s eyes widened.
“Just let Sergio know I am not interested, and do not mention Bobby to him. If this gets back to him, I’ll have a word with both of your men.”
“Simon doesn’t scare me,” said Dexter. “We’re equals.”
“You want to test that theory?”
Dexter said nothing, so Gabriel turned his glare on Jason.
“I will speak to Patrick.”
Jason scoffed, so Gabriel leaned forward.
“And tell him you have a spare key to your cock cage.”
Jason blushed and sat back.
“I’ll stand Sergio down.”
“Excellent. Shall we order dinner?”
They both nodded with smiles, so they were good. They meant well and were obviously concerned about him, especially as they’d heard him pine over Bobby for two years. But they had nothing to worry about. He had it handled.
“Where’s your husband?” came a voice Gabriel was hoping he wouldn’t hear again.
“What are you doing here, Dillon?”
“Just having a drink with some mates.”
“Why don’t you piss off back to them and leave me alone, then. Haven’t you caused enough damage?”
“I’m not the one who married my sister’s fiancé.”
“What’s he talking about?” asked Jason.
Dillon looked at them, and his face lit up as if all his Christmases had come at once.
“Oh, they don’t know.”
“Dillon, why don’t you fuck off.”
Gabriel had never been violent in his life, but he had this overwhelming urge to punch Dillon in the face. He understood how Bobby felt.
“Your mate Gabriel here married Bobby in Vegas.”
“What?” said Jason and Dexter in unison.
Gabriel had kept that part to himself. That they were still married was also something he would not be sharing, but he needed to deal with this pug-faced prick first.
“What do you want, Dillon?”
“People like you make me sick.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You should stick to your own kind. It’s not like there aren’t enough of your lot to go around,” he said, gesturing with his hand at Jason and Dexter. “This place is crawling with them.”
That was like a red rag to a bull, but before Jason could get out of his seat, a deep voice startled Dillon.
“What the fuck did you just say?” said Langdon, towering over Dillon.
Langdon was a big guy. He had to be at least six feet three and was built like a tank. He was wearing a branded polo shirt, as he always did. His tattooed, muscular arms were on display.
“None of your business, mate,” said Dillon, who clearly had a death wish.
“Do you want to repeat what you just said?” asked Langdon. “Or do you just want to leave by walking out the door? I’d be more than happy to give you a helping hand if your legs aren’t working.”
“I’m here with my mates,” said Dillon, a nervousness in his voice Gabriel hadn’t heard before. “I’ll go back over to them.”
“I don’t think I made myself clear,” said Langdon, leaning forward to get in Dillon’s face. “This is a safe queer space, and you’re a homophobic cunt. You see how we might have a problem here?”
Dillon’s face had practically turned white. Gabriel knew from Jason that Langdon could be a pussycat, but right now the guy was terrifying.
“I’m not homophobic,” said Dillon.
Why was he still talking? He definitely had a death wish, if he was ignoring the fury radiating off Langdon.
“Let’s speak to your friends, then, shall we?”
Langdon grabbed Dillon by the arm and frogmarched him over to the group of friends who were facing the other way and hadn’t even noticed what was happening. Gabriel couldn’t hear what was going on, but even though there were four other guys and Dillon, they were all intimidated by Langdon.
“Something you want to tell us?” asked Jason.
“Order a bottle of wine. Once this is dealt with . . .” He gestured over to Dillon and his mates. “I’ll tell you everything.”
And that’s what he did.
The next day, Gabriel woke up feeling like death.
Thank fuck he was working at home. His head was banging.
One bottle of wine had become three when he’d gotten into it all with Jason and Dexter.
He put those guys through a wringer of emotions.
They were angry at what Gabriel’s parents had done, annoyed that he hadn’t told them about the wedding from the start, and showed their usual concern about his feelings for Bobby, and how difficult he was making it for himself to move on when he was living with him.
He’d challenged them back, stating that he knew Bobby was straight and he was just helping a friend in need.
Having a flatmate wasn’t a bad idea, as it would help with the mortgage.
Gabriel didn’t need help with the mortgage, but that seemed like an irrelevant detail.
Dillon and his friends had left shortly after Langdon spoke with them.
They didn’t look happy. Gabriel had been expecting them to kick up a fuss, but they’d left quietly, and Langdon had said no more about it.
Gabriel wondered if Bobby knew what his former best friend thought about the queer community.
He had two gay brothers, so Gabriel hoped he’d never known Dillon felt that way and had tolerated it.
He couldn’t imagine such a vocal cheerleader doing that, but he knew Bobby hated conflict and wanted to keep everyone happy.
Gabriel had gotten a cab home – well, Jason had arranged it, on the off chance Dillon was still hanging around, but it had been another three hours before they left.
Gabriel never stayed out that late on a weeknight, and Bobby had been asleep when he arrived home, which was probably a good thing.
Gabriel had been drunk enough that he might have said something inappropriate, like offering to suck his dick.
Instead, he’d climbed into bed, pulled his cock out, and thought about Bobby manhandling him.
Then his room started spinning, so he’d given up and crashed out.
He reached for his phone, and his stomach dropped.
How was it eight thirty? He looked and realised he hadn’t set an alarm.
He only had half an hour before his first call, so he jumped out of bed before promptly sitting back down.
That hadn’t been a good idea. First, he headed for the kitchen to get some water and noticed the faint smell of bacon.
Ignoring the pile of dirty dishes, he noticed a box of paracetamol and a note from Bobby on the kitchen counter.
Thought you might need these this morning. There’s a bacon roll in the microwave for you. Just needs a thirty-second blast. See you tonight. Bobby xx
Gabriel’s heart couldn’t take something so sweet from his straight husband when he was feeling like death.
He snorted at his own joke and then regretted it as his head throbbed.
Opening the microwave, he got the full blast of bacon aroma, so that was at the top of the list. Next was water from the fridge and paracetamol.
The microwave dinged, and he practically inhaled the bacon roll, which in this moment was the best thing he’d ever tasted.
He went back into his room. He had twenty minutes to get showered, washed, and logged on. Thankfully, he’d prepped for his meeting yesterday before he left the office. He picked up his phone and noticed a message from an unknown number.
Unknown number: Hi Gabriel, this is Sergio. Jason gave me your number. I’d love to take you out for dinner this weekend if you’re free?
The memory of Dexter persuading him to “Just give Sergio a try” came back to him, as did Jason’s “You’ll at least get a hot fuck out of it” comment afterwards.
He couldn’t get his head around this now, so he’d reply later.
Gabriel could just go out for dinner. He didn’t have to do anything, and he rarely slept with guys on the first date anyway.
The tattooed builder with the curved cock and poor aim being the exception in the last few months.
Maybe going on a date with another guy would be a good idea, and would help him to stop fantasising about something that would never happen.