“Do I need to weigh you, or have you been keeping an eye on that?”
“I’m actually up to a hundred and twenty-seven pounds,” Gabriel said, proud of himself. “Which is a little more than before.”
“And it looks like almost all of that is muscle,” Reid said, glancing down at Gabriel’s stomach, where he was acutely aware of the slight layer of fat he’d put on.
“Almost,” Gabriel repeated, blushing. He should have known the compliments wouldn’t last forever.
“I think it suits you,” Reid said.
Oh. Reid thought it suited him.
Gabriel had never once had the urge to have hisbodypraised by another man before—by anyone, really—but hearing Reid’s approval was exciting. It made him feel warm on the inside, the faintest hint of arousal mixing with the general pleasure of being around someone he liked.
He wanted Reid towantto touch him, for reasons outside of medical necessity.
He wanted Reid to want him.
And that was shocking and confusing and not something he was really ready to deal with, but it was there, and it wasn’t going away. It was starting to feel like something he’d pushed aside, rather than a phase he’d gotten over.
“Thank you. I’ve never really cared much about the way I look, but even I can admit that I’ve stopped in front of the mirror once or twice lately.”
“So cute lady scientists are back on your radar?”
Gabriel blushed, remembering the conversation they’d had about that.
No one except Reid was on his radar, and that was strange, and not at all what Gabriel was used to, but…
“I’m, uh… less worried about my ability to perform than I was, yeah.” Gabriel cleared his throat. “Thank you for not laughing at me.”
“I’d never laugh,” Reid said kindly, looking Gabriel straight in the eyes.
He was so close, and so warm. Gabriel’s stomach flipped over as Reid leaned in to touch him again, his heart pounding in his chest.
Before he realized what he was doing, Gabriel darted forward, tilting his head to avoid bumping Reid’s nose as he pressed their lips together, the need to be close to him suddenly overwhelming.
It felt as though there was a cord running between them, pulling him in, tugging on his heart, on his stomach, on everything. Every part of him screamed to be closer to Reid, to reach out and touch, beg for what he wanted if he had to.
Reid’s lips were soft, and relaxed, and Gabriel hummed a soft, happy sigh at finally getting what he so desperately needed from the other man, all the little aches and pains of his still-recovering body fading into the background.
As Reid pulled away, Gabriel realized with horror what he’d done. His eyes widened, his lips still tingling as he stared at Reid, frozen with panic.
That was an awful thing to do without asking. How could he be so stupid?
Reid would never forgive him, and he deserved that.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, squeezing past Reid to stand up, grabbing his t-shirt and tugging it over his head.
Reid was silent, standing in the middle of the room, stunned.
Once his shirt was on, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, too afraid to look back. He didn’t need to see the shock or the disgust he was sure was written all over Reid’s face, he didn’t need any further hints about how badly he’d just screwed up.
This was going to haunt him for years.
He wasn’t gay.
He wasn’t gay, he couldn’t be, he’d never…
Well…
