It was the morning after, and Gabriel felt fine.

He almost whistled as he scuffed his way down the stairs to the farmhouse living room, then through to the kitchen. Only the fact that Orion wasn’t up yet stopped him. It seemed rude to wake him. Unless it was with the smell of bacon.

Gabriel rummaged in the fridge and freezer, then came up with what he needed: bacon, potatoes, and eggs. Breakfast was going to be served.

It was a joy to cook in a real farmhouse kitchen. Tons of counter space, a gas stove, and real drawers full of utensils.

Gabriel hummed Four Seasons as he cooked, starting with his favorite snatches of Spring. He didn’t dislike the others—they just didn’t resonate as much, especially on a fantastic morning like this.

After all this time, he’d gotten to sleep with his crush. And good God, those feelings Gabriel had for him had never quite gone away.

Not that there was any point in hoping they could be together as more than friends and fuck-buddies. Orion was leaving for Houston as soon as Cora was better, and Gabriel was going to be stuck here for… well, who knew how long?

He firmly quashed any idea of moving in with Orion in Houston. That sounded like a relationship-killer. If he’d moved in with Chad… God, they wouldn’t have lasted a week.

“Whoa.”

Gabriel’s hum died mid-warble and turned into a squeak of surprise as he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Shit.” Orion laughed and held up his hands as he walked into the kitchen. “Sorry.”

“How do you get down those stairs without squeaking?” Gabriel pointed his spatula accusatorially at Orion. “Unless you were sneaking.”

“Sneak? Me?” Orion looked wounded. “Never. You didn’t hear me because you were busy humming… something.”

“Vivaldi, thank you very much.”

Orion grinned. “Is that what it’s supposed to be?”

Gabriel gasped and clutched his heart. “Rude.”

“I’m sorry,” Orion said again and laughed. “I should be nicer. I feel like I won the lottery.”

“Huh?” Gabriel poked at the hash browns again and opened the oven to check that the bacon wasn’t too crispy now. It looked like it was keeping warm nicely.

“I got another chance with you, and then you cook me breakfast? I feel like it’s supposed to work the other way around,” Orion murmured.

Gabriel looked over at him quickly, but he seemed to be serious. “Oh. Well. Count your lucky stars.”

“I am.” Orion winked and grabbed utensils and placemats.

“And don’t chase me off again,” Gabriel told him, clicking his tongue in mock severity. “But now that you mention it… I guess we’re not pretending it never happened?”

Orion smiled as he set the kitchen table for two. “No. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Phew. Hiding it is fucking exhausting.” Gabriel switched off the stove and served up two plates of breakfast. As he set them on the table and took a seat opposite Orion, Orion bounced to his feet.

“Coffee? I’ve only got instant right now.”

“God, yes.” Gabriel grinned. “Instant is good enough for me.” When Orion handed over a mug, he wrapped his hands around it and screwed up his courage. “So you’re feeling fine about what we did?”

Orion settled into his chair opposite, clutching his own mug as if it gave him strength. “Yes. I liked that in a way I… haven’t experienced before,” he said, his expression open and his eyes flickering between Gabriel’s like he wanted to prove his sincerity. “I’ve been trying to force myself to feel… something like that… for years, but with the wrong people.”

“So, you’re not even bi? That’d be totally cool too,” Gabriel told him as he started eating his hash browns. He didn’t want Orion thinking it was a choice between one or the other.

“I thought about it, but no. It doesn’t fit, I don’t think. I sensed that women weren’t for me. It’s why I eventually stopped trying, even dating. God,” Orion murmured, staring into the distance, his fork mid-air. “I wonder if Gramma ever knew. Or anyone.”

“I don’t think anyone has guessed,” Gabriel chuckled. “Not Ryan Miele, town heartbreaker.”

“Oh, man. Now I feel bad. All the women I led along—it wasn’t like I consciously knew I was experimenting,” Orion said hastily, looking back at Gabriel. His fork still hovered above a piece of bacon.

