Chapter Thirteen
Gabriel chewed on his lip as he looked at the buzzer for Reid’s apartment, his stomach tied up in knots. He was ten floors away from getting something he really,reallywanted, but the thought of it was terrifying.
It didn’t feel like a mistake. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Reid since he’d kissed him, thoughts of what might have happened if it had been an end-of-day appointment filling his head, leaving him useless as he tried to get some work done.
He was moments away from finding out what might have happened.
He needed to push the buzzer.
Gabriel braced himself, took a deep breath, and then pressed his thumb against the button, his heart racing in his chest. This was as exciting as it was terrifying.
“Gabe?” Reid’s voice crackled through the speaker.
“Yeah,” Gabriel answered, glad that Reid was still expecting him. The affection in Reid’s tone wasn’t lost through the intercom, and neither was the tiny leap Gabriel’s heart made at the nickname Reid had just bestowed on him.
Reid had been big on nicknames from the beginning, but this felt different. More personal.
“Come on up,” Reid said. At the same moment, Gabriel heard the front door unlocking.
He pushed it open, heading for the elevator at the end of the hall, past a desk which he assumed was staffed during the day.
This was aniceapartment building. It wasn’t exactly in the center of town, but that meant it was quieter out here. Obviously, physiotherapy paid well.
Not that Gabriel had ever cared about money. As long as he was comfortable, he was happy. Private consulting work and research grants were enough to keep him in real food and nerdy t-shirts, and he didn’t want anything more than that.
The elevator ride was agonizingly long, the buttons lighting up one by one as he passed each floor. Thankfully, no one else got in. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to explain his presence right now. Reid probably didn’t want people knowing that he was prone to inviting strange men over.
Gabriel was definitely strange. He felt out of place here in his worn-out jacket andIncredible Hulkt-shirt.
He just happened tolikethis jacket. And this t-shirt.
And it didn’t seem to have hurt his chances of getting laid. Not yet, anyway. He’d been dressed more or less like this every time he’d seen Reid.
Gabriel knocked on Reid’s door once he got to it, chewing on his lip again. At least he had a cute nervous tick.
Nervous barely seemed to cover it. This moment felt life-changing, and his whole body was tense.
The door swung open before Gabriel was ready for it, his heart jumping into his throat.
Reid stood on the other side, a towel hanging low around his hips and his hair damp. Gabriel’s eyes went straight to the trail of dark hair leading down from his belly button and disappearing into the towel.
He licked his lips, nervousness temporarily forgotten as a pang of need hit him. How long had it been since he’d felt this way about anyone? Had heeverfelt this way about anyone?
Gabriel realized he was staring at Reid’s crotch a moment too late, blushing darkly as he looked up.
“You’re early,” Reid said.
Gabriel licked his lips. “Five minutes.”
He hadn’tmeantto be early, but his feet had carried him faster than he’d expected. Despite the nervousness, despite the sense that this was a huge moment, Gabriel was eager. Eager to be touched again. Eager to confirm his hypothesis that he wasn’t nearly as straight as he’d tried to pretend he was.
“It’s not a bad thing,” Reid responded, opening the door wide and stepping back to give Gabriel room to move past him. “I would have been dressed in five minutes, though.”
Gabriel nodded, stepping into Reid’s apartment and closing the door behind him.
He was sure it was a nice apartment, but he couldn’t stop staring at Reid long enough to find out. Without his clothes on, Reid was beautiful. Muscular, but not in an off-putting body builder kind of way. Toned, and much bigger than Gabriel was, or ever would be. His skin looked soft and smooth, and Gabriel’s fingers itched to touch it.
“Can I offer you coffee? Herbal tea? Wine? Beer? Water?” Reid asked. “I think I also have orange juice.”
