Page 71 of Unrequited Sloth

Gabriel: I’m not sure it’ll be safe for you xx

Bobby: I can be your bodyguard xx

Gabriel: Against Jason? xx

Bobby: Good point. I’ll pray for you! xx

Gabriel laughed as he stepped into the lift. Jason raised an eyebrow. His blue eyes stared at him intently, but they were sparkling with mischief. The likely outcome of this morning would be a grilling about him and Bobby, with a side order of delicious breakfast.

Once they were on the ground floor, they walked out onto Bishopsgate. Jason was in the lead, and Gabriel guessed where they were heading. There was a café that had been around for decades. Modern buildings and shops had gone up around it, but Joey’s Café had not changed since the eighties. The food was top tier, though, so it was always packed. Walking in, Gabriel saw Dexter already had a table, which explained why he hadn’t been in the office.

“What do you want?” asked Jason.

“I’ll have a sausage and egg roll and a cup of tea.”

“Usual for you, Dexter?”

He nodded.

“Right, sit, and do not speak about anything until I get back,” said Jason.

Gabriel and Dexter both laughed. Jason could be demanding, but he hated to miss out on gossip.

“What has he told you?” asked Gabriel.

“I’m following orders and saying nothing.”

Gabriel snorted before banging his head on the table.

“None of that,” said Jason. “Spill it. How long have you been fucking him? And what happened with Sergio?”

Gabriel jerked his head up and checked that nobody had overheard. This was London, so most people were oblivious to other humans, but there was a high probability of seeing a colleague in here.

“It only happened this weekend. Sergio was a nice guy, but he’s not . . . he’s not Bobby.”

“Well, that’s kind of sweet,” said Dexter.

“Simon has made you soft,” said Jason.

“And how was Daddy Patrick this morning?”

Jason glared at him. Gabriel couldn’t stop himself from laughing, which resulted in more glaring.

“Look, it all happened over the weekend, and we’re still working things out, so no interfering from you two. I don’t want him scared off. And yes, before you ask, we’ve had sex.”

“He called you his ‘sexy husband’ and kissed you on the forehead. That’s romantic, not just him wanting to nail you.”

“Why can’t he do both?”

Jason chuckled. “Did he live up to your very high expectations?”

“Yes, he did . . . several times.”

Jason squealed, which startled a woman standing behind them. This made them all laugh, and she moved away from them in a huff. Knowing he wasn’t going to get out of it, he shared the juicy details with his two best friends, leaving out his feelings. He didn’t need to confirm what they already knew; he was head over heels in love with Bobby Kavanagh.

Gabriel’s day went past in a blur. Jason hadn’t brought up Gabriel being off sick on Monday, so he hadn’t either. He was certain Jason had thrown a sickie before, and probably to spend the day in bed with Patrick. Dexter had definitely done it with Simon, as he’d told Gabriel. The three of them were excellent HR role models!

It was mid-afternoon, and he was at his desk, focused on completing a dashboard when he got a Teams message from reception saying someone was there asking for him. He had nothing in his diary, and it was rare for people to randomly show up to speak to him without getting in touch first. There was no guarantee he would even be in the office today. When he asked who it was, he was shocked to learn it was his mother. He rushed out to reception as quickly as he could.