“I changed my mind,” Joel said, grinding himself against Gabriel. “Please kiss me with your filthy mouth,” Joel teased, with a hint of honest begging in his tone. “Please, Gabriel, fucking kiss me.”
Gabriel obliged, licking Joel's mouth open with his tongue and offering him everything he had to give. Before the kiss turned from passionate to feverish, Gabriel pulled back, giving Joel a peck on the nose. “Do you work today?” Joel shook his head. “I want to do something for you. Will you let me?”
“You did something for me yesterday,” Joel tried to protest, but Gabriel cut him off.
“I took you to the Getty and we had lunch. That’s hardly doing anything for you at all.” Gabriel reluctantly pushed back from Joel's body. He immediately missed the warmth, but forced himself out of bed.
“What did you want to do for me? Why do you want to do something for me, rather?” Joel sat up, letting the sheet fall to his waist.
Gabriel tried to act casually when what he wanted to do was take Joel up on his silent, yet wanton, invitation. Joel was starting to shed his shy, skittish ways around Gabriel, and it filled him with a kind of possessive joy.My boy. My own, precious boy.
“It’s Tuesday,” Gabriel said, making his voice crisp and brisk. “I have a standing invitation to an estate auction house in town. I’ve never gone, because I haven’t had a reason to, but I’d like to go now, with you. There’s something there I think you might need.” Gabriel was already in the bathroom, turning on the shower. It was either flee the room or he'd succumb to temptation and crawl back into bed with Joel.
“I can’t afford the estate auctions, Gabriel. That’s why I always go to the sales.” Joel's tone sounded petulant. Gabriel turned and watched him fist the sheets in his hands, ramping up for a fight.
“I know you can’t, but I can. Hence the whole, ‘I want to do something for you’ speech. I got an email about an early auction opening up today, and there is something I think you would appreciate, so I’m going to buy it for you. You can come with me or not, Joel, but itwillbe yours before lunch.” Gabriel stepped inside the shower, closing the door and ending the conversation.
Gabriel closed his eyes, letting the water rush over him as he tried to get a mental grasp on the last two days. Even though he had planned it, it still seemed surreal to him that Joel was in his fucking home, in his bed. It may have been one part planning, but it was easily three parts luck that Joel had been so receptive to what Gabriel wanted to give him. Gabriel knew, though, he was on borrowed time. Athena was due back from New York tomorrow, as Gabriel couldn’t find a way to weasel in with the photographer she was shooting with to extend her trip any longer. It meant Gabriel had the entirety of today and half of tomorrow to ensure Joel didn’t leave.
The idea of Joel leaving him sent a shudder through Gabriel’s body, even though he was warm under the spray of the shower. He let the water rinse the soap from his body, trying to shake free the mental image of coming home to a condo that didn’t have Joel inside it.
They were more alike than he’d initially thought, both closing themselves off from outside interaction as a result of the rejection of their families. Or family, as the case may be. The real difference was that Gabriel had lived like this for twenty years, Joel only one.
He was distracted by a burst of cold water from the shower and a clattering sound on the countertop in the bathroom. He cracked the door open, looking out, to see Joel standing at his sink, smiling with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. Gabriel returned the smile, tucking himself back in the shower to warm up before turning the water off.
***
“May I see a copy of your invitation, sir?”
Gabriel and Joel had managed to make it out of the condo and to the auction house. At the front door, a very prim and tightly strung woman held her hand out. Gabriel produced his phone, pulling open the email invitation he’d received.
“Oh, Mr. Hunter. Welcome.” Her face morphed into what Gabriel assumed was meant to be a gracious smile before she pushed a door open, letting the two of them, plus Gabriel's wallet, inside. “As the email indicated, this is a pre-showing for the auction, only open to our most esteemed clientele. The auction rules are void today, as you will have first pick of the items for the reserve price. Let me know if you have any questions.” She dipped her head, letting them pass.
Gabriel nodded for Joel to go ahead, and then his chest expanded with pride as Joel instinctively reached down to grab Gabriel's hand.
“This looks unbelievable!” Joel stage whispered to him, taking in the room they entered. Gabriel, for the most part, was unaffected. Displays of wealth like this never did anything for him. Gabriel had money, but he preferred to spend it on people, not things, even if spending money on Joel meant spending money on things.
“No Bibles, sorry to say.” Gabriel offered a conciliatory shrug before tugging Joel over to the jewelry section of the auction. There were five glass-topped cases filled with neatly organized jewelry and accessories, with numbered cards beside each piece. Most of the jewelry was ostentatious, bright and shiny baubles with gemstones meant to catch the eye and loudly proclaim the wealth of their owner.
Joel stopped Gabriel, pressing his finger down at the case, “Holy shit, Athena would love this.” Gabriel looked down at where Joel was pointing. It was a beautiful art deco style necklace with a black onyx that had to be at least two inches tall, flanked by a frame of geometric diamond chips set in silver. Joel was right. Athena no doubt would love it, and it would look nice on her. Gabriel took note of the card number, debating on whether he wanted to make that purchase. With their cohabitation potentially drawing to a close, Gabriel thought he might need to put in some effort to woo Joel's best friend.
“Would she? It’s beautiful.” Gabriel nuzzled his face into Joel's hair as they both looked at it.
“Athena is beautiful,” Joel said. “She's tall and has hair like mine, but she keeps up on the coloring, and she’s so loud and wonderful. She looks out for me too, as much as she looks out for a dessert shop, at least.” Joel laughed, moving his attention to other items in the case.
“You're lucky to have her,” Gabriel mused. “Let me show you what I want to get you, okay?” Gabriel tugged Joel down to the end case, display card number seven. “This one.” Gabriel tucked Joel in front of him, gesturing down toward the watch under the glass.
It was a 1946 Rolex Mechanical Bubbleback with a brown leather strap, faded and creased from over seventy years of loving wear. The face was a subtle beige with gold numbers and hands, resting inside a stainless steel case.
“Absolutely not, Gabriel.” Joel tried to turn away, but Gabriel used his chest to press Joel’s front up against the case.
“Absolutely yes, Joel,” Gabriel countered. “Just look at it. When you were talking about the Bibles, this was the first thing I thought of. Whoever owned this loved it, and took such good care of it. See how worn the leather is, but how there are no scratches on the face? Someone appreciated this and treasured it.” Gabriel leaned down, pressing a kiss to the shell of Joel's ear. “Let me appreciate you.”
Joel shook as Gabriel pressed another delicate kiss to his ear, and Gabriel dragged his tongue down to Joel's earlobe, nipping at the skin. Joel was white-knuckling the edge of the display case, and Gabriel covered Joel's hands with his larger ones.
“Let me treasure you.”
Joel nodded in a silent acceptance of Gabriel's gesture, and hopefully Gabriel's affection as well.
