Joey was pretty sure this was a bad idea. But at the same time, Gabe’s offer had helped him out immeasurably. He just had to focus on the fact he was going to get to record with Storm Sailor, and ignore the hunk of a man currently sitting beside him in his old, banged-up car.

That was easier said than done though. Gabe was looking seriously hot in a rumpled hoodie and he had his glasses on for driving. Joey liked the way they framed his face and magnified his brown eyes to make him extra beautiful. Gabe had a soft spot for seventies and eighties rock music apparently, and was currently murmuring along to Bruce Springsteen.

He caught Joey looking over and smiled. Joey felt a rush of embarrassment, but he just looked out of the window as if nothing had happened.

He’d been a bag of nerves in the couple of days between making their plans on Wednesday and driving out on Friday. As much as Gabe had made it clear he didn’t expect them to be intimate again on this trip, if they were going to share a room that left the possibility of a second go between the sheets dangling tantalizingly out in front of them.

Joey couldn’t deny how the idea made his toes curl. Fuck, he wanted Gabe so badly. But their lives were so different, they had totally different goals and aspirations. And yet a voice kept whispering in the back of his head that they weren’t talking about dating here. Maybe they could have a bit more fun before their lives veered off in different directions again.

Joey was also aware that part of his attraction to Gabe was that he’d been the only break from his family in town. Doing the play in New York had kept Joey out of the house and given him the opportunity to work with amazing people. But even though it was just the one night, Gabe had offered him the only respite to actually sleep in somewhere he felt safe. His home had felt like a sanctuary, and now here he was again, taking him away for a few days.

If he wasn’t careful, Joey was going to end up with a complex. He needed to make sure his attraction to Gabe wasn’t simply because he was turning into something of a white knight to him.

Except, Joey wasn’t looking for a boyfriend or any kind of commitment. So would it really hurt to indulge in his little fantasy? He spent his whole life struggling to fend for himself, fighting for every inch. Was it so wrong to admit it felt pretty amazing to be cared for, just for a little while? It wasn’t every day a gorgeous guy stuck his neck out for him, and Gabe had done that twice now.

“So, do you know what song it is you’ll be singing?” Gabe asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Joey was glad for the question. It was a long drive ahead of them – thirteen hours according to the GPS, not counting gas and food breaks. It would probably be a good idea to spend some of that time in conversation, otherwise Joey was at risk of ogling Gabe too much and giving himself an awkward boner.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Raiden sent me a demo. Storm Sailor will obviously put way more production into the real thing, but with Raiden singing over a basic version it was enough so I could learn it at least.”

Gabe arched an eyebrow at him. “Why doesn’t Raiden just sing it himself?” he asked. “Not to take it away from you, obviously.”

Joey smiled at the fumbled amendment. “No sweat. Raiden has a great voice, but the key he’s written this in suits my range better.” He shrugged. “Plus, he’s a decent guy. He knew how much I’d love this.”

Gabe smiled even more. “That’s great,” he said. It was obvious he took pleasure from Joey’s happiness. Joey had never met anyone quite so selfless before. It was charming.

“You ever been to Chicago before?” Joey asked.

He shook his head. “I haven’t traveled a lot,” Gabe admitted. “I never wanted to take time away from work.”

Joey couldn’t help but feel very honored by that. Gabe clearly felt he was worthy to step away from all his projects for, even if it was just a couple of days. “We’ll have to make the most of it then,” he said jovially.

He hadn’t felt this good in months. He was on his way to an incredible opportunity, one that could turn his fortunes around, and he had a hot guy by his side. Gabe wasn’t just hot though, he was kind and sweet and Joey wasn’t really sure why he was interested in someone like Joey. Their values were so different. But here they were, so Joey wasn’t going to question it too hard.

Time went by at an acceptable pace. Joey never liked traveling, he always got bored and fidgety. But Gabe helped keep him distracted with good conversation, music and snacks. Joey learned more about his elderly parents and heard a few stories from how they were getting on in their Florida retirement. Gabe undoubtedly missed them, but he was full of happiness at their contentment in their golden years.

Joey talked about the band. For the first time since the label dropped them, he didn’t feel bitter reminiscing about their best experiences. He laughed as he recounted some of the crazy things they got up to on tour. Gabe appeared genuinely fascinated to hear about how records were made and what went into producing a music video. He was tickled pink as Joey told him how he had to hang upside down in front of a green screen so they could get the footage for the Hush Hush video, and how one time they’d been mobbed in Harrods in London so they’d taken the underground tube to try and escape.

“It only made it worse though,” Joey cried as Gabe chuckled. “This little old cockney lady practically groped Reyse up and kept telling us how sexy we all were for ‘young’uns.’”

