The Boyfriend Experiment

by Sean Ashcroft

  His head was still spinning, though.

  His whole world had just changed.

  “This is definitely improving my stamina,” Gabriel murmured after a moment, lying down next to Reid and staring up at the ceiling.

  “Yeah?” Reid asked, his voice rough.

  “Yeah.” Gabriel let his eyes fall closed, sinking deeply into the mattress. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Reid had an excellent mattress. He knew what he was looking for. “Thank you for all your help. This experiment has been extremely successful.”

  “Experiment?” Reid mumbled, exhaustion obviously catching up with him. They probably weren’t showering together this time, either.

  That was a shame. Gabriel would have liked to try that.

  “To see whether gay sex is a thing I’m into. My conclusion is that it is.”

  Reid snorted. “You definitely seemed into it.”

  Gabriel laughed at that. At least Reid didn’t have to wonder if it was good for him.

  “Thank you for all your input,” Gabriel murmured, his eyes heavy.

  “You’re welcome,” Reid said. “Night.”

  “Night,” Gabriel responded, turning to his side and letting his brain switch off.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Reid woke to an empty bed, reaching over to feel the space Gabriel had left behind. There was only the faintest trace of warmth left, a lingering reminder that he’d been here.

  Gabriel had woken Reid before he left, kissing him goodbye and thanking him, which had been nice. Plenty of people left without saying anything.

  It would have been better if Gabriel had stayed, but Reid hadn’t really expected that. He’d murmured something about having work to do, and Reid knew he’d already taken time away from it to come and see him.

  There was something bothering Reid, though, and he couldn’t get the thought out of his mind.

  Gabriel said this had been a good experiment, as though it was over, and now Reid wasn’t sure if he’d ever see him again.

  The thought that maybe that was true was enough to make his stomach knot up. Maybe he’d been convenient and hot enough for Gabriel to take his attraction to men for a test drive, and now Gabriel didn’t need him anymore.

  Maybe he’d move on and find someone better. Someone more to his tastes.

  Gabriel didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d intentionally use someone, but Reid had been used by otherwise nice guys before. And where he’d thought Gabriel was a shy nerd, he’d actually discovered that he was happy to ask for what he wanted.

  That made sense, now that Reid thought of it. People who weren’t assertive didn’t bargain their way onto a space shuttle, even if they did design it.

  Not that it was a bad thing, just… Reid had been looking for someone safe. Someone who wouldn’t take what they wanted and then walk away.

  He wasn’t sure Gabriel had done that, but the sinking feeling that maybe it was all over between them still hung over him as he got up to put the coffee pot on, his head fuzzy.

  Aside from feeling a little used, Reid was disappointed because he liked Gabriel. Genuinely liked him, felt a connection between them. He hadn’t met anyone he felt even a little connected to in a long time, not since he really settled into his career.

  Reid rarely felt understood. Gabriel made him feel that way.

  It would have been a shame to lose him.

  Reid chewed on his lip as the coffee machine gurgled on the counter, tapping his fingers on the granite, watching it sparkle in the sunlight streaming in through the window Gabriel liked so much.

  He reached for his phone, hesitating as he picked it up.

  Should he wait for Gabriel to get in touch with him again? He didn’t want to crowd the guy, and he was clearly short on free time right now.

  Although, Reid suspected Gabriel was always short on free time. He seemed like the kind of person who’d fill any available moment with work.

  Reid had been like that once, too. In a lot of ways, he was lucky he’d been benched before he burned out. Balance was a lot easier to find when you’d been physically forced to watch the world go by and do very little else for the better part of a year.

  After another few moments of thought, Reid unlocked his phone, navigating to Gabriel’s contact details. Gabriel wouldn't have hesitated to text. He’d been happy to ask for whatever he wanted.

  The thing was, though, that asking for sex and asking to be someone's boyfriend were two different things.

  Sex was easy, relationships were hard.

