Page 49 of Unrequited Sloth

“He said I was perfect,” said Bobby, with a smile.

“The man is clearly deluded.”

“Get fucked!”

“Maybe you should move out?”

“What? Why should I move out? He said I can stay as long as I want, and I’m paying rent now.”

“Do you have a tenancy agreement?”

“No. He offered, but I said it was fine.” He put his hand up before Martin went into a rant. “Can we stick to the point? Why should I move out?”

“It’ll take the pressure off if you want to pursue something with him. Living together already will complicate things. Maybe even wait until the annulment comes through, so you don’t have any baggage between you. Then you can ask him out on a date. It’ll give you a chance to work out your feelings.”

“Yeah, about the annulment.”

“What about it?”

“I haven’t filed the paperwork.”

CHAPTER 16

GABRIEL

Gabriel wasn’t sure what had happened to Bobby. He hadn’t come back from the gym. He’d sent a text message, but there had been no response. Something was niggling at Gabriel about Bobby; he seemed stressed about something, which he hated. Gabriel loved the happy, fun side of Bobby. He accepted that nothing was ever going to happen, but he couldn’t imagine Bobby not being in his life. At least he could always refer to the man as his first husband. He chuckled at the thought as he opened the door to Knights Corner. He’d considered choosing somewhere else, but at least this way, it would get back to Jason.

Walking up to the bar, Sergio was already waiting for him. The man was hot as fuck. He had the whole tall, dark, and handsome vibe going for him. He was perhaps an inch or two taller than Gabriel, so not as tall as Bobby, and definitely not as clean-cut. The flirty smile and the look in Sergio’s eyes told Gabriel that the man would be a beast in the bedroom. Maybe that’s what he needed. Perhaps he could forget his first date rule. It might help him to stop wanking off over Bobby all the time, which he couldn’t take full responsibility for. The man needed to wear more clothes around the flat, although it wasn’t something Gabriel would ask him to do.

“Thank you for coming, Gabriel,” said Sergio, taking his hand and leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

It lingered for a second too long to be chaste, but not long enough to feel awkward. Gabriel caught eyes with Langdon, who had a shit-eating grin on his face and his phone in his hand. Hopefully, he hadn’t taken a photo and sent it to Jason. Who was he kidding? Of course that’s what he’d done.

“I’ve got us a booth,” said Sergio. “Shall we sit down? We can order our drinks from the table.”

Gabriel nodded and was guided by Sergio to their booth, his hand at the small of Gabriel’s back. The touch was light yet commanding. That would likely translate well into the bedroom, not that Gabriel was making any assumptions, but the man was very tactile. If Sergio kept touching him, Gabriel would have a semi before they’d ordered their first drink. Bobby might be his dream man, but he was still technically a single gay man, and a hot guy was touching him.

Once they were seated, Sergio suggested they share a bottle of red wine. It was Saturday night, and he had nothing to be up for tomorrow other than some domestic chores, which had doubled since Bobby moved in. Had his sister really cleaned up after him all the time? He couldn’t imagine it. Bobby would do anything for anyone, and would do everything he could to be a good friend to people, but with cleaning up his shit, he was lazy as fuck. Thankfully, the man was just messy and not dirty. Gabriel wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle the latter.

“How do you know Jason?” asked Sergio.

“What’s he told you?”

Sergio chuckled. It was a low, rumbling sound, like his voice. The guy was gorgeous, and he seemed interested in Gabriel, so he needed to get his head into this date, even if he was still worried about where Bobby was.

“All he did was big you up, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Jason’s my boss.”

“He didn’t tell me that, just that you were a good friend, and he emphasised that you were single several times.”

Gabriel flushed. “Jason is a good friend. We met a few years ago at work and were peers then. When he left, he got a more senior role, then he hired me for his team, so now he’s my boss as well.”

“How do you feel about your boss interfering in your sex life?”

Gabriel snorted. “It’s Jason. Nothing surprises me about him.”

“Yes, his interview process was very . . . thorough.”