“Get off the phone and fuck the guy, Baby J,” Athena countered.
“He's at work.”
“Would you fuck him if he wasn't?” Joel could hear Athena laughing.
“Of course not.”
“Why not? If you think he's handsome, why wouldn't you go for the gold? Get that one? Go for the gold. Like a condom wrapper. Gold wrappers. Big dicks.” Athena’s sentence dissolved into uncontrollable and unhelpful laughter.
“Athena. Be serious. Please.” Joel had a desperate edge to his voice that caused Athena to stop laughing.
“I am being serious, Joel.” Oh, now she was cutting out the nicknames. That meant shewasbeing serious. “If you're attracted to him, pursue him. That's what people do. Literally almost everyone but you understands this. Having shitty parents doesn't mean you have to be emotionally alone forever and it especially doesn't mean you need to jerk off alone for the rest of your life.”
Joel was listening to what she was saying, but couldn't help the chuckle at the knowledge he didn't jerk off alone this morning. The thought of Gabriel watching him made his cock start to rise again.Fuck.
“Fuck?” Athena questioned him. Apparently he hadn't thought that last part after all.
Joel was silent.
“Baby J, listen to me. I'm being one hundred percent serious with you and then I'm going to hang up because you're seriously intruding on the ass I'm trying to get, okay? You are amazing, Joel. You are so, so cute, and you are smart and persistent and kind. One of my favorite things about you is that you collect those old Bibles, and I know you do it because no one else will so you want to be the one to do it. You take so much on yourself, and into your heart, and you force yourself into solitude, and it fucking kills me to see you do it. There is so much of you to love, and if you are so resistant to letting someone love you, then at least let them fuck you. You let me in. You're different with me, and I don't know why, but let someone else get to know the Joel I know some time, okay? Now go. I love you and I'll be home in three days.” With that, Athena hung up for the second time.
Joel looked at the call ending on his screen which then lit up with a text from… Davis? Before Joel could read it, the screen went black. He pressed the home button, trying to turn it back on, but it was useless. His phone chose that exact moment to stop working again. Joel sighed and threw the phone onto the bed.
Well. Davis. Maybe Davis was interested in him after all? If someone like Davis was interested, even after thinking Joel stood him up, maybe it wasn't so unreasonable to think Gabriel might be interested, too. Joel didn't want to think himself in circles over it all day, so he decided to bide his time until Gabriel got home and then maybe he’d see if the attraction was there, or whether he'd only imagined it. Then if it ended up going all tits up, Athena would be home in three days and he could crash with her. Joel reasoned he could survive anything for three days, even sleeping in his car.
He dumped everything in his duffel bag out onto the bed to see what he had packed. He didn't have anything nice-looking. Everything he had grabbed was his usual jeans and t-shirts, and they were all wrinkled from being thrown in so haphazardly. Joel picked out the shirt that was the least wrinkled and brought it with him into the bathroom, laying it over the towel rack. He turned the water in the shower to as hot as it would go and then pulled the bathroom door closed. It was a trick Athena had taught him, since neither of them had a washer or dryer in their apartments.
Heading to the kitchen, Joel opened the refrigerator door and saw it was fully stocked with a wide assortment of fresh groceries. He found some chicken breasts on the bottom shelf and he opened the crisper drawer and found a bag with pre-trimmed broccoli tops. Joel closed the fridge and opened a few cupboards until he found the pantry. It was as well stocked as the fridge, and Joel rifled through until he found some pasta and sauce. It wouldn't be anything fancy, but Joel wasn't anything fancy either. If what he could offer wasn't good enough for Gabriel, he wanted to know sooner rather than later.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Gabriel, Joel, and the Frottage
Gabriel opened the front door of his condo and was immediately overwhelmed by the most amazing smell of tomatoes, garlic, and chicken. He found Joel in his kitchen, standing in front of the stove, tongs held in one hand and a sharp knife in the other. Joel poked at whatever he had in the pan and then flipped it over, nodding his head.
“Joel?” Gabriel spoke, setting his keys down on the edge of the breakfast bar as Joel jumped.
“Shit. You’re home. I didn’t hear you. It’s not ready. Shit.” Joel turned briefly to look at Gabriel and then quickly returned his attention to the stove, fussing over whatever was in the pan while he muttered to himself.
“What’s wrong, Joel?” Gabriel asked, keeping one eye on his nervous house guest as he poured himself a glass of wine.
“I was making you dinner, making us dinner. Making dinner for us. But I didn’t think you’d be home so soon. It needs about five more minutes. I’m sorry.”
What on earth was Joel apologizing for? Gabriel couldn’t remember the last time someone had cooked for him. It was such a thoughtful gesture, and there were feelings swelling in Gabriel’s chest that he did his best to squash before he approached Joel at the stove. Gabriel sidled in close to Joel,deliberately pressing his chest against Joel’s back and looking over his shoulder to see what was going on in the pan.
“Did you make chicken parmigiana?” Gabriel questioned, moving in closer as he leaned over Joel to smell the bubbling cheese and marinara sauce cooking on his stove. Joel nodded against him, and Gabriel was certain Joel shifted his weight back and leaned into his chest. Gabriel turned his head slightly, exhaling a breath into Joel’s neck.
“Thank you, Little Red. That’s very thoughtful of you. I’ll go change out of my work clothes while you finish up.” Gabriel forced himself away from Joel and headed to his bedroom to change. Stripping off his slacks, Gabriel pulled a pair of plaid pajama pants on and over his hardening cock, pressing down to alleviate the pressure formed between his legs by Joel looking so comfortable in his home. It was like every wet dream Gabriel ever had about Joel came to life in the last twenty-four hours and now someone had stuck a domestic little housewife cherry on top.
Gabriel heard plates clinking out of the cabinet and being set on the wood dining room table, so he returned to the kitchen. Returned to Joel. As Gabriel rounded the corner into the dining space, Joel looked up at him with a broad smile across his face and Gabriel’s chest tightened, as if the bones in his chest were contracting around his heart.
“Sit down?” Joel asked Gabriel, gesturing to the table. Gabriel couldn’t help but notice the question should have been a statement, and he softly chuckled at the tentative way Joel approached him. Gabriel pulled out the chair Joel indicated and sat down, noticing Joel had brought his glass of wine over. There was a glass of water with no ice on the placemat beside him, and Gabriel liked that Joel made the decision to sit near him on his own. Joel brought two plates over from the kitchen, placing one in front of Gabriel and the other beside him. Taking a seat, Joel looked up shyly and smiled, his gaze flitting down to the table.
“I hope you like it.” Joel’s voice was barely louder than a whisper. “I hope you like it, Gabriel.” The second time he spoke, Joel was louder and sounded more confident. Gabriel couldn’t help but love the way his name sounded rolling out of Joel’s mouth.
“I like it when you call me by my name,” Gabriel reflected, but then continued, “Thank you for dinner, Joel. I’m sure it’s wonderful. It’s been a very long time since someone has cooked for me.” Gabriel started to slice into the juicy, breaded chicken breast.
“How long?” Joel asked, cutting into his own chicken and putting a piece into his mouth.
