Feeling deflated, I headed over toMurphy’s, wanting to drown my sorrows before they consumed me and left me wallowing on the sofa.
Entering the pub, a burst of noise hit my eardrums and a crowd of familiar faces was scattered in booths and along the bar. Sometimes I wondered if our work force alone would be the ones paying for Charlie and Tyler’s wedding.
“Hey, gorgeous.” Holden appeared next to me, and I kissed him half-heartedly.
“Hey.”
We had seen little of each other, thanks to work, but he served as a pleasant distraction for now. Maybe it would do me some good to spend some time with my kind again.
“We’re up at the bar,” he told me.
Matthew guided me through the crowd until we both sat at the bar with some others. Tyler was serving one end and Gray appeared in front of me, a charming grin on his face.
“Pick your poison, Scott,” he told me.
“Bombay sapphire.”
“Gin? Rough day?”
He’d picked up on my habits as we lived together. Gin after a rough day, wine when I attempted to cook, and coffee at any given hour I could get my hands on it. Gray was trying to break the last habit, keeping things out of reach and hiding the coffee machine, but I always won.
You’re like a truffle pig, he’d said, aura catching me as I slipped from the kitchen counter.Only for something a lot less valuable.
“Something like that,” I muttered in response, bringing myself back to the present.
Gray shot me a quizzical look, pouring me a measure of blue gin. He didn’t press the conversation. I’d tell him later, like I usually did nowadays. I came home late, banged around the kitchen and recounted my day over dinner. Exhausted from the day, I retired to bed and tried to read before I made my way to Gray’s room, or he came to mine. Sex was a good stress relief and Gray appreciated how stressful my job could get.
He placed the drink down in front of me and moved away to serve another customer.
“I’ve missed having you around, Scott,” Holden said to me.
“Sorry. Things have been busy. We should try to schedule something in.”
“Quentin —”
“You can pick.”
“Actually —”
“Yes?”
“I was thinking maybe we should stop dating.”
“Oh! Um…” I said, surprised at his request. He’d always seemed more interested in our dates than I did.
“I’m not interested in seeing anyone else, Quen.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Gray stop cleaning a glass, and I knew he was listening to the conversation.
“I guess, I’m asking if you’d be my girlfriend?”
The air had been sucked out of me. When my eyes flicked up to Gray, he looked highly amused. He’d always maintained Holden wasn’t good enough, and I had no genuine interest in him. He wasn’t wrong, but Erik and Sloan came to mind. I didn’t want anything to happen to Gray. And all it took was for one person to slip and Hunter would have the excuse he needed.
“Quentin?” Matthew said, looking hopeful.
“… Yes.”
He beamed at me, leaning in, and kissing me deeply.
