For Harry, he was. His green eyes (almost like Gabriel’s) were glazed with lust. “Shit, seriously, you’re so hot. I guess it’s my lucky day. C’mere, fuck me. Don’t worry, I prepped myself just in case.” The guy spread his legs and started jacking off. “Come on.”
Jared wished he would shut up. The guy’s voice was all wrong and grated on his nerves. His cock actually softened and Jared had to stroke himself to hardness.
Annoyed with himself, he reached for a condom—
His cell phone rang.
“Ignore it,” the guy said impatiently.
“I can’t. I’m a doctor. It could be important.” Jared pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and stared at the caller ID.
Gabriel.
Jared considered ignoring the call, but who was he kidding? He could never ignore Gabriel. He answered.
“Jay, come back.”
Jared frowned. Gabriel’s voice sounded odd. “Something wrong?”
A pause.
Then, “I’m sick. My stomach hurts.”
His heart speeding up, Jared reached for his jeans. “What type of pain? Sharp or stabbing, crampy, colicky, dull? Any other symptoms? A fever?”
“I—I feel nauseous and I’m freaking out. Just come back. It hurts.”
“Maybe you should call an ambulance—”
“I don’t want an ambulance. I want you.”
Jared slipped into his shirt. He knew it was useless to argue with Gabriel: he was a big baby when he got sick and hated being treated by anyone but him. “All right, give me an hour to get back. But if it gets worse, call an ambulance, and that’s an order, got it?”
“Yeah,” Gabriel said and hung up.
“Seriously? You’re leaving?” Harry said with a huff.
“Yes,” Jared said, zipping up his jeans. “Sorry,” he said distractedly, grabbing his jacket, and left the apartment.
“Dick!”
He had probably deserved it, but Jared couldn’t bring himself to care as he jumped into his car and took off. Could it be appendicitis?
Halfway home, he called Gabriel but got no answer, which only made him more anxious.
The tires screeched as he finally swerved into the driveway and hit the brakes in front of their house. Jared sprang out of the car and darted toward the front door.
“Gabriel?” he called out as soon as he was inside. The living room was empty, and he made his way to Gabriel’s bedroom. It was empty too. “Gabe?”
Frowning, he headed to his own bedroom.
Chapter 22: Loved
He could hear Jared calling out his name, but he stayed quiet. The house wasn’t big; Jared would come here soon.
Sure enough, there was the sound of footsteps approaching.
The door opened. “Gabe—”
Jared stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the bed.
Gabriel’s heartbeat skyrocketed. He told himself he had no reason to feel awkward: Jared had seen him naked hundreds of times.
“What…” Jared trailed off before saying, very evenly, “Get dressed.”
But his eyes were roaming all over his body, dark and hungry. It made Gabriel nervous, but at the same time, he stopped feeling awkward. Jared wanted him.
“No,” he said quietly. “Come here.”
Jared’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Don’t do this to me. Please.”
Gabriel licked his lips. “I’m not teasing you. You don’t have to fuck anyone else. I can give you anything you want.”
Jared’s nostrils flared. “I don’t want a pity fuck.”
“It wouldn’t be a pity fuck. It has nothing to do with pity. I love you and want to make you happy. What’s wrong with that?”
Jared pinched the bridge of his nose, looking pained.
“Let me do it, Jay,” Gabriel said softly. “I want this—”
“You don’t want it,” Jared bit out, glaring at him. “You just want to please me. There’s a difference. You don’t really want it.”
Scoffing, Gabriel got out of the bed. “Did you forget who you’re talking to? When have I ever done something I didn’t want to do? I’m not exactly the self-sacrificing type. It has nothing to do with pity.” He walked toward Jared and stopped a few inches away from him, suddenly acutely aware that he was naked. From the way Jared was looking at him, he was very aware of his nakedness, too.
Gathering his courage, Gabriel looped his arms around Jared’s neck and pressed his body against him.
Jared’s breath hitched, his muscles stiffening. “Gabe—”
“Look, hear me out,” Gabriel said. “You want me. That’s okay—no, that’s more than okay. I…I like that you want me.” He shrugged, embarrassed. “I’m not gonna claim gay sex isn’t going to be weird for me—it most likely will—but I’m not doing it out of some misguided sense of friendship or something, so you don’t have to feel guilty for this. Trust me, I’m doing this for a very selfish reason.”
“What reason?” Jared said slowly, through his clenched teeth. His body was so tense against him it felt like it was vibrating with restrained power.
“I’m doing it because…” Gabriel slipped his hand between them and cupped Jared’s erection through his jeans. Jared hissed.
Gabriel blushed a little, but didn’t look down even as his fingers stroked Jared’s cock awkwardly.