Orange juice splashed everywhere as the plastic bottle hit the floor. Luckily it only held an inch or two of juice.
“Jesus, Ian.” Patrick clasped the cold milk carton to his chest.
“Sorry. My bad.”
“Don’t you have any concept of personal boundaries?” Patrick snapped.
Ian shrugged. He took the bottle of milk from Patrick’s hands and walked to the sink. Patrick automatically caught the sponge tossed his way. Patrick narrowed his eyes as Ian faced the counter, watching Ian’s back as Ian fiddled with the coffee machine.
Why, every time I turn around, is Ian standing in my space? Why the hell does he always have his eyes on me, and why can’t he leave me the hell alone?
Patrick finally dropped to his haunches and mopped up the spilled juice. He’d just finished when Dion entered the kitchen.
“Hi, babe.” Dion’s voice was bright and cheery as he greeted his boyfriend.
Patrick rolled his eyes as Dion pressed up to Ian and tilted his head for a kiss. Ian gave Dion a quick peck, then winked at Patrick over Dion’s shoulder. Patrick’s skin crawled at the guy’s obvious disregard for his own boyfriend. They separated and Dion poured coffee, pressing a mug into Ian’s hands before shooing him from the room. “Go have a shower, babe. You’ve got to be at work soon. I’ll make you some breakfast.”
Patrick filled a mug with coffee for himself and sat on one of the stools. For a moment he contemplated not saying anything, but then realized he couldn’t go on like this. There needed to be some changes around here, and for that to happen he needed to speak up.
“Hey, Dion?”
Dion slid onto the stool next to Patrick. “Shit, I feel like crap. My shift was supposed to finish at midnight but there was a huge emergency and I didn’t get home till God knows what time.”
“Yeah, I heard you come in in the early hours.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“That’s okay. I was sort of awake anyway. That’s kind of what I want to speak to you about.”
Dion raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Er… not really.” Patrick wrapped his hands around the warm coffee mug. “I wanted to talk to you about Ian.”
“Ian? What about him?”
“This is hard. I know you really like him, but he gives me the creeps.”
Dion spat out a laugh. “The creeps? Ian? That’s ridiculous. Ian’s a great guy.”
“I mean he’s nice enough. He just….”
“He what?” Dion’s eyes narrowed.
Patrick contemplated what to say next. After all, Ian was Dion’s boyfriend and no one ever liked hearing negative things about someone they were dating. What if Dion had real feelings for the guy and he considered their relationship something serious? But he had to say something. For his own sake, but Dion also needed to know the kind of guy he was going out with. Patrick just wasn’t sure where to start. “I’d just prefer it if he wasn’t here when you aren’t around.”
“Why? It’s never been a problem before.”
“He makes me feel uncomfortable.”
Dion sat back with folded arms. “Uncomfortable how?”
“I don’t know. Whenever I turn around he’s there, like watching me or standing in my space.”
“Why on earth would he want to watch you? I’m sure you’re overreacting.”
“I’m not. Last night he was in my room.”
“And there was most likely a perfectly good explanation.”