  Reid wasn’t going to ask Gabriel to be his boyfriend.

  He just wanted to ask if Gabriel wanted to see him again, maybe with their clothes on for most of the night this time. Maybe in public.

  Maybe like a real date.

  … he was totally going to ask if Gabriel wanted to be his boyfriend. Not in as many words, but that was what it amounted to.

  He opened up a new text and paused, again, before taking a deep breath and deciding that he had to ask. He’d regret it if he didn’t.

  I had fun last night, he started, unsure what to say next.

  Do you want to…

  No, not a question. That didn’t seem right. He deleted it to start again.

  I had a great time last night, Reid typed. I was thinking-

  He paused.

  The safe way to do this was to open with the first part and let Gabriel respond—or not respond. That meant that Reid didn’t have to put his heart out there unprovoked, with no idea how Gabriel would react.

  He deleted the I was thinking and sent the text before he could change his mind.

  It was in Gabriel’s hands, now, and he’d just have to accept whatever happened next.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When he saw a text from Reid that had been sent four hours ago, Gabriel’s heart sank. He hadn’t intended to ignore him, but he’d been absorbed in the work he’d put off yesterday so he could see Reid in the first place.

  This was why no one would date him. He took on more work than he could possibly do, more work than any one person ever needed to do, and then he was surprised when he didn’t have any free time.

  His heart clenched when he unlocked his phone to read it, a smile spreading across his face.

  Reid had a good time. Gabriel wasn’t totally alone in enjoying whatever it was they had going on, and Reid obviously still wanted to talk to him.

  Gabriel grinned as he started a reply, his stomach fluttering at the thought of getting to talk to Reid again.

  He’d never felt like this about anyone. He’d never had time to. Relationships—even friendships—had been the last thing on his mind since he was in high school.

  At the time, that had worked for him. No one had really wanted to be friends with the class know-it-all, so throwing himself into study, and then work, had been safeguards against feeling rejected.

  Now he just felt lonely.

  Except when he was with Reid. Reid made the loneliness lift instantly, as though he was personally reaching up to part the clouds and let the sun shine through.

  Reid’s presence was always warm, and he was funny, and kind, and much smarter than he let people see. Gabriel saw it, though. Reid just had a lot more emotional intelligence than he did, which meant he knew how to be around other people.

  And that was awesome, because Gabriel didn’t have to feel awkward around him.

  Gabriel liked everything about the way Reid made him feel, and he wanted more of it.

  Sorry this is so late. Work stuff. I had a great time, too.

  Gabriel chewed on his lip as he hit send, excitement welling up in his gut. He’d been afraid that Reid would get tired of him, but it didn’t look as though that was happening.

  No problem, Reid texted back within seconds.

  As much as Gabriel knew that didn’t necessarily mean he’d been watching his phone for a reply, it was nice to get an instant response like that.

  I was thinking… Reid added bef
ore Gabriel could type a response, his fingers refusing to cooperate as fast as he would have liked.

  Dangerous. Can’t recommend it, Gabriel texted, taking advantage of the pause.

  Reid sent back an emoji with its tongue sticking out. Gabriel was fairly sure he would have actually stuck his tongue out if they’d been having this conversation face-to-face.

  He liked that about Reid. His easy comfort with himself, his warmth. It made him easy to talk to, easy to be around.

  Gabriel remembered this feeling. This was what a crush felt like. Except, for once in his life, he was aware of his feelings being returned.

  I was thinking, Reid repeated. That if your experiment is over, you might be open to a real date.

  Gabriel stared at the text for a few seconds, a high pitched sound of excitement escaping the back of his throat.

  Reid wanted to go on a date. With him.

  The thought alone was enough to make his heart beat faster, the sound of his pulse rushing in his ears.

  Gabriel’s fingers trembled with excitement as he typed out his response, forcing him to stop and delete words he’d misspelled so badly that even autocorrect didn’t know what to do with them.

