“That all happened in two days?” Owen asked.
The shocked look Gabe was getting from his friends was hysterical. “Yes. Nathan Black and I are officially”—he sighed and rolled his eyes, the word like paste on his tongue and not nearly enough for him—“friends.”
“You don’t want to be friends with him?” Jonah asked, clearly confused by Gabe’s reaction.
“Being friends is fine for now, but it’s not what I’m aiming for. There’s no way that man isn’t still feeling the electricity from when I kissed him.”
Owen laughed and shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you kissed him, and he didn’t rearrange your face.”
Gabe ignored that comment and turned his head. “Jonah, you saw me spending time with Vicky at the gym. You had no idea she’s Nate’s mother?”
Jonah was quick to defend himself. “Honestly, I had no idea. Nate doesn’t go there, and I didn’t know her last name. Besides, when I’m working I’m not really paying attention to anything else.” Gabe knew that wasn’t entirely true. A nervous, auburn-haired man had definitely caught Jonah’s attention.
“To think, she set us both up,” Gabe said. “With Vicky on my side, that man doesn’t stand a chance. I mean, it was her little stunt that somehow got Nate talking to me. It’s only a matter of time, my friends.” Gabe leaned back on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table, crossing his legs at the ankles.
“Gabe, don’t fuck with the guy’s head. He doesn’t need that.” Brody’s dour tone and furrowed brow infuriated Gabe.
Gabe responded tightly, “Who says I’m fucking with him? Haven’t you listened to a word I’ve said?”
It was Owen this time who put in his two cents. “Seriously, Gabe. He works for Brody, he has a daughter. He doesn’t need you jerking him around in one of your games.”
Gabe uncrossed his legs and put his feet down, leaning forward. He could feel his pulse racing, completely offended by his friends’ lack of faith in him. “You guys really haven’t listened to a word I’ve said. We talked about a lot, and it only made me want to know more. They welcomed me into their home. He’s finally giving me a chance.” Gabe pointedly looked at each one of them, hoping he’d see some kind of understanding in their eyes, but all he saw was doubt and frustration.
Gabe shook his head and stood up, pacing back and forth in Brody and Owen’s living room. “I thought maybe my friends”—he looked at Owen and Jonah—“especially my best friend”—he shifted angry eyes toward Brody—“would be happy for me. Instead, all you can focus on is that I’m going to break Nate’s heart. His isn’t the only one at stake here, you know. Or have you forgotten that I have one too?” Shit, Gabe was pissed, so tired of everyone assuming he was some asshole who was just going to chew up and spit out poor, helpless Nate. Were his feelings really that insignificant?
“Gabe, man, I’m sorry. I just have never known you to care about anyone that much,” Brody replied.
Gabe whipped around, pointing a finger at Brody, his eyes pinning his best friend with all the anger he was feeling. “That’s not true and you know it.”
Brody put his hands up defensively and looked at Gabe baffled. “Whoa, are you saying what you feel for Nate compares to what you felt for Charlie?”
Owen and Jonah’s heads were turning back and forth, like watching a tennis match, as they listened to Brody and Gabe.
“I’m saying… Fuck, I don’t know what I’m saying.” Gabe huffed and sat back down, crossing his arms. They all were silent, staring at Gabe, waiting for him to go on. He focused on a mark on the coffee table, trying to find the right words, with an underlying fear of what those words would actually mean. “I haven’t felt this way in a long time, okay? Is it too much to ask that my friends be a little supportive?” He absolutely despised how his voice quivered on that last word.
Jonah was the first to chime in. “Of course it isn’t. We’re sorry, Gabe. I’m really happy for you.”
Gabe smiled at the man who he knew would offer his support. “Thank you, Jonah.” Gabe then turned to Brody and said, “Brody, you know me. I don’t spend this much time on anyone. There is something about Nate that has me absolutely mesmerized, and it’s completely taken me by surprise. His fuck off exterior is a wall of protection. The man I had dinner with last night was nervous and fidgeting. His face even turned red a couple of times from blushing, and it was absolutely adorable. And you should see him with his little girl―”
“Holy shit,” Brody interrupted. “You’re serious.” Brody raised his eyebrows, looking at Gabe as if he was seeing him for the first time.
“Yes, I am,” Gabe confirmed, surprising even himself with the sincerity of his words.
Brody stared at Gabe for a minute, like he was processing everything, and then said, “Okay, if this guy is who you want to be with, then I’m on board—shocked, but on board,”
Gabe could feel his blood boiling again, still hearing disbelief from his friend. “Why is it so shocking that I would want what you and Owen have?”