Gabriel held out his hand palm-down and gently lowered it. “Breathe,” he told Orion softly, waiting until he visibly inhaled and exhaled before he pointed at the plate. “Eat your breakfast first. Everything else can wait.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Orion gave him a sheepish smile and finally stabbed the bacon. “Thanks.”

Gabriel gave him a few minutes of peace and quiet as he worked through his breakfast. It was hard to contain his own excitement—the guy he’d been mooning over for years had turned out to be gay after all! But that might freak Orion out, and it wouldn’t help anybody.

When they were nearly done, Gabriel finally spoke up. “If you think you’re gay and you liked what we did last night, we can try other stuff. I had fun, too. Don’t you dare worry about using me,” he added with a teasing grin. “Experimentation doesn’t count. Using people is when you know you don’t want what they’re offering but you take what you need anyway.”

Orion thought this over for a minute before nesting his knife into the tines of his fork. “Huh. It makes sense when you put it like that. I… Yeah. I do want to do more. We’ll take it easy, see how it goes, huh?”

“Sounds good.” Gabriel stretched in his chair and gazed over the dishes at Orion. It was hard to forget how beautiful he’d looked on the edge of orgasm, surprise and delight mingling in his expression. The guy might be leaving soon, but helping Orion explore this new discovery about himself in the meantime sounded ideal to him.

As long as word didn’t get out. Chad would be a dick about it. It would be weird if Cora knew. And his aunt and uncle—they’d be worried about his heart.

His heart had nothing to do with it, he insisted to himself, even as he recognized how damn beautiful Orion looked in the morning light streaming through the kitchen windows.

“I gotta head over and see Gramma, so I’ll walk you back to your car,” Orion offered.

Gabriel was blushing—he knew it. He couldn’t stop himself, though, so he made the most of it. “What a gentleman. You’ll get me all flustered.”

“The best kind of gentleman,” Orion agreed with a playful wink. “The one who makes you come hard the night before, and then makes you breakfast in the morning… oh, wait. That’s you. Oh, you can go more red than you were a moment ago. Interesting.”

Gabriel smacked Orion’s arm and then found himself in a tussling match as Orion tried to pinch his cheeks. “You—fuck off,” he laughed, finally giving up. He pressed his forehead against Orion’s chest, ducking his head to avoid the roughhousing.

Orion hugged him instead, resting his chin on Gabriel’s head for a moment. “Thanks,” he murmured simply.

Gabriel’s heart lifted. I’m helping him, too. It’s not just selfish to want to sleep with him. God, if he can be happier figuring out who he is… it’s even more worth it. “Of course,” he murmured back.

“Come on.” Orion patted his back briskly. “Let’s get going before I spend the whole morning here with you.”

Gabriel gulped as he pulled away from Orion, looking him up and down. “Is that supposed to be a bad thing?”

Orion laughed and reached out to pinch his ass. “I dunno. I figured you had somewhere else to be, besides fooling around with me.”

“I suppose,” Gabriel drawled and sighed. His day off tended to be house-cleaning day, after all. “My cousin will be wondering where I am.”

“Your cousin?”

Ah, yeah. Shit. He probably still doesn’t know about my living situation. He’d find out soon from some town gossip or another, no doubt, but Gabriel would prefer to put that off. “Art. You remember him?”

“Vaguely,” Orion hummed as he pulled his shoes on and headed for the door.

The walk along the road to Cora’s farmhouse was a brisk one in the bright morning air. The heat was already creeping up, and Gabriel was glad he’d spent the cash to fix his car’s A/C last summer.

“I guess I’ll see you around, then,” Orion said, his steps slowing as they approached the car.

Gabriel resisted the urge to lean in for a kiss. Who knew who might be watching from the farm or farmhouse? Better to keep it between themselves. He offered a bright smile instead and waved casually. “Yep. See you soon.”

“You take care.” Orion tucked his hands in his pockets, then walked up the lane to open the gates for Gabriel.

Flustered again by even this small bit of attention and help from Orion, Gabriel managed another quick wave of thanks before he pulled onto the street and headed home.

Orion’s going to spoil me rotten if I’m not careful.