“Man, it must have been some life,” Gabe said, shaking his head. “Hopefully this song will be the start of all that again. Way more interesting than little old Greenwich.”

Joey hummed but didn’t respond. Yeah, of course he wanted to be performing again. The craziness just came hand in hand with that. But he didn’t actually miss the shenanigans all that much.

For just a second he considered what it would be like to live like Gabe. To have a warm home to come back to, somewhere he felt safe and loved. But Joey couldn’t do that. He couldn’t settle down in suburbia, he’d suffocate. Still, it was a nice daydream to have, fleetingly. The idea of not continuously worrying what tomorrow might bring did have a certain appeal to it.

“How’s your cat?” Joey asked, thinking of the time he spent in Gabe’s house. “Did you ever get her out from under the sofa?”

Gabe snorted. “Poor Duchess,” he lamented. “She’s moved on to the crack between the dishwasher and the cabinet now. I don’t even know how she gets in there. It’s full of cobwebs, it can’t be nice for her.” He wrinkled his nose in distress.

Joey felt a pang for him. Gabe had so much concern for everyone around him. Even a mangy cat wasn’t too much trouble for Gabe’s big heart to worry about.

“I’m sure she’ll get more confident soon,” Joey said. He had little experience with cats, truth be told. But he wanted to make Gabe feel better. “Just smother her with love, she’ll come around.”

“Hmm,” said Gabe. “That does seem to work with dogs, but I’m not sure about cats.”

“You’ve had dogs before then?” Joey asked. Gabe did seem like the kind of person who needed things to care for. Joey wouldn’t trust himself with a houseplant, let alone a pet.

Gabe took a moment to answer, his face pensive. “I had a dog. Max. But my ex took him when he moved out.”

“Oh,” said Joey.

Immediately, he had several thoughts fly through his brain. The first was how much seeing Gabe’s distress hurt him. The second was that the way he spoke of his ex made it sound like a recent breakup. All kinds of questions about the other guy tormented him all at once. Mainly, Joey unfairly wondered how he compared to this ex. Did Gabe miss him? Was Joey just a bit of rebound entertainment?

Joey had to remind himself that he didn’t want to be Gabe’s boyfriend. So if he was just a rebound, that would be fine. It would probably make things easier in fact.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Gabe shrugged. “The breakup was as amicable as these things can be,” he said. Joey noticed he was focusing awfully hard on the road as he spoke though. “I miss Max being there when I get home though. Max is the dog,” he added, glancing Joey’s way with a shaky smile. “Not my ex. I have to admit, I don’t really miss him.”

A very bad and selfish part of Joey jumped for joy at hearing that.

“But you got a new cat, not a dog?” he asked instead.

Gabe nodded. “I didn’t want to feel like I was replacing Max,” he said. “So I thought an entirely different pet would be safest.”

“Sometimes a change is good,” Joey murmured.

They drove on for a while after that just listening to the radio and talking about music. Gabe was more into rock and country than Joey’s preferred dance and pop, but they both agreed that good melodies were what made a track great, regardless of genre.

They stopped for gas and supplies a few hours after that. However, traffic was bad along one of the interstates, and Joey was starting to think they were going to have to stop for the night somewhere.

It was foolish to think they’d manage almost thirteen hours in one day, but a part of him had really hoped they’d make it to Chicago before they’d have to bunk down for the night. But pushing Gabe to drive for that long was unsafe and unfair.

And it seemed like the car agreed.

“Uh oh,” said Gabe after a few more hours had passed. He pressed his hand on the dash and drew it back again.

“What?” asked Joey, confused. He knew nothing about cars himself, but when he mimicked Gabe and touched the plastic of the dashboard, he was pretty certain it shouldn’t have been that hot.

“I think the radiator might be overheating,” said Gabe, chewing his lip. “It does that sometimes, the water’s probably low.”

Joey frowned and tried not to be too alarmed. “Is that bad?”

Gabe shook his head. “It’s not going to break down anytime soon,” he said confidently. “Or, at least it really shouldn’t. But the sooner we stop and let it rest, the better.”

Joey swallowed, abruptly nervous. Which was stupid, because the whole plan had been to share a room from the start. But he was suddenly facing the prospect right now, and it felt like it had come out of nowhere, not giving him enough time to prepare.

“Should I look for a hotel then?” he asked.

Gabe nodded as Joey pulled his phone from his pocket. “Just whatever’s closest,” he said.

All right, Joey thought. Here we go. Of course, probably nothing would happen. Gabe had said as much a couple of times. They would just find somewhere to rest their heads and let the car cool off for the rest of the drive tomorrow. It was going to be fine.

Joey wasn’t sure if he was relieved by this promise to himself, or disappointed.