  I think now that I’ve finished that experiment, I could be persuaded to run a boyfriend experiment.

  Was it too much to use the word boyfriend? He still barely knew Reid, and he’d never had a boyfriend—he’d never really had a girlfriend, either. Gabriel wasn’t sure at what point it was appropriate to say that.

  The thought made his heart swell, though. He didn’t need Reid to declare Gabriel his boyfriend right now, but it would have been nice to think that they could be headed in that direction.

  That was the point of calling it an experiment, right? Besides, Reid had been graciously accepting of Gabriel’s enthusiasm up to this point. He’d probably continue.

  Gabriel hit send before he could talk himself out of it.

  Awesome, Reid responded. I was thinking something casual, maybe involving junk food.

  Gabriel liked the sound of that. Casual made him feel safe. Reid wasn’t expecting too much of him.

  Sounds good, he texted back, smiling down at his phone.

  Thursday? Reid asked

  Thursday seemed like an age away, but Gabriel did have a lot to catch up on right now. He would probably have finished by Thursday.

  Thursday works. Got somewhere in mind?

  Reid sent back a winking emoji. Even that was enough to make Gabriel’s heart flutter, his cheeks heating up as he blushed.

  The way Reid made him feel was totally alien to him. He’d never wanted another person’s attention and approval so badly.

  It was just as well Reid actually was impressed by Gabriel’s career, because Gabriel had basically nothing else to offer. For whatever reason, his personality seemed to be something Reid actually liked, too.

  Reid was a likeable man. Gabriel assumed he made friends easily and he could have had more or less whoever he wanted, so it felt like a miracle that he’d want him.

  Miracles happened, though. Gabriel knew that. He’d left Earth in a tin can propelled by forces no one entirely understood, not really, not once you got past the surface of it.

  For whatever reason, it wasn’t impossible to believe Reid liked him, and that felt amazing.

  Reid’s next text was an address.

  7 o’clock?

  Gabriel was tempted to look the place up before responding, but he trusted Reid. Besides, of the two of them, Reid had a much better idea of what he was doing than Gabriel did. Dates weren’t… really… something he’d done before. Not by himself with another person, anyway. He’d had the occasional pity double date in college that had worked out even worse than he’d imagined it could, but…

  He was ready to try again. It was time to find something in life outside of his goals. Especially since, for the moment, he’d run out of goals.

  Perfect, Gabriel responded. I’ll see you then.

  He was going on a date.

  He couldn’t wait for Thursday to come.

  Chapter Twenty

  “You said fast and easy, so I figured this was your kind of place,” Reid said as they both sat down at a table, smiling nervously over at Gabriel.

  He’d put a lot of thought into the kind of place he’d like to take him. Nothing fancy, but something unusual enough to be impressive. Something he’d like.

  Somewhere he knew they’d be okay, too.

  To his relief, Gabriel smiled back.

  “This is perfect. There are paper tablecloths, which I’ve learned is a good sign about the food.”

  Reid grinned at him. “Best burgers in town. Promise.”

  “Do you come here a lot?” Gabriel asked.

  Reid wet his lips. He wasn’t sure he should admit to the amount of junk food he ate in front of someone whose health had once been his responsibility.

  Of course, Gabriel wasn’t his patient anymore, so…

  “I like it here,” he said, figuring that was vague enough. The waitress who’d seated him had called him by name, so Gabriel had probably worked out that it wasn’t his first time here.

  Or his fifth.

  “I like that you’re bringing me to places you like,” Gabriel said. “Because I always imagine dating to be extremely awkward.”

  Reid didn’t miss that Gabriel had said imagine. It wasn’t really a surprise that he wasn’t big on dating, but that made this feel extra important. Gabriel was trusting him.

  “It is awkward, but that’s kinda what makes it fun,” Reid said. “We’ve done the worst of the getting to know each other part, though. I’m hoping this’ll be fun without the awkward.”

  “I don’t feel awkward around you,” Gabriel admitted. “Which is unusual for me.”

