Trey
Chapter ten
Next Friday, Jamie hosts Poker Night at his house with Frank and Harry, two of Eve's former clients.
Frank is a tall, broad black man who hired Eve to practice reading out loud to, to help build his confidence because he was an adult and practically illiterate.
She would happily listen to him read to her during their sessions together, until she stopped accepting payment for it and just hung out as friends.
Similarly, Harry was a lonely widower who would hire Eve to spend time with him after his wife passed and he missed her companionship.
He was also fired as a client and became a dear friend, and joined our little mismatched group.
Every other Friday, we get together for Poker Night and to catch up on each other's lives.
Harry doesn’t drink, but Jamie, Frank, and Eve all have beer bottles sitting next to them on the poker table. Conversation and friendly banter flow easily, but I'm struggling to stay in the moment. I can't stop my mind from thinking about Gareth.
He admitted to not having any real friends except for some work acquaintances, since his life before the divorce was all about his wife, kids, and work.
I wonder if he wouldn't want to join us for a Poker Night.
This crew wouldn't judge him if he came out to them.
They wouldn't care at all. They know I'm gay, and it's never even come up as a topic.
Then, I wonder what he's doing tonight. Is he alone in his apartment? Out on a date? With his kids?
I pull my phone out to see if I have any new text messages from him, but see that my phone is blank.
"Trey?" Eve asks, and I blink back to the present. She's looking at me expectantly, as if she had asked me a question already and I didn't hear it.
"Yeah?"
"I asked you how work was going," she replies, raising an eyebrow at me.
"It's good..." I reply lamely. Eve's an expert at reading people, though, and she can see through my deflection easily and doesn't change the subject, challenging me to elaborate.
"Remember that client I mentioned the other day?”
Her eyes light up at the same time that Jamie studies me warily.
I look down at my cards, avoiding their gazes. Even though I know they’re not going to let it go.
But I'm surprised when it's Frank who speaks up. "Are you being safe?"
My head shoots up to see concern on his handsome face. "Yes. It was..." I trail off, thinking of how I can explain our first session. "...nice." I finish lamely. Nice doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of our night together.
I drop my eyes back to my cards, but when silence follows heavily, I look back up to see four sets of eyes on me, waiting patiently.
I set my cards face down onto the felt.
Sighing, I verbally dump on them without a filter. "It was actually really awesome. He was sweet and vulnerable and hot..."
Eve's slow smile is wicked and indulgent. "...sweet and vulnerable and hot..."
Heat creeps up my neck. I don't blush. I'm not blushing.
But she doesn't let up. "I've never heard you talk about a client that way."
Okay, maybe I am blushing.
"He's... different..." Christ, I need to change the subject. I'm barely ready to examine how I feel about him, let alone admit it out loud to anyone.
"So, how about those Titans..." I say, shooting Eve a desperate plea in my eyes to change the subject.
Jamie must pick up on my anxiety because he takes the change of subject and runs with it. Frank and Harry thankfully join him, leaving me to pick my cards back up in silence.
A few hours later, Frank and Harry step out of the front door with me close on their heels. Eve rests a hand against my arm, though, stopping me.
I wave 'goodbye' to the men and turn.
"I just want to see you happy, Trey," she says, and my shoulders sag.
"I know that."
"Do you think you could... I dunno. Be open to something with this client?"
I groan and scrub my hand down my face. It's exactly the question I've been asking myself all week.
"Maybe..."
Gareth's hopeful expression flits through my mind again. Gareth, unguarded, vulnerable, trusting, honest... is something I didn't know I wanted so badly.
Eve squeezes my forearm, bringing me back to the present.
She doesn't have to say a word. Everything is in her beautiful eyes. Hope. Fear. Care.
"I'll try," I whisper, giving her the most I can.
She nods, drops a kiss to my cheek, and I walk out to my car.