Page 25 of Unrequited Sloth

Rage was pulsing through Bobby’s body. Had Dillon been like this the whole time he’d known him, and he’d just been oblivious?

“Why did you do it, Dillon?”

“Do what?”

“What do you think? Fuck my fiancé.”

“Don’t talk about her like that.”

“Just tell me why. We’ve known each other for thirteen years. Why would you do this?”

“For fuck’s sake, you really are a pussy, aren’t you? It must be all that cum you’ve been swallowing.”

Bobby gripped the table. He wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of his former best friend right now. Part of him had hoped there might be a reason he would understand why Dillon had done this, and with some time, they could still be friends. Ryan had said Bobby always saw the best in people, and he hadn’t meant it as a compliment. After what Dillon had done, Bobby could understand why Ryan didn’t trust people easily.

“Is that all you asked me to come here for? To tell me not to say anything about you and Alex to her parents?”

“Yes. You’ll keep my secret, and I’ll keep yours. It won’t be for long. I have a plan, and then you can do what you want. I won’t care.”

Why did that sound ominous, but for Alex rather than Bobby? He didn’t want to ask any follow-up questions and risk escalating things again. Dillon smiled at him and downed his coffee before standing up. He leaned down to speak quietly to Bobby.

“Double up on the rubbers with a guy like Gabriel. Best not to chance it.”

Bobby grabbed him by the collar and saw Dillon’s eyes widen.

“Talk about him like that again, and not only will our deal be off, but I’ll break your face.”

Bobby pushed him away and turned so his back was to him. He felt Dillon hover for a few seconds, probably trying to think of something he could say, but he didn’t.

Once Bobby was certain he’d left, he pulled out his phone. He needed to speak to Gabriel so he knew what was going on, before he found out another way.

CHAPTER 9

GABRIEL

Gabriel woke on Monday morning still feeling rough from two days of drinking in a row. It had been a long flight home, and he hadn’t been able to get any sleep, so his body clock was out of whack as well. Gabriel had felt guilty leaving Bobby at Heathrow, but what was he supposed to do? The others, including his sister and her tribe of hens, would be returning today, although they wouldn’t get back until later. He wasn’t back at work until Wednesday, and nobody knew he’d come home early. There was no way he was letting Jason and Dexter know, they’d be knocking on his door immediately.

He’d been right in that sleeping next to Bobby had been torture, although he had fallen asleep and woken up being spooned by the man who’d been about to become his brother-in-law. That could still happen. It was possible Alex would come to her senses and realise she’d never find a guy better than Bobby Kavanagh, and he might forgive her. Did Gabriel want that? He wanted his sister to be happy, of course he did, but he would never do what she did if he had someone like Bobby as his partner. Gabriel would never do it to anyone. But they’d always been different. He was faithful and loyal, so was perpetually single. His sister was the complete opposite and had been in relationships back to back since she was sixteen.

Being spooned by Bobby had felt incredible, and he’d indulged himself by enjoying it for a while. Eventually, he’d pulled himself out of Bobby’s hold without waking him. He’d said he thought Gabriel would make “some guy” happy one day. It was sweet of him to say that, but it wasn’t what Gabriel wanted to hear. It was another reminder that he and Bobby would never be anything. Maybe he should set some dates up again. After the disasters in early January, he hadn’t been back on the apps.

Getting out of bed, he walked into his kitchen and put the kettle on. He’d stopped to get some milk and bread last night on the way back from the airport, and he’d booked a shopping delivery slot for lunchtime so he’d be stocked up before he went back to work. There would be questions from the others, and he wasn’t sure what to tell them. Jason and Dexter were his best friends, but it wasn’t his business to share what had happened with anyone else.

Before he could overthink things, he headed for the shower. Hopefully, that would clear his head. The tea and toast for breakfast could wait. He needed to do something. The last thing he wanted to do was sit here all day, with his brain conjuring up drama. Maybe he should speak to someone, and there was only one obvious answer who that could be.

“What’s with all the secrecy?” asked Dexter, sitting opposite Gabriel after he’d given him a hug.

“Nothing secret. I just need someone calm.”

Dexter snorted. “Can I be there when you say that to his face?”

Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh. He loved Jason, but he could be a lot. In a professional setting, he was a brilliant leader, but if you were his friend, then he wanted to butt into your personal life all the time. It had gotten worse since he’d met Patrick. Jason had been a bit of a tart before he’d met the older man. Seeing his boss command a room of C-suite leaders and then be all bratty with his daddy was a bizarre contrast, but whatever made Jason happy was good by him. In Gabriel’s view, nobody deserved their perfect man more than Jason, given all the shit he’d been through in his life.

It was mid-afternoon. Gabriel had spent the morning doing every domestic chore he could think of to keep himself distracted and then put the shopping away. He hated not knowing what was going on, but he also knew nothing was going to happen until everyone was back in the UK later today, so it might even be tomorrow before the shit hit the fan. Gabriel did not know how his parents were going to react to the news. They were both fond of Bobby, but his dad was blinkered with Alex. His sister could do no wrong in their father’s eyes.

“Obviously, we came home early,” said Gabriel.

“We?”