Brody stood and up and went to sit beside Gabe. “You have to cut me some slack here, Gabe. Yeah, you told me about Charlie, but that whole thing happened before you and I met. I have honestly never seen you this way about a guy. It’s always been married men and one-offs.”
Gabe’s wall of defense came crumbling down. It’s your own damn fault.
That was the fucking reputation Gabe had made for himself, and he was the only one to blame. “I know this is all out of character for me, but I can’t explain it. I’m not saying I’m in love with the guy, but for the first time in a long time, I actually want to spend some time getting to know someone. In all honesty, the ball is in his court, so if there is anyone that stands to lose from this platonic game of twenty questions…it’s me.”
“When do you see him again?” Jonah asked.
“I don’t know. Like I said, I left the ball in his court. He knows I’ll be at the bar tomorrow night at six-thirty. Whether or not he’ll show up is a mystery.” Damn, why was he so goddamn smug to leave it like that? Now it was going to drive him crazy.
“Well, I’m proud of you. I told you, you’re better than that.” Jonah smiled warmly at Gabe.
“Me too,” Owen agreed. “I hope it works out for you. You gave me the push I needed to give Brody a chance, and I want you to be happy.”
“Thank you…both of you.” Gabe said to Jonah and Owen then looked at Brody.
Brody stood up in front of Gabe and yanked him up into a hug. “All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. I’m behind you, one hundred percent. I’m so proud of you!”
“Brody, you’re choking me.” Gabe tried to push him off and could hear Owen and Jonah laughing.
Brody started playfully running a hand over Gabe’s hair, pretending to sniffle. “Oh, my baby boy is all grown up.”
“Ugh! Not the hair!” Gabe complained, but that only made Brody exaggerate the hair petting even more.
“Hug me back, dammit. We’re having a moment here.”
Finally, Gabe exhaled and gave in, hugging Brody tightly in return. “You are such a Neanderthal.”
“I know, but you love me anyway.”
“I do.”
Gabe and Jonah sat in the bar at a table to the right, Gabe facing the door so he could see when Nate came in. He didn’t want to seem too eager, and he knew there was a chance the guy wouldn’t show up. Still, he nervously bounced his knee, which was completely unlike him. Why the hell did Nate make him so damn nervous?
“Are you sure you want me to be here?” Jonah asked again for about the tenth time in five minutes.
“Yes, Jonah. Like I told you already, Nate and I are supposed to be friends, so it might make him feel more at ease if we all hung out as friends. I was hoping Brody and Owen would come too, but then…I guess they are, just at home together instead.” Gabe winked and watched Jonah’s face turn red.
“Is everything about sex to you?” Jonah asked.
“Of course not, only the things worth talking about.” He smiled wickedly, putting an elbow on the table, and resting his chin in his hand. “Well, Jonah, this is the second time we find ourselves alone.”
“If, by alone, you mean two people of about fifteen in a small bar, then yes.” Jonah took a small sip of beer. Gabe knew he was savoring, planning on only having one drink tonight. “But, I still think it’s gonna be awkward when Nate shows up.”
As if on cue, the door to the bar opened—but it wasn’t a rugged, tall, blond man who walked in. Gabe pried his eyes away from the entrance and gave his attention back to Jonah. “It’ll be fine. So, Jonah, let’s get to know each other, shall we?”
Jonah sat back in his chair, looking as if he was preparing himself for the worst. “What do you want to know?”
“The obvious, of course.” Gabe waited a beat and then asked, “You really don’t care that Owen and Brody are together?”
Jonah laughed nervously. “Wow, you don’t pull any punches, huh?”
“Is there any other way?”
Jonah looked around the bar and sighed. “It’s not that I don’t care. I’m human; I’ll admit it was a little awkward at first, but that didn’t last long. I do miss Owen though. That is, I miss being in a relationship and having someone to come home to. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t lonely. Living alone is different than I thought it would be.”
“How so?”
Jonah shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of beer. “Pretty sad for thirty-two, but this is the first time I’ve lived on my own. I come home from work and have a funny story or something is bothering me, and there’s no one there to tell.”
I can relate to that. Now that Brody had Owen, Gabe felt a little left behind and, dare he say, alone. It was a feeling he wasn’t used to…and quite frankly, never wanted to get used to.
Jonah continued, saying, “Sometimes I’m worried that starting my nutrition and training business from home is a mistake. Then I really won’t be around many other people, just clients.”
“So why don’t you look into a storefront in town? As it is, the gym is ten minutes away. If you had something right here, you’d be bringing something to Haven’s Cove that it doesn’t already have.”
