Page 44 of Unrequited Sloth

“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?