Page 69 of Unrequited Sloth

“We’ve been celebrating!”

“Let me get you some water,” said Gabriel, standing up.

Bobby followed him into the kitchen. “Are you mad at me?”

“Of course not. I was surprised, and Jason will not keep what he saw to himself.”

“Isn’t he the chief HR boss? Isn’t it his job to keep things secret?”

“HR people are the biggest gossips on the planet, especially when it’s about one of their own.”

“Sorry, but does it matter if Jason knows about us? People aren’t stupid. Even Daniel worked it out.”

“How?”

“He said I was glowing and guessed I’d thrown a sickie yesterday. He was fine with it, just told me not to make it a habit. He even said he’d done the same, so he could spend the day railing Josh.”

“Did your boss actually say that to you?”

“He didn’t use the words, but I got the gist of what he was saying. I mean, a boss wouldn’t say it like that, would he?”

Gabriel snorted. “You’ve never worked with Jason.”

Bobby chuckled. He had only met Jason in passing a few times, but was looking forward to meeting him properly. He was a big part of Gabriel’s life, so anyone who was important to his husband was important to him. Gabriel passed him a pint of water, which Bobby downed. He was thirstier than he thought. Gabriel filled the glass again, and this time passed him some paracetamol.

“I don’t have a headache.”

“You will when you sober up.”

“I’m just a bit merry.”

“Okay, well, you can sleep in your own bed tonight.”

Bobby’s jaw dropped, and he couldn’t get the paracetamol into his mouth quick enough. Gabriel left and walked out, so Bobby followed him and grabbed him from behind, kissing his neck.

“Let’s go to bed early.”

“We haven’t had dinner yet.”

“I had a big lunch.”

“Of the liquid kind.”

“I had lobster, and then a few cocktails.”

“With Daniel?”

“It was him and Sarah. She’s the CEO of Rainbow Futures. Her wife joined us for a bit. They’ve been together for thirty years. Do you think we’ll last that long?”

Gabriel chuckled. “I’m gonna remind you that you said that when you’re sober. What was the lunch for?”

“We won the case. Then I found them a new PR company, which Sarah loved, and she invited us over for dinner at her house. Then Daniel said he was gonna recommend me for senior associate, and all I had to do was not fuck up the interview.”

“The drunkenness makes sense now. That’s amazing, Bobby.” Gabriel pulled him into a big hug, which he loved, but being this close to the man was making Bobby hard.

“Let’s go to bed and celebrate.”

Gabriel chuckled. “My arse needs a night off.”