Laughing, Jonah shook his head. “No offense, Gabe, but most of us don’t have the kind of money you have. As it is, it’s taken me this long to finish school because I saved for each class. There’s absolutely no way I could even think about starting a business with school loans. So, no loans to pay off, but no money either.”
Gabe smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I forget sometimes.” It wasn’t intentional. He’d never had to worry about the things other people have, even though he was so removed from his family. Gabe didn’t like to think about how Charlie wasn’t the only one who sold his soul to the devil. He refused to let his mind wander over that one for too long. “Do you think some of your clients will follow you if you leave?”
“I hope so. I mean, there are a few people I’d really like to still help, and it wouldn’t hurt the gym.” Frustration settled in Jonah’s expression, the look so out of place on the normally calm man’s face.
“There’s also one in particular I think you wish you could help.”
The door opened again, and Gabe couldn’t help but look to see if it was Nate. Again, he was disappointed. He pushed down the tight feeling in his chest.
Jonah leaned his forearms on the table. “Yeah, I guess. I wish Cameron wasn’t so shy around me.”
“Well, who could blame him when his trainer is drop-dead gorgeous and probably the nicest guy he’s ever met?” Man, it was so easy to make Jonah blush. This could easily turn into a game.
Jonah smiled, looking embarrassed by the compliment. “Gabe, first of all, the guy’s like twenty-six.”
“What’s six years between horny men?”
Jonah completely ignored Gabe’s comment. “And second of all, that’s extremely unprofessional, don’t you think? Wait”—Jonah held up a hand to stop Gabe from speaking—“I forgot who I’m talking to.”
Gabe shook his head, folding his arms on the table. “Jonah, the Savior. It must make you positively twitch when someone doesn’t want to be helped, hmm?”
“Shut up. I don’t twitch.” Jonah chuckled.
Gabe reached across and squeezed Jonah’s hand. “Well, if anyone can help him, it’s you. Seemed to me like he could use a knight in shining armor. Isn’t it convenient you happen to fit that bill?”
“Maybe he’s not looking for a knight.”
“Perhaps. Even I couldn’t figure him out. I guarantee you, though, he could use a friend. However, he’d be missing out. I bet you’re positively delicious.” Ah, there it was, blush number―Gabe had lost count. Would things be easier if Jonah was the guy he wanted? There was no denying the man was beautiful, inside and out. The fact that Jonah had no idea how gorgeous he was made him that much more appealing. He had a shy smile that drew dimples into his smooth, tanned skin; blue eyes that literally sparkled; strong, well-defined muscles from years of taking care of his body—the man could cause anyone’s mouth to water.
But Gabe wanted more—more than a mouth-watering, kind man. He wanted passion. He wanted knee-buckling, heart-stopping, pulse-pounding love.
He wanted Nate.
Gabe looked down at his watch solemnly and saw it was after eight. “Well, Jonah, I’d say you’ve paid your dues for the evening. Looks like my knight in shining armor isn’t coming.” Damn, he hated that pathetic, defeated feeling. It wasn’t like Nate said he would definitely meet him here, but for some reason Gabe thought he would show. He thought they both had a good time two nights ago, but maybe he’d read him all wrong.
There was sympathy in Jonah’s eyes that Gabe could definitely do without. “I’m sorry, Gabe. I’m sure he was just busy.”
Gabe sighed, avoiding the look Jonah was giving him, and ran his finger over a scratch in the bar table. “Hmm, well, nonetheless, I appreciate you sitting with me. Will you do me a favor?”
“Sure,” Jonah replied.
“Let’s just keep this between us, okay? I don’t think I’m quite ready for Brody’s I told you so.” Gabe was sure his eyes weren’t hiding anything from Jonah, and the disappointment he was feeling had to be seen by him.
“No problem. It’s no one’s business but your own.” Jonah was a man of his word, and that knowledge relieved Gabe some.
They both stood up, and in a moment of rare vulnerability, Gabe grabbed Jonah’s hand and asked softly, “Do you think I’m wasting my time? Am I making a fool out of myself?”
Jonah squeezed Gabe’s hand and pinned Gabe with intense blue eyes. “Love is never a waste of time. If you’re not willing to make a fool of yourself in the name of love then you’re not worthy of it. You deserve love just as much as the rest of us, Gabe.” It was exactly what Gabe needed to hear. Maybe that’s why he’d asked Jonah, instead of Brody or Owen.
Gabe held Jonah’s hand tightly, grateful for the friendship he so desperately needed while Brody was finding his way with the love of his life.