Page 38 of Unrequited Sloth

Gabriel couldn’t help but flush at their accusation.

“What was I supposed to do? Leave him to sleep in a hotel room?”

“He’s got his own family and friends. Why are you getting involved if there’s nothing going on between you?”

“His parents live in Devon, and his brothers both rent with other people. And his friends all knew about Alex and Dillon, so it’s not like he’d want to go anywhere near them. I’ve got a spare room. What was I supposed to do when it was my sister who kicked him out on the street?”

“And why did she do that?” asked his dad. “Your sister’s heart is broken. She was supposed to be getting married next weekend, and she can’t now, because you’re married to the groom.”

“He wouldn’t marry her anyway because she’s been cheating on him for months with his best friend. When I found out, I spoke to her in Dubai, and she begged me not to say anything. Then she sent her bit on the side to threaten me.”

“How did you find out?” asked his mum.

“I overheard Dillon’s friends talking about it in the pool at the hotel, so I called Alex and she confirmed it.”

“That’s not how she tells it.”

Gabriel stood up. He’d heard enough.

“Where are you going?” his dad shouted, which was rare. He never raised his voice, even when they were kids.

“Home . . .” he said, snatching up the marriage certificate. “I need to talk to . . . my husband.”

“Sit back down. We need to discuss how we’re going to fix this. You can start by apologising to your sister.”

“Apologise for what? She’s the one who was cheating on her fiancé.”

“Do you have any proof? That certificate backs up your sister’s story. What do you have to prove she’s been doing what you say she has?”

“I’ve never lied to either of you, whereas Alex wouldn’t know the truth if it bit her on the arse. When you’ve decided you’re willing to listen to me, and not automatically believe Alex, call me.”

Before they could say anything else, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. It was a childish reaction, and he could have stayed and tried to reason with them, but it was clear his sister had manipulated them like she always did to get her way. Ever since she was a kid, she’d had them wrapped around her little finger, although his mum usually saw his side of things. Gabriel didn’t want to fall out with his parents, but they couldn’t just believe everything Alex said. Thankfully, he’d driven over. The last thing he wanted was to deal with public transport. He needed to get home and speak to Bobby. If this marriage certificate was legit, then they would need to get it sorted as soon as possible.

CHAPTER 13

BOBBY

Bobby wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He should have told Gabriel they were legally married as soon as Daniel had confirmed it on Friday, but he hadn’t known how to have that conversation. It was all his fault as well. From what Daniel had discovered, Bobby had been the one to get an official marriage licence before they went to the chapel. And it appeared they weren’t drunk enough at the time for the wedding to not go ahead. He guessed it was the celebrations afterwards that had been when they’d both blacked out. It was ringing faint bells for Bobby, and he was certain that it had been his idea for them to get married. Had he coerced Gabriel into it somehow?

Daniel had said they could get it annulled with no issues, but his living with Gabriel would complicate things. On Friday, his head had been too battered to bring it up, so he’d gone to bed early. He’d seen the look of disappointment on Gabriel’s face, even though he’d tried to hide it. His sleep had been sporadic throughout the night, which was why he’d gone to the gym early. He’d barely touched the weights as he’d needed to get his heart rate up with cardio. Running mindlessly on a treadmill for ten kilometres helped him clear his head, and he’d decided he was going to tell Gabriel everything about the marriage being real. Then he’d come home, which is how he saw this place already, and walked in on Gabriel with his massive cock out – and that wasn’t an exaggeration. Playing rugby and sharing a locker room for years with other men, Bobby had seen a lot of dicks. It was normal to check a few out and see how you measured up. Nobody had come close to what Gabriel had between his legs. Even soft, it had looked like a third leg. Maybe that’s why he only bottomed. Who could take that?

Then, last night they’d had the conversation about the type of guys Gabriel liked, and he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Bobby was a big guy, so his partners had always been smaller than him, and he loved being able to throw them around the bedroom before cuddling them to death. Alex had been wild in bed when they’d first met, and she seemed to be into the same things as her brother, except for the choking thing. Bobby had never done that with anyone, but he’d seen it in porn and it had turned him on. The idea of bringing that up with a woman had always been a complete no-go area, and it wasn’t as though he was desperate to try it. The idea just intrigued him. He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Gabriel being with guys who’d be rough with him, even if that’s what he liked. The idea made his body prickle with something . . . he just wasn’t sure what it was.

The flat door opening yanked him out of his thoughts. Why was Gabriel back so early from Sunday dinner at his parents’? Bobby had been to enough of them over the past two years to know they went on for a while. The look on Gabriel’s face made his heart ache. Why did he look so sad? Gabriel always had a smile on his face, especially for Bobby. He jumped up and rushed over to give him a hug.

“What’s happened?” he asked.

Gabriel started crying. Bobby pulled him closer, wanting to do anything he could to make him stop, but if he needed to get it out first, Bobby would be there for him.

The hug went on for ages, but not long enough for Bobby. It made him feel good to be needed by someone, even if he hated seeing Gabriel upset. He pulled away and Bobby missed their connection immediately. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he could think about it later. Bobby wanted to know who’d upset Gabriel so he could do something about it. He wasn’t expecting Gabriel to pull a piece of paper out of his back pocket and pass it to him.

He opened it and saw it was their wedding certificate.

“Fuck!”

“Did you know?” asked Gabriel.

“Only since Friday.” He wouldn’t lie.