  Reid laughed softly at that. He understood where Gabriel was coming from. He’d been awkward as a kid, but he’d been forced to grow out of it when he’d changed career paths. He dealt with a lot of people now.

  Gabriel probably didn’t need to be nearly as social on a regular basis.

  “What about the guys you went to space with? You had to get to know them pretty well.”

  Gabriel smiled the most genuine, earnest smile Reid had seen on him so far. “They’re basically family now. I’m under orders from one of them to come to his Fourth of July cookout so I can confirm for his kids that he definitely, absolutely went to space. The other… if I didn’t already have a great mom, I think she would have adopted me. But they don’t live anywhere near me, so…”

  Reid nodded. “Right, I get it. You don’t have a lot of local connections,” he said. “So stupid question, but why stay here?”

  Gabriel shrugged. “Habit, I guess. I’ve been here since college. And there’s you, now.”

  Reid blushed, the back of his neck getting hot as blood rushed to it. Gabriel wasn’t saying he was the only reason he was staying here, but he’d put him up there with his reasons for staying.

  That was so nice.

  Coming from anyone else, it would have been too much, too soon. But not Gabriel. Coming from Gabriel, it was perfect.

  “So I’m one of your favorite things about Seattle?” Reid grinned, his heart swelling as he said it.

  “Easily.” Gabriel smiled a tiny, shy smile, but no less sincere than the one from before. “But I just live here. I’m not all that attached.”

  “Don’t ruin it,” Reid joked. “You like me. No take-backs.”

  “I think it’s pretty obvious that I like you. I never eat with people I don’t like,” Gabriel said. “What do I order, by the way? Since you know this place and I don’t.”

  Reid wet his lips, considering. There were a lot of great options, but the best ones weren’t strictly on the menu. “Do you trust me enough to order for you?” he asked.

  Gabriel shrugged. “I’ve trusted you with everything else.”

  “And it’s just almonds you can’t have, right? Other nuts are fine?”

  “Al
monds aren’t nuts,” Gabriel said. “They’re seeds. But yes.”

  Reid rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help smiling at Gabriel. He knew they were technically seeds, and he also knew that Gabriel was only correcting him because he was nervous, not because he was offended that Reid was wrong.

  It was kind of cute.

  Reid flagged a waitress, confident that he knew exactly what to order.

  “Back again?” she asked, smiling broadly at him. “And this time you brought a cute friend.”

  Gabriel blushed high on his cheeks, his eyes wide.

  “I can’t keep you to myself forever,” Reid joked.

  “Well, if you’re bringing in new business we might have to give you some free fries or something. What’re you two having?”

  Gabriel looked at Reid expectantly, so Reid was definitely in charge of ordering.

  “We’ll have beef burgers with maple bacon, peanut butter and onion rings on potato rolls, if you’ve got them today?” Reid asked.

  “Sure do,” the waitress said. “Drinks?”

  Reid looked over to Gabriel. “Still trust me?”

  Gabriel nodded eagerly.

  “Black IPAs. The local ones I’ve totally forgotten the name of.”

  “Fancy,” the waitress commented, smiling a tiny, knowing smile. “He must like you,” she said to Gabriel, offering him a wink.

  Gabriel blushed even darker, but he didn’t look unhappy about it. There was a smile turning up the corner of his lips, even as he looked down at the tablecloth.

  Gabriel was shy, Reid had realized. Just not all the time, and not about everything. He probably didn’t like to think of himself that way, either.

  Reid didn’t intend to say anything about it. It was just something he figured was worth keeping in mind.

  “Anything else?” she asked. “Way to a man’s heart is with a huge slice of cheesecake.”

  Reid laughed at that. He was glad he’d brought Gabriel somewhere he was comfortable, because it was giving him one less thing to worry about. It was nice to be relaxed about the setting, even if he was a little anxious to impress.

  “I’m planning dessert elsewhere, but thank you.”