Page 8 of Unrequited Sloth

“You can do it now,” said Jason.

“What?”

“He’s heading over to our table.”

Gabriel looked up, and there was Bobby walking straight towards him. He’d seen the man in a suit a few times, but he must have forgotten how hot he was dressed like this. If Bobby asked Gabriel to lie on the table and throw his legs over his head in front of everyone right now, he’d do it.

“You might want to put your tongue back in your mouth,” whispered Dexter.

“Get fucked,” he whispered.

“Gabriel, I was hoping you’d be here,” he said with his big, beautiful smile.

He opened his arms, and Gabriel had no choice but to get up and hug the man, trying not to let their bodies touch too much. He could see Jason and Dexter were both fanning themselves and being dicks. The glare he shot them did nothing to take the shit-eating grins off their faces.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, thinking the urgency might have something to do with Alex.

“Can I talk to you in private?”

“We’ll wait by the bar,” said Jason unhelpfully.

All Gabriel could do was watch his friends abandon him to have an awkward conversation with the man who would be his brother-in-law in a few weeks. They took their seats at the table, sitting opposite each other. Their knees touched, and Gabriel’s whole body thrummed with electricity at the contact. He was acting like a teenager with raging hormones.

“I’d like to start by apologising, Gabriel.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know what I did to upset you, but it’s something, because it feels like you’ve been trying to avoid me for the last three months.”

Gabriel hadn’t been trying to avoid Bobby, he’d been deliberately avoiding him. Unfortunately, Bobby had picked up on it, which wasn’t surprising. The guy might look like a jock, but he was smart and intuitive, and no doubt a brilliant lawyer. He hoped Bobby hadn’t discussed it with his sister, but then he would have heard something if he had. Alex was hot-headed and would have had a go at him for ghosting her fiancé.

“Is it about the stag do?” asked Bobby.

“What do you mean?”

Gabriel might work in learning and development, but he was also an accredited coach. When he wasn’t sure of the best thing to say, he’d ask open questions. It often worked in helping fill any gaps in his knowledge and turn down the heat on emotions if needed.

“I feel like it’s around the time you agreed to come that you started keeping your distance. I know Alex and your mum pressured you into coming. I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable. Is that it?”

He looked so earnest. The concern was obvious in his beautiful eyes. He imagined what those eyes would look like as Gabriel was underneath him, getting pounded. His dick twitched, reminding him he was in a public place, and his brain was being very inappropriate. Bobby had given him an opening. The stag do was not the reason he’d kept his distance, but it was something he didn’t want to subject himself to.

“I don’t feel comfortable going, to be honest. I just don’t think I’d fit in with your friends.”

Bobby’s expression changed to one of sadness, and Gabriel felt terrible for putting that look on his face.

“If your brothers were there, it might feel different, but I –”

“Wait a minute. Do you think my friends will make you feel unwelcome because you’re gay? That won’t happen, Gabriel. If it does, they’ll have to deal with me.”

His eyes flashed with anger, and Gabriel felt his cock thickening. That had to be one of the hottest things he’d ever heard a guy say outside the bedroom.

“I don’t want you worrying about me when you should be enjoying yourself with your mates.”

“But you’re family, Gabriel, and family comes first.”

He felt like a complete arsehole. Bobby had done everything to welcome Gabriel into his life, and what had he done? He felt like a first-class creep, and he wasn’t sure where to take this conversation.

“Can you give me a week before you make a final decision?” asked Bobby.